I'm always astounded to see people who are unable to understand that this refugee crisis can't be solved by sending the refugees away. Have you people never seen a zombie movie? There are definitely similarities. They are coming and there's no way other than starting to shoot them in the head to stop this.
So, you wanna stand on any european border and kill random people (yes, random as in 'women and children too') to make sure the borders aren't crossed? Have you people never heard about East Germany? The had the most secure border on the entire planet. They had sniper towers and minefields. People died trying to cross it, they were murdered because of it. Still, some made it anyways. No border is impenetrable. Ever.

The refugees are coming. They'd rather die trying than not trying at all. They don't see any other choice.

Our only smart play is to exploit the advantages. We have people fleeing from ISIS that we can put in our mosques to stop recruiting and radicalisation. We have skilled laborers we need to identify and put to work accordingly. We have people willing to have and raise their kids here that can help us to solve our problems with a rapidly aging society.

It'll be difficult and it'll require us to change and redefine our cultural identity but if we do this right, we'll end up stronger in the future.

We can't afford the cowardice of racism much longer.

I'm not intending to split hairs at all. I think it's an important distinction when in one case the corporations are individual corporations working for their own financial gain, and in the other they are all state sponsored/owned and are all working for a singular state goal of controlling the internet speech and actions of it's citizens.

I don't disagree that the tools were created by the 'west', but the impact of what they are doing is exponentially greater, as it's being done by the government, not an individual company, with real life consequences, not levels of benefits in a rewards plan.

There's little chance of someone not getting a job because they haven't posted enough pro-government (or, for example, pro Apple) statements, posts, tweets, pictures, and links in the west...only if they've posted negative things that might hurt the company image. Here, however, if they aren't pro-china enough, they just won't have enough 'points', and probably will have serious consequences. I think that's where the outrage is coming from, not about the points program itself, but about the way they intend to use it. If your >700 points only got you 5% off at Alibaba, I would not see a big problem, since <700 will likely keep you from a good job, apartment, etc., there is a big problem.
Your examples do not seem to be on topic except for the exploitation of social pressure, which have been exceedingly few and minor in the west compared to this program, which is new in it's scope, design, designers, and intent. The west only wishes it was that good at manipulation.

I feel like you're splitting hairs to promote a "discussion"...

My point is not blame the corps rather than the Chinese gov. My point is, the confected outrage about this 'disturbing turn of events' in China are ignoring the fact the corporations long since did the same thing, albeit in a far more circumspect fashion, years ago in the west.

This is not a sudden turn of events. How often do you see corps getting laws put in place in the US that actively work against the taxpayers but shelter the corps? Invasive use of personal data? Exploitation of social pressure. The death of privacy?

My point is, China learned what it's doing, no matter who you point the finger at, from the west... We should only be surprised it took them so long...

Capitalist totalitarianism is a term I'll have to remember, nice.

Being China, the exploitative companies and the repressive regimes are the same people, are they not? Even Hong Kong is no longer free of total government control, is it? I was under the impression that everything is 'owned' by the state in China, although some entities are given more autonomy than others to give an illusion of capitalism.

Oh I'm fully cognisant of the nature of the system, but it's telling that it originates from an entertainment company and a retailer rather than the Chinese gov...

It's capitalist totalitarianism. Using your customers as your advertising/enforcement, and as you said, playing on peoples selfishness. A viral promotion of obedience and conformity (because viral marketing started in China right? \= )

One of the most repressive regimes on the planet got schooled on invasive social engineering for better control by a couple of exploitative companies. Speaks volumes.

That's not "spying", it's just embedding. It's still bullshit, but if I made a product and wanted to make sure I could tell if something was created with that product in the future, I could see doing this for various reasons myself.

That said, I've never known other people to be me, (haha), and this can easily be exploited to hurt/control/infringe on people (police scanning printed protest/propaganda to find the source, etc)

Well, @bareboards2, given that after you say "choose" many times, you again go back to "I have heard people say they "need" it. ", as I read it, you are sticking with "need". If you now wish to only say 'choose' instead of 'need' I can now understand your meaning and move on.

If it's pedantic nit picking it's because I don't like that people are unclear...and I hate when they are unclear, then change/clarify their argument, chastise you for commenting on the previous (seemingly misunderstood) argument, then return to that argument.

...and if some humans have "chosen" opiates, then that also speaks to the human condition in the same way. Misguided people often choose things they not only don't need, and often, in reality, things they don't even want, because they ignore or don't know the down side of their choices.

