Robert Conway
Robert Conway is millennial who grew up with gaming. When he's not gaming he's either working, at the gym, playing music, or reading comic books. Robert prefers to play games on Xbox but will always have a soft spot for Nintendo's consoles.
On Tuesday January 27, 2015, Schoolcraft College, located in Livonia Michigan, held a student Winter School Daze. The event was an opportunity to welcome students back after their winter break and provide student ran organizations an opportunity to recruit new members. However thing would turn sour as a student thought that it would be a good idea to test out mace in a crowded area.
Earlier on that day the president of Schoolcraft College’s Project Playhem Gaming Society (AKA YouTube user ApertureBlack) had an encounter with an anti-gamergate supporter, a red haired girl with thick rimmed glasses. The red haired girl had inquired about the club and then ripped into the club’s president about gamergate. As expected, ApretureBlack got the usual SJW spiel and was accused of being part of the problem.
Despite this unpleasant encounter, ApretureBlack was on his merry way and eventually left to get some food with other club members. Upon returning an hour later ApretureBlack had found out the location vacated because pepper spray had gotten into the air conditioning system.
Later on that day, ApretureBlack had posted his account of the events on 8chan:
Ok, so I had this sort of college fair thing going on today where a bunch of clubs advertise what they are and try to get new members.
I am the head of the video game club and was running a little booth. Here is what happened
So…
>Day going well
>Getting new members of both genders, quite a few.
>Street Fighter and Smash 4 attracting a lot of people.
>Mario Kart 8 and Pokemon getting a lot of chicks for some reason.
>2 hours into the fair I look up and see a woman standing in front of me.
>Dyed red hair
>Thick rimmed black glasses
>Very thin black coat not suitable for the cold weather.
>Clipboard in hand, phone in the other.
>Decent looking, but nothing special
>She asks me about the club and what not.
>Hair color alarms me slightly, but I answer all her questions.
>Nothing really unusual, just what games we play and how often we meet.
>Suddenly out of the blue asks about the culture of misogyny that is prevalent in video game culture.
>I hesitantly ask what she means
>She mentions Gamergate
>I firmly state that I am pro GG and believe in ethics in game journalism.
>She states she is firmly anti-GG and that I am part of the reason video game culture is sexist.
>I want to talk with her a bit, but she walks away and doesn’t turn back.
>Decide its time for lunch1 hour later I return to my booth.
>Everything is strangely quiet
>People notice I have returned
>Friends suddenly rush at me and tell me that a crazy lady sprayed mace/pepper spray at someone for no reason.
>It got into the AC and sprayed everywhere while I was gone, causing a bunch of people to have reactions, one even went to the hospital.
>Was told the lady who did it had redish hair and glasses.
>She apparently ran out after spraying it and noone knew her.I couldnt help but feel as if I knew all along what was going to happen.
Of course it’s no surprise that this whole thing had blown up so quickly making its was to /r/KiA and eventually Twitter. Considering the description of both the anti-gamergate SJW and what witnesses described as the mace girl are extremely similar in appearance, it was only a matter of time before people put two and two together.
Luckily Schoolcraft handled the situation well. Both the campus police department and the fire department responded appropriately. The college had wrapped up the investigation quickly and issued this statement:
Schoolcraft College is aware of an incident on our campus on Tuesday, January 27, 2015, in which a student released some pepper spray in an area occupied by students and staff. The student stated there was only a small amount of spray released “to see how far it would shoot.” The area was evacuated and both the Schoolcraft College Police Authority and the Livonia Fire & Rescue Department responded. There were no serious injuries although one student was treated by paramedics on scene. The release of the pepper spray was not directed at any individual or any group, student-related or otherwise, as some have erroneously reported. The incident has been investigated by the Schoolcraft College Police Authority and the college’s administration.
So it would appear that the incident was the result of someone doing something stupid and not the result of a politically motivated attack. Of course this would lead to ApretureBlack creating a YouTube video clarifying his 8chan post.
The fact that SJW’s were the logical suspect of the macing says a lot about their strategy to date, which so far has included death threats, doxxing, and outright harassment of those who don’t agree with their views. One must wonder if forms of violence are next on their list.
Read Next: TotalBiscuit Receives Death Wish By Anti #GamerGate For Promoting Charity
