Maybe they seized on one dude being pissed at his ex and making some accusations as a catalyst, and I’m certain well meaning folks got caught up in something they weren’t fully aware of, but that’s sort of the point with this kind of op. No one approaches you online and says “do you want to attack feminist game developers and entertainment journalists as the opening salvo in a culture war that will install fascism in the west?”
Even if it was co-opted, it was co-opted very early on and that doesn’t change what it was for most of its miserable time as part of the public consciousness or the damage it did.
So was I.
Maybe they seized on one dude being pissed at his ex and making some accusations as a catalyst, and I’m certain well meaning folks got caught up in something they weren’t fully aware of, but that’s sort of the point with this kind of op. No one approaches you online and says “do you want to attack feminist game developers and entertainment journalists as the opening salvo in a culture war that will install fascism in the west?”
Even if it was co-opted, it was co-opted very early on and that doesn’t change what it was for most of its miserable time as part of the public consciousness or the damage it did.