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The truth about trolls and the men they worship The truth about trolls and the men they worship
(about 4 hours later)
Back in 2007, before Gamergate, before everyone started to grasp that being a woman online was fundamentally unsafe, Kathy Sierra was hounded off the internet. It doesn’t matter what she did to attract the attention of trolls – as with this summer’s outbreak of abuse in the gaming community, the revenge of the trolls was based on a pack of lies anyway.Back in 2007, before Gamergate, before everyone started to grasp that being a woman online was fundamentally unsafe, Kathy Sierra was hounded off the internet. It doesn’t matter what she did to attract the attention of trolls – as with this summer’s outbreak of abuse in the gaming community, the revenge of the trolls was based on a pack of lies anyway.
But that didn’t matter – the trolls had been called down. They sent death threats to Sierra, a well-known Java programmer and software design guru, and Photoshopped her head onto pictures of corpses, and Photoshopped her children into porn scenes, and published her private information and address. The only safe thing to do was to disappear as much as possible, although that wasn’t a perfect solution either, because at that point no perfect solution exists.But that didn’t matter – the trolls had been called down. They sent death threats to Sierra, a well-known Java programmer and software design guru, and Photoshopped her head onto pictures of corpses, and Photoshopped her children into porn scenes, and published her private information and address. The only safe thing to do was to disappear as much as possible, although that wasn’t a perfect solution either, because at that point no perfect solution exists.
Now, Sierra has returned with a devastating and widely-shared essay (which she says will soon be deleted but is also here), in which she expresses justified hurt and fury at the men who harassed her – and, even more, at those who excused the trolls or looked the other way. In it, Sierra writes of what she calls The Kool-Aid Point, the point where a brand – or a person – gets so popular that it attracts hate purely because people like it.Now, Sierra has returned with a devastating and widely-shared essay (which she says will soon be deleted but is also here), in which she expresses justified hurt and fury at the men who harassed her – and, even more, at those who excused the trolls or looked the other way. In it, Sierra writes of what she calls The Kool-Aid Point, the point where a brand – or a person – gets so popular that it attracts hate purely because people like it.
It wasn’t about harassment, abuse, or threats against people but about the kind of brand ‘trolls’ you find in, say, Apple discussion forums. My wildly non-scientific theory was this: the most vocal trolling and ‘hate’ for a brand kicks in HARD once a critical mass of brand fans/users are thought to have ‘drunk the Koolaid’. In other words, the hate wasn’t so much about the product/brand but that other people were falling for it.It wasn’t about harassment, abuse, or threats against people but about the kind of brand ‘trolls’ you find in, say, Apple discussion forums. My wildly non-scientific theory was this: the most vocal trolling and ‘hate’ for a brand kicks in HARD once a critical mass of brand fans/users are thought to have ‘drunk the Koolaid’. In other words, the hate wasn’t so much about the product/brand but that other people were falling for it.
Most people know this, but let me make it explicit: “drinking the Kool-Aid” is a reference to the Jonestown massacres, where cult followers drank poisoned juice and died en masse. “Drinking the Kool-Aid” means ingesting poison mindlessly because you’re told it’s harmless by someone you trust. Sierra’s Kool-Aid Point is the moment when people (usually men) turn against one person (usually a woman) because they imagine she’s using her popularity to serve up something poisonous. Most people know this, but let me make it explicit: “drinking the Kool-Aid” is a reference to the Jonestown massacres, where cult followers drank poisoned juice and died en masse. “Drinking the Kool-Aid” means ingesting poison mindlessly because you’re told to by someone you trust. Sierra’s Kool-Aid Point is the moment when people (usually men) turn against one person (usually a woman) because they imagine she’s using her popularity to serve up something poisonous.
In this case, the Kool-Aid Point is a work of paranoia – there’s no poison. But there is a real Poison Kool-Aid Point, and the trusted people standing there, handing out cups and drinking, are mostly men. As vigilant as some men are about imaginary poisoned Kool-Aid, they’re all too often happy to down the real thing.In this case, the Kool-Aid Point is a work of paranoia – there’s no poison. But there is a real Poison Kool-Aid Point, and the trusted people standing there, handing out cups and drinking, are mostly men. As vigilant as some men are about imaginary poisoned Kool-Aid, they’re all too often happy to down the real thing.
Men (especially men who roam certain corners of the internet) put their heroes (especially men who run certain “hacktivist” enterprises) on pedestals so high, the people lining up to drink can’t even see into the cups they’re being handed.Men (especially men who roam certain corners of the internet) put their heroes (especially men who run certain “hacktivist” enterprises) on pedestals so high, the people lining up to drink can’t even see into the cups they’re being handed.
