Cause? Meet effect.
So, a couple days ago a video games freelancer, Ryan Perez, said some things on Twitter about delightful geek super-goddess (said without irony or sarcasm, as I am indeed a fan) Felicia Day.
He said:
Does Felicia Day matter at all? I mean does she actually contribute anything useful to this industry, besides retaining a geek persona?
— Ryan Perez (@PissedOffRyno) June 30, 2012
And then:
@feliciaday, I keep seeing everywhere. Question: Do you matter at all? Do you even provide anything useful to gaming, besides “personality?” — Ryan Perez (@PissedOffRyno) June 30, 2012
And then:
@feliciaday, could you be considered nothing more than a glorified booth babe? You don’t seem to add anything creative to the medium.
— Ryan Perez (@PissedOffRyno) June 30, 2012
Worth noting: by this point, Ryan Perez had about… ohh, 50 followers. I don’t know much about the dude, but it seems he’s fairly new to games journalism, and was writing for the site Destructoid at the time.
One wonders if he were tweeting to the relative vacuum of those 50 followers only, he wouldn’t have violently overturned the dinner table on which his food was waiting — ahh, but he tweeted directly to Miss Day, and therein dumped a Gatorade bucket of his own waste over top his own fool head. Because his misogynistic, dismissive opinion of her (and, apparently, drunken) got a fabulously epic signal boost in the form of Wil Wheaton via Veronica Belmont. (Here we are given an image of a schlubby mortal man, sitting on a throne made of his own emptied Pabst Blue Ribbon cans, shouting incessant invective and surly epithets at not the Greek Gods above but rather, the Geek Gods, and lo and behold one of them heard and oh shit she has friends and now they’re gonna tear open your breastbone and breathe fire and awesomeness and d20s upon your stupid drunken dipshit heart. VOOOOOOOOSH.)
(Sidenote, I now want to see art depicting a pantheon of current Geek Gods. SOMEBODY DO THAT.)
Wil called out Ryan’s current employer — Destructoid — and Destructoid said, basically, “Hey, everyone, be cool,” and that was just pee on top of poop because no, really, people weren’t going to be cool.
And so began the slow motion boat crash of Ryan Perez’s freelance career. At least, in the short term. I can’t speak for what will happen to him in the long run, as I am not an oracle — sure, sure, I like to play with pigeon guts and goat bones but that’s purely recreational quit lookin’ at me. For all I know Fox News will swoop in and hire the guy (“You speak for us!”), but for now, what happened is that a freelance writer who, I suspect, didn’t have a whole lotta career behind him now may not have a whole lotta career ahead of him because social media can give very big ripples to one poorly-thrown pebble.
Destructoid fired him, of course.
Now, this has an imperfect mirror in a situation that unfolded a little while ago about a dude not in the video games industry but rather the pen-and-paper games industry where said dude made some link-bait, button-pushing commentary about how rape is a wonderful plot device and how it’s okay because women have rape fantasies and — well, whatever. Point is, he was then surprised that his link-bait took and the buttons he pushed were actually hooked up to something (like, say, The Internet), and when the rain of shit was just a drizzle he found no shelter and instead kept pushing buttons. The shit-rain fell harder and harder until a petition arose to get him canned from one of his publishers. At that point said game-writer dude dug his heels in even deeper and then made some comments about the very real rape-threats against the petition-writer that were ill-advised, and, lo and behold, he got canned from his publisher, oops.
There’s more to that story, just as there is and will be more to the Perez story, but that’s not the point of this post. The point of this post isn’t even, “Don’t be a jizz-bag,” or, “The gaming industry has a deep, deep problem with puerile ass-hearted butt-trolls treating women like second-class citizens at best and doe-eyed sex-objects at worst.” Those things are, of course, true.
But that’s not my point. I’ve made those points already. You know that stuff already.
No, here the point is, writers? You can steer your career into the rocks with shenanigans like this. Now, you may assume that I’m telling writers to — eep, watch what they say, button up that language, don’t rock the boat with your opinions, be soft and moist and colorless like a pre-chewed glob of cardboard, but believe me, that’s not what I’m suggesting. Look at me: I’ve been a freelance writer for close to a decade-and-a-half now, and I could probably write a blog post with nothing but the word COCK-WAFFLE written a thousand times, each time in an incrementally-larger font-size, and no one would fire me. I could and have offered opinions about religion and politics, about health care and food politics, and I remain un-shitcanned.
