Several major personalities at the forefront of #ComicsGate held a rather lengthy live stream the other day, largely to air out simmering grievances over perceived calls for gatekeeping in their budding enterprise.
I’ve included the whole video below. It’s worth watching to get the straight dope directly from the horse’s mouth. For our purposes here, I’ll limit the scope of this post to a specific angle: #ComicsGate’s need learn from the fatal mistakes of past anti-SJW revolts like #GamerGate and Sad Puppies.
Back from watching the video? If not, don’t worry. I’ve mined some relevant quotes to give you the gist of the stream.
First up, Cyberfrog creator Ethan Van Sciver, starting at the 0:7:52 mark:
The only answer to dealing with comics right now is to form a club like we have of you know righty [people]…with sympathetic liberals and…use YouTube. Use social media to talk about what’s going on. expose what’s going on and then eventually…create our own comic books.
Now this is where our current crisis comes in. First of all the word gatekeeping. I’m getting a ton of flack from about half of you about suggesting that SJWs have no place in our little club. In other words right now it’s pretty loose, you know I mean? There is no gate to keep because we’re all over…the field. There is no fence, but eventually there might be a gate. Eventually we might be forming a company.
Continuing with EVS at 0:11:19:
The term gatekeeping…to me, words are just words…but I mean you guys are saying no, that means something very very specific…That’s fine, so let’s invent a new word to describe the same exact thing that I’m talking about. And I would say safeguarding. My feeling is that–and I’ve tweeted this out yesterday–I said any comics publishing enterprise would be wise to keep SJWs out. They’re cruel, destructive, don’t believe in capitalism. That last part right there is a big part [of] what is the SJW: somebody who doesn’t believe in capitalism…If we’re starting a business enterprise, there should be no person involved who does not want to contribute in some way…towards making the company wealthy.
Jawbreakers colorist Brett Smith at 1:33:40:
…[T]he number one thing that the SJW crowd, the left, would like to see is this thing to crash and burn, because right now their view of it is that it’s a one-off. It’s a flash in the pan. What Richard and Ethan have done and what some of these smaller books have done is just for right now, but it has no staying power in the market, and it’ll be…here and gone tomorrow…It’s our responsibility to not allow that to happen, to keep this thing getting bigger and bigger and building momentum and continue to put out more Cyberfrog more Jawbreakers. You know we have enough talent and ability and experience here to put out monthly books.
The only thing we’re lacking at this point is a larger audience and some financing, but you know those things come as this thing gets bigger and people start to recognize it for what it really is, which is a legitimate movement. It’s not…astroturf. This is grassroots. It’s for real, and and we have some amazing customers–customers who say “I haven’t bought a comic book in 20 years, and now and now I’m interested again,” or “I’ve never been interested in comics.” You know I got a lot of people on the Left who actually bought Clinton Cash. Bernie supporters…my letterer on Clinton Cash was a Bernie supporter. You know he hated Hillary. He hated Jill Stein. You know he loved getting the paychecks that I sent him…so he’s he is a capitalist. Maybe he doesn’t know it…
Members of #ComicsGate would be wise to heed Ethan and the others who insist on keeping SJWs out. Adopting a guard dog to protect your home from robbers isn’t gatekeeping. Neither is posting sentries to prevent enemy infiltration of your base.
As I’ve pointed out before, would-be culture warriors have to get over the vestigial Liberalism that hobbles their cultural combat effectiveness by accepting the enemy’s frame of reference. SJWs deserve no quarter and no consideration. Error has no rights.
Regarding center-Leftists, the triumph of inherently progressive Leftist ideology means there is no center. A Leftist who is not an SJW is simply inconsistent. His coreligionists will eventually force him to choose a side. He may choose ours, as some have, but understand that admitting him in the first place carries real risk.
A significant sub-topic of the #ComicsGate live stream was a brief debate over how the participants should define themselves. Are they a consumer revolt, a community, a movement, or a professional network? How they answer that question will go a long way toward determining if they avoid the mistakes of #GamerGate, which began as a consumer revolt, devolved into a movement, and was torn into warring Anti-SJW and “Ethics-only” factions.
Youtuber The Qu Qu did a highly informative video detailing #GamerGate’s missteps and offering sage advice on how consumers in other hobbies can successfully push back against the SJW menace. Everyone–especially those involved in #ComicsGate–should watch it and pay close attention..
