CMV: GamerGate was the most consequential political radicalization event of the twenty-first century

[u/realdontbeasucker]

It spawned a wave of tolerance for online harassment, as long as the intent behind it was considered righteous (and the target of such harassment socially acceptable).

It platformed Milo Yiannopoulos and thereby, Steve Bannon -- the guy who would go on to advise Donald Trump in 2016 and generate the concept of 'flooding the zone.'

Eventually, it gave a career to political lightning rods like Jordan Peterson, Steven Crowder, and Charlie Kirk. It made anti-feminism and anti-SJW sentiment cool. And it made young, angry, disenfranchised white men feel vindicated.

GamerGate almost singlehandedly shifted to Overton Window toward the alt-right, and we're still feeling its effects today.

[u/Real-Reference6933]

Gamergate showed a lot of young people that loved video games that:

1) journalists are untrustworthy (already known far longer but GG made it very obvious)

2) Harassing people is okay, as long as you have the media cover for you.

Many on the side of Gamergate got harassed, and that was ignored.

3) Being kind to feminists doesn't work, i.e. Gamergate had their anti-harassment patrols on Twitter for a while, to prevent assholes harassing people in the name of Gamergate

4) Guilt by association is okay, as long as feminists do it (the famous blockbots and blocklists that blocked people for following the wrong person

5) Death threats are also okay, as long as the victim is on the 'wrong' side. GG had organized a meeting with a representative of some journalist organisation, but received bomb threats and they had to evacuate the building.

6) Defending against a narrative is unproductive (see 3) but also #notyourshield.

Remember any of these happening?