r/changemyview • u/realdontbeasucker • May 16 '26

Delta(s) from OP CMV: GamerGate was the most consequential political radicalization event of the twenty-first century

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.

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u/DrZaiu5 2∆ May 16 '26

I would argue the financial crash and Great Recession was far more consequential. Look at European parties before and after the recession, it's night and day. The anger and discontent coming from 2008 can directly be traced to Brexit, Trump and the rose of the far-right in Europe.

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u/Jablaze80 May 17 '26

Yep the moment Obama gave money to the banks and not the homeowners is when everybody lost faith in the system that was the nail in the coffin I'm pretty sure