The two are not mutually exclusive. I can accept (regard as true) the world as it is while also wanting it to be different. I accept (regard as true) many things that are not as I WANT them...I only refuse to accept (reconcile myself to) things that are not as I NEED them to be.
Accepting (regarding as true) something is the way it is does not preclude one from not accepting (reconciling one's self to) that thing.
(the issue again is, IMO, in word definition, but this time it's the fault of English...as "accept" means both 1.'to regard as true' and 2.'to reconcile oneself to'. I meant the former, while you seem to mean the latter. I often wish English did not have these multiple definition words...one that really gets me is "theory", which means completely different things to different people in different situations, a difference that has caused terrible damage in it's exploitation.)

@Barbar
i do not know if you are aware,but you actually made my point in regards to justification.specifically your third paragraph.

as for the disagreement in regards to religious texts being inert and neutral.this should not really be an issue and should be plain for all to see.religious texts are amalgamations,musings,stories,philosophies all jammed into a canonized text.they are often hypocritical and contradictory.it is the reader that interprets and injects their own subjective understandings based on their own proclivities.

which then makes religious text a subjective text.so if you are violent,then your interpretations will be violence,which would lead to justifications based on those interpretations.

unless you are using fundamentalism as a fulcrum.which sees religious text as the unerring word of god,which brings a whole new conundrum into focus:contradictory philosophies which are in diametric opposition.which is an impossibility to reconcile,but again brings us to my main point:justification.(by way of mental gymnastics).

and harris does not just smell like apologist BS,he IS an apologist.now this is understandable when seen through the lens of nationalism,but it engages in the same wishful thinking harris accuses many religious people of engaging in.

we WANT to feel we are the good guys.
we WANT to think that what we are doing is for a higher,and more morale purpose.
we WANT to think all this violence and bloodshed is ultimately for a better and more prosperous future for everybody involved.
we WANT to believe that our government is not just destroying and destabilizing whole communities with wanton destruction just so our corporations can have a new market to exploit,or to control the oil fields for BP and chevron to control.

but thats not the reality.
our wants are just wishful thinking and an inability to accept that we cling to these wants to justify horror,destruction and death.

https://theintercept.com/2015/10/05/the-radically-changing-story-of-the-u-s-airstrike-on-afghan-hospital-from-mistake-to-justification/

so what is OUR justification?
so just like the more moderate and secular muslims who look the other way when faced with horror.we too,look away at the truth of things,because to recognize the reality means to accept responsibility.
we have blood on our hands....all of us.
as do those muslims who also look away.

but the allure of justifications....
to have the ability to turn horror into righteousness.
it is extremely powerful,and we ALL participate.
even sam harris.

@RedSky

while i agree with you that this was most certainly a scripted interview,and one of the reasons i did not tag it "news",let us be clear and concise that this is a practice that most politicians,or heads of state engage in for most press conferences/interviews.

but that is where our agreement ends.

to downplay americas role in the overthrow of mossadeqh as to little more than a nuisance,with little actual affect on iranian politics,is not entirely accurate.while those elements existed,it was eisenhowers TPAJAX project which was specifically directed to inflame the already tense relationship between the royalists and the PM mossadeqh.

chalmers johnson and john perkins wrote at length and great detail in regards to this situation.

i will concede that i agree to a point (but only to a point),that american foreign policy is about reciprocation,but i find your analysis to be far too simplistic.when there is an over abundance of evidence that american foreign policy is not some benevolent spreading-freedom and democracy for the masses but rather colonialization by way of exploitation,indebtness and ultimately military might.

see:smedley butler
see:IMF and WTO
see:john perkins-confessions of an economic hitman

america is in the business of empire.this is about business and profit and the military is used as the hammer to keep those countries in line.

quid pro quo.

i am no fan of putin.he is ruthless and his domestic policies have caused immense suffering with the under class,but i have to respect his abilities as a politician.the man knows how to work a room.

I take issue with the part about birth rates and the 35-year population forecast.

Firstly, the premise that we (Germany) need to stabilise our population level stems primarily from the depopulation of parts of the country, the north-east most of all. However, the cause is not low birth rates. It's urbanisation, which is part and parcel of capitalism. Everything gravitates towards the centres while the rest becomes hinterland to be exploited for resources.

Secondly, population forecasts turn into horseshit real fast. If we were to look at a 35-year forecast created in 1980, we'd miss the reunification, the breakup of Yugoslavia by NATO, about a dozen wars in the Middle East and the destabilisation/desolation in large parts of Southern Europe. Nevermind the EU with all its freedom of movement agreements that were recently suspended.

If we had made a 35-year forecast in 1910... well, you get my point.

Thirdly, Europe is not a singular unity. Our ongoing assault on the economies of Southern Europe (aka austerity) lead to a mass exodus already, Same for the Baltic countries. Unfortunatly, those countries who lost a significant portion of their young and educated over the last years are also the countries who are least equipped to deal with mass immigration in an orderly fashion.

Which brings me to my fourth point: many folks make the argument that we cannot possibly pay for the integration of 800k refugees, much less for 400k a year. Well, we payed for reunification in the most inefficient, corruption-inducing and anti-social way imaginable by piling the cost exclusively on our version of social security. And you know what? It still fucking worked. If Germany can shoulder the cost of reunification, the EU can pay for 2-3 million refugees. End of story.

