I don't blog often, but every once in a while, something really burns me up. Today is one of those days.
This morning started out pretty much like any other. I got up, my husband and I commiserated on not feeling 100% (which we haven't for about a week now), we played some games, he did a YouTube video with me commenting in the background, we had sex, and then he got on Twitter to see if anything interesting had happened overnight.
So far, it sounds like any couple's normal day, right? Get ready for the swerve.
While on Twitter, my husband saw a statement he disagreed with, specifically, that "loyal and honest is not something you could say about western wives any more". He then, as he usually does, tried to engage the other individual on why he felt that way, using our relationship as an example of a couple who is capable of being 100% honest in everything we do. (For further example, he not only knows I'm writing this, he encouraged it.) The other individual involved, whom I only know by his Twitter handle of "eb4l3" then proceeded to tell my husband that I was going to eventually betray and leave him. For clarification to those who want to see the links below, my husband is Blind Ryan (@Rkade8583).
I want to make something very clear here: I do not know "eb4l3" at all. I don't know his real name, I don't know anything about him except that he has apparently been hurt at some point by his own wife leaving him. I don't even have a bloody Twitter account, so I had no part in ANY of the discussion that followed, except to sit there stunned with what my husband was reading to me.
After telling my husband that I was destined to betray and leave him (and for the record, if I ever do either of those things I'll happily take my own life, thanks), he then proceeded to get angry enough about my husband's reasonable view that people don't change without some warning signs to wish for someone to murder me.
Let me repeat that really quick, because I think it's pretty important: A man whom I've never met, have had no contact with, and whom I don't know in any way wished for my death because he disagreed with something my husband and I both believe.
And not only did he wish for my death, he wished for it six separate times, links below.
This raises a few questions to me:
What kind of mental state is a person in, that they would wish death on a total stranger that until that morning, they didn't even know existed?
What kind of a person is so broken that they wish death on others because they meet a person online who disagrees with something they have to say?
What kind of person can so unequivocally say that someone they've never met or spoken to deserves to die?
What kind of person can wish the death of a spouse on a man that they're disagreeing with, just in the hopes that it "teaches them a lesson"?
For the record, I want to tell people what kind of person I am, mostly because I know my husband is going to link this posting to the original people involved so they can see my thoughts on this whole mess.
I am a very happy woman, who has the love of my life as my partner. He's more than my husband to me, he's my best friend, my most staunch supporter, and quite honestly, he keeps me balanced mentally, physically, and in my responsibilities. I also happen to be the eldest daughter of three children, and I adore both of my younger siblings to the point that I would gladly die to keep anything bad from happening to either of them, even though the logical part of me knows I can't prevent everything bad from touching either one. I have two loving, still happily married parents, which is an unusual treasure in this day and age, who both want only happiness for me. I have a supportive extended family of aunts and uncles, some of whom are related only in name, but still love me as much as if we were the same blood. And I have a tight group of friends who try to encourage me to try things that I am sometimes afraid to, due to stress from when I was a teenager, before any of them met me.
Let's see, offhand that makes a total of about 20 people that this "eb4l3" just wished pain and misery on, by wishing for my death. Half of those are men, whom this person claims to stand up for and want to defend the rights of.
So, I ask everyone out there: What exactly have I done to deserve the death that has been wished on me? I wasn't involved in the original discussion. I didn't say word one to the guy in question. I didn't ask my husband to tell him anything for me. All I did was exist.
If that is enough of a reason to deserve death, then don't we all deserve death?
Oh, and to cap it all off, "eb4l3" then told my disabled husband to kill himself as well, so I guess that answers my above question. (Link 7)
Links 1 - 6
https://archive.is/5qX9p
https://archive.is/i7253
https://archive.is/raB7f
https://archive.is/hbcSi
https://archive.is/uq4WX
https://archive.is/r21Rd
Link 7
https://archive.is/IJB2j
Saturday, May 9, 2015
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Writing, Talking, or Doing
When I woke up very early this morning, I was surprised with a link to an article, followed by the words "Have fun" from my husband. What I read in that link was a shocking diatribe against people with whom the author, one Geordie Tait, has a serious disagreement in personal beliefs. I'll make no secret of it, the author dislikes people who are currently in support of GamerGate and want gaming journalism to be more ethical. That in itself isn't the issue at hand here, everyone has the right to agree or disagree with whatever they wish, so long as they don't actively attempt to silence the other side.