You may also assume I’m saying, “Don’t piss off your employers,” AKA, “Don’t poop into the hand that feeds you,” but that’s not exactly it, either. That’s part of it, yes, but the heart of what I’m saying is, you need to watch out for the audience. The audience is mighty. The audience is all-seeing. The audience doesn’t want to stand for your tweaked and twisted opinion when it comes from a place of (real or imagined) hate. You turn on the audience and they will turn on you. This isn’t just about turning on a geek icon, about spitting in the eye of one of the Geek Gods. It’s about how one dude misread who his audience is — one assumes he thought the audience was just a bunch of high-fiving bro-heims like himself, when really, uh-oh, the audience has women in it, too. Women who matter. Women who will shank your ass in the shower for looking down on them and treating them like lessers when they’re an equal and awesome part of what we do and who we are as an army of gaming and geek and pop culture.
Ryan Perez took a bite out of Felicia Day.
The audience — not just women but all who recognize that they’re part of our tribe — bit back.
You can call it censorship if you like — and it is, in the sense that the audience will not stand for your bullshit anymore and would much rather see your mouth taped shut with tape and your body dumped in the trunk of an Oldsmobile swiftly sinking into the waters of a forgotten lake. But this isn’t legal censorship. This is the censorship of an angry audience. This is a vote-with-your-dollars-and-your-voice type of censorship. Natural and normal and part of the system.
Matt Wallace tweeted the very-true:
To all my TLC students: read @PissedOffRyno‘s feed for an example of how not to be a freelance writer. This is a free lesson. That is all.
— Matt Wallace (@MattFnWallace) July 1, 2012
And then, of course, Perez doubled-down (as they usually do) with:
@MattFnWallace It was a Twitter feed, not a column in the local paper. Dickhead.
— Ryan Perez (@PissedOffRyno) July 1, 2012
That is the sound of a boat crashing into the rocks, by the way. Remember it. Why do you think Perez has over 1000 followers, now? They’re rubber-necking. They want to see the body pulled out of the fire.
Writers, cut it with the hurtful and hateful crap.
The audience is listening.
The end.
P.S., Don’t be a jizz-bag.
P.P.S., We need more women in gaming, so, uhh, somebody make that happen.
P.P.P.S., Seriously, GEEK PANTHEON, someone get on that.
P.P.P.P.S., Yes, this is posting on a Sunday but it counts as my Monday post NO YOU SHUT UP.
Patrick Regan says:
I’m inclined to agree that it’s tricky to turn what he did wrong into a blanket admonition because essentially, he was an asshole. Writers should be opinionated, but there’s a fine line between an opinion and just being a dickbag.
The problem, by it’s very nature, is that very few people with dickbag opinions have the self-awareness to go “You know, my inborn hatred of black people is kind of a dickbag opinion. Perhaps I should keep it to myself.” In my experience when the subject finally does come up it’s usually followed by a “I’m just saying what everyone else is thinking!” or a “You know I”m right.”
July 1, 2012 — 9:16 AM
Paul Baxter says:
Rubber, meet glue. If someone asks whether someone else contributes to the medium, it’s fair to ask what he or she has contributed.
And Chuck, Sunday IS the new Monday. Or the new black. No, I’m pretty sure it’s the new Monday, because I can’t find my Sunday-colored jeans. (The sundae-colored jean from the unfortunate ice cream shop mishap are in the wash. Yes, let’s call it a mishap. No, I don’t care what the police report says.)
July 1, 2012 — 9:24 AM
Chandra White says:
Dude, I’m a caricature artist and Geek Gods pantheon is like the most awesomest idea ever. I just could not possibly come up with an informed list of who that is. I just know that Bill Gates and Steve jobs would have to be in there along with Lucas and various members of the various star trek casts.
If people will help generate a list, I would go after that artistic behemouth.
July 1, 2012 — 9:44 AM
Jeff Abbott says:
I’m not a gamer, and I only know of Felicia Day from Dr Horrible, but I saw her speak at SXSW last year and she was smart, funny, charming, and managed to be self-deprecating and self-assured at the same time. She talked about her creative process, how hard it was to get good work done and how she’d found ways to persevere. It was one of the rare talks where the advice was applicable to everyone in the room. I think if Mr Perez had seen her speech he wouldn’t have asked his, er, question. I sometimes wonder if these incidents are just publicity ploys gone really bad–someone trying to be provocative and not having anything (especially expertise) to back it up. They are trying to get attention through shock and outrage instead of getting attention for quality work.
July 1, 2012 — 9:50 AM
James Clark says:
I’ve never understood why people write anything stronger than “I don’t agree” on things like twitter and other online forums. I don’t think it’s any more complicated than being that guy: the kind of person who is happy to say anything to get noticed.
I mean, the word forum implies debate so strongly that they are quickly becoming interchangeable. Twitter, by the same token, is something I have always related the call and response of birdsong (admittedly, most birds spend a lot of time telling other birds to fuck off or soliciting sex, but hey ho).
If you do what this Ryan person did, you’ve stopped the conversation. You’ve made a comment that almost everyone will say “I don’t agree” to. And then you effectively become the social unfortunate who has just shouted the punchline of a racist joke into the silence at the end of a song.
