Tropes Vs Women - Damsels in Distress

Anita Sarkeesian's Youtube video Damsel in Distress: Part 1 - Tropes vs Women in Video Games has been viewed 2.27 million times. The central theme of the video is how portrayals of damsels in distress is "pernicious" and harmful to women, because it strips them of their power. This video is the product of flawed reasoning and a damaged psyche, and for these reasons, comments are disabled. A viewer cannot even vote 'like' or 'dislike' on any of her videos.

Sarkeesian claims that the damsel construct "disempowers female characters and robs them of the chance to be heroes in their own right." The narrative focus is on the male character, but the female character is not 'disempowered,' rather she becomes the inspiration for the quest, literally breathing life into the story.

Sarkeesian does acknowledge that this plot device is ancient, by relating the tale of Perseus. Another classic story employing this synecdoche is Homer's Odyssey. According to Wiki, "The poem [Odyssey] is fundamental to the modern Western canon and is the second oldest extant work of Western literature, the Iliad being the oldest." In addition, "many scholars believe that the original poem was composed in an oral tradition."

These are stories that are as old as Western Civilization, and fit comfortably within the linear heroic narrative that most video games employ. Even the very first video game console was called the Magnavox Odyssey.

Perhaps what most bothers Sarkeesian is human nature itself. When a woman becomes pregnant, she becomes imprisoned by her pregnancy. To employ a common idiom, a girl who gets pregnant is often said to be "in trouble." Thus the damsel in distress is not just a quick plot device, it is part of feminine nature.

Sarkeesian went back to 1980's video games to bolster her rhetoric, but she completely ignored some very popular titles produced since then, that fully empower female characters. Perfect Dark, released in 2000, sold more than 3.2 million copies, and had several spinoffs. Tomb Raider has sold more than 42 million units, and inspired ten iterations and two major motion pictures. And today's RPG's all feature the option of selecting a male or female protagonist.

Maybe Sarkeesian should produce a Youtube video complaining about the damsel device in major motion pictures. Movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, and Star Wars are continually made and deliver the highest grosses. They get rebooted constantly, because it is easier than coming up with new ideas, and nobody with any credibility calls them "regressive crap."

Anita Sarkeesian, Welfare Queen

Wikipedia defines welfare queen as a pejorative phrase used in the United States to refer to people, usually women, who are accused of collecting excessive welfare payments through fraud or manipulation. I wouldn't describe Anita's efforts as fraud, but they are certainly manipulative. Since her organization, Feminist Frequency, is a 501(c)3 non profit charity, she can draw a salary and pay employees out of donations.

And all those donations are tax exempt, thanks to the tax code.

I'm not faulting Sarkeesian here, only noting that she is responding to incentives. Just like the mythical welfare queen who isn't legally married, yet keeps popping out kids, because it pays well. Sarkeesian keeps popping out videos, because they pay well. They pay well because the government considers her organization educational, and worthy of tax subsidies.

Somebody once said it you want less of something, tax it, and if you want more of something, subsidize it. Therefore, Feminist Frequency videos complaining about sexist LEGO toys and misogynist video games will never end.

All of this 'spending through the tax code' creates distortions in the economy. Every single one should be torn down and done away with. The mortgage tax deduction mostly benefits upper-income taxpayers and owners of multiple properties. I'm in favor of encouraging deductions for charitable spending, but outside of the tax code. And the deduction for health insurance purchases by corporations is how we got Obamacare in the first place.

Feminist Frequency can say whatever they want to say. What they do is protected speech. Same goes for Planned Parenthood and their 501(c)3, Planned Parenthood Action Fund. They can say whatever they want, but please don't tell me it's not political. They have been saying for years that the "personal is political." The modes of production for FemFreq and PPAF are similar. They both produce abortions. Let them pay their own way.

The Gift That Keeps Giving

Feminism, also know as conviction of female supremacy, and its dogma, is openly misandrist. If feminism were purely concerned with equality of opportunity regardless of gender, then it would be called egalitarianism.

Much of current feminism can be dismissed as an affectation of youth. A college student who has been exposed to new information may feel that they have got it all figured out. Yet they remain in a sheltered bubble, insulated from the demands of the real world. A lot of youthful affectations fade away when people take on responsibilities.

