I was never a right winger or a big 4chan troll, but I remember getting annoyed about people complaining about the E3 marketing for the Tomb Raider reboot and how it was being sold as torture porn and how some people found her moaning a little creepy. I had been a fan of Giant Bomb for a while and they had started bringing these issues up on the podcast and me being an asshole, I went on Jeff Gerstmann's formspring(R.I.P.) to complain to him, saying stuff like "people are being too sensitive" and "it's just a video game".
Jeff actually responded by telling me something like "if you still don't understand why it's important to talk about this stuff or why women feel so poorly represented in games, then you're a FUCKING IDIOT." I don't remember the exact quote, but the FUCKING IDIOT was seared into my brain that day. I deeply admired Jeff and here he was seriously calling me a FUCKING IDIOT. It was all text, but I could still hear it in his voice and the disgust he had for me. I turned over a new leaf that day, I started listening more to women and PoC and I slowly became a more empathetic, progressive person.
Two years later, Gamergate happens and I find myself in crippling depression over all of it, especially since Zoe Quinn had become an awesome friend to Giant Bomb. I'm getting banned on a daily basis trying to ward off the Gamergate presence in Giant Bomb's community and I'm begging the guys on twitter to say more. So, basically, if not for Jeff, there's a chance that I might have become one of those people I now deeply, deeply despise.
Jeff actually responded by telling me something like "if you still don't understand why it's important to talk about this stuff or why women feel so poorly represented in games, then you're a FUCKING IDIOT." I don't remember the exact quote, but the FUCKING IDIOT was seared into my brain that day. I deeply admired Jeff and here he was seriously calling me a FUCKING IDIOT. It was all text, but I could still hear it in his voice and the disgust he had for me. I turned over a new leaf that day, I started listening more to women and PoC and I slowly became a more empathetic, progressive person.
Two years later, Gamergate happens and I find myself in crippling depression over all of it, especially since Zoe Quinn had become an awesome friend to Giant Bomb. I'm getting banned on a daily basis trying to ward off the Gamergate presence in Giant Bomb's community and I'm begging the guys on twitter to say more. So, basically, if not for Jeff, there's a chance that I might have become one of those people I now deeply, deeply despise.