Short story is that the game was unusual in that you played through a set story, but could still select the main character's gender (it would always just be "Commander Shepard"). Also you could have romantic relationships. [gamers help me out if I say something wrong] 2/
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Those relationships were just small scenes of people embracing & kissing, if I remember correctly -- but crucially, it didn't matter if you chose woman, man, or person-like alien as a romantic partner (one humanoid alien race had only one gender). 3/
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As you might expect, some on the conservative side were irritated by this. But here's the thing: their comments had almost nothing to do with the actual game content. They said the game featured rape and non-consensual sodomy, as well as explicit pornographic sex scenes. 4/
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At least one commenter had no issue admitting that they had never played the game. Gamers at the time were mostly baffled (there were other details to the story, like one anti-game lawyer defending the game, and a concerted effort to down-rate one of the commenter's books). 5/
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This made me realize the dynamics of what I'll call free-floating outrage: of course the right was irritated by the game, but the irritation was stronger than the game could justify. So, in an effort to reduce cognitive dissonance, they confabulated facts. 6/
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We see a similar reaction to Ocasio-Cortez: of course her win upsets some on the right (due to her background, age, gender, ethnicity). But as their outrage is stronger than these things would justify, they make up all kinds of nonsense about her past or her political views. 7/
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My interpretation of them booing her (but nobody else who does the same thing as her), and them being confused by a dancing video, is that free-floating outrage is in full effect. The question is now whether AOC's reasonable reactions to these things will make it better or worse.
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It also helps as a reality check for how to deal with right-wing outrage: Would it have helped if the game held back? No. Would it help if AOC appeased the right in any reasonable way? No. Their outrage would be exactly the same. So, in summary: be yourself,
@AOC. /endShow this thread
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And it's a pretty good point! I'm as impressed as I was initially skeptical.
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Thank you!
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You should put “Bear with me, I swear I have a point” on a t-shirt.
Thanks. Twitter will use this info to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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You had me at Mass Effect
. Some good points, too.Thanks. Twitter will use this info to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
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