The cast of Firefly OD’s on the spice from Dune and wakes up on Cthulhu’s couch.
Thanks, Brian! I hope EVS takes note of the strategies in the video and acts on them.
You're welcome. Same here.
I have to admit. I got pissed watching that stream and the drama surrounding it. Capn Cummings seeming mental breakdown, Tim's perceived slight and vocabulary policing, Doug's attempts at reading into Ethan's words far more than he should (I actually liked Doug's videos but have since unsubbed) and the public, indirect way of talking about Ethan all look bad.
Their insistence on asking "durr but who decides who is an SJW or not" was grating. Humans are very good at making judgments. Believe it or not, someone might have to actually make a call based on their interactions and research about a person. And that's ok. I, for one, would trust the judgement of people like Richard and Ethan. This constant hand-wringing and concern trolling strikes me as an attempt to "take a high road" that has lead conservatives nowhere. Makes you wonder whether some people are in this to win or just to look good,
Doug and Cummings hemorrhaged viewers after that performance. If they can put aside their egos for five seconds to realize that maybe they were in the wrong wrong then they can start to repair the damage done and get things back on track.
But hearing a poorly worded sentence from a supposed friend, jumping to the worst possible interpretation of the quote, then dogging him at different angles while ignoring the despicable behavior of those attacking, is beyond the pale.
That's not what friends do. It's what snakes do.
Conservatives have proven they're not in the culture war to win. Conservatism is just inconsistent Liberalism.
The anime series Slayers provides the best metaphor to explain why Conservatives can't beat the Left. The show's protagonist is an accomplished sorceress whose ultimate weapon is a spell capable of slaying a dragon in one hit. The final antagonist of season 2 is the demon-god who is the spell's power source. The protagonist tries using her go-to weapon against the god, and it utterly fizzles. The god answers her bewilderment over the spell's failure by reminding her that she's calling on him whenever she casts the spell, and he's not going to help her kill him.
Yeah, as for Doug, a guy that claims to look at things from an intellectual, bird's eye view it was inexcusable. Attack the ideas, not the words used. I don't think they even disagree.
Really found myself wishing I'd watched live so I could've submitted "The train is fine" via superchat.
Those who don't believe in keeping out SJWs don't believe in fixing the problem.
Letting them in destroyed everything in the first place. Why would you let them in again?
Put away the bow-ties and use your heads, guys.
Giving any consideration to SJWs and repeatedly playing semantic word games about it should disqualify anyone from holding a position of authority in any organization.
Were there SJWs in Sad Puppies, or was it general incompetence that did it in?
Squishies and glory hounds killed SP.
"Giving any consideration to SJWs and repeatedly playing semantic word games about it should disqualify anyone from holding a position of authority in any organization."
Truth. This is why none of these Right-punching stumble-bums should get the levers of power–in anything–ever.
They cannot be trusted at all. They are weak sauce and cowardly when it comes to standing for principles. Their principles are in fact the parts of Conservative Island that Leftist River hasn't yet washed away.
Don't punch right is the moral of the story.
Qu Qu's vid is great. The video gang only needs to consider that Brian's advice will pay dividends over time:
1.) Build your own platform.
2.) Mercilessly defend your platform from any SJW incursions.
3.) Find allies; work with them and defend them.
4.) Find creators who do excellent work; support them.
5.) Don't give money to people who hate you.
6.) Profit!
Thanks. Your list hits all the high notes.
7) Treat your fans and potential fans with courtesy, respect and professionalism at all times.
xavier
People who think the problem with SJWs is that they gatekeep are wrong to the point of insanity. Is there anyone arguing that keeping Nazis out of Israel makes Israel as bad as Nazis? The problem isn't exclusion, the problem isn't mistrust, the problem is that there are and always will be people who hate you and want to destroy you.
If they openly declare themselves, inviting them into your organization isn't noble, it's suicide – a terrible sin – and it's a betrayal of literally every person in the organization.
Jesus kicked the money-changers out of the Temple, he didn't invite them further in.
Indeed. Freedom of association requires freedom of dissociation.
“As I've pointed out before, would-be culture warriors have to get over the vestigial Liberalism that hobbles their cultural combat effectiveness by accepting the enemy's frame of reference. SJWs deserve no quarter and no consideration. Error has no rights.”
This is the money quote by Brian. It needs to be drilled into the minds of those who would be on our side. Error has no rights. Error does not deserve consideration.