Ashton Liu · @Ash_Effect
28th Sep 2014 from TwitLonger
How #GamerGate Has Exposed the Abuse of the Mentally Ill by Those In Power
Mental illness is an oft misunderstood and ultimately insidious disease that can destroy lives and festers under our noses, even when it is in plain view. When one thinks of mental illness, one often conjures up images of drooling maniacs, held prisoner by a straitjacket and in a room with padded walls. In reality, mental illness is an umbrella term for much more complicated conditions that can have a great many negative effects on one's psychological state, to say nothing of the effects it can have on the loved ones of the afflicted. If the last few weeks have taught us anything, it is that modern society, the ideology that created it, and the proponents of said ideology, has utterly failed the mentally ill in the name of "progress." One need only look at the difference in treatment of a forum of depressed, suicidal young men and a "depressed" young woman by a group of "progressive" journalists and their mob of followers to see how badly mental illness is misunderstood and how individuals with mental illnesses can easily become the target of abuse and harassment by misinformed internet denizens.
The incident that was one of the biggest sore spots, and anyone who is familiar with GamerGate will be familiar with what happened. The forum, the residents of which wishes to remain unnamed so that they'll be left alone (hereafter I will refer to it as The Forum), is a congregation of depressed, borderline suicidal NEETs. They gather on a site to talk to each other and offer some semblance of support for each other. Each of the sub-forums on the site has a link to a suicide hot line in the scenario that someone was truly thinking of ending their own life. The one single thing they wanted was to have their own little slice of the internet to suffer in silence. In comes an individual (hereafter referred to as LW) who claims to be "depressed," and levels serious allegations of harassment and stalking at the members of the forum. Instead of asking for evidence of these incidents, "journalists" took her claims of proof positive that something illicit was afoot, and proceeded to string up these forum-goers whose sole desire was to be left alone. Further, they incited their readers/followers into a campaign of verbal violence, harassment, and abuse against The Forum in their scramble to protect LW. Any attempts on the members of The Forum to explain the situation and defend themselves was rebuked, as they were insulted and demeaned with hateful and vitriolic rhetoric that included classy threats that included castration, mutilation, and murder, which, I must reiterate, was all against a collection of already depressed individuals who were dangerously close to suicide.
Expanding further into what I've seen in the last few weeks, one can easily see this discrepancy as well in society in its treatment towards men and women who are distrustful of the opposite sex. Men who are distrustful of the opposite sex (such as the much-maligned Men Going Their Own Way movement) are treated with scorn and hatred, often becoming the recipient of demeaning statements and cruel jokes. Meanwhile, their female counterparts are treated like children, being told that what they feel is completely natural, and that no effort should be made to overcome such distrust or the trauma that preceded it. In the initial blog post that brought to light the events that would spark GamerGate, if the events transpired were accurately told (and as of this writing there is no evidence that casts suspicion upon these claims), then it is doubtlessly the writer that was the abused party in this case. However, the treatment he received was equivalent to that of the ABUSER, while his abuser was coddled as if she was the one that was abused.
Both these treatments are untenable approaches to mental health. The collective treatment towards men in these cases would cause these men to recede further into their condition, rather than seek the help they need, because they are under the (correct) impression that society does not value their mental well-being, and that any attempts to seek help would be repudiated. The treatment of mental health in respects towards women, on the other hand, encourages them to perpetually maintain their victimized state and retain their hyper-vigilance instead of working through trauma and letting the psychological scars heal. There is a case to be made for early periods of mental health treatment to keep patients under scrutiny, and isolated to a limited extent so that they do not experience setbacks in their treatment; however, keeping them in a perpetual state of victim-hood is not a feasible treatment plan.
It is very clear at this point that society's treatment and misunderstanding towards those with mental health issues has become extremist to the point where it harms both men and women. Whether it be from constant abuse (towards men) or coddling (towards women), these methods of treating mental health cannot go on. Gaming journalists are only the latest in a long line of morally bankrupt individuals whose only intent is to make others dependent on them while exiling those who don't fit into their narrative of "positive mental health." If society's understanding of mental health is to progress in a positive direction, then those individuals who are attempting to hijack the narrative to fit their own ideological and financial ends should be ignored, criticized, and ultimately dismissed. Future generations who may suffer from these illnesses deserve better than the lackadaisical and unprincipled louts that are currently speaking for them - or in many cases, against them.