The issue I have here is that this writer actively wishes for people to be gassed to death or thrown into volcanoes. Many of these people, I'm guessing, have read his articles in the past, perhaps even enjoyed them, and he's wishing some of the most horrible ends to their existence possible upon them.
I've made no secret from the date of starting this blog that I am in support of GamerGate. And I personally find the things that this writer has said to be reprehensible, but not because he disagrees with my position. It is because I personally find the idea of wishing death upon large masses of people to be abhorrent.
A writer's lifeblood is their interactions with people of all stripes. Disagreeing with someone on any issue, whether political, social, personal, religious, or otherwise, is the very best foundation for good writing. The more points of view that a writer can be exposed to, the more accurately they can represent real people in their writing, no matter if they write fiction or non-fiction.
Do I like everyone I've met in my lifetime? Absolutely not. However, my interactions with people I don't even like help me write more convincing short stories, as I find the best revenge to be in turning those people into my villains or minor antagonists. Do I wish death upon them? Never! I want there to be more people in the world who disagree with me, because they give me so much more material for my writing then those who agree with me. People who agree with me are fun to spend extended time with, but they don't give me much creative inspiration because I already know what they are going to say, think, or do in any given situation.
There is one thing that I can say I agree with Mr. Tait on. The direct quote from the second of his postings (which I will link below) is as follows: "We have to stop f****** talking about irrelevant s*** and DO SOMETHING". Now he ends it with "to help these women", but it is the first part of the statement that I want to address. Spending endless hours online, writing short story length treatises on Facebook is not doing something. Even my sitting here writing this blog isn't truly doing something.
My husband decided to do something. He began a Steam group called Gamers Enabled. Their goal is to help disabled gamers find games that they can play and also to help game developers consider small, simple mechanics that can be added to their games to make them more inclusive towards people with disabilities. Even I've done something in a small way towards helping this group by writing out their goals and ethics policies at his request. While writers are in an odd category of people who work while sitting down, I believe there's more that I can do too. So, in that spirit, I'm getting off the Internet today, and gonna go help the husband test some games for accessibility.
Long Live the Free Internet
Links: *WARNING* The language in the first to is quite shocking, due to the violence that it promotes and the ignorance of prior events in history that Mr. Tait compares the current situation to.
http://archive.today/W2kyB
https://archive.today/Ucwch#selection-959.1-959.71
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/gamersenabled#
The issue I have here is that this writer actively wishes for people to be gassed to death or thrown into volcanoes. Many of these people, I'm guessing, have read his articles in the past, perhaps even enjoyed them, and he's wishing some of the most horrible ends to their existence possible upon them.
I've made no secret from the date of starting this blog that I am in support of GamerGate. And I personally find the things that this writer has said to be reprehensible, but not because he disagrees with my position. It is because I personally find the idea of wishing death upon large masses of people to be abhorrent.
A writer's lifeblood is their interactions with people of all stripes. Disagreeing with someone on any issue, whether political, social, personal, religious, or otherwise, is the very best foundation for good writing. The more points of view that a writer can be exposed to, the more accurately they can represent real people in their writing, no matter if they write fiction or non-fiction.
Do I like everyone I've met in my lifetime? Absolutely not. However, my interactions with people I don't even like help me write more convincing short stories, as I find the best revenge to be in turning those people into my villains or minor antagonists. Do I wish death upon them? Never! I want there to be more people in the world who disagree with me, because they give me so much more material for my writing then those who agree with me. People who agree with me are fun to spend extended time with, but they don't give me much creative inspiration because I already know what they are going to say, think, or do in any given situation.
