I don't normally care to talk about the Felicia Day thing from years ago, but this Zoe Quinn crap beckons it.

Fun fact: Men and women can be really stupid. They can be insufferable assholes. And they can absolutely make mistakes in equal measure.

I got drunk and said some stupid shit a while back. Not only did I get called out for it, but I also felt its repercussions on a professional level. And while I believe it was for the best (journalism was never the place for someone like me, so I'd have fucked up eventually in some other way), I accepted full responsibility and the consequences therefor. I did not make up excuses ("drunk" was an explanation, not an excuse), I did not try to garner sympathy, and, most importantly, I didn't use the vile shit I had thrown at me as leverage to get ahead in some way.

I didn't do any of that, despite people's expectations that I would.

Nobody really knows this, but I was doxxed by a few people after that moment. I had odd phone calls made to my cell (one of them in Russian...God only knows why), and threatening emails beckoning my suicide and even castration. As someone with bipolar disorder who has already attempted (and failed) suicide, these are always fun little nuggets of joy to receive.

Why did I not say anything? Two reasons: It wouldn't have changed anything, and I'm well aware that too few people would have given a damn ('tis the reality of these situations). Also, the statistical probability of anyone flying their dopey ass across the country to literally cut off my balls was small. Any concern would have been irrational. I stand a better chance of a vending machine falling on me.

Now this Zoe stuff happens. People fuck up in the game industry weekly, so it's not much of a surprise. And this person...whew, she did some gnarly, unethical shit (if it turns out to be true). Does she deserve threats? Nah. Does she deserve ridicule? Perhaps in some way. Does she deserve to lose her career? Absolutely. I stand by that as much as when it applied to me.

But there's an inconsistency this time around. Virtually every single professional and person with a do-good desire has given her every excuse in the book. Even sleeping with her boss, a married man, has somehow encouraged sympathy on her behalf.

...

Why?

She's a person. She's equally as fucked in the head as any of us. Though she may have a few disadvantages as a woman in today's society, that has no bearing on her ability to do wrong. Period.

She may indeed have the convictions of a fairly progressive person, but that does not make her a GOOD person, and that certainly does not make her an excusable one. She can still be hateful, manipulative, inconsiderate, and downright violent. It's called being human.

So, do you stand for equality? I mean do you REALLY stand for it? Treat her like the human that she is. If she's a fuck-up, then honor her as a grade-A fuck-up. If I can own my mistakes, you can let her own hers.

Several men in the game industry have been dragged through the mud in the past two years, and often for very good reason -- sexual harassment, insults, plagiarism, etc.

Let's keep it going with the "other half of the population," as you so often love to cite. Let's treat them like adults.

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