Kill the Faggot

I have been asked to speak about the "Kill the Faggot" game that the media, in particular the gay media, has been all abuzz about.   The game itself a non-issue.  The distributor, Steam, pulled the game within two hours of it being uploaded.  All records of it ever existing have been expunged from YouTube.   Although the creator of the game said he will be back with an even more offensive game, the word is out on this guy and it's highly unlikely that any game distributor will ever let him upload again.   

But the issue goes beyond the appearance of an egregiously hateful game.   The creator defended his action with these words:

"These people that think if you are even remotely homophobic, you are 'hateful' and a 'bigot,' and do everything they can to destroy you in every vicious way possible.  So I decided to go down a path that most developers are afraid to go down: to piss these people off by making the most overly offensive game possible to these idiots to prove a point."

These aren't the words of a homophobe or bigot.  These are the words of a "troll." 

A troll, in the modern sense, is someone who delights in angering people. They have no clear ideology or agenda. They make no serious attempt to persuade people.   Trolls thrive on the attention they get from the people they offend.  They derive an almost sexual pleasure from scorn.  They are all "Yes!  Everyone is attacking ME!  I am important! I matter!"

Trolls can be dangerous of course. The murderer of John Lennon was not angry with Lennon or with his music.  He wanted to destroy something people loved.  He wanted to be remembered as the man who killed the Beatles.   (But you know?  I can't quite seem to recall his name right now.)  This was an extreme case however.  Most trolls are impotent losers.

The trollish need for attention is ultimately their downfall.   Because they relish ignominy, protesting, boycotting, or writing critical news items on them only feeds their fetish.  The only way to deal with trolls is to completely ignore them.  Obviously, if they directly threaten bodily harm to someone, they must be stopped.  But if they are simply speaking hateful things or making hateful games, the best way to deal with trolls is to simply ignore them.   

If no one bought an Ann Coulter book, if the Westboro Baptist Church never got air time, if Arizona's own Steven Anderson was never protested against... all these trolls would shrivel up and die. 

This, therefore, is all I will say on the subject.  Criticizing a troll, writing a press release against them, or paying any attention to their hate is like giving them a hand job.  I'd really rather not.