Baffling.
July 1, 2012 — 10:13 AM
Laura Hughes (@MittensMorgul) says:
As a girl who exists somewhere in the “geekier than the general population” end of the personality spectrum, I always find it sad and disturbing when people try to minimize or dismiss the role of women in “geek culture.” It seems to me that a lot of these kinds of statements are misguided attempts on the part of their author to attract the attention of the very people they insult with their posts.
I don’t know if the decency-violator in this particular case has a stunted sense of humor and thought he was trying to be snarky or provocative (hint: he failed), or if he was genuinely clueless about all the amazingly creative things Ms. Day has bestowed upon the universe (maybe a quick google search could have prevented this tweety travesty?). Either way, I’m not going to reward ass-hattery by following this guy. Yes, he’s been punished by being fired, but if his comments were purposely crafted to draw attention and thus followers (look at me! I’m a cock-waffle! Hey! Over here!), following him seems counterproductive for everyone who thought this actions were inexcusably obnoxious.
Geek Girls Unite. Down with cock-waffles! 🙂
July 1, 2012 — 10:44 AM
MIB5799 says:
Geek pantheon? Already been done.
Here’s Felicia: http://geekaweek.net/2011/02/felicia-day-trading-card/
The main site is: http://geekaweek.net/trading-cards/
July 1, 2012 — 10:45 AM
Joseph Browning says:
I don’t view it as censorship as much as I view it as “censureship.”
July 1, 2012 — 11:05 AM
BlackHat_Matt says:
If everyone could stop saying “censorship,” that’d be great. It’s not fucking censorship. Censorship would be the government coming down on Perez and saying, “No, it’s illegal to say that.” What’s happening is that lots of fans and folks are saying, “You *can* say these things, and we can’t stop you, BUT IT MAKES YOU AN ASSHOLE.” And Destructoid going, “Um, yeah, it does, and we don’t want to pay you for being an asshole. Fuck off and be an asshole somewheres else.”
Why is this hard to understand? You say shit in public, you own what you say. Yes, this may mean checking yourself a little, or if you don’t want to do that, you live with the goddamn consequences. Is this an Internet generation thing, or what? “I can say what I want and it’s your fault if you take the slightest issue with that?”
Grargh.
July 1, 2012 — 11:13 AM
terribleminds says:
@Matt —
To be fair, censorship is a little broader than that one thing. Government or legal censorship is exactly as you note. But censorship takes many forms — I can censor myself, I can be censored by a company I work for, I can be censored by a company that carries (or refuses to carry) my product, etc. etc.
For me the issue is different than “this isn’t censorship” and more about, “censorship is a many-headed thing and it’s not universally bad.”
That said, your point is correct: no government institution or legal body is robbing anybody of the right to speak. This is the decision of a company as driven by the attention of social media (and I assume that without said attention and without the audience speaking up, the company would’ve made no decision and may have remained wholly ignorant of it).
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 11:33 AM
Kathryn says:
Ah, Felicia Day… Yeah, I’m on the side of those completely not bothered by her. I don’t think it’s her fault, but her innocent charm and pretty looks have probably contributed to her success somewhat (need I point out the Do You Want To Date My Avatar? video? Cute waifish redhead geek singing a suggestive song), whether she intended them to or not. Almost the same thing with Dragon Age 2 where EA/BioWare did a big bit of marketing which was basically “LOOK FELICIA DAY LOOK LOOK LOOK”. But she’s certainly creative, and I’ll never deny that. It would be good if we could stop thinking of her as That Geek Girl, though, and just move on a bit from there. There’s plenty of women involved in gaming and geek culture who don’t get any recognition (Rhianna Pratchett, anyone?) for what they do.
But am I surprised a writer for Destructoid turned out to be a dick? Not in the slightest. Jim Sterling is proof alone that they don’t give a damn about looking like dicks, so I would think the only reason this guy was fired was not because of his actions, but because of the reaction once his tweets had been passed around, so firing him directs the attention away from them.
It brings up some good points, though, namely if you’re going to criticise someone then use a proper platform to do so (e.g. a blog) and support it with evidence. That’s what this guy did wrong. He used Twitter, and he didn’t make a single supported point.
And yes, I do know that my opinions of Felicia Day are in the minority. I’m sure she’s lovely and everything, and I don’t think anything bad of her, I just don’t think she’s what ‘geek culture’ has made her out to be.
July 1, 2012 — 11:39 AM
Faith says:
I don’t know of any geek god artwork, however, Has Boobs Reads Comics did do a Geek Gods post a while back. We need that artwork.
http://www.thenerdybird.com/2009/01/geek-gods.html
July 1, 2012 — 11:50 AM
BlackHat_Matt says:
@Chuck: Fair enough, but I would argue that anyone screaming “censorship” after folks decided not to buy their shit because they said something offensive probably are thinking of the legal version.
