Squirmer wrote on Sep 10, 2014, 03:19:
In fairness, I do think the situation would be helped by more acknowledgement and understanding of why a lot of men feel they are being personally accused. (Also applies to gamergate.)
I think this acknowledgement needs to happen as well. However, let's be honest about how a lot of these issues are addressed: it's never about moderately bringing these things out and singling out these circumstances.
Oftentimes there are broad strokes used to paint it as a "rape culture", in which case it means that anyone who isn't actively decrying it is part of it. It's the exact trigger mechanism that all those gaming websites used with the "gamer is dead" assassination attempt.
The thing is, if I read a piece that broadly labels men in certain workplaces as "potential rapists" or "rape apologists" or "rape enablers" because I'm not actively on the side of a specific group, it then makes me feel as if I'm being labeled.
It also gives the impression to everyone else out there that those who aren't "in the group" are "against the group". This is exactly what we're seeing with the #GamerGate thing.
Worse yet is that it begins to influence people outside of that field, medium or subculture.
Someone who doesn't regularly play hardcore games came away from watching a series of Anita's videos on Tropes Vs Women and basically just wanted to argue down that games perpetuate "rape culture" and the industry was a dangerous and misogynistic place for women.
Now a lot of the people who take on the above viewpoint have issues of their own, but consider that these kind of videos and propaganda are creating this kind of result from people who don't know any better. It then means that people like myself either have to try to explain/defend that it isn't "either/or" or just stay silent to avoid being labeled as an enabler for "rape culture", which is mostly what happened to anyone who didn't agree with the notion that "gamers are dead".