This site took off almost 3 years ago to the day. I had written one article about the then-new GamerGate conflagration. Someone read it and liked it so much that they decided to send me a treasure trove of dirt on Ms. Leigh Alexander. I used it all with glee turning her into the first major target of criticism for The RalphRetort.com. Milo Yiannopoulos picked it up, other picked it up, and the rest was history. But I continued to write about Alexander for years, focusing on her alcoholism among other things. I viciously lampooned that aspect of her life and turned it into a running joke.
Even then, I was an alcoholic myself. If it wasn’t for my unrestrained drinking, I would be writing this post from the comfort of my home, on my personal computer, rather than scratching it out with pen and paper in this shithole. Some people have cited these facts as evidence of my hypocrisy. How could I have turned someone into an object of ridicule over a problem that I had myself? And judging from where I’m located at the moment, I had it even worse.
I’ll tell you why I don’t see it that way. For one, I never claimed to be some moral authority. Quite the contrary, I’ve always made it quite clear that I’m not. I’m not trying to impose my personal political ideology onto an industry. I have preferences and ideas, sure. But I’m perfectly comfortable with progressives making video games and other entertainment. There’s no problem with them having blogs, YouTube videos, etc. I even consume those myself from time to time. The other side can’t say the same. They want to stamp sites like mine out, stifle dissent, control mass media, and new social media as well. They have all these goals while at the same time they preach about love, tolerance, and inclusion. SJW’s are the ones who aren’t logically consistent, not me.
If some of you will recall, it wasn’t just the drinking I went after Leigh for. She threatened people with blacklisting, threatened people with violence, and even made racist comments. Any one of these things would have seen an anti-SJW type run out of the gaming journalism industry on a rail. Ms. Alexander was thriving and her colleagues were dead silent. Using mockery to focus attention on the shortcomings of her (and others) was integral to bringing her down a notch. Oh, and this is something her side does all the time as well.
I guess I’ve just always been in the camp that supports unrestricted rhetorical warfare against adversaries. No violence, no calls for encouragement of violence. Just harsh critiques, mean nicknames, and good old-fashioned ridicule. Also, hold others to their claims of moral certitude while making claims on that score for yourself. Saying things are wrong is one thing. We all make judgments there. I just try to avoid acting like I’m better than my political opponents. Well, unless it’s Brianna Wu. Complete Psycho.
Anyway, have a drink for me, Leigh. In fact, make it a double.
