Cranky T-Rex's Blog

Right about now most of America is trying to figure out what just happened because against all odds, Donald Trump is going to be the next President.  While I didn't think he'd win in the end, I don't wonder why or how he did, nor do I need to join the myriad of people trying to explain it.  I already did that way back in August of 2015 both here on my blog and over at HotAir . It's been a long couple years in that regard. I've spent an inordinate amount of time arguing with people who are wrong on the Internet.  I spent even more time trying to convince people of the importance of things like #GamerGate, which we now just watched play itself out all over again in the form of a national election. (Unsurprisingly, most of the people who seemed to really get what was happening with Trump are the same people who followed the happenings of #GamerGate.) And as much as I would love to just spend a whole post gloating, I think the real question worth talking a...

Sometimes the hero is the one you least expect... Their goals and their demands vary. Their movement requires almost nothing of its members to join, and so their diversity of both personalities and physical traits is astounding. They're also the last people one might expect to get into a culture war. "They" are the supporters of #GamerGate, and they have been confounding people for almost a half a year now. Even after all that time, it's still a Herculean task to convince people of the significance of #GamerGate, with all "the happenings" as the gamers would call them making it nigh-impossible to wrap it up in a neat little bow for people to understand (though I did take a stab at that .) Those who do take an interest are often stymied by the chaotic nature of a leaderless Internet subculture. David Pakman , for example, spent many of his initial interviews grappling with the notion that a movement with such a low barrier to entry can simultaneously ...

HERE’S #GAMERGATE IN 5 EASY BITES OCTOBER 20, 2014   C. T. REX   5 COMMENTS Many people have noticed the #GamerGate hashtag floating around but still don’t know what it’s all about, so I’m going to try and distill it down to the very basics. 1. What is #GamerGate? #GamerGate is the hashtag around which video game consumers have rallied to: Demand an end to unethical behavior, corruption, and overt politicization in the video game industry, particularly among video game journalists Boycott outlets that have attacked gamers with accusations of misogyny and sexism in response to the above demand Share research  on and evidence of corruption in the industry Support websites/causes that support gamers and inclusivity in the industry Support each other against accusations of misogyny, racism, homophobia, etc. While the tag was coined by Adam Baldwin to reflect the Watergate scandal, it has since become synonymous with a gaming cons...