Why I Think Giant Bomb Should Denounce #GamerGate?
I guess I never considered myself a member of the silent majority. But I def. have that role when it comes to our site. I'm that person who's been listening to the Jeff (and Ryan) since I was 15. I followed them from Gamespot to The Arrow Pointing Down, to Giant Bomb and back again. I've always been this weird mix of fervid yet quiet supporter.
To be honest, I've only even become a premium member in the last couple years (I blame my struggling Hollywood life). I don't post comments very often and rarely interact on the message boards. But I've always loved and supported Giant Bomb: Whether that's meant buying multiple t-shirts, watching every Quick Look and Breaking Brad, reading everything Patrick puts out, or listening to the podcast over and over again with its every release (yes, I too, still listen to the Ad version even though I'm premium).
I don't know why but Giant Bomb just speaks to me. It's a strange thing to say as a Black Gay man with a penchant for wearing heels. But...it gets me. I was originally introduced to the crew through Ryan. He was my guide through listening to him host The Hot Spot. It drew me in and it kept me coming back. There was something about their authenticity, the ridiculous breath of video game knowledge and how at the same time they never took themselves too seriously that I just connected with. And our community shares that ethos.
I can't think of many video game sites these days that can have pages long discussions about Destiny right beside a Trans member of the community asking for moving advice. Stuff like that reminds me why I always felt Giant Bomb is a special. It's not perfect but it constantly works to be better.
And I've never doubted that fact until...the horrible and vicious harassment that happened in our name earlier this summer. The critique that sprung from Jason and Dan's hiring and the ways in which alot of the gaming establishment has a certain look and perspective was a fair point. It was something I never even second guessed in Giant Bomb's case despite being a double minority myself. We all know how out of control things got and Jeff's letter was a great way to speak to it and give closure.
But that abuse and harassment is still happening and this time it's even worse then before. It seemingly has found endless fuel under the guise of #GamerGate. Let's be clear, GamerGate stopped being about ethics a long ago. It possibly never was. Whether you like it or not it is a hate and harassment campaign against women and other minorities.
These are people, not imaginary beasts, who do not want video games to change, they refuse to hear any sort of criticism and along the way spout homophobic, racist, and women hating garbage at anyone who doesn't agree with them. And while those people use places like 4chan and Reddit as their forts, they also use Gaming Sites. They can't use our site to stoke fires and engineer attacks thanks to Rorie and our fantastic moderators but we are still helping them...by being silent. Silence is a statement. It sounds crazy but not picking a side...is picking a side. And in the case of GamerGate because they are the ones with power and who are being catered to by publishers and corporate companies (See Intel) they can take silence as tacit permission that what they're doing is ok...its not.
This never hit me more then when I found out that the NoPat app I had heard about last year was still alive and well. If you don't know, NoPat is an app extension that censors out Patrick's content. It just recently received a 4 star review. It would have gotten a 5 but apparently Patrick's Alien: Isolation Review snuck through. I couldn't believe that these members of our community thought this was ok. You are allowed to have whatever feelings you want about Patrick, horror, hell even Aliens. But creating something like that even if you're allowed to is wrong.
The kind of mentality that would lead someone to create that is the same mentality that leads to attacking anyone who critiques our site or anyone who has something to say about games in general. In the real world, we treat people with basic decency and just because it's the internet doesn't mean we should exempt ourselves from acting like a human being. When you infringe on someone else's peace of mind, safety and basic right to exist (in real life and virtually), you're no longer one of the good guys.
But that alone wasn't what made me want to write this. It was coming across a sort of post-mortem by Brendon Keogh looking at the weeks that followed the rise of GamerGate and Leigh Alexander's Gamasutra piece, 'Gamers' don't have to be your audience. 'Gamers' are over.' From what's become clear to everyone involved, Gamers, the kind that viciously attack anyone who disagrees with them, harasses women and can't stand any talk of diversity or criticism in video games is most certainly not over. In the appropriately titled, Gamers are undead, Brendon talks about how, as opposed to mainstream sites, many of the "core games journalism" outlets have been silent for fear of angering and alienating what has become part of their status qou. They are afraid to go beyond making a conciliatory argument for both sides instead of stating unequivocally how harmful and exclusive GamerGate is and urging people to distance themselves.
At least that was true until yesterday when Kotaku's Editor-In-Chief, Stephen Totilo, detailed the death threats and doxxing attacks on games developer, Brianna Wu, in his story entitled Another Woman In Gaming Flees Home Following Death Threats. Stephen writes how with this latest attack by #GamerGate shows that it no longer stands for investigating games/games media ethics but has become a banner and a platform for women to be targeted and attacked. But what makes this story noteworthy is that he goes on to state that Kotaku as an outlet condemns the moniker and rejects what it represent.
I think Giant Bomb should follow their example. I want Giant Bomb to continue to grow, become bigger and continuing changing the way we talk about video games. That means being inclusive not exclusive. It's a legacy that brought me to the site so many years ago. One great way for us to continue that legacy is by denouncing a movement that clearly doesn't want the industry, let alone our site do that.
Giant Bomb should make a statement whether in a staff editorial or a feature talking about AND denouncing GamerGate and its continued attacks on women in the video game industry. They should go on to state their support for the same kind of diversity that GamerGate seeks to stifle.
Now, I know what some people are going to say...well Patrick already has. I love me some Patrick. Patrick is my everything but Patrick Klepek is only 1 of the 6 editors that make Giant Bomb great. I think it's unfair for him to have the sole role of being that voice. More importantly, he cannot and should not speak for the entire site. And while, I know both Alex and Brad have stated their opinions and Jeff as well in his awesome speech at PAX...there's still something to be said about Giant Bomb as an outlet we do not support this.
Finally, here's the part where you say that you don't care about that kind of stuff or better yet you don't think it's Giant Bomb's place. To the former, I would say...that's cool. Move on to the next article or video. But I know for me, I would care. I would care immensely and I think it would mean the world to alot of other people especially women who visit or could visit our site. It would also mean something to the people who are being harassed right now. Men and women who are thinking of not even going into video games because they feel like they won't belong or will be attacked for trying to make the industry more inclusive. It's a sign of solidarity that video games and people who love them can be so much more.
To the last point of whether or not you think it's Giant Bomb's place that depends on why you come to this site. Personally, if I just want game releases, news, and development updates, I can go to a 100 other sites. I come to Giant Bomb not just because of the editors and our awesome community but because it breaks the mold, dances to a beat of its own path and is a leader in not just the press but in the way the industry thinks and talks about games. Now is the time for some of that leadership.