I attempt to approach feminist screeds with a light heart. At the same time, they do produce and reinforce a sense of wariness. For example, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is one of those in favor of affirmative consent laws going nationwide. These 'only yes means yes' guidelines are in place at California colleges, and hold that an "individual commits sexual assault if he or she does not receive explicit prior consent for each sexual act committed with another person."

Now consider this hostility toward men masquerading as comedy. It's called the basic bitch gift guide. The word 'bitch' is the feminist equivalent of the "N" word. It's okay if they use it, but do not dare to do so if you are an outsider.

The video shows three young women in Santa hats giggling while they advise what kinds of gifts to give a bitch, like a "mani-pedi from her favorite salon." While the video rolls, a message in large block letters flashes on the screen, like "men's interests are often stupid," and "men denied loans." The first seems a playful acknowledgement that men often view women's interests with bewilderment. The second is a reference to the past, in which women were prevented from experiencing independent economic opportunities.

The messages continue to devolve, with one demanding "keep colleges women-only," "no male judges," "all men denied healthcare," "women are the new majority," and "Jesus died for women's rights." Some are just plain silly, like "men only used for sex," but they lose comedy points at the end with the request for "all men kept in cages in 2015."

This is clearly intended to be funny, with some trolling, but I have never found feminist scolds to be all that funny. Maybe because the joke is supposed to be on me (Kli Tik askes "is your girlfriend, friend, sister or mother a basic "b" ? And Christmas is just around the corner?? Let us help you find her the perfect gift, you man, you!"). Enjoy your spinster-hood, hags. In twenty years, the type of gifts that people will be buying for you will probably be cat-related.

The Fevered Dreams of Zoe Quinn

The #Gamergate story getting a lot of traction recently is the 11-page novella pulled from Amazon, entitled "Roughed Up By #GamerGape." This has been described as a thinly-veiled rape fantasy about Zoe Quinn.

The Overwatch has credulously reported that this novella proves #Gamergate's misogyny, even though it was #Gamergate supporters that reported the book as being in violation of Amazon's TOS, and helped to get it pulled. Radfem site Jezebel reported that Quinn found the book on Amazon this morning herself.

Found it herself, did she? I will go so far as to hypothesize that she probably wrote, or more likely commissioned it, herself. It arose from her borderline personality disorder, with only the names changed to protect the misogynists.

I can't find a copy of the novella, so I have to make inferences from the blurb. First, the blurb describes her as a "controversial video game designer." Only Quinn and her champions would describe her in this way. Depression Quest is not a video game. It is a text adventure that no one would ever consider entertainment.

"...when her latest game offends the nation..." Depression Quest certainly has the potential to offend the nation.

"...five men unleash their pent up anger on poor Zada." Five men, five men, now where have I heard that before? Were their names Xanthan Gayson, Knobbin Areuanut, Boshua Joggs, Christian Grey, and a guy just named NPC #1? Why not title it, Fifty Shades of Zoe Quinn?

The phrase, "pent up anger," is the tell. I see that phrase time and time again used by the anti-#Gamergate Overwatch. It is pure projection. And yet another false flag.

Let me guess, Zada is about to release a new "game," and goes over to Boshua's house to have his friends help her beta-test the thing. The "game," called Eternal Sunshine of the Pimply-Faced Gamer, is plagued by crashes, invisible walls, slow load times and crappy AI. Even Mountain Dew can't keep the boys awake. Suddenly, Knobbin finds a rapey easter egg, and everyone dog-piles "poor Zada." It's a pure bodice-ripper.

Does Regret Nullify Consent?

I have been following the moral panic over sexual assault at San Diego State very closely. Events there are a mirror of those at the University of Virginia in the wake of the Rolling Stone Magazine Great Rape Hoax. Both universities have suspended fraternity events indefinitely.

Campus Police at SDSU have reported that there have been seventeen sexual assaults involving students since the beginning of 2014, and thirteen just this semester. They further report that "six of those reported assaults occurred at fraternities." A correction at the bottom of the page states that, "...an earlier version of this story, based on information from SDSU police, said the assault occurred at the Theta Chi House. Police later said that was in error."