The problem isn’t that people question authority or popularity, which is smart and sensible. The problem – an important one because it is so difficult to pin down – is when people see poisoned Kool-Aid where none exists, which can be abusive and insidious. The men who are magical believers see a popular woman handing someone a cup, and they don’t wait to see what’s inside. It could be water or broth – something refreshing, something nourishing. But they don’t trust a woman with an audience for her ideas. In their minds, anything a woman hands out to drink must be poison.The problem isn’t that people question authority or popularity, which is smart and sensible. The problem – an important one because it is so difficult to pin down – is when people see poisoned Kool-Aid where none exists, which can be abusive and insidious. The men who are magical believers see a popular woman handing someone a cup, and they don’t wait to see what’s inside. It could be water or broth – something refreshing, something nourishing. But they don’t trust a woman with an audience for her ideas. In their minds, anything a woman hands out to drink must be poison.
The irony, of course, is that these same Kool-Aid vigilantes are usually great supporters of the hacker Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer – the world’s most famous internet troll, the man who originally drove Sierra off the internet with threats to her real-world safety. Sierra, in explaining why she has suddenly reappeared online, insists that if Weev wants to punish women for speaking out, then people who endorse him – however tacitly – are condoning the punishment of women.The irony, of course, is that these same Kool-Aid vigilantes are usually great supporters of the hacker Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer – the world’s most famous internet troll, the man who originally drove Sierra off the internet with threats to her real-world safety. Sierra, in explaining why she has suddenly reappeared online, insists that if Weev wants to punish women for speaking out, then people who endorse him – however tacitly – are condoning the punishment of women.
And in the last few weeks, as Weev himself has reemerged following his hacking trial, he has made it impossible to ignore his anti-Semitic and racist tendencies. The man has a giant swastika tattoo on his chest, and he willingly had a photo of it published as the main image atop the screed he published last week on a white supremacist website.And in the last few weeks, as Weev himself has reemerged following his hacking trial, he has made it impossible to ignore his anti-Semitic and racist tendencies. The man has a giant swastika tattoo on his chest, and he willingly had a photo of it published as the main image atop the screed he published last week on a white supremacist website.
And yet many of Auernheimer’s friends and advocates have not deserted him. By all accounts, Weev has charisma – it even affected Sierra, she admits – and some of the things he stands for have objective value. His championing of the right to online freedom and privacy has won him a lot of support from the Aaron Swartz crowd. But he has been sneaking poison into the cups he handed out. And the tech world has been drinking them.And yet many of Auernheimer’s friends and advocates have not deserted him. By all accounts, Weev has charisma – it even affected Sierra, she admits – and some of the things he stands for have objective value. His championing of the right to online freedom and privacy has won him a lot of support from the Aaron Swartz crowd. But he has been sneaking poison into the cups he handed out. And the tech world has been drinking them.
There is a Poison Kool-Aid Point, but it’s not where Sierra’s harassers and other trolls think it is. They see it at the point where other people start listening, or start caring, or start valuing the opinion of someone who they feel speaks for them. But it’s not there. It’s at the point where that person starts feeding followers poison, and they take it. It’s the point where people look at the hand that’s holding the cup, not at its contents. That hand too often belongs to a male demagogue, and it is never bitten.There is a Poison Kool-Aid Point, but it’s not where Sierra’s harassers and other trolls think it is. They see it at the point where other people start listening, or start caring, or start valuing the opinion of someone who they feel speaks for them. But it’s not there. It’s at the point where that person starts feeding followers poison, and they take it. It’s the point where people look at the hand that’s holding the cup, not at its contents. That hand too often belongs to a male demagogue, and it is never bitten.
The mirage Kool-Aid Point, as Sierra points out, seems to apply mostly to women. We may think we’re past the crude mob abuse of the Puritan witch panic, but there is a vocal and popular contingent of men who are instantly suspicious of a woman with anything approaching power. Unless she makes a huge show of using that power only for their benefit – and sometimes even if she does – there will be people who are essentially convinced that her power must come from some form of modern witchcraft, and that whatever she’s offering, however much people seem to value it, must be eye of newt in disguise.The mirage Kool-Aid Point, as Sierra points out, seems to apply mostly to women. We may think we’re past the crude mob abuse of the Puritan witch panic, but there is a vocal and popular contingent of men who are instantly suspicious of a woman with anything approaching power. Unless she makes a huge show of using that power only for their benefit – and sometimes even if she does – there will be people who are essentially convinced that her power must come from some form of modern witchcraft, and that whatever she’s offering, however much people seem to value it, must be eye of newt in disguise.