Finally, we need immigration. Not to maintain population levels, not to even out low birth rates. We need it to not become too homogenous, especially Germany. Too much consensus, too much group think, not enough confrontation and cultural diversity. Shake things up before people start believing their own bullshit again about their own superiority. We've seen it already vis-a-vis Greece.

@eric3579

Does the Polish Six Flags guy look familiar? It's the very same racist imbecile who described the plan to create a unified driver's license across Europe as "Ein Reich, ein Volk, ein Ticket" while doing the Nazi salute.

I'd rather have a thousand Syrian refugees than people like him.

The point is that there are very good reasons we don't allow teachers to date students even if both are above the age of consent. The teacher is in a position of power over the student and any relationship is inherently exploitative.

As it happens, they are guilty of statuary rape (the student was under the age of consent at the time) so they could be facing jail time.

No actual victims? Tell that to the 3 young kids who might have to visit mom in prison.

1. Kickstarter lies

Before Anita started her Kickstarter campaign she held a talk where she said she was being harassed by a organized group of 4chan members for months. She said these 4chan members subscribed to her channel so they would know when she released new videos so they could attack her. The type of comments she said she received were sexual insults, death threats & rape threats. She said sometimes she got together with a friend to read through the comments because it would get overwhelming. She says that she probably has the biggest block list on Youtube and anytime they leave any anti feminist, harassing, or threating comment they would be blocked. She said that she had gotten use to these kinds of comments. She said she monitored her Youtube comment section so the only comments that were allowed to be shown had to be approved by her.

She lunched her Kickstarter campaign and made a Youtube video for the campaign. She for the first time allowed comments on her video. she makes a post on her website entitled Harassment, Misogyny and Silencing on YouTube. She says this in the post.

"Here is a very small sample of the harassment I deal with for daring to criticize sexism in video games. Keep in mind that all this is in response to my Kickstarter project for a video series called Tropes vs. Women in Video Games (which I have not even made yet). These are the types of silencing tactics often used against women on the internet who dare to speak up. But don’t worry it won’t stop me!"

"These messages and comments have included everything from the typical sandwich and kitchen “jokes” to threats of violence, death, sexual assault and rape."

http://feministfrequency.com/2012/06/07/harassment-misogyny-and-silencing-on-youtube/

She says that all of these comments are because of her Kickstarter campaign because she dares to speak critically about video games. These statements completely contradict what she said before she started her Kickstarter campaign. Before her Kickstarter she said she was systemically being harassed by people on 4chan and that among the things they said to her were sexual insults, death threats & rape threats and sometimes it was so overwhelming she read them with a friend as a way to cope with it and she had gotten use to it by that point. So she leaves comments open on her youtube kickstarter video which is something she never did before and she was surprised by the negative comments but how can she be surprised by the same type of comments she was receiving long before she launched her Kickstarter. When she started her Kickstarter and left her comments open she knew exactly what the comments were going to be like because she been receiving them for months prior. So when she says during her Kickstarter that all of the negative comments were because of her Kickstarter campaign she's lying.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSoDEA6yw24

2. Other Lies

She says that Grand Theft Auto and Saint Row encourage players to kill women by giving players money for killing random female NPCs.

"some games explicitly incentive and reward this kind of behavior by having murdered women drop bundles of cash for the player to collect and add to their own stash"

The truth is money is dropped by any NPC that is killed in the games and has nothing to do with gender.

She says that the female stripper NPCs from Hitman Absolution were put their because the developer wanted players to kill them. The game discourages players from killing innocent civilians by taking away points. The whole point of the game is to sneak by people and keep unnecessary killing to a minimum while moving toward killing your intended target not to kill random strippers and lose points for doing so. The path to the strippers is one of two paths that the player can take. The path to the strippers is the harder of the two paths to take. The other path that the player can take is easier and doesn't involve coming near the strippers at all.

She also says this in her Background Decoration video.

"their status as disposable objects is reinforced by the fact that in most games discarded bodies will simply vanish into thin air a short time after being killed"

She tries to tie disappearing bodies as something that only happens to female NPCs but it has nothing to do with gender its just something that happens in a lot of games irregardless of gender because of limited ram capacity and not having the game slow down because of bodies pilling up.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EverythingFades

shes a life long gamer
at a Santa Monica College in California back in early 2010 Anita says that she's not a fan of video games and she had to learn a lot about them. she says that she would love to play video games but she doesn't what to go around shooting people and ripping off their heads. During and after her Kickstarter she says that shes been playing video games since she was 5 years old and shes a life long gamer. How can she be a lifelong gamer if she said pre Kickstarter that she doesn't like video games specifically because she thinks that all games are violent. If she's a lifelong gamer than what has she been playing all of this time and why does she thinks all video games are violent. She obviously not a lifelong gamer and only said that as a way to try and give herself more credibility.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJj_7SVAIS4

In her damsel video she said Zelda was never a playable character in a console game. Zelda was playable in the CDI games Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon & Zelda's Adventure. I am not saying these are good games but they are console games where Zelda was the star of her own adventure.