A correction like that is enough for anyone to question the veracity of the entire story, especially the startling number of reported sexual assaults. If there really were seventeen sexual assaults, and six at fraternities, why have there been no arrests? Why haven't any fraternities been kicked off campus, or had their charters revoked?

The lone case that did produce an arrest may be falling apart. Francisco Paiva Sousa was arrested on suspicion of forced oral copulation and false imprisonment on December 9. He was supposed to be arraigned yesterday, but his case has been removed from the court calendar, and "remained under review."

I wasn't at the house where the sexual contact occurred, so I don't know what happened. All I can do is speculate. The police have interviewed people at the party, and Sousa, and the unidentified woman. I believe that the charges will be quietly dropped, because witnesses told police that the woman went willing to the room with Sousa, and the false imprisonment charge is bogus.

I'm going to further speculate that there is enough testimony from bystanders or the participants themselves that the sex act was mutually consensual. Maybe she didn't want him to ejaculate in her mouth, but he did, and using her mouth as a semen receptacle is what she is really complaining about.

Even if the charges are dropped, Sousa's reputation has been irreparably harmed by this accusation. There were people on social media expressing glee in his arrest, with student Joana Alex saying, "A lot of people are saying they're excited he's going to jail. They're saying karma's going to come." Very telling that what they want isn't justice, or due process. I would recommend that the Title IX coordinators at universities stop telling students that regret equals rape. Sexual discrimination lawsuits cut both ways, and if the university acts on Sousa absent a criminal charge, I will happily contribute to his legal defense.

Tropes VS Women - Women As Background Decoration

Deconstructing Women as Background Decoration: Part 2 - Tropes vs Women in Video Games. First of all, I will readily concede a major point of hers, in that depictions of violence toward women can be upsetting to some people. These people should not purchase such a game. If they buy it by mistake, they should request a refund or exchange.

"In the game of Patriarchy, women are not the opposing team, they're actually the ball." Actually, they're the trophy.

"These women are brought on stage for the express purpose of being victimized in front of the player." It's also called atmosphere, a recurring theme that enhances and drives the storyline.

In Red Dead Redemption, "players are treated to randomly triggered events, in which female prostitutes are assaulted and murdered by johns...players are presented with a choice to either intervene and save the woman for a small cash reward, or simply watch the attack play out in front of them as part of the entertainment."

The character in Red Dead Redemption is a classic anti-hero. This trope is common to the western, in which the main character lacks conventional heroic attributes like morality. The anti-hero archetype is very common in video games, whether the setting is the old west, or today's equivalent, the naked city. Also, characterizing the assault as entertainment is a stretch.

"If the player sticks around long enough, or leaves and re-enters the same location, the scene will eventually repeat itself again and again, very much like the animatronic vignettes in the Pirates Of The Caribbean ride at Disneyland." Funny you should mention that. Pirates Of The Caribbean was Walt's favorite ride, and will always be mine. There used to be three animatronic scenes of pirates chasing wenches in continuous circles. Two were changed, and now depict women with brooms, chasing the men. The other one was changed, and now the wench is carrying a platter of food. Thanks, feminists!

"Sexual and domestic violence is at epidemic levels in the real world. One out of five women in the United States will be raped in their lifetimes." The F.B.I. helpfully provides statistics, which are nowhere near that number. They reported that "the rate of forcible rapes in 2012 was estimated at 52.9 per 100,000 female inhabitants." Using that number, I calculate one out of twenty-five will be, in a lifetime that has eighty years. Still too many, but nowhere near her fabricated number.

Video game violence against women, "reinforces a popular misconception about gendered violence by framing it as something abnormal...in reality, however, violence against women, and sexual violence in particular, is a common, everyday occurrence, often perpetrated by normal men." In other words, all men are rapists, and all are suspect. Anita has evidently spent much time reading radfem scholars like Catharine MacKinnon, who wrote, "In a patriarchal society all heterosexual intercourse is rape because women, as a group, are not strong enough to give meaningful consent."

