On the jackbooted heels of Gamergate...

Didn't recognize either of the names mentioned in the article. Is this an "inspired by" Twitter movement, or is this the same set of people fanning the flames of GG and the Puppies (and the US alt-right)?

RedRajah said:

The latter, by the looks of it.

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Well, at least we know what to expect.

(And that's about all I can say without wearing out my asterisk key.)

So this time, they're not even pretending it's about ethics in comics journalism or anything like that. The mask is off, and it's about hate and the fear of becoming irrelevant. They're scared that people like them, with their tastes, are truly outnumbered, so they can't just sit back and confidently wait for this "social experiment" to fail on its own. They have to piss in everyone else's pancakes.

Roxxsmom said:

So this time, they're not even pretending it's about ethics in comics journalism or anything like that. The mask is off, and it's about hate and the fear of becoming irrelevant. They're scared that people like them, with their tastes, are truly outnumbered, so they can't just sit back and confidently wait for this "social experiment" to fail on its own. They have to piss in everyone else's pancakes.

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I really think the problem is they don't understand who "people like them" actually are.

White men are not in danger of becoming irrelevant. Comics about white men are not in danger of disappearing. If you assume the comics market is a zero-sum game (and all publishing markets are, to a certain extent, although there's a fair amount of elasticity there), they may someday see a lower percentage of comics focusing on white men; but the well-written stories will survive, and survive easily.

What is becoming irrelevant is this notion that white men are the one and only important characters to write about, the only ones entitled to have adventures or to be heroes or to survive against all odds.

It's not white men who are becoming irrelevant. It's white men who want the rest of the world to also be white men, and possibly white women who are entirely subservient to them.

Oh, the host of imaginary things you'd have to be terrified of to feel like that. Poor snowflakes.

lizmonster said:

I really think the problem is they don't understand who "people like them" actually are.

White men are not in danger of becoming irrelevant. Comics about white men are not in danger of disappearing. If you assume the comics market is a zero-sum game (and all publishing markets are, to a certain extent, although there's a fair amount of elasticity there), they may someday see a lower percentage of comics focusing on white men; but the well-written stories will survive, and survive easily.

What is becoming irrelevant is this notion that white men are the one and only important characters to write about, the only ones entitled to have adventures or to be heroes or to survive against all odds.

It's not white men who are becoming irrelevant. It's white men who want the rest of the world to also be white men, and possibly white women who are entirely subservient to them.

Oh, the host of imaginary things you'd have to be terrified of to feel like that. Poor snowflakes.

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I think they also dislike that the comics that are still centered on white male characters have given the nod to people who aren't, as support characters at least. It's not so much that white, male characters are disappearing, but that ones who think like these guys are disappearing or that characters with bigoted attitudes are being challenged more in the narratives.

I am guessing that the acknowledgment that people who aren't heterosexual, cisgendered, males of European heritage exist as something other than villains or something to mock (or objectify, in the case of women) is deeply offensive to these guys. Their favorite toy is being taken away. I think the leadership of these movements are deeply racist, sexist and cis and heteronormative (or blatantly homophobic and transphobic) people. They're angry that their white, straight boys' club has been invaded by "inferior" beings.

They're whipping up followers who aren't as virulent, perhaps, as they are, by convincing them that their favorite heroes and media are in danger of extinction or that their favorite scapegoat, political correctness, is leading industry magnates to hire inferior talent at the expense of the deserving. It's vital to them to believe (or to convince others) that the status quo--domination of our culture by white, straight, cisgendered males--reflects a meritocracy.

My main takeaway from GG, the puppies, and this charming next chapter, is how much these parties always feel the burning sense that they're the ones being wronged and transgressed against, and when cornered always fall back on "Well they brought politics into it, not us!" as an excuse for whatever behavior they deem acceptable. Also, been watching a lot more Youtube channels lately, and starting to understand better how these ideas are gaining ground. (Srsly, young people!?)

Roxxsmom said:

It's vital to them to believe (or to convince others) that the status quo--domination of our culture by white, straight, cisgendered males--reflects a meritocracy.

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But isn't that what meritocracies are!? :hasty sarcasm emoji for clarification:

Kjbartolotta said:

But isn't that what meritocracies are!? :hasty sarcasm emoji for clarification:

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The choice of the word "meritocracy" is deliberate, and is a distributed talking point.

This is an article about the GoogleBro and how That Individual has made this his mob's latest cause. Don't read if easily nauseated.

Day's going to keep throwing spaghetti at the wall, as long as he gets media coverage.

I love being othered by people being othered. Especially when we're all supposed to be one great big happy othered family.