Anita Sarkeesian Cancels Speech After Massacre Threat

I write for a lot of small websites, and, bluntly, its not often I ever see anyone comment on anything I work on.  Understandable, considering my audience, but there have been a few times when the content of the article was so controversial it couldnt help but draw comments: the most recent case was long-winded editorial I wrote regarding feminism in gaming.  Surprisingly, it warranted a reaction from the community, and unsurprisingly, the reaction was negative and violent!

Of course, the crap I received was barely a drop in the ocean compared to what actual woman in the industry face daily.  The amount of harassment and threats they receive can be staggering and terrifying, but there was always one controversial gaming critic I could trust to endure it all: Anita Sarkeesian.  Say what you want about her, but her ability to endure the mountain of crap and threats pointed her way is nothing short of astonishingto the point where I feel like her bravery is wasted talking about video games instead of tackling more pressing matters, like the Middle East and China.

Which was why I was both shocked and a little surprised today to find out that she finally showed signs of backing down.  She caved to a threat, and frankly, Im still a little stunned.



Although it makes sense, in context, so lets go from the beginning. Yesterday, Utah State University received an extremely threatening email from one of its students  claiming to carry out The deadliest shooting rampage in American History if Anita Sarkeesian , who was supposed to present at the school, was allowed to go through with her speech.  The email stated Feminists have ruined my life and I will have my revenge, for my sake and the sake of all the others they've wronged, and claimed that it would be in a style similar to the Montreal Massacre, which ended with the deaths of 14 woman, 4 men, and 10 woman injured before ending in a suicide.

This isnt the first time someones threatened to attack a venue Anita was scheduled to speak atin fact, its the third.   And at first, Utah State University was willing to go through with the presentation as planned, albeit with extra security, but it was Anita herself who canceled the event but not strictly because of the threat.

See, Sarkeesian spoke with the police on the matter and learned about Utahs Open carry laws, which directly forbade them from searching people for guns and other weapons.  Which meant someone on the front row could have a pistol in his jacket and the police would have been powerless to do anything to stop him until he showed signs of being a threat.   Given that shes received many threats of violence  in addition to the email received by the university, Sarkeesian has decided to play it safe and canceled the event herself.

Of course, this is just the most recent event in a long string of threats of violence against outspoken feminists in the industry.  Brianna Wu, Head of Development at Giant Spacekat, had to go into hiding after getting death threats.  Zoe Quinn was also savagely threatened in the events of #gamergate.

I have nothing to say to this except that I probably should have picked a different hobby to be obsessed with.  Like hackysack.  Those people seem really chill.