What a Mess

A co-worker said something to me today,

"Smash didn't make pedophiles. Pedophiles made Smash."

A literal interpretation is unwarranted. Though humorous, maybe inaccurate, I believe it strikes at the heart of the problem.

Japanese culture, Anime culture, video game culture. They all silently condone, advocate, and even commercialize pedophilia. I used to be an Anime fan. I still am a video game fan. I used to attend Anime conventions, and though I never got involved in anything particularly raunchy, I was aware of the situations that people could find themselves in, and the situations that people were actively seeking out.

Look at how Nintendo put together Palutena's reveal trailer for Smash 4. Look at the increase in chest size they gave to Peach. Look at Zero Suit Samus. Nintendo cannot say it has not objectified women, even if it has only done so subtly.

The fact that the term "waifu" exists, that many Anime and video game fans have been subliminally encouraged to become pedophiles, that Smash is advertised as a "party" and "kid-friendly" game, which encourages minors to attend events, expose their vulnerability, and stay at hotels filled with horny, malodorous, and loud male nerds in their early to late twenties...

The fact that the competitive Smash scene has always been grass roots, unregulated, and filled with toxic individuals who felt empowered by their positions to show no restraint, even at the expense of the victims they abused.

The fact that Nintendo never supported competitive Smash, thereby leading to the development of such a noxious community and culture filled with toxicity, abuse, and malevolence.

The victims who suffered, the victims who were falsely accused, and those who have yet to speak out. Everything is unfolding, and the curtain has drawn back. Who knows if competitive Smash will survive?

Everything that's been happening recently, all the news and allegations, and the resulting disillusionment... It's been a while since I've felt disillusionment so heavy. Ironically, my primary reasons for never attending Smash Bros. tournaments were 1. I still wanted to get better with a real main before putting myself out there and 2. There were too many young people.

I'm an OAF. Old as fuck. Two people who have gone to tournaments have beaten me in Smash. And they were my students no less. But I also beat them a few times.

I've always wondered what it would have been like to be a part of the competitive Smash scene. I've always heard about its toxicity, but it wasn't until Smash Ultimate that I started considered myself a "competitive" player. And I really was considering going to tournaments.

None of what has happened surprises me, but with the extent and severity of the incidents... I'm perturbed to say the least. I'm really depressed that this has been the true reality of the competitive Smash community, or a significant part of it. 

I was up until 1 AM reading the most notable Twitlongers, Jisu's Google document with all the compiled screenshots, and ZeRo's apology and announcement that he was withdrawing from, well, everything. I watched Mew2King's, Leffen's, and Hungrybox's response videos. I'm currently watching the Sky House stream while I'm writing this post.

I was watching ZeRo's content almost everyday up until the revelations. Though he's my junior by seven years, I admired his tenacity and forthrightness, persevering through all the hatred directed toward him throughout his life and decisively proving that he was best player in Smash 4, and I appreciated his humor. For a man who repeatedly states that he's still a virgin in public, his allegations and the resulting fallout have shocked me the most.

I'm not surprised that he made advances to under-aged girls online. Teenage girls and boys often don't realize how easily they invite and, at times, encourage the advances of older men, whether intentional or not. They're young; they're naive.

I also don't overlook the traumatic past that ZeRo shared with us. Though he claims he did not share his story to garner sympathy, the real purpose behind his story is clear. To explain, provide context, and garner sympathy.

It's easy to say that "I was young and didn't know what I was doing." This applies to both the perpetrators and the victims. The immense trauma and suffering that has resulted, however, is more than evident.

I will need more time to process all of this. It has affected me and brought down my mood more than I expected. But I still choose to face the reality and will continue to look into the individual cases.

I pity Nairo, though this my no means condones his decisions to allow the sexual encounters to occur with a minor. His accuser was under-age, but still guilty of making advances, performing fellatio on Nairo on more than one occasion, then revealing the truth publicly after being paid and asking for more money to attend an event (?). Or perhaps I'm not reading his chat-log and text screenshots correctly? To me, they were superfluous and pitiful (and not in the way you might think). But because he was a minor and Nairo an adult, we deem Nairo guilty based on our laws and ethics.

Jisu is a talented artist, who independently built her respectable career despite the malicious Peach player who manipulated, extorted, tormented, and I can't even bring myself to write about what he has done. After reading Choe's 2018 post, I can't put into words how terrible I feel that anyone had to suffer and be manipulated, neglected, and spurned to such a degree by those whom they trusted and loved. I commend and thank her for her bravery, and I hope she can eventually find solace.

I'm still watching Sky's video. I notice that it's scripted. And poorly prepared.

It's always easy to say "I should have done more."

How about we just do more and do better? I'm hoping that one day I don't need to feel ashamed of my gender due to the continued existence of so many cruel and pathetic men.

Had Nintendo supported and helped monitor the competitive Smash community, at least as far as sexual misconduct goes, perhaps things could have turned out better. Or maybe I'm just a fool.

If this is the death of the current competitive Smash scene, so be it. Let's rebuild it into something better.

And how the fuck do 20+ people live in the same house?