She says that gaming is all boys club and women have until recently been barred from playing games. This is untrue their has never been anything stopping girls from playing games. Most game genres are not gender excluding. Racing, fighting, beat em up, real time strategy, role playing, puzzle, point and click, action adventure, platformers, MMO, Simulation, rhythm action.

Women have been involved in the making of games for years. Theirs been female programmers, artist, composers, designer, CEO, etc. Women have also been involved in the journalism side of things as well. This false narrative that Anita's trying to push that games have somehow excluded women until recently is a lie that she tells to try to push her gender base agenda.

The other thing that she tries to push is the ideal that man are trying to keep women from playing or criticizing games. Both things are false but she keeps to that script so she can fight against the imagery boogie man that she created and so she can justify the existences of her video series.

Anita omitted the fact that she has connections to the developer of the game sword and sworcery but I am sure that has noting to do with the reason why she chose that game's character as a positive female even though it contradicts her previous videos.

https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/315zh3/possible_ethics_issue_with_anitas_latest_video/.

3. Poor Research

In dismals in distress she said that peach was added to Mario 2 to fill a per existing gender role that existed in the original game Doki Doki Panic except for the fact that her own footage clearly shows that two females were playable in Doki Doki Panic. If she did further research like actually playing the game than she would know that it wasn't just one girl in Doki Doki Panic. The core concept that Anita doesn't understand about games is the fact that graphics assist can be replaced with anything. In fan made mods the cast of Super Mario Bros 2 have been replaced by numerous things like Star Wars ships, Pokemon, Transformers, Spider-Man villains, etc.

http://www.romhacking.net/?page=hacks&game=749

https://youtu.be/t8bub0B1-wk?t=6m15s

In Women as Background Decoration Anita says this

"In order to understand how this works lets take a moment to examine how video game operate as playgrounds for player engagement. Games ask us to play with them. Now that may seem obvious but bear with me. game developers set up a series of rules and then within those rules we are invited to test the mechanics to see what we can do and what we can't do. We are encouraged to experiment with how the system will react or respond to our inputs and discover which of our actions are permitted and which are not. The play comes from figuring out the boundaries and possibility within the gamespace. So in many of the titles we've been discussing the game makers have setup a series of possible scenarios involving vulnerable eroticized female characters. Players are than invited to explore and exploit those situations during their play through. The player cannot help but treat these female bodies as things to be acted upon. Because they were designed constructed and placed in the environment for that singular purpose. Players are meant to derive a perverse pleasure from desecrating the bodies of unsuspecting virtual female characters. Its a rush streaming from a carefully concocted mix of sexual arousal connected to the act of controlling and punishing representations of female sexuality."

Theirs two basic concepts that she doesn't understand. The first one is that games are interactive so players can do things that developers never intended players to be able to do. The second is the fact that games have bugs in them which also allows players to do things that the developers never intending for them to do.

For example in Halo 2 players can do button combos. Button combo is a sequence of buttons that, when pressed in order, results in the execution of an exploit. Typical button combos take advantage of unforeseen attributes of certain actions. Some actions, such as meleeing, can disrupt animations for firing and reloading weapons, performing melees, etc. By chaining these and other actions, players can perform special tricks, such as automatic Plasma Grenade sticks and instant close-range kills. However, many players disapprove of such "cheap" exploitations, and Bungie has declared these combos all as cheating and therefore banworthy

http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/Cheating

Another example is in early versions of arcade Mortal Kombat 2. Players figured out how to hit babies after performing Babalitys.

http://bbh.marpirc.net/mk2/

By Anita's logic midway endorses child abuse because players tested the bounders of the game and were able to interact with the objects (babies) in the game that were put their by the developer. So that clearly means that the developer supports any action the players can do in the game including hitting babies. Or it can just mean that games are interactive and filled with glitches and just because a player can do something in a game doesn't automatically mean that the developer endorsed it or even meant for player to be able to do it.

In her Bayonetta video she complains about Bayonetta clothes coming off when she summons demons. she doesn't acknowledge or knows that Bayonetta's hair is also her cloths so that's why her cloths disappears when she summons demons. She also makes the claim that Bayonetta is fighting demons when in fact Bayonetta is actually fighting angles. She also says that Bayonetta has a child except for the fact that Bayonetta doesn't have any children. She claims that Bayonetta is a "choose your own patriarchal adventure porno fantasy." Lets take a second to look at what the word Patriarchy means. Patriarchy is a social system in which males hold primary power, predominate in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property. So how is Bayonetta a game in which players play as a strong women who is always in control of a situation and is more powerful than any man in the game enforcing ideals of Patriarchy. Bayonetta is not a choose your own adventure type game nor is it a porno.

