(SADLY) IN THE TUBES: BEAT UP ANITA SARKEESIAN

The Internet is full of people who just want attention, want to make a fuss, and ultimately want to piss everybody off. These people are called trolls, probably because they all live under a bridge and are very ugly. Every time you see a racist comment or a diatribe of shameful, hurtful language, you are giving them power, feeding their addiction, and just making it all worse.

That is why when I see things like the flash game “Beat up Anita Sarkeesian” on Newgrounds.com, I can’t really take it seriously. I know it was probably done for attention.

The game has since been removed from the website but if you still want to view the page, you can click here.

I suppose it’s not hard to get angry at Anita Sarkeesian, the feminist pop culture critic who stirred up controversy a few weeks ago when her Kickstarter for a video series called Tropes vs. Women went public, and ended up raising nearly $160,000. The Internet, and gaming industries have been split for a long time about the state of women in video games and pop culture. Some people believe that the appearance of women needs to be improved to not just include romantic interests and masculine fantasies, but others believe that this is just a case of extreme feminism, an instance of women complaining when they don’t need to, and it should not be taken seriously.

There is definitely a case to be made about the state of women in pop culture. One of Sarkeesian’s videos demonstrates this.

However, what is the point of having a poorly-made flash game with no discernible purpose besides clicking on a screen a few times to “beat up” Sarkeesian? Is somebody that angry at a woman just trying to express her opinion (as people do on the Internet)?

Because this is what I want out of a video game.

The author, Bendilin Spurr, even stated his motivations in the comments with: “Anita Sarkeesian has not only scammed thousands of people out of over $160,000, but also uses the excuse that she is a woman to get away with whatever she damn well pleases.” People were none too pleased, and the game was removed.

This is not a loss for trolls. It is a loss for douchebags.