July 1, 2012 — 12:03 PM
liz says:
In today’s social media-obsessed society, it’s easy to get caught up in the attention. And even negative attention is attention. I try very hard to not be a douche (online or off) or to even complain much, because even though it’s hot outside and wifi is spotty and I had to wait on hold with the cable company for 15 minutes this morning, I do still have indoor plumbing and the chances of me dying from puerperal fever or the plague are slim to none, so, you know, it all works itself out.
However, it is hard to watch someone act like this and be rewarded for it. A few years ago, an aspiring author held a shitfest like this on her twitter and got an agent out of the deal, without even a finished book to her credit. And at the same time, an agent who liked my book ultimately passed on it, because she thought my follower count was too low.
The sad fact about all of this is that this guy losing his job wasn’t about what he said about Felicia Day. If the majority of people had agreed with him, he would have kept his job, no matter how much of a misogynistic bullying asshole he was.
July 1, 2012 — 12:11 PM
Kayla Rose says:
Since you’ve said anything I could ever possibly hope to say, I’ll try to add to the Geek God Pantheon.
Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, George Takei, Stan Lee, Joss Whedon, Neil Gaiman, Victoria Belmont, Steven Moffat, Maru… muses would be guys like George R. R. Martin, Jonathan Coulton, Jeph Jacques, J. K. Rowling, Bill Willingham… the list goes on…
July 1, 2012 — 1:15 PM
Danzier says:
Adding to the list: Patrick Stewart, Andy Serkis, and maybe Chuck Norris.
July 1, 2012 — 1:34 PM
terribleminds says:
Chuck Norris isn’t doing himself any favors these days.
I think a “Geek God Pantheon” of my own devising may deserve its own blog post one day.
But it would definitely include Neil DeGrasse Tyson.
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 1:37 PM
BC says:
I hate to sound like i’m defending this jizz-bag, because he definitely sounds like one, but I do have a problem with the idea that one can’t criticize Felicia Day (or any one woman, or any one person) without it being construed as a dismissal of all geek women everywhere alltimes.
I am a geek girl and I shudder to think that my personal opinions and preferences are unimportant because, apparently, Felicia Day speaks FOR me. She is the elected Lady representative at the House of Geeks. I am, in fact, extremely uncomfortable with the Token status she seems to have taken on within gaming culture. “Look, we don’t hate your vagina because FELICIA DAY and did we mention FELICIA DAY.”
At one point does one’s criticism of Felicia Day’s individual actions become a criticism of all geek women?
July 1, 2012 — 1:38 PM
terribleminds says:
@BC:
This post isn’t really about that, but that said, my feeling is that he crossed the line in dismissing her as some kind of hyped-up “booth babe,” which is absurd on a number of levels because, like her or not, Day is a smart, hard-working human who has done things she can be proud of. Whether or not she’s a standard-bearer for geeks or geek women or whatever is something you can applaud or dismiss and I don’t know that you’d ruin your reputation as a writer (or a geek or a woman) in doing so. But his sins crossed beyond that point, drifting toward misogyny and, worse, pointing that misogyny directly at her. Doubly problematic because as a game writer, he should’ve known who she was and what she has and had accomplished already.
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 1:44 PM
Elissa says:
What you said, Chuck. Also a case in point: The Carreons in the Oatmeal shit-hurricane. Talk about not just dickbag behavior, but holy-shitballs-CRAZY dickbag behavior. It’s not just a slow-motion crash in progress, it’s apocalyptic and shows no sign of stopping despite friends of theirs having warned them. For an Internet lawyer, he (and the wife) seem bafflingly confused by the reactions of The Audience.
People, DON’T DO THIS. Check with a level-headed friend if you think what you’re about to say might be fantastically inflammatory.
July 1, 2012 — 1:49 PM
Beth L. says:
There’s a world of difference between “I’ve considered the evidence and facts of the matter, and this is my evaluation of them” (ie, opinion), and “This is my knee jerk response which is possibly coming at least partially from a desire to hurt someone because I’m wired that way somehow”. Not everybody gets that. I don’t know if it’s a generational thing or a society as it stands now thing, but it’s surely something one does seem to encounter a lot.
Many excellent points have been brought up, including, “own what you say” and “if you’re a hurtful tool and the universe spanks you, you bought that fair and square.” Many thanks to the folks posting! There’s yet hope for the world, if there’s enough of us.
July 1, 2012 — 2:00 PM
Samuel says:
I have no idea who Felicia Day is, or the Perez guy.
But, basically what you are saying is, don’t speak up if you dislike a public figure that is liked by others, or the ‘others’ will trash you, vilify you, get you fired from your job, and get you labeled a woman-hating misogynist.