She says this in a tweet

"Everything about Bayonetta's design, mechanics and characterization is created specifically for the sexual pleasure of straight male gamers"

Bayontta was design by a women

http://platinumgames.com/2009/04/17/designing-bayonetta/

http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/Mari_Shimazaki

McIntosh said this on twatter about the Witcher.

"Geralt from Witcher 3 is emotionally deficient in the extreme. Never cries or laughs. Never expresses grief, fear, sadness or vulnerability."

Witchers are unable to express emotions on their faces because of the training that is involed to become a Witcher. Taken in as children, Witchers-to-be are subjected to intense alchemical processes, consumption of mutagenic compounds and relentless physical and magical training to make them dangerous and highly versatile against their vast array of opponents.

http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Witcher

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2015/05/31/why-feminist-frequency-is-dead-wrong-about-the-witcher-3/

"In the beginning of “Women as Background Decoration: Part 2,” Sarkeesian references a scene from Dragon Age’s City Elf Origin story, in which a group of guards make disturbing sexual comments over the player character’s dead female companion. Sarkeesian implies that BioWare’s narrative is built on the “brutalization of women’s bodies,” using dead women “as an indicator of just how harsh, cruel, and unforgiving their game worlds are.”

"However, the female elf’s treatment is better understood as a thematic commentary on systematic misogynistic violence. Both women and elves are confined to strict socioeconomic roles within the origin story, as the brutal city government uses institutional force in order to keep women and elves oppressed. Essentially, the game explores the use of sexual violence as a form of violent oppression within a misogynistic institutional structure. Yet, Sarkeesian and McIntosh misread this moment – ignoring a critical look at misogynistic oppression within Dragon Age’s narrative."

"Sarkeesian has criticized the postmodern video game Hotline Miami for utilizing the “Damsel in Distress” trope. However, Feminist Frequency’s analysis completely erases the game’s subversion of the trope – as the narrative’s “damsel” seems to be held hostage by the player, and avenging her death produces no reward. Indeed, writers such as Maddy Myers have dissented from Sarkeesian and McIntosh’s analysis – praising Hotline Miami as a postmodern exploration of hypermasculinity which subverts the “damsel” trope."

http://gamemoir.com/lgbt-gender/frequency-anita-sarkeesians-strengths-weaknesses/

4. Things taking out of context

She shows footage of Fallout New Vegas where a womens body is being dragged around with psychic powers and says that games often permits women to be knockout, pickup, carried and thrown around. All of these things can be done to male NPCs as well. She also says that assault, mutilating & murder can be done to women in games but all of those same things can be done to male NPCs as well. She tries to use these things as examples of sexism towards women but its not sexism if the same thing can be done to male NPCs.

She claims that the objectification of female NPCs is terrible.

"Unlike other NPCs that exist for purposes outside of their sexuality, Non-Playable Sex Objects have little to no individual personality or identity to speak of. since these women are just objects there's no need or reason for players to have any emotional engagement with them. meaningful relations or interactions are not even possible. Their programming simply does not allow for it."

She tries to say this is unique to female NPCs. The lack of deep personalities, non emotional engagement or meaningful relations is true of all Pedestrian NPCs male or female.

"when assaulted by the player non playable sex objects might scream. but regardless of their canned automated reaction they are will designed to be expendable to be used and then tossed out."

Same thing is true for male NPCs as well.

In background decoration she talks about female character being objectified while showing footage of the main protagonist from Watch Dogs in the process of shutting down a human trafficking ring.

In her background decoration video she said this.

"In the realm of interactive media I use the term "instrumentailty" to refer to the practice of using virtual women as tools or props for the players own purposes. Courtesans in the Assassins Creed series, for instance, are available to be "rented" and used to help you "blend in" to the environment. Once acquired, they can be ordered to flirt with guards to distract them. Allowing the protagonist to slip by undetected. "

The courtesans were one of the four factions allied to the Assassin Order, with the other three being the thieves, mercenaries and Romanies. They usually aided the Order by collecting information from clients, or by acting as distractions and allowing allies to slip into restricted areas.

The player can also hire male thieves & mercenaries to aid them with blending into a environments and killing. So is using man as Tools bad as well or is it only bad when it happens to women in Assassin Creed.

http://assassinscreed.wikia.com/wiki/Courtesans

Anita and mcintosh purposely says controversial things on tweeter to provoke a negative reaction from people so they can use the response to prove Anita's continued harassment. mcintosh even admits to purposely provoking gamers with his comments.

https://youtu.be/Xi5qQ3GIbD0?t=7m50s

Here's an example of Anita provoking a reaction from people and using the response as a example of her continued harassment to coincide with a Kickstarter update.

