shaenon

shaenon

96p

94 comments posted · 10 followers · following 0

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Olivia Munn and The Th... · 0 replies · +21 points

Angry internet nerds have been mad at Munn since she left Attack of the Show for better-paying, higher-profile work that wasn't on a geek property (and didn't involve eating hot dogs suggestively). This was proof that she was a Fake Geek Girl all along. Now she's back on a geek property, and this is also evidence of Fake Geek Girlness.

If she's rude to people off-camera, that's a shame, but whether she's a "real" geek has nothing to do with that. Obviously geeks have no problem being rude to people.

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Nerd Role Models: Capt... · 0 replies · +3 points

I'm on board with any pitch that includes the line "She-Hulk takes the case." That's the title of my dream miniseries.

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Nerd Role Models: Capt... · 0 replies · +3 points

Feminists are well known for their dislike of men who don't Even Lift.

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - What Can We Learn From... · 0 replies · +7 points

I never read the guy's original post because eww, but everything I've seen from him suggests a manipulative, over-emotional person whose perspective is self-serving to the point of delusion. When he got fired from his job at a hospital because he spent work hours Internet-stalking his ex, he ranted on Twitter about how Zoe was a mass murderer because he would have saved thousands of lives if not for her. When she took out a restraining order against him, she was violating his First Amendment rights and "silencing" him. And so on.

I've dealt with people like this in real life, and lord, is it exhausting.

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - What Can We Learn From... · 2 replies · +5 points

I've said this elsewhere, but if one constructive thing can come out of Gamergate, I hope it's the adoption of "eron" as the term for a nightmare ex. As in, "Don't panic, but I think I see your eron's car parked across the street. Do we need to call the cops again?"

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Wednesday Book Review:... · 0 replies · +3 points

I cannot expressed how embarrassed I am that Strauss went to my college. Where, by the way, I'm sure he was perfectly able to get laid without playing manipulative bullshit power games.

I mean, it was Vassar. If you're a straight man at Vassar, all you need to do is stand in the Quad with your pants off. Someone will be along to assist you shortly.

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Sexual Harassment and ... · 1 reply · +26 points

Well, sure, I can see how a man's right to bite people and grab their balls falls under the aegis of ethics in video-game journalism.

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Sexual Harassment and ... · 1 reply · +5 points

I know the guy who does Hereville! Barry Deutsch. He's an awesome dude. He also does Alas, A Blog: http://amptoons.com/blog/

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Sexual Harassment and ... · 15 replies · +32 points

The good news is that people are finally taking accusations like this seriously. I remember, about ten years ago, two stories of harassment coming up in the comics industry at the same time. First, a well-liked industry person assaulted a young female artist at a con. It was another "bad drunk" situation and was witnessed by many people. The woman didn't press charges or go public, but when the story got out anyway she was attacked all over the Internet. After all, she must have known one of the friends she told in confidence would blog about it. She was just trying to get a good man in trouble. She was a no-talent nobody looking for attention. The fact that the assault was confirmed by police and witnesses did nothing to shake the widespread opinion that the victim was the one in the wrong.

At around the same time, Julius Schwartz died and a well-known, well-liked artist came forward with horrific stories of harassment. She was widely pilloried as well. Why didn't she speak up earlier? Didn't she realize it was her duty to stop him? By waiting until after his death, she was maliciously sullying a good man's memory. Anyway, it had happened so long ago, what did it matter? (Since then, many other women in the industry have come forward with Julie Schwartz stories, and it's clear that his grabassery did a huge amount of long-term damage.)

What I learned from these two incidents was that, in the minds of some people, there is no good time, place or situation to report on harassment. If you speak up, you're the aggressor. (You can see this in Richardson's response, in which he speculates on the sinister ulterior motives of a JOURNALIST REPORTING ON THE STORY. And yes, it's interesting that the people going on the defensive have mostly ignored the male victim who spoke out in favor of attacking the nearest adjacent woman.) I can list the people of influence in the industry who publicly sided with the victims, because there were so few. Seriously, I can think of three.

With these recent cases, though, I'm seeing less wagon-circling and more vocal condemnation of harassment. We may have reached a tipping point where most people in comics would rather have an creative, diverse, forward-thinking industry that's great to work in than have that guy who's almost okay as long as he doesn't have to work with women (or people of color, or LGBT people, or whatever). Things are getting better, but as they do, a lot of ugly truths are going to come out.

8 years ago @ Paging Dr. NerdLove - Ask Dr. NerdLove: My H... · 0 replies · +15 points

Yes. You are required to have empathy for other people. Not just to post here, but to be a human in general.

Is this like a new concept you've never come across before?