"The pattern of utilizing women as background decoration works to reinforce the myth that women are naturally fated to be objectified, vulnerable and perpetually victimized by male violence." In your opinion. In my opinion, it's a fantasy, wish fulfillment, entertainment. It's fun because it's not real. I also like to play around in fantasy worlds that are infested by zombies. That doesn't mean that a world in which zombies actually gambol is inevitable, or even desirable.

The False Flag

"All warfare Is based on deception." Sun Tzu

When a progressive realizes that their arguments are weak, they fall back on coercion. A recurring tactic of the left is the false flag operation. The name derives from a recognized naval tactic, in which a vessel which flies a friendly color in order to lure an adversary to lower their guard and come into combat range.

The false flag is exclusively a tactic of the cultural left. This is because the primary leftist agenda is the will to power. The false flag enables a person of a protected class to cry victim! in order to rally the champions of the oppressed to their side.

A perfect example of the false flag operation occurred here in San Diego a few years ago. Musical artist Jiggaboo Jones held a "Compton Cookout" DVD release party near the campus of U.C. San Diego. The party gently mocked the sensibilities of those celebrating "Black History Month." The invitation included helpful instructions for those, including white people, who wanted to be 'ghetto.' One tip for the ladies read, "ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes."

Once the promotional materials were obtained by the media, they were released without explaining the context, and the outrage machine went into high gear. Black students and their champions conducted protests. But apparently there wasn't enough indignation generated, so an enterprising student conducted a false flag operation, placing a noose inside the U.C.S.D. library. There were calls to declare the noose placement and the Compton Cookout hate crimes.

The only problem with this narrative? The student who placed the noose was later determined to be a minority. In today's world, the more you claim to be oppressed, the higher your status in the hierarchy of victimhood and martyrdom. Therefore there is a real incentive to this behavior; it is always reinforced by the champions of the oppressed.

In the hierarchy of the oppressed, there is probably no higher status than transgender. This is a class of people who willingly mutilate themselves in the belief that they were born the wrong gender. People like Brianna Wu. Encyclopedia Dramatica has a brilliant summary of Wu. There is enough abnormal psychology in a person like Wu that one must come to the conclusion that any serious harassment of her is false flag.

Trust Women?

Sabrina Rubin Erdely's fable about an alleged gang rape at University of Virginia has been exposed for the lie that it has always been. Feminist activists' main concern about this fraud, is that it may make it harder for the accounts of real victims to be believed, and thus fewer rape victims will come forward. And for this reason, we should exclude this gigantic counterfeit from the discussion about a 'rape culture?'

Should we also exclude the account of the Fallbrook woman who falsely claimed that she was raped at knifepoint while pushing a stroller? She should have been charged with filing a false police report.

Should we exclude the story of Brian Banks, who spent more than five years in prison, for a rape he didn't commit? His accuser, Wanetta Gibson, won a $750,000 settlement from the Long Beach Unified School District, claiming the school was unsafe. When Banks was released, Gibson was never charged criminally, but was ordered to pay $2.6 million.

Radfem site jezebel is among those hand-wringing about the blow-back of Erdley's scam. Blogger Tracie Egan Morrissey wondered "why would someone lie about being sexually assaulted? What could be gained from that?" Nothing, really.

Perhaps elevated status in the progressive stack, if nothing else. There is literally noone who has the moral authority to argue with a rape victim.

We demand credible rape victims because rape is unique among crimes. It is comparable to murder, in that something central to a woman's identity is taken away, her honor and security. When there has been a murder, there is usually a dead body that offers forensic evidence of the crime. In the case of rape, the veracity of the woman, her word, might be the foundation of the complaint.

The definition of rape has been expanded to include all sorts of unwanted sexual contact. If a woman is intoxicated, she cannot consent to sex; this is now considered rape. If the intoxicant is alcohol, it is impossible to determine a level of intoxication, after the fact. In this scenario, a victims's fidelity to the truth is critical to building a case.

There is also a category of rape now called, 'spousal rape.' I cannot imagine another scenario where the integrity of the victim's account is more important. The reason we must demand rape victims be completely truthful is because they alone bear the burden of rape, and the burden of proof.

All Lives Matter

Smith College President Kathleen McCartney caused great offense when she sent out an email stating, "All Lives Matter." Students were outraged because they inferred in that statement her indifference to the "anti-blackness of this current situation."