I see.
And then, hordes of people will come in and dog-pile the disgusting misogynist with pitchforks and shaming tactics.
Bonus lesson- If you are a man, never say anything bad about a woman, ever, for any reason, or you are woman-hating scum. Man=bad. Woman=good.
July 1, 2012 — 2:23 PM
terribleminds says:
@Samuel:
It’s fascinating that you keep coming here, as you seem to be wildly opposed to what I say in this space.
If that’s your takeaway from this post — hey, great. It’s not what I’m saying, but who cares, right?
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 2:29 PM
Chris Danger says:
When I originally read his comments, I thought he was joking around. But, when he the continued to pile on, that became the point where it became disrespectful. Theres a gulf of difference between saying “I disagree” and “Do you matter at all”? While Felicia Day may seem to some as a “sell out” in the geek/nerd culture, shes done quite a bit to bring it to the mainstream, not to mention has become a self-made entrepreneur in her various ventures. I respect her highly for that..
July 1, 2012 — 2:26 PM
Gareth says:
@Samuel: It’s very simple. Dismissing a woman as a “glorified booth-babe” is an undeniably misogynist statement. Full stop. There’s not even wiggle-room there.
July 1, 2012 — 2:43 PM
Elissa says:
“I have no idea who Felicia Day is, or the Perez guy.”
Well, that pretty much sums it up right there.
July 1, 2012 — 2:46 PM
Robert Thomas says:
The guy is a total twatwaffle, but at the same time, he now has almost 2000 followers, and the number keeps going up when I hit refresh. Obviously this could simply mean they want to watch him crash and burn, but still. 2000 followers.
I guess it’s true: there’s no such thing as bad publicity.
Also I’d like to throw in my nomination for the creator god of the Geek Pantheon. The primordial deity if you will: Gary Gygax.
July 1, 2012 — 2:50 PM
Ernesto says:
Chuck, personally I love your articles. But in this case you are uninformed and are missquoting the James Desborough article, and while I understand it is not the focus of this article please you might want to check your intel before opening your mouth. Not because you are offending anyone, but because you are spreading missing information. First the article never says that women dream of being raped, but that is something horrible that happens and there is thead for the writer and artist to work drama and character development and alot many other things. So please, inform yourself. Also yes, there was a petition to remove James from Mongoose, yes after a debacle and shitstorm in the web it happened… there is also a petition of support of Desborough (which doubles, or more, the other petition, and includes a lot fo female gamers who are TIRED of other feminist that can only live being VICTIMS and that like to be seen in that way) and because Mongoose is seeing that they are going to damage themselves A LOT more for hearing to a sector who both tries to censoship free speach and victimice all women, that they are planning how they can give an step back… yet msot of us believe they are already burnt for how they acted in response to calumnies.
Please inform yourself.
July 1, 2012 — 2:57 PM
terribleminds says:
@Ernesto:
I’m not misquoting and I’m not uninformed. I apologize if you think I am.
Let me quote directly from the article: “If we’re writing erotica? Well, depending which study you read somewhere between thirty and fifty percent of women have rape fantasies. I’ve no idea what the figure is for men and studies are probably wildly off due to the danger of saying so. Forced sex, rough sex, transgressive sex? These things are all wildly popular though – as fantasy. Much more popular than they are to perpetrate ‘for reals’.”
Using rape fantasies as justification for, well, anything, is more than a little troubling.
For the record, I thought that both petitions were silly. But just the same, I think that when you take a sensitive and trouble-charged topic like “rape in fiction” and you handle it with all the gingerness of a coked-up bull in a China shop, you should expect some blowback. He pushed buttons, and like I said, as it turns out those buttons were actually hooked up to something — the people of the Internet.
As a writer, you can get away with a certain recklessness with your words — but there still exists a line, and when you cross it, you have to anticipate some consequences. Whether one feels that it’s justified or not doesn’t matter, because by that point it is what it is.
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 7:03 PM
RSW says:
New reader here, and I’m glad this was the first post I read. You nailed it, Chuck. Being an adult means owning our words, especially when our real name and livelihood are attached to them.
July 1, 2012 — 4:20 PM
Lauren says:
It’s bad enough that Perez thinks “I was drunk” makes what he said… understandable? mitigates his asshattery? But also, reading his other tweets, where he says he didn’t understand how twitter works and figured that Felicia Day would be the only person to get his message is perhaps even more problematic in my mind.
Basically, he thinks it would have been okay to ask her privately if she was just a glorified booth babe?
Classy.
July 1, 2012 — 4:38 PM
Bronson O'Quinn says:
@ChuckWendig, I keep seeing everywhere. Question: Do you matter at all? Do you even provide anything useful to gaming, besides “personality?”