There’s no question that some respected women do start poisoning their offerings. Former feminist hero Naomi Wolf has recently (well, not all that recently) started espousing troubling ideas. When Julian Assange was accused of rape, she tied herself in knots to dismiss any idea that he might be culpable. Her book Vagina was, to put it mildly, distressing in the way it reduced female experience and worth to the genitals. And just over the weekend, she claimed that the Islamic State beheading videos were fakes staged by the US government, which she claimed is also deliberately trying to bring Ebola into the country.There’s no question that some respected women do start poisoning their offerings. Former feminist hero Naomi Wolf has recently (well, not all that recently) started espousing troubling ideas. When Julian Assange was accused of rape, she tied herself in knots to dismiss any idea that he might be culpable. Her book Vagina was, to put it mildly, distressing in the way it reduced female experience and worth to the genitals. And just over the weekend, she claimed that the Islamic State beheading videos were fakes staged by the US government, which she claimed is also deliberately trying to bring Ebola into the country.
But I don’t know any feminists defending Naomi Wolf. I’m sure they’re out there, but I don’t hear from them. The feminists I know are saying “what happened to Naomi Wolf?” and “how long has this been going on?” and “is she OK?” and “she’s probably not OK”, but we’re not saying “she must be right, because we liked her long ago”. Nor have I seen any men attack her, even though she is now serving lies – as concerned as they seem to be any time a woman (like Sierra or Stella Creasy or Anita Sarkeesian) has a platform, as much as they seem to worry that her output isn’t worth the attention it gets, they’re much more threatened by a woman telling the truth than one who’s gone off the rails. They’re not scared of a woman who’s dishing out poisoned Kool-Aid. They’re scared of one who’s dishing out food.But I don’t know any feminists defending Naomi Wolf. I’m sure they’re out there, but I don’t hear from them. The feminists I know are saying “what happened to Naomi Wolf?” and “how long has this been going on?” and “is she OK?” and “she’s probably not OK”, but we’re not saying “she must be right, because we liked her long ago”. Nor have I seen any men attack her, even though she is now serving lies – as concerned as they seem to be any time a woman (like Sierra or Stella Creasy or Anita Sarkeesian) has a platform, as much as they seem to worry that her output isn’t worth the attention it gets, they’re much more threatened by a woman telling the truth than one who’s gone off the rails. They’re not scared of a woman who’s dishing out poisoned Kool-Aid. They’re scared of one who’s dishing out food.
Assange, though – oh, how his fans desired his Kool-Aid, devoured it. They liked his work, so they unquestioningly supported his, shall we say, unorthodox ideas on sexual consent. They liked Weev’s work, so they looked the other way about his racism until forced to confront it, and sometimes even then. They like Richard Dawkins’ work and the glorious smugness it allows, so they stand by him with increasing stubbornness and hostility as he veers into racism, sexism and rape apology.Assange, though – oh, how his fans desired his Kool-Aid, devoured it. They liked his work, so they unquestioningly supported his, shall we say, unorthodox ideas on sexual consent. They liked Weev’s work, so they looked the other way about his racism until forced to confront it, and sometimes even then. They like Richard Dawkins’ work and the glorious smugness it allows, so they stand by him with increasing stubbornness and hostility as he veers into racism, sexism and rape apology.
The Actual Poison Kool-Aid point is real, and it is dangerous. But the men are too busy worrying about what’s in women’s glasses to check what’s in their own.The Actual Poison Kool-Aid point is real, and it is dangerous. But the men are too busy worrying about what’s in women’s glasses to check what’s in their own.
Sierra – and Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian and Rebecca Watson and Jen McCreight and and and and – was targeted because she was a woman and people were listening to her. None of these women were serving up poison. Quinn and Sarkeesian wanted better gender representation in videogames. Watson wanted more woman-friendly atheist conventions, and specifically for men not to proposition her when she physically couldn’t get away. McCreight wanted an atheist movement that also supported justice. These are reasonable, generous, valuable requests, and people listened because they agreed. But some men think anything a woman offers must be witch’s brew.Sierra – and Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkeesian and Rebecca Watson and Jen McCreight and and and and – was targeted because she was a woman and people were listening to her. None of these women were serving up poison. Quinn and Sarkeesian wanted better gender representation in videogames. Watson wanted more woman-friendly atheist conventions, and specifically for men not to proposition her when she physically couldn’t get away. McCreight wanted an atheist movement that also supported justice. These are reasonable, generous, valuable requests, and people listened because they agreed. But some men think anything a woman offers must be witch’s brew.
Those same men, though, will drink anything they’re handed by their heroes. And that’s what should really scare them.Those same men, though, will drink anything they’re handed by their heroes. And that’s what should really scare them.