Kathleen McCartney, welcome to the progressive stack. The progressive stack is a "technique designed to ensure that people from marginalized groups get a chance to speak," according to Wikipedia.

The stack has been on display during the widespread rioting that followed the No True Bill decision in Ferguson, Missouri. A demonstration held in Toronto, by "Black Lives Matter, produced a helpful pamphlet aimed at non-black participants. Among their suggestions were that whites should "refrain from speaking to the media," and to "stand behind black folks or between us and the police."

McCartney was compelled to apologize for not using the phrase, "Black Lives Matter," in her email, which supported current protests. Her primary failure was not recognizing that the right to speak is in descending order of marginalization. Had she been black and transgender, this wouldn't even have been a story.

I think that the slogan "Black Lives Matter" would be an excellent appropriation for the Pro-Life Movement.

PETA Pats Itself On The Back

Sea World announced today that they were going to lay off more than three hundred people. Yesterday, C.E.O. Jim Atchison resigned. It must be terrible to get a pink slip at Christmastime.

But Daryl Hannah could give a fuck about a poor Sea World employee. She tweeted today, "awesome!!! -the power of information & cinema - after @blackfishmovie sea world spirals down." What a selfish, spiteful person.

For the record, I don't like that Orcas are kept in captivity, and offered a dismal habitat. We are stewards of nature, and the Orca is a noble creature that deserves better. But there are better ways to do things. You can work behind the scenes, quietly, and still effect change.

Someone with a net worth of a quarter of a billion dollars has more money than anyone could ever spend. There must be some emptiness in her soul if she needs to peddle vodka and derives glee from the destruction of a publicly-held corporation that spends millions on research.

Fuck Off, PETA. And fuck off Kathy Najimy, Steve Roggenbuck, Jordyne Runkel, and all the others morally preening on the #Emptythetanks hashtag. I live in San Diego. I like Sea World, and I support them with my dollars. For three hundred and eleven Sea World employees, all they got for Christmas is coal in their stocking, from people like Daryl Hannah, that have only coal in their hearts for them.

Dianne Feinstein Commemorates The Holocaust

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein is one of the most powerful women in the world. She is the Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. This committee has oversight and budgetary control over our country's security apparatus, including the CIA, NSA, FBI, Department of State and Department of Energy. In one month, she will no longer be Chair, and her influence will be on the wane.

She has decided to give comfort to our enemies on her way out the door. The interests of the Democratic Party, the Blame America First crowd, have come before our national security interests. Yesterday, she released a report entitled, "Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency's Detention and Interrogation Program." Only nobody calls it that. Those in the legacy media have only and will only refer to this document as the "Torture Report."

To accept that definition, one has to believe that waterboarding is torture, and sleep deprivation is torture. This is a point which is debatable. I'm of the belief that torture involves physical pain and /or mutilation, and that simulating drowning would be in the category of frightening and extremely unpleasant. Our nation employs waterboarding in SERE training, so there is doubt about whether it is even excessively traumatizing.

The dinosaurs of old media are credulous of the report's central theme, that these techniques yielded no actionable intelligence. This interpretation is strongly challenged by, among others, former CIA Directors George J. Tenet, Porter J. Goss and Michael V. Hayden.

A major argument against enhanced interrogation has been that it is a corruption of our "values." A nation that has been destroyed may have had noble ideals, but it abdicated its primary moral obligation: survival. The original adherents of the Geneva Conventions for nations at war could not conceive that one day, a single individual might possess information that would threaten millions of lives.

Senator Feinstein, who should know better, deserves special scorn for comparing the Shoah or Holocaust to CIA's interrogation procedures. "History will judge us by our commitment to a just society governed by law and the willingness to face an ugly truth and say, never again," she said.

Never again should the Honorable Senator be in a position to slander our intelligence community.

What Would It Take To Get You Into This Clown Car, Today?

Women keep coming forward to allege that Bill Cosby raped them. It's like the tiny clown car that improbably keeps disgorging clowns. I have empathy for them, but I don't understand why they are coming forward now, decades after the criminal statute of limitations has expired.