You only have to watch the first 3 minutes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLD8gHkaqLc&index=21&list=PLbGeY5L25KBr_OtPsRJWfKoNslm2UZA6a

Lets take a look at some of these comments.

"A few months ago I started posting deliberately provocative tweets whenever I'd see the angry gamer mod launch a harassment raid on someone"

"I'd only post things I basically agreed with, but I did it in an overtly antagonizing way designed to enrage these specific hateful gamers"

"The goal was to see if I could draw some of their fire & distract them a bit from their usual targets. It worked like a charm. It still is"

"Its shockingly easy to drive these bozos into frothing fits of rage. Simply tweet critically about their beloved Ico, MGS or Bayonetta"

ANITA

"not a coincidence it's always men and boys committing mass shootings. the pattern is connected to ideas of toxic masculinity in our culture"

"manhood, not guns or mental illness should be central in newtown shooting must read 2012 article by @ jacksontkatz huffingtonpost.com"

"mass shootings are one of tragic consequence of a culture that perpetuates toxic ideas of masculinity. this is how patriarchy can harm men too"

"there's no such thing as sexism against men. that's because sexism is prejudice + power. men are the dominant gender with power in society"

"games press: allowing unmoderated comments contributes to the culture of sexism and harassment. you can't be neutral on a moving train"

"Absolutely brilliant article by @janelarejones discussing the amazing levels of sexism in BBC #sherlock's irene adler"

"I finally watched the 1st season of Mad Men & i was HORRIFIED, it is not interesting or subversive to watch uncontested sexism & racism"

"I'll be discussing the reasons Bayonetta is so pernicious in my Fighting Fuck Toy video. Bayonetta is a quintessential example of the trope"

"Everything about Bayonetta's design, mechanics and characterization is created specifically for the sexual pleasure of straight male gamers"

"Disappointed to see most major Bayonetta 2 reviews completely ignore or even praise its shameless sexism and flagrant use of the male gaze"

"I have to say, I really don't like going into comic book stores because everywhere i turn i face misogyny and sexism"

"the US bombed them back to traditional values. feminism does not exist in Japan. while I don't like judging an entire culture, that does not excuse them"

"I've played a ton of awful sexist video games but God of War 3 really is one of the most brazenly misogynist titles ever produced"

"GTA5 is in the news this week because of its horrendous violence against women. Watch our episode on the issue here:"

"A favorite harassment tactic of online abusers is to send me gameplay footage or still images of the degradation of women in video games"

"Rockstar: when gameplay from your product is regularly used to harass women it might be a sign you're contributing to a hostile environment"

"time after new GTA launch before fans started harassing me with gameplay of the use & murder of prostitutes? 86 mins"

Shows a picture of her holden Metroid Other M and comments
"About to replay this monstrosity. The things I do for you people...#cringe

"Anime is the most disgusting, sexist, and misogynistic form of media to ever come out of Japen. Anime defiles women and caters to perverts and losers. those cartoons are corrupting teenagers and promoting rape culture.

"Dying Light has a damsel in distress storyline. Dear game developers, its 2015 aren't you embarrassed by this yet?"

"The Witcher 3 does to Ciri what Arkham City did to Catwoman Thugs yell "bitch" and "whore" and sexually harass both women as you play them"

"Welp, I guess we could just use The Witcher 3 to illustrate the rest of our #tropevswomen series because it includes all the sexist tropes"

"Also the "it's realistic for enemies to sexually harass female characters” excuse is nonsense in fantasy games filled with ghouls & wraiths"

"Dear gaming industry: If you want to appeal to women maybe consider not having your game yell "bitch" and "whore" at us while we're playing"

"Enemies in Witcher 3 yall gendered insults at the playable female character but insults thrown at the make lead are decidedly not gendered"

"Enemies call Geralt "freak" & "mutant" due to fictional prejudice against magic. When they call Ciri "cunt" it's rooted in real life sexism"

"Games like The Witcher 3 use sexism & sexual violence for "gritty world-building, presenting it as regrettable but natural and inevitable"

"In fact, Witcher 3 is a particularly egregious example of this problem. The game repeatedly uses brutal sexual violence as window dressing."