I have the urge to tweet the above. Perhaps I shouldn’t…
Great article, broheim!
July 1, 2012 — 6:11 PM
Russell Bailey says:
Nicely said, Chuck.
It’s been my professional experience that you rarely help your career by telling complete strangers that you hate them.
July 1, 2012 — 7:01 PM
terribleminds says:
“It’s been my professional experience that you rarely help your career by telling complete strangers that you hate them.”
And @Russell says it without an entire yammery blog post. RUSSELL WINS.
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 7:09 PM
Maggie says:
The shit that happens when I’m at work. This stuff couldn’t fall out in glorious radioactive ash on my day off, so I could watch the destruction of this guy’s career in real time.
Seriously, research who you attack before you bring out the adzes.
July 1, 2012 — 8:18 PM
Bob says:
I wonder if anyone calling for the head of James Desborough bothered to read as far as this section of his original article:
“Does the existence of rape stories, even as a cheap jab to get someone’s emotions involved, somehow trivialise or normalise rape?
I’m going to pin my colours to the mast pretty firmly on this one and say no it doesn’t.
How can I assert that with such confidence?
Simply this. If rape were trivialised it would not have the power to move us, involve us and activate our emotions.
If we had become inured to it, it would not work to establish a character’s evil credentials.
If it had become normalised it wouldn’t serve its purpose in a narrative. It wouldn’t be a big deal. It wouldn’t upset the characters because it wouldn’t upset us.
Ironically, the very fact that people get up in arms about a threat to Lara Croft in a video game, the rape of Daenerys’ by Khal Drogo in GRRM’s book and the resulting TV show or, fate help us, the existence of half-orcs in D&D, demonstrates that it is not trivial. It shows that it still has the power to shock and engage, to elicit the very reactions that make it attractive as a narrative element in the first place.”
He’s clearly not saying ‘rape is cool’ as claimed by many, though I’ll admit the earlier line: “Rape or attempted rape is a fucking awesome plot element, one of many.” is a rather clumsy way of putting it. But the fact is rape has been used, especially in fantasy, as a key plot element from the works of Stephen Donaldson to George RR Martin to Peter V Brett.
The gist of Desborough’s article is an answer to those who would say ‘ you can’t use rape as a plot element, no sir, don’t even talk about it, let’s sweep it under the carpet’. Unfortunately some clumsy wording and a subsequent internet furore has led to this whole ridiculous state of affairs and the tarnishing of individual and company reputations – in a lot of cases by people wilfully misconstruing what’s been said.
July 1, 2012 — 8:35 PM
terribleminds says:
@Bob:
I don’t know who you’re actually talking to, because I’m pretty sure none of that has anything to do with what I wrote.
My point still stands: I don’t think Desborough was condoning rape, but I think he wrote a blog post on a sensitive subject with as much sensitivity as an anvil dropped from a plane. And, when you do that, you can be sure you’re going to upset some folks. And when you upset folks — like, say, a not insubstantial part of your audience — by pushing their buttons, they’re going to push right back.
It was not a very smart post to make — nor a particularly well-communicated point — and it had consequences. End of story.
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 10:30 PM
Wrex says:
It’s hardly worthwhile writing a news-style article about ‘Some idiot insulted a celebrity on Twitter’. Really, people. Who cares? In America we have the first admendment freedom of speech, and whether you like it or not, American idiots also have that right. Quit trying to be Felicia’s white knight. She’s a better, wittier writer than the vast majority of her self-appointed white knights, and I’d bet you money that she would rather you guys just drop it, so she can handle it herself, with her usual grace.
July 1, 2012 — 10:26 PM
terribleminds says:
@Wrex —
The point is about how writers should (or should not) act, and how you drive a potential career into a wall. That’s the point. This isn’t specifically a story about Felicia Day (who is indeed lovely, and no, probably doesn’t need the white knight treatment).
— c.
July 1, 2012 — 10:33 PM
Joss says:
Great article. Thanks, and yet from perusing commentary and other blogs on this debacle, there are so many gamers who, as per usual whenever ANYTHING negative is revealed of their ‘heroes’, are leaping to this guys defense. Heaven forbid they leap to Felicia Day’s defense. Some of the retarded rebuttals I have read include asking the question, with no irony: “What has she done, really, besides a role in Buffy, Singalong Blog and writing directing and acting in a successful Web series?” What, that’s not enough to be deemed worthy? That ‘successful Web series’ is 5 seasons long and award winning! Day has also produced and conceived of several other game and ‘geek’ related content and initiatives. The sexist who attacked her online was just a journalist!
