Most people aren’t particularly familiar with VidCon. It’s a conference that centers around YouTube creations. It’s an ideal place for creators to meet with industry representatives and their fans, hook up with one another for collaborations, and get tips from the more successful YouTubers to help make their channels grow.
This year, however, it also played out with a bit of drama as feminist Anita Sarkeesian took a shot at one of her opponents during a panel, despite the opponent having said absolutely nothing.
Feminist media critic Anita Sarkeesian is facing a barrage of criticism since her unprovoked outburst at popular YouTuber Carl “Sargon of Akkad” Benjamin at Vidcon 2017 last week.
The feminist berated Benjamin before an audience, calling him a “garbage human” for criticizing her work on YouTube. Since then, Sarkeesian has been claiming victimhood — describing Benjamin’s presence at her panel as an act of intimidation in a blog post, and in an interview on Polygon where she called for the creation of a blacklist for those who “harass” her.
Despite Sarkeesian’s claims, game developers are now accusing her of promoting harassment. One prominent creator spoke out against her for publishing a piece of fiction about murdering him. The feminist critic often rails against video game players, claiming they direct abuse and misogynist harassment at women in the gaming industry.
For what it’s worth, VidCon has sided with Sarkeesian, dismissing claims of harassment from Benjamin.
In other words, Sarkeesian can launch an unprovoked attack at someone sitting in the audience and it’s fine because she’s a feminist. Carl Benjamin, however, can be guilty of harassment merely by sitting in on a panel about a topic he has previously expressed an interest in — although not in the manner in which someone like Sarkeesian might prefer. He broke no rules in attending.
Yet he’s the bad guy in all this?
If any good has come from this, Sarkeesian’s bullying is being brought up into the light of day. Of course, this is nothing new. Feminists like Sarkeesian often play the victim while thinking nothing of their own behavior. This is justified in their mind sunder the argument that it’s fine to “punch up.” In other words, so long as the victims are men — particularly white men — then anything is excusable.
It’s fitting that even progressives in the video game industry, the industry where Sarkeesian has focused much of her work, are fighting back.
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