Even the statute of limitations for most civil litigation has passed. Nevertheless, champion of wounded women Gloria Allred has been retained to clang on her cowbell for justice. A few days ago she made Cosby an offer. He could voluntarily waive the statute of limitations, or set aside $100 million in a fund for his accusers. The money would be disbursed by judges who would determine the veracity of the womens' claims.

Allred realizes that Cosby could instead do absolutely nothing.

The LAPD Chief is apparently very sympathetic and is open to investigating Cosby. He told a press conference, "We don't turn people away because things are out of statute. You come to us, especially with a sexual allegation, we will work with you."

"We will work with you?" That is something that a car salesman says to get you into a new Buick. No Credit? No Problem! It kind of reminds me of that "Saturday Night Live" sketch featuring First CityWide Change Bank. How could the department possibly justify allocating scarce resources to investigating forty-year-old rape claims?

If feminism is all about declaring female agency, it would behoove women to come forward immediately when they believe they have been violated. Because sometimes even Gloria Allred can't fix it.

Radical Environmentalists Strike Again

One of the major stories yesterday was the huge fire in Los Angeles. This fire destroyed an apartment building under construction. The conflagration was the size of a city block, and closed several major freeways downtown. Fire crews were staging equipment on the Harbor Freeway. The heat was intense enough to melt freeway signs.

This morning the story was updated, to include the fact that the fire is now being investigated as a possible criminal act. My first impression on seeing the report yesterday morning was, 'looks like E.L.F. is up to their same old bullshit.'

It was eleven years ago that the radical environmental whackos known as Earth Liberation Front torched a condominium project under construction in San Diego. They were so proud of their destructive act, they took responsibility, using banners saying, "If you build it, we will burn it." Terrorist groups really like to advertise their prowess, don't they? Just like Jihadi John televising his beheadings, they all want you to remember their name.

I predict this criminal act will be tied to E.L.F. or whatever its current iteration or inspiration calls itself. Perhaps we should also offer a citation to famous film director James Cameron, for his incitement of this behavior. The director of "Avatar," endorses violence as a legitimate way to reduce the imprint of people on the planet.

When "Avatar," was released, a reviewer asked Cameron what he thought of the idea that "Avatar is the perfect eco-terrorism recruiting tool."

Cameron replied, “Good, good. I like that one. I consider that a positive review. I believe in eco-terrorism."

No Rape To See Here

Censorship represents one version of intolerance of free speech. There is another, far more pernicious version, one that seeks to suppress thoughts themselves. For want of a better term, let's think of this as the embargo of information.

This embargo is selectively practiced by legacy media. Consider the intemperate remarks made by Elizabeth Lauten, who remarked that the First Family's daughters should, "Dress like [they] deserve respect, not a spot at a bar." Lauten was forced to resign from her position as communications director for U.S. Representative Stephen Fincher, a Republican back-bencher.

The outrage machine went into high gear, with detailed segments on the network newscasts, twitter shitstorms, news vans parked in front of Lauten's parents' house, even a cadre of investigators dispatched to scour her personal history. Yes, Virginia, there is a War On Women, and it is being waged by the progressives, always at the ready to dehumanize a member of the other tribe.

Elizabeth Lauten is guilty of the cardinal sin of hypocrisy. At least she isn't a rapist, right?

The rapist nobody ever heard of is Donny Ray Williams. As of today, a Google search of his name turns up fewer than 700,000 results, one-fifth as many as Lauten's. Legacy media does not want you to know his name as much as it wants you to know Lauten's. Lauten's transgression is used to taint the G.O.P. If the media were not suppressing Williams' heinous crimes, his behavior might taint the Democratic Party.

All Williams did, under color of authority (Staff Director, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee), was spike a woman's drink with Ambien, and rape her while she slept. He has pled guilty to, among other things, third-degree sexual assault.

Where is the manufactured outrage about 'toxic masculinity?' Have the forty-year old allegations about Bill Cosby sucked all the oxygen out of the discussion regarding rape committed by powerful men? The truth is that the media wants to protect Democrats, even if it means suppressing stories like that of Donny Ray Williams and his victims.

