there’s an ongoing memetic flashmob-style recurring gag where people pretend that the entire population of gamers are universally so toxic and evil that talking about them is a curse. stereotypes that gamers are racist, misogynistic, etc.

and like, yeah, too many self-avowed gamers ARE toxic in that particular way–the stereotype exists for a reason after all–but i don’t like gatekeeping and the ‘joke’ reeks of it, in that it conveys the implication that playing video games is causative of acquiring fascist views and that if you play video games people will assume you are cultivating a fascist viewpoint and supporting an inherently fascistic and ontologically evil industry, which may cause some people, especially people who are already marginalized, to feel like they are either unwelcome to participate in a recreational activity or that they will be further ostracized for participating in a recreational activity.

i for one would merely like to see people not being discouraged from enjoying stuff, y’know…?

edit:

but i would like to acknowledge that it’s also at least relatively obvious that it’s not actually aimed at literally all people who play video games, but more so at the niche demographic subsection of individuals who identify themselves as Capital-G “Gamers™”, which is a worthwhile distinction.

also … i’ll admit that i’m speaking a little bit from experiences where this has personally affected me due to people assuming I was a self-avowed “Gamer” and projecting upon me a bunch of disgusting political positions that I never have, and never will, endorse. It hurts being accused of doing something that is antithetical to who you are… and I’m sorry to acknowledge that this is quite likely to have tainted my judgment about this ._.