I have a few acquaintances on twitter who have bought the "it's a hate group" angle hook, line and sinker. More on FB who have swallowed the SJW propaganda about it. These days I don't bother arguing with them.
Media has called the GamerGate phenomenon "trolling". SJWs are playing the victim card. Most people already think that people who identify as gamers are frustrated, socially maladjusted, troubled loners who are likely to harass people outside of their clique.
The SJWs who appear in mainstream media aren't the batshit crazy, barely functional crowd we deal with on a regular basis. They look calm, collected, polite and well spoken. When people in the media want to
support SJW ideas, they interview Sarkeesian, who looks and talks like a normal human being, not a screaming hysteric harpy like the Big Red or a babbling confused mess like Suey Park.
SJWs portray themselves as modern, educated, civil and reasonable. They claim to fight for gender equality, to like games but not too much (unlike those unhealthy, obsessive gamers) and to be targeted by an ignorant, backwards, angry and dangerous crowd.
It's no surprise that the general public sympathizes with them. Everyone who's been on the Internet has had to deal with trolls at least once, and for most people it's been an unpleasant experience. Most people have a life and therefore only play video games in their spare time. They can identify with Sarkeesian, at least to an extent. They don't want to identify with the stereotype of the GamerGate crowd.
Sarkeesian is good at manipulating people, so she understands how to get people on her side. She's far better at it than PZ "tentacle porn" Myers or Rebecca "Another Beer, please" Watson.