There is one thing that I can say I agree with Mr. Tait on. The direct quote from the second of his postings (which I will link below) is as follows: "We have to stop f****** talking about irrelevant s*** and DO SOMETHING". Now he ends it with "to help these women", but it is the first part of the statement that I want to address. Spending endless hours online, writing short story length treatises on Facebook is not doing something. Even my sitting here writing this blog isn't truly doing something.
My husband decided to do something. He began a Steam group called Gamers Enabled. Their goal is to help disabled gamers find games that they can play and also to help game developers consider small, simple mechanics that can be added to their games to make them more inclusive towards people with disabilities. Even I've done something in a small way towards helping this group by writing out their goals and ethics policies at his request. While writers are in an odd category of people who work while sitting down, I believe there's more that I can do too. So, in that spirit, I'm getting off the Internet today, and gonna go help the husband test some games for accessibility.
Long Live the Free Internet
Links: *WARNING* The language in the first to is quite shocking, due to the violence that it promotes and the ignorance of prior events in history that Mr. Tait compares the current situation to.
http://archive.today/W2kyB
https://archive.today/Ucwch#selection-959.1-959.71
http://steamcommunity.com/groups/gamersenabled#
Thursday, October 30, 2014
From the Mouths of... Wait, was that who I think it was?
As the few of you who read this may have noticed, I've been away from the blog for a while. My other half and I noticed that we were having a little trouble being sucked in to the group-think mindset that the Internet occasionally causes, and we needed to step away for a bit.
That said, I saw something that made me want to write again. Anita Sarkeesian, a self-proclaimed gamer and feminist, actually made one good point during her time on the Colbert Report, however, I don't believe it was the point she intended.
Upon being asked if those of us who play video games should just let the princess die, this was Anita's response: "Well, maybe the princess shouldn't be a damsel, and she could save herself."
Now, I love video games, and as a hobby or a career, I think the hero saving the princess is a fine trope to use. It's one that we're familiar with, as most people have been told fairy tales from a young age and watched the traditional "Disney princess" style of movies again and again as children. And I have no argument with its use in games. That's a great place for it, and that's precisely where it does belong. Even little girls, as they grow up and get new interests, can enjoy a video game where they're playing the "hero" and saving the princess.
However, her statement can be used in the real world, to describe people like me. You see, I used to identify as a feminist, until I realized what a divisive term that actually is. Why should I champion the rights of women, when in the deepest part of my beliefs is the platform that ALL people are equal, and should have the same chances at anything they do?
Apply her statement, then, to the modern feminists out there like her. Apply it to feminists who advocate harassing others, or doxing people who aren't as violent in their beliefs, or even just say that women who don't agree with feminists are brainwashed or stupid.
Why is it ok for the princess to save herself, but it's not ok for the modern woman to speak for herself? Why does the modern woman have to allow feminists to speak for her? Is that not the same as the princess waiting to be rescued by someone else? I believe it is.
Let's see that quote in a slightly different way: "Well, maybe the woman shouldn't need the feminist, so she could speak for herself,"
Will all women speak up if the feminists who abuse the term are shouted down? No, of course not, just as right now there are feminists out there who are not abusive towards men or towards those they are genuinely trying to help. However, the more we get away from this "men vs. women" mentality, the sooner we, as people and as humanity, can work towards an equal future for all of us.
I will say this in closing: I am a strong woman. I am an equalist. And I can speak for myself.
Long live the Free Internet
That said, I saw something that made me want to write again. Anita Sarkeesian, a self-proclaimed gamer and feminist, actually made one good point during her time on the Colbert Report, however, I don't believe it was the point she intended.
Upon being asked if those of us who play video games should just let the princess die, this was Anita's response: "Well, maybe the princess shouldn't be a damsel, and she could save herself."
Now, I love video games, and as a hobby or a career, I think the hero saving the princess is a fine trope to use. It's one that we're familiar with, as most people have been told fairy tales from a young age and watched the traditional "Disney princess" style of movies again and again as children. And I have no argument with its use in games. That's a great place for it, and that's precisely where it does belong. Even little girls, as they grow up and get new interests, can enjoy a video game where they're playing the "hero" and saving the princess.