Many have made the great observation that the guy, by benefit of his Y chomosome, would never have his role in the industry questioned to groundlessly, directly and nastily. This is when one comment argued to equate the punishment of sexism to the application of sexism itself, as a means to paint the sexist as the victim! “Oh women have it so bad huh? Well as you can see, men can be fired from their jobs just for asking questions!” Um, yeah, you’re a moron.
This has incensed me, as somebody who respects what Day has given our community. If people are unaware of what exactly that is, then it’s only a search bar away. But perhaps the Y’ers don’t need to know what their talking about before spouting off about it.
July 1, 2012 — 10:35 PM
oldestgenxer says:
I’m going to comment…and then go back and read the other comments. First, I think Felicia is a sweetheart; I’ve known about her since the last season of Buffy, when she was a Potential. I think The Guild was pretty awesome, and creatively that was her baby. I’m a fan of her work.
I have, on more occasions than necessary, laid in bed on a sleepless night while my past mistakes came back like with a vengeance, like an ill-advised late night trip to White Castle. Self-flagellation as a hobby is pointless, but maybe trading cards are in order. I hope that I have learned something from the mistakes I’ve made, but often I find that it is not the case.
I’m not excusing the guy one bit–he puts the douche in douchebag–my actual point is that I take the lesson to heart, Chuck, and thank you very much. I feel like I more than most have the ability to open my mouth and spout ridiculous things without considering the consequences–or worse, without fully knowing what I’m talking about. Like commenting before I read the other comments.
It’s not about censorship, because I believe (if I’m not mistaken and I often am) that by definition censorship is something imposed by the government or some entity of authority. Maybe it’s self-censorship…but there should be more of that anyway. Just because you think it doesn’t mean you should say it. It’s called “tact.” In writing, it might be editing. Everyone has a filter, or should have one. Mine is being cleaned right now, because it’s clogged.
Maybe he had a career as a freelancer, and maybe it is over; if so, it could be for the best. Blogs are like assholes…everybody has one–
If he really is writer with something worthwhile to say, he’ll find another way.
Delivering pizza is always an option as well.
July 1, 2012 — 11:13 PM
terribleminds says:
Yeah, I’m hoping the guy’s 2000+ followers are there to, as noted, rubber-neck. Otherwise, I’ll have to eat my words and write the blog post where I say, “Being a jerk-pants online is a great way to jumpstart your career, writerfaces!”
*sigh*
— c.
July 2, 2012 — 6:16 AM
oldestgenxer says:
And I’ll just add, after reading everything–the assclown has 2000 followers?
I would not be the follower of someone like that, ever. I actually don’t follow anyone because have chosen to be a twitter luddite.
But even if I did do twitter–I don’t want to be the kind of guy that has 2000 of those kind of followers.
The pantheon of Geekdom is a long time in coming. It seems like there is some apocryphal work out there, but nothing canonized. We need a definitive structure. By its very nature, Geekdom demands structure!
July 1, 2012 — 11:31 PM
Thomas Pluck says:
Thinking while drunk is usually a bad idea. Expressing those thoughts, even more so.
When you are called on your bullshit, have a chance to do the right thing. When you defend yourself instead of admitting you were wrong, that’s showing the true colors.
The guy said something stupid. Most likely out of jealousy.
Writers do this all the time. I have a mental shit list of writers who have made similar loudmouth, attention-grabbing statements for whatever reason. The kid wants to take the champ down a notch. Who knows.
They can write the greatest novel of the century. I’m not reading it. I’m not going to ring them up when I edit my next anthology, either. It shows a lack of character, and if you are an editor, you’ll learn writers without character do stuff like pull stories when they find a better venue, or they refuse accept edits, or they light flaming bags of poop on your doorstep when you reject them.
Wheaton said it best. Don’t be a dick.
Don’t let jealousy affect your judgment. There are plenty of best-selling writers who I’ve read and thought, “I don’t see the appeal. Not for me.” I don’t slam them, because it serves no purpose. It doesn’t make me a better writer.
July 2, 2012 — 12:02 AM
Zoe E. Whitten (@Zoe_E_W) says:
I agree with everything here, with one exception:
“P.P.S., We need more women in gaming, so, uhh, somebody make that happen.”
There’s already women in gaming, and they represent 46% of the market. So that P.P.S. should read:
“P.P.S., We need more awareness for the women in gaming, so, uhh, somebody make that happen.”
Other than that, I concur whole heartedly
July 2, 2012 — 6:48 AM
terribleminds says:
@Zoe —
Apologies, should’ve been clearer. We need more women in the gaming INDUSTRY —
“Less than 10 percent of the gaming workforce is female, while 42 percent of all game players are female.” (From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/idit-harel-caperton/calling-all-girls_b_1444526.html )
So, women are gamers, and awareness of that fact ideally leads to more women in the gaming industry. Perfect world scenario.
— c.
