counterpoint: leftism is nerd culture. what's nerdier than reading a bunch of books written by dead guys lmao

WC just said no race is inherently evil and nerds shit out their doodoo ass cause they couldn’t roleplay racism.

I think a lot of the white dudes who participated in "nerd" cultures while growing up in the 2000s really internalized the idea of "being a nerd means to be shunned by society." So when they hear that they can't be oppressed because they're white and male that contradicts directly with their worldview because honestly they were probably bullied as kids and probably do go on to work legitimately oppressive jobs at some point in their lives.

The fascists did a better job articulating to them why their lives were so shitty. It was easy because it was the first time everyone in the world had access to the internet on their smartphones and no one had developed an immune system against online reactionary rhetoric yet. That's the main problem I think.

Filled with white male shut ins.

Fascism appeals to the asocial losers of comfortable society. The failsons of the striving petty bourgeois

"When education is not liberating, the dream of the oppressed is to become the oppressor."

Because they're full of isolated, dejected life losers and that's the type of personality attracted to fascist movements.

Failed your father's expectations? Overweight and hideous? Crippling social anxiety and can't have sex? Filled with disgust when you see other people having fun and living their best lives? Failing business? Can't get or hold down a job? Have atrocious taste and no talent but insist that you plight in fortune and women is because no one understands you or have lost touch with traditional values?

BOY HAVE I GOT A MOVEMENT FOR YOU!

Dress in a uniform. Our propaganda portrays us as the peak of masculinity and vigorous, vital action. Return to your real roots. Have a docile homemaker and baby machine for a wife. Plus we know exactly who to blame for the tragedy that is your life.

A lot of high fantasy ends up being a slippery slope towards fascism. I'm not saying that Tolkien is a fascist (I don't even know), but popular fantasy does tend to draw fascists since romanticization of the past is a symptom of fascism. C.S. Lewis was also an open Christian apologist.

And as for sci-fi, a lot of that gets lost on people. We can only talk about capitalism in public through cyberpunk. We can talk about anti-racism and embracing of sexualities through Star Trek and some Bioware games when they were good. Star Wars was influenced by the Vietnam War.

BuT Im A ChUD. ThAt Ne0n PuRpLe STUFF IZ COOL.

All social interactions mediated through consumer products and competition, attracting some of the most alienated individuals and only encourages more alienation and frustration so that they are better consumers.

Roleplaying games have had some rocky history too, there's a much larger space for non-white non-cishet players and designers these days but that hasn't always been the case. Early dnd was pretty reactionary and echoes of it are still felt (ed greenwood's forgotten realms being the default setting is a part of this). The whole white feudal Europe but also magic, where you take the law into your own hands and theres institutionalized racism really appeals to certain people.

Recently wizards wanted to change racial stat modifiers to be less of a racist dogwhistle and more about culture or individual aptitude and there has been a huge outcry about it (orcs no longer having a negative Int in character creation rubs racists the wrong way for some reason). Its definitely changing a bit with how many lgbtq+ and poc are entering the space/being recognized as having always been here, but there's still lots of weird fascists and bigots hanging around.