However, her statement can be used in the real world, to describe people like me. You see, I used to identify as a feminist, until I realized what a divisive term that actually is. Why should I champion the rights of women, when in the deepest part of my beliefs is the platform that ALL people are equal, and should have the same chances at anything they do?
Apply her statement, then, to the modern feminists out there like her. Apply it to feminists who advocate harassing others, or doxing people who aren't as violent in their beliefs, or even just say that women who don't agree with feminists are brainwashed or stupid.
Why is it ok for the princess to save herself, but it's not ok for the modern woman to speak for herself? Why does the modern woman have to allow feminists to speak for her? Is that not the same as the princess waiting to be rescued by someone else? I believe it is.
Let's see that quote in a slightly different way: "Well, maybe the woman shouldn't need the feminist, so she could speak for herself,"
Will all women speak up if the feminists who abuse the term are shouted down? No, of course not, just as right now there are feminists out there who are not abusive towards men or towards those they are genuinely trying to help. However, the more we get away from this "men vs. women" mentality, the sooner we, as people and as humanity, can work towards an equal future for all of us.
I will say this in closing: I am a strong woman. I am an equalist. And I can speak for myself.
Long live the Free Internet
Thursday, September 18, 2014
The Unthinkable
Today, I saw something that I had firmly believed would never happen in my lifetime.
4chan is, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Does it still exist? Yes, in a sense. However, the community of it is gone, exiled by their own mods. 4chan used to be the meeting place for anons who wanted to express themselves freely on a variety of subjects. That has been shut down today, by their own mods, in the words of one Moot, aka Christopher Poole.
Unfortunately, I was unable to screencap the post before the thread 404'd, however, I do have the link to an image which shows the toxic attitudes of the current mods of 4chan. The image was kindly provided by a former mod who chose to remain anonymous, and wisely so.
https://i.4cdn.org/pol/1411049389055.png
What does this mean? It means that the one ideal I hold, the one thing I want to cling to more than any other cause is more in danger of dying than ever. If 4chan, the previously unassailable bastion of true Internet freedom can be shut down by narrow minded people only interested in their agenda, what hope can the rest of us have? Twitter is already a battleground between people who just desire to make their cause "The Cause" of all and those who disagree completely or even just want to stay out of it. How soon before individual blogs come under scrutiny?
What can we do when those who are supposed to safeguard the freedoms we'd so long depended on turn their backs on us?
I don't have any answers. I hope someone else out there does.
Long live the free Internet
Edit: I managed to find an image of Poole's post, and will add it as soon as I can get it hosted online.
4chan is, for all intents and purposes, dead.
Does it still exist? Yes, in a sense. However, the community of it is gone, exiled by their own mods. 4chan used to be the meeting place for anons who wanted to express themselves freely on a variety of subjects. That has been shut down today, by their own mods, in the words of one Moot, aka Christopher Poole.
Unfortunately, I was unable to screencap the post before the thread 404'd, however, I do have the link to an image which shows the toxic attitudes of the current mods of 4chan. The image was kindly provided by a former mod who chose to remain anonymous, and wisely so.
https://i.4cdn.org/pol/1411049389055.png
What does this mean? It means that the one ideal I hold, the one thing I want to cling to more than any other cause is more in danger of dying than ever. If 4chan, the previously unassailable bastion of true Internet freedom can be shut down by narrow minded people only interested in their agenda, what hope can the rest of us have? Twitter is already a battleground between people who just desire to make their cause "The Cause" of all and those who disagree completely or even just want to stay out of it. How soon before individual blogs come under scrutiny?
What can we do when those who are supposed to safeguard the freedoms we'd so long depended on turn their backs on us?
I don't have any answers. I hope someone else out there does.
Long live the free Internet
Edit: I managed to find an image of Poole's post, and will add it as soon as I can get it hosted online.
The Death of the Free Internet
Net Neutrality. Most people probably don’t even know what that means… I mean meant, now that it’s gone. What it meant is that anyone using the Internet could find any page in existence as fast as your Internet package would let you. It didn’t matter if it was a page made by the kid down the street or by a major news site, you got all of the Internet at the same speed.