"This level of extreme violence shouldn't be considered normal. Its not an excuse to say it's expected because DOOM. Thats the problem #BE3"

"Its really troubling (and depressing) that the #BE3 audience is enthusiastically cheering for bodies being ripped apart"

"Only a few minutes into the Bethesda press conference and it's wall to wall glorification of grotesque violence. I can barely watch #BE3"

"If the games industry truly wants to mature it's going to have to focus much more on creative and humanizing interactions #E32015"

"The #Fallout4 crafting system is cool imagine how much cooler it could be if it wasn't SO focused on building stuff to kill other stuff"

A bit sad that #Dishonored2 didn't make the leap to an exclusively female lead but really pleased they're using Emily in marketing #BE3

"Saints Row is not a satire of sexism, it's sexist satire. Same goes for the Grand Theft Auto franchise"

"Like the myth of reverse racism, reverse sexism only exists if you happen to have a time machine"

"Portraying women of color as exotic, hypersexual and animalistic like the succbi in the Witcher 3 is part of a very long racist tradition"

"It makes me profoundly sad that mainstream pop culture now interprets feminism to mean "women can drive fast and stoically kill people too!"

MCINTOSH

"San Francisco is full of repugnant white dudes who believe capitalism and their personal technology idea will save the poor brown people"

"probably not super productive to tell random techie dudes that their business model is both evil and racist. but damn it they had it coming"

"dear silicon valley tech startups: there is no such thing as altruistic capitalism. you can't get rich while "helping" impoverished people."

"They are 100% sincere in their belief that their form of "altruistic techie capitailsm" is god's gift to the world"

"capitalism as an economic system and the continuous growth it requires is impossible to sustain. that's not ideology. that's math #ows"

"the games industry has a problem. Tens of thousands of people construct their identity around its products than act like hateful sociopaths"

"#JeNeSuisPasCharlie because I don't use my free speech to mock and deride the most marginalized and vulnerable in society like Charlie Habdo"

"Extremist vigilante shooters kill 3 in Los Vegas. meanwhile game developers at #E3 continue to glorify extreme vigilante violence"

"Gaming could be a perfect medium to help re-learn values of empathy and compassion but sadly it's most often used to permote the opposite"

"I'm not ashamed of being a man. Quite the contrary, I work to change toxic cultural ideas of what "being a man" means"

"so many toxic assumptions about violent masculinity here. You could write a thesis just about this game setting menu"

"Things that are not oppression:3) Pointing out extremely toxic sexism in hobbyist communities. 4) Criticism of video games"

"It's not a few bad apples. Gamer culture itself is absolutely steeped in extremely toxic ideals about masculinity"

"Each day a bunch of helpful gamer dudes helpfully tweet at me to help prove gamer culture is deeply sexist and toxic"

"Dear clueless gamers replying to me: The point of Male protagonist Bingo is not to win, the point is to illustrate limiting toxic patterns"

"Many promote a culture of aggressive toxic masculinity. So you just helped answer your own question there buddy"

"I’ve seen some mention the abundant sexism in The Witcher 3 but I’ve yet to see any real discussion of its toxic depiction of masculinity."

"Geralt of Rivia is the perfect embodiment of hegemonic masculinity. #TheWitcher3"

"@Scottcoeditor Rage and anger are two of the only emotions men are really allowed to express in patriarchy (which is super unhealthy)."

"Anger and rage are the only real emotional expressions male game protagonists are allowed. Needless to say that's a toxic message for men."

"Mass media narratives, especially games, are often constructed in ways that justify and exonerate men for their angry and violent outbursts."

"Reminder that both Bayonetta games include boss attack animations by Rodin which strongly imply Bayonetta has just been raped."

"If anyone needed further proof that Bayonetta is not any kind of feminist icon. RT @SJWIlluminati: hahahahahahahaha "

"We've fallen so far in critical discourse that I now regularly have to start debates with “You do know Bayonetta isn't a real person right?"

"@TheQuinnspiracy It also has a lot to do with control. They can control Bayonetta’s actions but can’t control human women, so they lash out."

"Don’t think Bayonetta is designed & marketed specifically for horny straight dudes? Nintendo partnered with Playboy. "

"Lollipop Chainsaw, BloodRayne, Dead or Alive and Bayonetta are ALL designed in the same way, as hyper-sexualized fantasies for straight men."

"Precisely. RT @mercurypixel: @radicalbytes Welp, they talk about Bayonetta like she's a freaking real human being, so... don't expect much."

"Bayonetta was created by Hideki Kamiya as his “ideal woman”. He also said "all women outside should dress like her" for his viewing pleasure"

"Bayonetta was created by Kamiya as his "ideal woman" RT @Brostalgia In fact Mari was told by her male boss to male a sexy fighting character"

"Amazed to see sexist gamer dudes now adopting feminist terminology to defend jiggle physics. We can thank Bayonetta 2 reviews for that one."

"Media literacy 101: Bayonetta’s creators make their fictional character do poses for the game camera specifically for the player’s benefit."

"No it’s really not. Bayonetta’s game camera is the most transparent use of the male gaze in video games I’ve ever seen."

"Actual comment. Doesn't understand fiction is constructed. "Stop sluts-haming Bayonetta. She fights and does sexy poses for her own benefit”

"I shouldn’t have to point this out but there is no actual sex in Bayonetta or Tomb Raider etc. Objection to the male gaze is not anti-sex."

