Horseshoe Theory is Not Enough

 I was crawling through my Discord and Facebook threads about politics and chatting with friends when a buddy shared a screenshot of a tweet that made my jaw drop. (Discord is a social chatting platform similar to old IRC chats, but with a nicer interface; if you don't know what Facebook and Twitter are, I would like to know the location of your rock, and exactly how many other blind salamanders live under it, because it should probably be protected by UNESCO.) 

Anyway, there's a content producer called Peter Coffin. They create video essays on Youtube, and since I tend to watch my fair share of "Leftube"/"Breadtube"/educational and witty videos about current events and philosophical topics, I've come across their work. They're very aggressively against "horseshoe theory," which is the idea that the extreme left and the extreme right bend around to being similar to each other. This makes it seem as though the center/centrism is the most rational perspective and belief - obviously, I personally disagree with that. 

(All screenshots were taken on January 15th, around 12 AM, by myself.)  

The tweets I've screenshotted here are, to put it colloquially, cursed as fuck. Proceed with caution (and some type of memory-scrubbing agent, especially for that Pence tweet).

However, the way this political theorist has spoken about Gamergate has been - to put it mildly - a warning sign. Gamergaters launched targeted harassment at game designers Zoe Quinn and Brianna Wu, among others, citing their role in...somehow prejudicing the industry against white men? "It's about ethics in games journalism" became a rallying cry - but any amount of examination made that ostensible excuse fall apart like a dessicated wasp nest. 

To reiterate: they (Peter Coffin) are sympathizing with people who created an entire narrative structure to validate their anger at BIPoC, women (+), and LGBTQ people for both wanting to be represented in games and designing their own games and stories. 

If nothing else, more art makes art better. Straight people, white people, and especially men actually benefit from these stories existing, because it will lead to more nuances and better stories being told for them, too. 

Gamergate, QAnon, and MAGA

Unfortunately, when people equate a desire for representation with hate, and when they also ignore power structures, we get things like the violence against Black Lives Matter protestors. These movements share very similar ethics and values. In fact, the pickup artist community and the "manosphere," as well as the incel movements, have all been linked to the alt-right. These communities directly feed into each other and stoke violent hatred. 

And why wouldn't they? Defensive, angry people hearing that their way of life is Bad, Actually are going to group together. Unfortunately, arguing with these people online tends to push them further into their bubbles. Discussion etiquette is in a dire state, but some arguments are also too stupid to be countenanced. Instead, de-radicalization therapies and approaches are more effective. 

Trying to debate a cultist doesn't work. I've tried. Unfortunately, understanding how the violent kind of radicalization and cults work has given me insight into something unpleasant. The left doesn't become like the right - rather, the alt-right tends to use the trappings of the left, and sometimes, converts us. Two groups of people who distrust the government, albeit for drastically different reasons, can come together over that link. The same thing happens with flat Earthers - some believe in a dome, and some believe in a weird ice-wall thing, but they're basically just united by their opposition, rather than a core set of principles.  

And when people get so focused on one element of inequality that it blots out their understanding of all others - for instance, class reductionists like Coffin, who think that capitalism and clout culture are the only explanation for every problem - their logic tends to disintegrate.

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But empathy? 

Here's the thing. Empathy with the people on the other side is actually important. I speak in harsh terms about white supremacists because we can't excuse their behaviour, but understanding their anger and fear is important. Hell, even understanding why rich, powerful people probably don't want to hand over their comforts and resources helps. 

But as much as the institutions punishing the protestors suck, and as much as they've been used against the oppressed, it doesn't mean that we should sympathize with people who believed the election was fraudulent because their candidate didn't win. My Canadian representatives and my preferred American candidates haven't won every single election, but the correct response to that state is to protest or strike and use democratic means when possible. Even setting aside the absolutely awful, stupid things Trump and his movement stand for, vicious and abusive tantrums are unacceptable. 

Sympathizing with people choosing to attempt the murder of others is bad, actually. Seeing this perspective voiced by someone who has been so adamant about the fact that horseshoe theory is fake is painfully ironic. 

What can we learn from Peter's screwups? 

There's plenty to laugh at and cringe at here. The most important thing to take away from all this is approaching all of our ideas with caution and awareness of our biases. Empathy and pragmatism have to go hand-in-hand. Finally, if we try to make everything fit a single pattern, all we'll do is draw a red-string conspiracy board, and strangle ourselves. 

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Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and their two cats. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible. Find her all over the internet: * OG Blog * Mailing list * Magpie Editing * Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * Paypal.me * Ko-fi