Say goodbye to that now. Never mind the fact that Internet Neutrality was taken away from us against the will of the people (who overwhelmingly told their politicians we did not want it to change). In fact, the will of the people was so overwhelming that the politicians in Washington realized how bad this idea was, and rightfully let it die! But it never ends there. No, the FCC decided that we didn’t know what we were talking about, and they changed the laws to allow companies to pay more in order to have their webpages load faster.
What’s this mean for the average Joe? Oh, nothing much… but those of you who use Etsy as a side business are probably going to go out of business. The only way Esty will be able to keep up is if they pay more to get the higher speeds for their site… but they’ll have to make up those costs somewhere, and their best bet will be to charge the artists, crafters, and designers currently using those sites to make a bit of money. Video gamers are going to be out of luck too. Like paying $15 a month to play WoW? Get ready to see that amount of money to double, possibly triple, as Blizzard will likely pass some of their added costs on to us.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming the companies who are going to have to start charging us just to keep a reasonable loading speed going. No, I’m blaming the FCC, who pushed this idiocy through against the will of the people. We spoke. We overwhelmingly told them: “We don’t want this.” Hell, WE CRASHED THEIR WEBSITE BECAUSE WE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE SAYING THIS WAS BAD!
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-fcc-website-net-neutrality-20140715-story.html
So, how did this manage to go through anyway? Because the FCC is an organization with too much power. It is a group of officials that were appointed to their positions without consulting the people. We didn’t want them. WE DON’T NEED THEM. They were assigned to provide “moral guidance” to TV and radio, and now they’re going after the Internet, an entity that they are too old and out of touch to understand. And the politicians currently in power are misguidedly allowing them to try pushing these things through, because, forgive my saying it, they’re too old and out of touch with the majority of the citizens to understand the way the world is going. They’ve been in their jobs in Washington for so long that if you asked them what a .gif was, they’d probably ask if you left the “t” off of the word “gift”.
More importantly, I’m blaming the FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler. After all, he has a CLEAR conflict of interest in this case, as he was the CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. He’s also known for lobbying in favour of his own business interests. And while I can admit that most people are unable to be 100% neutral when working for something that they’ve been in business doing, at the very least, they need to be able to dial their self-interests back in favour of the greatest good for the most people. Tom Wheeler is unable to do this, and so he’s unfit for his position and should be forced down if he can’t do his job with the least amount of bias possible.
When are the people of this country going to demand that their elected officials start representing us? Well, that’s a great idea, except our elected officials, in this one case, DID represent us. They let SOPA die, because the will of the people was strong enough to reach them. That’s why the FCC is running with it now - because they didn’t know how to take the hint. And right now, all the FCC represents is their own selfish interests, and the Internet is merely the latest casualty.
We’re already told what we cannot say, how we’re allowed to behave, what we’re allowed to hear on the radio or see on TV. Don’t let them tell us what we’re allowed to look for on the Internet as well. If this is important to you at all, do your research. Find out where to voice your displeasure, and let the FCC and our government know that we don’t want to lose Net Neutrality. The Internet was the last bastion of true freedom in the United States. At the very least, don’t let it’s current form slip away without a decent fight.
Long live the Free Internet
Say goodbye to that now. Never mind the fact that Internet Neutrality was taken away from us against the will of the people (who overwhelmingly told their politicians we did not want it to change). In fact, the will of the people was so overwhelming that the politicians in Washington realized how bad this idea was, and rightfully let it die! But it never ends there. No, the FCC decided that we didn’t know what we were talking about, and they changed the laws to allow companies to pay more in order to have their webpages load faster.
