It’s been roughly ten months since GamerGate was birthed to this world by a pathetic man lashing out at his ex in a tedious, hateful blog, and sadly – oh god, so much sadness – it’s still A Thing. It may have fewer members than before, but that has just made the core that remains denser, more concentrated, more loathsome.
This week’s target is Anne Wheaton, wife of former Star Trek actor (and all-round polymath and geek hero) Wil Wheaton. Her crime? After going to the Calgary Expo earlier this month she wrote a blog post talking about how much she enjoyed it, and how touched she was by people telling her that they’d found her writing to be a source of comfort in bad times. Oh, and she briefly mentioned that there were some “angry and unhappy people” there who were looking to be “hurtful and harmful”, but that it was OK, because the convention organisers “handled the situation immediately” and everything turned out great.
Turns out, those “angry and unhappy people” really are angry and unhappy – she was referring to Honey Badger Radio, a GamerGate-affiliated men’s rights activism group who were planning to run a stall at the expo, sell some merchandise and put forward their views at some of the discussion panels. However, since they didn’t actually apply for exhibitor/vendor status – plus a bunch of other stuff, below – they were in violation of the expo’s rules, and were subsequently expelled on the second day. Click over to The Mary Sue or to Comics Alliance for comprehensive breakdowns of what happened and why, but the short version is: it made some people angry.
Wheaton’s blog post, then, attracted some of these angry people:
I know I am a good person and I do what I can to make a positive difference in the world. For days, I have been attacked by terrible people.
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) April 22, 2015
For every angry, hateful, and/or disrespectful tweet I receive from a GamerGate person, I am donating $1 to @femfreq. I’m already up to $67.
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) April 22, 2015
Feminist Frequency is, of course, the feminist media criticism website founded and run by Anita Sarkeesian, one of GamerGate’s most ancient and venerable enemies. Supporting her – especially financially – is brave, and should be applauded:
Funny how quiet it just got.
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) April 22, 2015
The attacks on me were because of @Calgaryexpo and what I wrote on my blog. With no response from me, they’re now including @wilw in this.
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) April 22, 2015
We’re several hundreds of dollars in on donating to @femfreq on behalf of the online angry trolls. And thanks to those matching donations!
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) April 22, 2015
It’s safe to assume I’ve hit the $1,000 mark to donate to @femfreq. I’m adding $1,000 to @RAINN01 and $1,000 to @ACLU. Good prevails!
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) April 22, 2015
When attempts at insults go so beyond off the rails, you can’t help but laugh at the stupidity. pic.twitter.com/1zTvRBX5NF
— Anne Wheaton (@AnneWheaton) April 23, 2015
Unfortunately, not everyone can handle being this defiant. It’s incumbent on the rest of us – especially those of us who know we aren’t the main targets of GamerGate – to support those who do come under fire, and to promote and share exactly the games, writing and creativity that this hate group so passionately fights against.
Someday, this bullshit must end.
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