Crash Override by ZoĂŤ Quinn
Full title is âCrash Override: How Gamergate (Nearly) Destroyed My Life, and How We Can Win the Fight Against Online Hate â
First of all, I object to the label of âmemoirâ, as it seems to be applied to any serious book written by a woman that doesnât fall neatly into a âseriousâ category. This is research, bitches, and ZoĂŤ Quinn was the unwitting test subject.
I never followed Gamergate and had some vague idea of what was happening at the time. It led me to play Depression Quest, which I thought was an amazingly honest look at people with depression (of whose ranks I number in). I bought this book because I noticed that she was coming to Powellâs to promote it and I felt like the least I could do was boost her book sales by 1. Little did I know what I was in for when I began reading.Â
I was appalled throughout the book, to be frank. Appalled than an abuser would take his abuse online and not only find support, but an ARMY of other abusers to assist him in abusing his ex (who dared to leave him). Appalled that the most the justice system could or would do was issue a restraining order (which made the abuse even WORSE) and tell her to âgo offlineâ. Appalled that the very social media platforms used by countless abusers do LITTLE TO NOTHING to protect their subscribers. And most of all, appalled that this is often framed as a âwomanâs issueâ.
However, while I read, Ms. Quinn was transformed in my mind from a sad story to a champion of online rights. She went through so much that she already had laid the road to assist others and founded a company to do just that. She assisted former harassers that now found themselves the subject of harassment. How many of us could say we would do the same? I probably would have given up halfway through and moved to a foreign country, but this lady went on to speak at the United Nations!Â
I especially appreciated the chapter entitled âDigital Hygieneâ, where she outlines how you can make it more difficult for these things to happen to you as well as the unending humor that ZoĂŤ portrays throughout the book. I hope that one day she will realize her goal to be more notable for creating games than being an internet abuse victim. If anyone deserves it, itâs you, ZoĂŤ Quinn.