What’s this mean for the average Joe? Oh, nothing much… but those of you who use Etsy as a side business are probably going to go out of business. The only way Esty will be able to keep up is if they pay more to get the higher speeds for their site… but they’ll have to make up those costs somewhere, and their best bet will be to charge the artists, crafters, and designers currently using those sites to make a bit of money. Video gamers are going to be out of luck too. Like paying $15 a month to play WoW? Get ready to see that amount of money to double, possibly triple, as Blizzard will likely pass some of their added costs on to us.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not blaming the companies who are going to have to start charging us just to keep a reasonable loading speed going. No, I’m blaming the FCC, who pushed this idiocy through against the will of the people. We spoke. We overwhelmingly told them: “We don’t want this.” Hell, WE CRASHED THEIR WEBSITE BECAUSE WE HAD SO MANY PEOPLE SAYING THIS WAS BAD!
http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-fcc-website-net-neutrality-20140715-story.html
So, how did this manage to go through anyway? Because the FCC is an organization with too much power. It is a group of officials that were appointed to their positions without consulting the people. We didn’t want them. WE DON’T NEED THEM. They were assigned to provide “moral guidance” to TV and radio, and now they’re going after the Internet, an entity that they are too old and out of touch to understand. And the politicians currently in power are misguidedly allowing them to try pushing these things through, because, forgive my saying it, they’re too old and out of touch with the majority of the citizens to understand the way the world is going. They’ve been in their jobs in Washington for so long that if you asked them what a .gif was, they’d probably ask if you left the “t” off of the word “gift”.
More importantly, I’m blaming the FCC chairman, Tom Wheeler. After all, he has a CLEAR conflict of interest in this case, as he was the CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association. He’s also known for lobbying in favour of his own business interests. And while I can admit that most people are unable to be 100% neutral when working for something that they’ve been in business doing, at the very least, they need to be able to dial their self-interests back in favour of the greatest good for the most people. Tom Wheeler is unable to do this, and so he’s unfit for his position and should be forced down if he can’t do his job with the least amount of bias possible.
When are the people of this country going to demand that their elected officials start representing us? Well, that’s a great idea, except our elected officials, in this one case, DID represent us. They let SOPA die, because the will of the people was strong enough to reach them. That’s why the FCC is running with it now - because they didn’t know how to take the hint. And right now, all the FCC represents is their own selfish interests, and the Internet is merely the latest casualty.
We’re already told what we cannot say, how we’re allowed to behave, what we’re allowed to hear on the radio or see on TV. Don’t let them tell us what we’re allowed to look for on the Internet as well. If this is important to you at all, do your research. Find out where to voice your displeasure, and let the FCC and our government know that we don’t want to lose Net Neutrality. The Internet was the last bastion of true freedom in the United States. At the very least, don’t let it’s current form slip away without a decent fight.
Long live the Free Internet
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Fake Feminists and Video Gaming
Well, today I had my not-so-perfect world intruded upon by someone I had quite happily forgotten about. Namely, a female video game developer who had a bit of a scandal a month or so ago, and then faded into obscurity... or so I thought. And before you ask, no. Even though we all know who I'm talking about, I'm not using that to troll for views, so I'm not going to name the person in my blog. Needless to say, having this person show back up on my radar after a month of happily forgetting she existed irritates me. It irritated me to the point of doing something I've strenuously avoided: It made me make a blog.
Let me make one thing abundantly clear: This post is not to make judgments on anything this person has been accused of, nor is it to defend her from those who have been accused of threatening her. The only judgment I'll make on that issue at all is that I find it idiotic to threaten anyone on the Internet. Best case scenario, the people making threats never follow through and it goes away. Worse case, the people making threats get arrested, even if they never actually intended to go through with it. Worst case, completely innocent people are mistaken for those making threats and innocent lives are ruined. Be smart, don't make idle threats, especially someplace where they'll live forever.
Now, the part that upsets me the most is that this person claims to be a feminist. Here's the actual definition of that word:
Feminist - adjective, sometimes "feministic"
1. advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.
Feminist - noun
2. an advocate of such rights
You see, I am what was once called a feminist, in the truest sense of the word. I firmly believe that women need to be afforded equal opportunities in any business, field of study, or career that they choose. However, I believe that feminists like the girl I mentioned above are actually harming feminism rather than helping it, and here's why: they're skipping the most important step.
