#GamerGate Raises Money For The Hero Initiative In Response To Loki’s Anti-#GamerGate Joke GamerGate turns the other cheek and helps out the needy as they do it

Recently, a really stupid GamerGate joke found its way into Marvel’s Loki: Agent of Asgard.

I thought about writing an article about it at the time, but it was such a pathetic attempt at a potshot I had a hard time even getting worked up about it. This poorly-written, out of place attempt at humor did have one positive effect, though: it lead to gamers helping out a worthy cause.

Ethics In Hammer-Wielding

A GamerGate supporter decided to use this as a good excuse to start a little fundraiser for the Hero Initiative. As this oh so evil and hateful misogynist put it:

We think that the most ethical thing to do when wielding the mighty hammer of Thor is to give back to those who made it so mighty.

A goal of $1000 was set, and as of this writing, the Hero Initiative is at $1,100.

The Hero Initiative

For those of you unfamiliar with the Hero Initiative, its goal is to provide comic book artist and writers—especially those of the Golden, Silver, and Bronze Ages—with financial assistance, a basic safety net, and emergency medical costs. Despite the big business superheroes are, the actual writers and artists are usually paid pretty modestly. This is especially true of creators from days gone by. The Hero Initiative seeks to help out these creators who’ve helped to make the characters we love into the multi-billion dollar industries they are today. This is an extremely worthy cause and I applaud whoever started this fundraiser.

Taking The High Road, Yet Again

The supporters of GamerGate have been called every name in the book. We’ve been portrayed as pathetic manchildren screaming with impotent rage, dangerous terrorists, and everything in between. And yet time and time again, I find myself struck by just how consistently GamerGate takes the moral high ground. Time and time again, the people in GamerGate prove themselves to be an incredibly diverse and accepting group of people, while the aGGros constantly reveal themselves to be a corrupt, vile, and mean-spirited bunch.

Sure, there have been some assholes sending out genuinely abusive Tweets on our side, but they always turn out to be tiny little troll accounts. Meanwhile, incredibly vile things are spouted all the time by major GamerGate opponents:

• We donate money to anti-bullying groups. Sam Biddle actively praises the bullying of nerds.
• We reach out wanting debate. They consider honest debate to be beneath them.
• We promote artistic liberty and free expression. They promote censorship.
• We want to see journalists behave ethically. They see no problems with game journalists sleeping with developers they are writing about.
• We consist of supporters of all manner of political ideologies, ethnic backgrounds, and lifestyles. They consist entirely of social justice warriors, who are—ironically enough—mostly white.
• We raise money for charities. They raise money for themselves.

We Wield The Hammer Well

This uprising, this consumer revolt, this loose confederation called #GamerGate is one of the most amazing, diverse, charitable, and welcoming groups of people I’ve ever had the privilege of associating with. Truly, you guys are awesome. Let’s continue to take the high road and demonstrate that we’re better than our opponents. This is not to earn their approval, because we have nothing to prove to them. No, let’s continue to proudly walk that high road because it’s the one leading to glorious Valhalla.

Read More: Zoe Quinn Announces “Anti-Harassment” Initiative Called Crash Override