Anti-feminist actor sparks protests by pop culture community

Leela Ford writes that Anti-feminist actor sparks protests by pop culture community.

[Adam Baldwin] has continued to use the hashtag [(#gamergate)] for other tweets promoting the idea that feminism is trying to destroy male gaming culture, among other things. The hashtag became popular among sections of the gaming community who were taking up the cause of a movement that Baldwin claims is about "ethics in games journalism".

However, the movement turned very quickly into a misogynistic attack on women in the gaming industry after a number of feminist critiques were released exposing sexism in the industry.

Baldwin proceeded to tweet personal information of Quinn and another game developer Brianna Wu, which was used by his supporters to send threats to the women. Baldwin then accused Wu of lying about being driven from her home amid safety concerns. He also accused another woman, Anita Sarkeesian of being hysterical after receiving messages threatening violence and rape.

Wu has publicly supported the petition by spreading the link on twitter while calling Adam Baldwin a “sexist bully”. She also tweeted her own feelings on the issue saying: “Something geek culture is struggling with is making the culture open to women. I think Adam Baldwin is the complete opposite of this goal.”

Baldwin is a self-professed conservative who prides himself on speaking up against what he believes are “social justice liberals” trying to silence his “dissent” and “destroy [his] personhood”. In another one of his Twitter crusades last year, he said that gay marriage would lead to incest for tax benefits.

Emphasis Mine

Feminism is a credible threat to to the patriarchy as it should be. Exposing sexism is a vital task for feminists. Without debate around what constitutes sexism, feminism cannot advance.

Those who derive their identity from the patriarchy are rightly threatened by this exposure. Thus, they respond by the only means they know how: threats of rape and other violence. Then they are dismayed when their apparently “normal” behaviour is called out as vile and reprehensible. This is how the patriarchy has always responded.

Again I reiterate my thesis as expounded in “I am not Charlie Hebdo”—freedom of speech is not an absolute right. Those, like Baldwin and the rest of the #GamerGate community, do not have freedom of speech because they are using speech to threaten and oppress others. While those, like Wu and Sarkeesian, do have the right to free speech because they are fighting against the oppression of the patriarchy.