"@a_man_in_black Bayonetta’s body/sexuality is specifically presented and displayed as a reward for successful actions taken by the player."

"@a_man_in_black Might account for the "i/her" dissonance if straight male players both self-project into & are sexually aroused by Bayonetta"

"@a_man_in_black Partly has to do with gender. Bayonetta is designed for straight male players but we’re not meant to truly identify with her"

"The special “naked” attacks essentially turn Bayonetta into a hypersexualized puppet designed to thrill the puppeteer."

"For male gaze in Bayonetta 2, pay attention to things outside of the character’s control like the cutscene camera & player directed attacks."

"Looks like most Bayonetta 2 reviews fail to mention the hyper-sexualized male gaze of the cutscene camera and player directed strip attacks."

"When Bayonetta 2 reviews come out we’ll very quickly see who actually cares about issues of sexual objectification & exploitation in gaming."

"Endlessy amused at some gamers complete inability to do even the most basic textual analyses of their favorite games. # MaleProtagonistBingo"

"For those who keep bringing up Sonic as a counterexample for Male Protagonist Bingo. I'll just leave this right here"

"The core value of patriarchal masculinity is control. It's not a coincidence that control is central to many video game mechanics & stories"

"Fascination that you somehow don't think there're any messages in Smash Bros. Start with violence solves conflicts"

"Amused to see so many hateful #gobbledygate user list aspiring game developer in their bio. Yeah good luck with that. You're gonna need it"

I must have missed that, please tell me at what point was Sarkeesian slut shamed for her critical views? How are the two even connected? Lewinsky's talk did cover the corrosive environment we find online and that is something they both share, but how they got there is different. Lewinsky and the other guy she mentioned both had their privacy violated and their personal lives exposed to the public, the media shamelessly exploited the situation for clicks and ratings while the Republicans saw something that might finally stick to the Teflon President (honestly I think Clinton should have cut the playing coy bullshit and simply owned up to it).
Sarkeesian voiced and opinion and some people agreed, some people sort of agreed, some disagreed, and yet others decided to be assholes about it. No secrets revealed, no private shame of hers was exposed for the sake of public titillation, she took a stance on an issue and got a taste of the uglier side of public life.
Also, please point out in my post where I said that she was asking for it or where I said anything about what she was wearing. Shoving words into people's mouths to demonize them in the hopes that it will silence them is a reflection on you, not me.

Yeah, I'm a little disappointed by the unnecessary misquotes and 'making up arguments' myself, sort of kills the debate. I never made excuses for the cops, and I always agreed they were in the wrong. I never said Hammond was a threat to anyone, or that I felt threatened by filming.

What I have been saying, again and again, is that he can be a tool for intentionally trying to provoke this reaction, even if the cops are completely wrong. It's not a discussion about whether or not his action was legal, but you keep on bringing up the cops reaction as though that is relevant. Which makes it sound as though your argument is: "as long as what he did was legal, he can't be a tool for doing it." Which I disagree with; see also 'open carry' protests etc.

As for what effect the first amendment audits will have on legislation, I imagine it'll be a similar scenario as when corporations exploit tax loopholes. Once somebody comes up with a clever way to remain within their legal rights but still act like an asshole, the system tries to evolve to close those loopholes. I'm all for trying to steer the system in the right direction, but I'm not going to applaud those exploiting loopholes to act like assholes.

As for the strange argument about the watch list, I don't know what you're trying to say - I already told you he's on the list and that I don't think that necessarily means anything. What more did you want to say about that?

Are you going to get back to, again, the fact that the cops were in the wrong? I think we haven't explored that angle yet, let's try going over it three or four times more.

Downvoting is an interesting case that I thought about quite a bit.

I think it *could* go to the Regular Member level, but I'm fine with it staying at Bronze Star because:
* Downvoting is a bit more subject to abuse than the bookkeeping invocations I mentioned before, mainly because it can auto-discard things that get downvoted early. Right?
* IF downvoting was as integral a function as upvoting, I'd say that regular members should get it. BUT, either by design or just as the emergent de-facto standard, it isn't used very much -- even amongst those that have access to it.
* There are some exceptions to that trend, like, say, @ant. Even though that seems to get under some people's skin, I like the way ant uses downvoting -- especially when considered to be a perk reserved for the real upper echelons of contributing members.
* BUT, all of that is primarily relevant to *video* downvoting. *Comment* downvoting isn't as critical / exploitable, so it seems like that could be made available to members before they can downvote videos. I would sometimes like to have that ability, but if the powers that be feel that it should be reserved for Star-level, I don't feel strongly enough about it to push.


I think that's probably all my thoughts on the topic. Thanks again to @Retroboy for bringing it up for discussion, and to @lucky760 / dag et al. for considering it.