July 2, 2012 — 7:34 AM
Zoe E. Whitten (@Zoe_E_W) says:
Okay, put like that, I also concur that we need more women in the industry. Too many guys making games means the female gamers get ignored. And that makes me a sad Zoe. =^(
July 2, 2012 — 7:52 AM
Paul Baxter says:
And if Zoe’s sad, I’m sad too, even if only because Zoe is an awesome name.
July 2, 2012 — 8:03 AM
Tom M says:
The way I figure it is that the important thing is to be aware in your writing. It’s like a hunter’s safety course– always know where the damned thing is pointed and never point it at people. Popping off shots willy nilly is dangerous and irresponsible.
Beyond that, when a drunken statement accidentally hits the wide world like a messy cow flop be prepared to practice the fine art of contrition and clean up the mess. If for some reason you feel the need to stand strong, then make sure you can actually defend yourself in a coherent manner that will draw people into debate rather than just letting loose with further torrents of doucheness.
July 2, 2012 — 8:04 AM
Paul Baxter says:
(OK, so I’m shallow. But Zoe IS an awesome name, nonetheless.)
July 2, 2012 — 8:08 AM
Jessica says:
I think there are two problems here. One is the sexism angle, which seems to have been the bulk of the focus of your post.
I think the bigger problem is the simple question: “Does [insert name here] matter at all?”
I have an issue with anyone who feels able to ask that question. As soon as you start dismissing other people as not mattering, you’re on a very slippery slope. “Does Chuck Wendig matter? I think the answer’s no so I won’t feel at all guilty if I insult him.” “Does the guy serving me in Starbuck’s matter? No. So I can throw my coffee in his face if he didn’t make it correctly.” “Does my neighbour matter? No. So I can run over his dog if it keeps relieving itself in my drive.”
July 2, 2012 — 8:56 AM
Sheryl Nantus says:
I think this illustrates the idea of “If you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all” perfectly.
Some of grandma’s old sayings still work these days.
😉
July 2, 2012 — 9:14 AM
Chandra White says:
Wow! I’ve got a list longer than I could probably ever conceivably finish already. I probably couldn’t do as amazing of a job as Len Peralta, who obviously knows and loves these people (at least in a following careers on the internet sort of way), but I’m going to give it a try.
I need something to do to get some new display caricatures, and a list of recognizeable but kinda boring celebrities doesn’t light my fire like a list of the gods of geekdom.
I wouldn’t have come up with the idea on my own, and I couldn’t have gotten as long of a list by myself!
Thanks!
July 2, 2012 — 9:16 AM
Jeb says:
Hubris, always a favorite tool of the Greek gods.
July 2, 2012 — 9:19 AM
Hillary says:
I would – LOVE – to say that I don’t think you’ll have to eat your words, Chuck, but I’m not so sure.
Gamer culture has morphed into TROLLOLOLOL culture, and that culture is to push ALL the buttons because online, there is no accountability. The name of the game is to piss everyone off by being the most offensive douchebag who ever douchebagged. And what’s there stopping them? Some huge guy named Bubba doesn’t shove his fist up their asses because they said, “n*gger.”
This reminds me of the dickwolves debacle with PA in some ways, in which gamers believe they are above reproach and consequence. When some of them are called on it, ‘You mad, bruh?’ is the attitude, and “don’t censor me” is the backup if the gamer is backed into a corner.
I wished I hadn’t seen this firsthand, but there are so many gamers who put their feeds out there for other folks to watch, I’ve had a ringside seat for it. League of Legends and Starcraft communities in particular are prone to this. So while Perez shit on Felicia Day? I guarantee there’s a big part of him looking at the 2k followers going, “yeah, lol, but people agree with me. She’s useless.” -Guarantee- it. Worst part? Someone will hire him to write for them because he’s got a name now, and a bad name in the gaming world is not necessarily a bad thing. Bad = good because everything is so fucked up there.
It’s lame and disheartening across the boards.
July 2, 2012 — 9:24 AM
Brian Lindenmuth says:
In some circles “Greek Seaman” has become shorthand. People just nod their head and know exactly what your talking about.
July 2, 2012 — 9:28 AM
terribleminds says:
Greek Seaman. Ocean Marketing. Etc. etc. — the meltdown of the Greek Seaman lady was more tragic and troubling than her being in some way… hateful or negative, though one supposes the result is the same.
— c.
July 2, 2012 — 9:29 AM
michelle b. says:
Awesome post! Misogynists everywhere need to realize that this type of behavior is not acceptable and that women are valuable members of society. Also, Felicia Day is awesome, she brought us The Guild!
July 2, 2012 — 9:31 AM
Joy Daniels says:
This falls under the wisdom you posted last week, i.e. the difference between being offensive (go ahead) and being mean (fuck off @PissedOffRyno).
July 2, 2012 — 10:23 AM