Censorship

Jonathon McIntosh, @radicalbytes, tweeted today: "A helpful list of things that are not censorship: criticism, boycotts, petitions, activist campaigns, civil disobedience, demanding change."

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) would beg to differ. The ACLU defines censorship as "the suppression of words, images, or ideas that are 'offensive,' [which] happens whenever some people succeed in imposing their personal political or moral values on others. Censorship can be carried out by the government as well as private pressure groups."

McIntosh's indifference to the truth is reminiscent of the acclaim from the gay mafia after forcing Brendan Eich's resignation from Mozilla for donating in favor of California's Proposition 8. Censorship, we were told, was only when the government illegally infringed on a person's freedom of speech. Mozilla, acting as a corporation, was free to censor, censure or fire Eich as it saw fit.

In the United States, this right of expression is protected by the First Amendment to the Consitution. Other countries may not have this explicit protection, but they acknowledge that this is a natural right. For example, New Zealand retailer The Warehouse Group has announced that they will stop selling all R18 games and DVD's. This will effectively remove Grand Theft Auto 5 from store shelves.

Target Australia has followed suit and banned just the one game. In the opinion of ThinkProgress, this was because the game promotes violence against women. This is factually untrue. The game portrays violence against women. Nevertheless, these corporations have the right to sell what they please. Indeed, it may be said that both Target Australia and Mozilla are exercising their right to political speech with their said actions. Mozilla's actions are analogous to the actions of the New York Times when they write an editorial, endorsing a political outcome. And both are protected speech just like that which is produced by Citizens United.

The corporations mentioned above also have the moral obligation to maximize shareholder value. Their ability to maximize shareholder value is impaired by the imposition on them of the morality of the social justice warriors. Forcing a retailer to submit to one's particular ideology is on much shakier moral ground. We have been advised by the sages to "let those who are without Sin cast the first stone."

Anita Sarkeesian, Feminist Memebot

The Queen Bee of The #Gamergate Overwatch is arguably Anita Sarkeesian. She is the only member of The Overwatch to make an appearance on "The Colbert Report." The way that I process Anita is to marvel at her as a triumph of operant conditioning. This is a type of learning in which an individual's behavior is modified by its antecedents and consequences. Anyone who has a dog knows how to teach and reinforce a desired behavior: reward it.

In Sarkeesian's case, when she runs her feminist programming, she receives gratification. This happens often enough to reinforce her behavior. At this point, her feminist memes are core beliefs. To take the memebot analogy a step further, feminist grievances are part of her firmware.

Sarkeesian's behavioral reinforcement takes two distinct forms: Rising status in the feminist hierarchy, and antagonism from white cissexual males in general and gamers specifically. For Anita, expressions of hostility toward her are a feature, not a bug. A BASIC diagram of her meme program looks something like this:

10 Document the most trivial female objectification in video games, declare it misogyny.
20 Document ensuing harassment from gamers, declare it proof of this misogyny.
30 GOTO 10

It is indeed ironic that her major media debut occurred on Colbert's program. Colbert is a faux conservative, a caricature of a patriotic, cissexual white male. By exaggerating conservative beliefs, he invites ridicule. In a way, Sarkeesian invites ridicule by becoming a caricature of a feminist. The main difference between them is Anita's absolute sincerity. By the way, it should be considered a tactical mistake to go on a television program that skews younger and male, and then insult them.

On Colbert's program, Anita is asked, what is #Gamergate. Is it about ethics in journalism? Apparently no one told Colbert that video game "journalism," is practiced exclusively by social justice warriors who despise gamers.

Anita said, with a straight face, "Ethics in journalism is not what's happening, in any way!" This was the truthiest thing she said during the interview.

Calrissian's Father

A loyal member of the Overwatch has got my attention. Sarah Jones, posting under the Twitter handle @onesarahjones, has had a tweet favorited almost six hundred times. It has been retweeted four hundred and twenty four times.

On November 30, she tweeted, "pretty sure a Venn diagram of Gamergate and the men upset over a black stormtrooper in Star Wars would just be one circle." It's a cute comment, but is anybody upset over a "black stormtrooper in Star Wars?" I would chalk this up to simple psychological projection and move on, but I thought the idea deserved some deconstruction.