What is that step, you ask? It is the part where we, as women, have to work for it.
Look at the careers that women have successfully broken into so far. Medical practice, the law, banking, and many others. All of these careers have something in common where women entering them was concerned. Women had to work twice as hard to earn the respect of their male colleagues. And, while I will be the first to admit that things are not perfectly equal yet, we've come a long way. It's been a very long time since I've heard anyone say a doctor can't be good because they're a woman, or that women can't take care of finances.
This is what's missing in the video games industry. Instead of working hard and avoiding the kind of drama that the person above-mentioned has brought to the forefront, many pseudo-feminists are demanding respect for female game developers before we've actually earned it. Don't take me wrong, there are some exceptional women in the games industry, such as Carol Shaw (the first female games programmer), Anne Westfall (Archon), and the ladies who work with WomenGamers.com. However, many of these modern "feminist" gamer women just don't seem to understand that respect in any field cannot just be given, it must be earned. I, for example, know absolutely nothing about programming, and if I tried to demand respect as a programmer, my friends (both male and female) would rightly laugh their asses off at me. And I would deserve that mocking!
Part of the problem with the way feminists are trying to gain advances in other careers is the methods many of them use. Instead of working with the rules that are already in place, they instead have the rules changed so that it's easier to get women into careers. And honestly, sometimes those careers are the kind that we really should stay out of, merely because of the inescapable physical differences between us and men. Female firefighters come to mind here as the easiest example: How is it helpful to lower the lifting weight requirements just to allow women onto your squad? Not only does lowering that requirement endanger all the squad members if something goes wrong, but also that trapped, 500-pound shut-in isn't going to magically lose 200 pounds just because a woman happens to be the one assigned to rescue them from the burning building.
Thankfully, the video games industry doesn't have those kinds of physical limitations. So ladies, please, if you want to be a video game developer, programmer, or publisher, use those tools that are exactly the same between us and men. Use your intellect and intelligence to make better games than men do. Use your compassion and creativity to tell better stories. Use your ambition and drive to work for your goal. Above all, don't let anyone, male or female, tell you that you won't make it unless we change the rules for you. Screw that and screw them, make those rules work for you!
Here's looking forward to an all new generation of women in gaming, hopefully women who will break their way onto the scenes with true integrity.
Long live the Free Internet.
Let me make one thing abundantly clear: This post is not to make judgments on anything this person has been accused of, nor is it to defend her from those who have been accused of threatening her. The only judgment I'll make on that issue at all is that I find it idiotic to threaten anyone on the Internet. Best case scenario, the people making threats never follow through and it goes away. Worse case, the people making threats get arrested, even if they never actually intended to go through with it. Worst case, completely innocent people are mistaken for those making threats and innocent lives are ruined. Be smart, don't make idle threats, especially someplace where they'll live forever.
Now, the part that upsets me the most is that this person claims to be a feminist. Here's the actual definition of that word:
Feminist - adjective, sometimes "feministic"
1. advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.
Feminist - noun
2. an advocate of such rights
You see, I am what was once called a feminist, in the truest sense of the word. I firmly believe that women need to be afforded equal opportunities in any business, field of study, or career that they choose. However, I believe that feminists like the girl I mentioned above are actually harming feminism rather than helping it, and here's why: they're skipping the most important step.
What is that step, you ask? It is the part where we, as women, have to work for it.
Look at the careers that women have successfully broken into so far. Medical practice, the law, banking, and many others. All of these careers have something in common where women entering them was concerned. Women had to work twice as hard to earn the respect of their male colleagues. And, while I will be the first to admit that things are not perfectly equal yet, we've come a long way. It's been a very long time since I've heard anyone say a doctor can't be good because they're a woman, or that women can't take care of finances.
This is what's missing in the video games industry. Instead of working hard and avoiding the kind of drama that the person above-mentioned has brought to the forefront, many pseudo-feminists are demanding respect for female game developers before we've actually earned it. Don't take me wrong, there are some exceptional women in the games industry, such as Carol Shaw (the first female games programmer), Anne Westfall (Archon), and the ladies who work with WomenGamers.com. However, many of these modern "feminist" gamer women just don't seem to understand that respect in any field cannot just be given, it must be earned. I, for example, know absolutely nothing about programming, and if I tried to demand respect as a programmer, my friends (both male and female) would rightly laugh their asses off at me. And I would deserve that mocking!
Part of the problem with the way feminists are trying to gain advances in other careers is the methods many of them use. Instead of working with the rules that are already in place, they instead have the rules changed so that it's easier to get women into careers. And honestly, sometimes those careers are the kind that we really should stay out of, merely because of the inescapable physical differences between us and men. Female firefighters come to mind here as the easiest example: How is it helpful to lower the lifting weight requirements just to allow women onto your squad? Not only does lowering that requirement endanger all the squad members if something goes wrong, but also that trapped, 500-pound shut-in isn't going to magically lose 200 pounds just because a woman happens to be the one assigned to rescue them from the burning building.
Thankfully, the video games industry doesn't have those kinds of physical limitations. So ladies, please, if you want to be a video game developer, programmer, or publisher, use those tools that are exactly the same between us and men. Use your intellect and intelligence to make better games than men do. Use your compassion and creativity to tell better stories. Use your ambition and drive to work for your goal. Above all, don't let anyone, male or female, tell you that you won't make it unless we change the rules for you. Screw that and screw them, make those rules work for you!
Here's looking forward to an all new generation of women in gaming, hopefully women who will break their way onto the scenes with true integrity.
Long live the Free Internet.
Introduction - New Readers Look Here First
Hi, I'm Lerina. And before you ask, I'll be upfront: No, that is not my real name. I enjoy my real life privacy too much to involve my real name in my online life. Also, since some of my opinions and beliefs are likely to annoy certain groups of people who delight in getting revenge on those that oppose them, I didn't want to give them any type of real information to work with about me. I'm sure the groups I mentioned there will become apparent VERY quickly.
Other than that though, everything I say is nothing but what I honestly think or believe. I'm a writer, a woman, and a frustrated individual with a lot of intelligence. I like video games, gaming in general (including old-school D&D style), music, and books. This blog is just going to be an easy way for me to let random thoughts fall out of my head whenever they get to be too much to keep in.
I'd also like to use this little blog as an experiment in Internet freedom: All comments will be welcomed, provided there is no flaming. (Defined here as attacking the person, rather than the topic.)
I don't believe in censorship. So I'm not going to censor my language, and I won't ask you to censor yours. Should the worst happen, and someone needs to be banned because they don't stop getting personal with others here, their comments will NOT be deleted. And the only reason I'll ask you to watch yourselves in any image posts is that I don't want to deal with the legal fallout from someone posting something that could get people arrested. Cops give me a headache.
I'm hoping that this little blog can someday evolve into a full-fledged website with a forum to better promote these discussions.
Until then, for the few of you who find my little blog, I hope you enjoy yourselves.
Long live the Free Internet.
Other than that though, everything I say is nothing but what I honestly think or believe. I'm a writer, a woman, and a frustrated individual with a lot of intelligence. I like video games, gaming in general (including old-school D&D style), music, and books. This blog is just going to be an easy way for me to let random thoughts fall out of my head whenever they get to be too much to keep in.
I'd also like to use this little blog as an experiment in Internet freedom: All comments will be welcomed, provided there is no flaming. (Defined here as attacking the person, rather than the topic.)
I don't believe in censorship. So I'm not going to censor my language, and I won't ask you to censor yours. Should the worst happen, and someone needs to be banned because they don't stop getting personal with others here, their comments will NOT be deleted. And the only reason I'll ask you to watch yourselves in any image posts is that I don't want to deal with the legal fallout from someone posting something that could get people arrested. Cops give me a headache.
I'm hoping that this little blog can someday evolve into a full-fledged website with a forum to better promote these discussions.
Until then, for the few of you who find my little blog, I hope you enjoy yourselves.
Long live the Free Internet.
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