I would be willing to bet cash money that the black stormtrooper is a red herring. The new Star Wars movie won't be released for another year. Until then, all us fanbois can do is speculate. What can we infer from the trailer? We observe a black man in a storm trooper uniform, without his helmet. He is apparently on Tatooine, because we see undulating desert sand in the background. There is a voiceover who intones about an "awakening," just as the man appears from the bottom of the screen, perhaps aroused from a sweaty, nightmarish slumber.

The expression on his face is fear.

The only time anyone in a stormtrooper uniform ever appeared without his helmet, was when Luke took his off to introduce himself to Leia at the threshold of her prison cell. Even when stormtroopers get raked with blaster fire, killing them, their uniforms stay intact. Real stormtroopers are never seen out of uniform.

Considering that Lando Calrissian and Mace Windu are the only black males to appear in the franchise, and both played valiants, there is little chance that this black man is a villain. That wouldn't comport with the social justice template at work in cinema today. The main villain in any movie must be a white cissexual male, and so it will be in Episode 7. Watch this space.

Thank You Mario!

I've noticed a certain frequency of the notion that #Gamergate should not be waged on the cultural front, that is, as just another engagement between cultural marxists and libertarians. These people argue that journalistic ethics should be the focus of #Gamergaters. There is certainly evidence of corruption in gaming journalism. Even the FTC has noticed, updating their FAQ to better inform consumers of undisclosed affiliate links.

There are many reasons that I am interested in #Gamergate. I have been playing video games for decades. I'm not a hard-core gamer, considering I haven't clicked "Play" in maybe two weeks. The medium has always fascinated me.

The video game angle set the hook for me, but it is being on the front of the culture war that has reeled me in. I strongly resent the attempt by feminists and their white knights to reform my space. Anita Sarkeesian claims that the "damsel in distress," trope in video games is pernicious. "Pernicious" is defined as harmful, especially in a subtle way.

So subtle that only a feminist can detect the level of harm. I don't think I would have even played "Super Mario Brothers" if Mario wasn't tasked with rescuing the princess. Thus begs the question of exactly who is being injured when I hop onto a mushroom and advance into yet another castle.

The Overwatch

One thing about #Gamergate that has always seemed kludgey to me, is how to refer to the social justice warriors who form the main body of attack against gamers. They are most often called "anti-Gamergate." This is unwieldy and non-descriptive.

I therefore propose the following nomenclature: The Overwatch. The Overwatch is the police force in the video game, Half Life 2. They are the shock troops, the enforcers. They do the bidding of their masters, The Combine, who have invaded earth and subjugated it. The Combine may be understood as the underlying progressive movement. The progressive movement is just marxist totalitarianism with a nice-sounding name.

#Gamergate, in its purest sense, is contention between people who love liberty against people who want to maximize equality. A nation of free persons, making individual decisions in their own best interests, terrifies The Combine.

The Combine spans multiple universes, just as marxism, or international communism, sprawls across many western nations. The Combine uses many methods to control humans, such as a suppression field that prevents procreation. The Combine desires to bring the human birth rate down to zero. This is evocative of the Malthusian environmental extremists who believe that humans are destroying the planet, and that there are about seven billion people too many already here.

Feminists and their white knights have major problems with male sexuality. Noted feminist Andrea Dworkin wrote in her book, "Intercourse," that "Intercourse is the pure, sterile, formal expression of men's contempt for women." A major tactic of our new Overwatch is the implementation of this suppression field, but just for male sexuality.

All Your Tears Are Belong To Us

Almost time to go to work, standing over marsala reductions and schlepping goat cheese calzones. I see stark reminders of the misandry at work in the #Gamergate Blue Team. The anti-#Gamergaters. For them, anyone on the #Gamergate side is a misogynist.

#Gamergate generates hundreds of tweets every hour. And visual proof that there is plenty of hate on the anti side.

How much shit would rain down on my head if I posted a picture of myself drinking from a mug labeled, "Black Tears." Considering the anguish that my fellow citizens feel about the No True Bill decision from Ferguson, plenty, and justly so.

Hey, @Triscuitable, shame on you.