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When Passions Flare, Lines Are Crossed [UPDATED]

One player's heated rhetoric about sexual harassment in the fighting community causes a furious debate, one that has Capcom apologizing.

No Caption Provided

UPDATE: Bakhtanians has issued a statement in the wake of today's coverage. Read it here.

--

“This is a community that’s, you know, 15 or 20-years-old and the sexual harassment is part of a culture,” said competitive fighting game player Aris "Aris" Bakhtanians on a recent live stream for Capcom's Cross Assault show, “and if you remove that from the fighting game community, it’s not the fighting game community.”

Capcom has since apologized for comments made during a conversation on sexual harassment in the fighting game community, which that quote was pulled from. It was a discussion focused on Bakhtanians, and took place during a recent episode of the company’s Cross Assault reality show. It’s part of a promotion for Street Fighter X Tekken.

Cross Assault started with 10 contestants divided into two teams, Team Tekken and Team Street Fighter. The final four contestants will be determined today, and the last matches begin March 3.

A reader initially pointed out the inflammatory commentary, which took place during day five.

Bakhtanians is the head of Team Tekken, and was engaged in a conversation that chiefly involved Twitch.tv community manager Jared Rea. Twitch.tv is hosting the daily streaming of the day-long Cross Assault episodes.

“The views and opinions expressed by cast members in the live internet program 'Cross Assault' do not reflect those of Capcom,” said a Capcom spokesperson in a statement issued to me last night. “As a company, Capcom believes that everyone should be treated with respect. This particular issue was brought to our attention and has been addressed. We sincerely apologize to anyone that was offended by any comments expressed during the show.”

You can listen to the conversation by fast forwarding to one hour and 45 minutes into the following video. A user on YouTube also collected a series of comments made by Bakhtanians on day one.

For example: "Miranda, I wanna know your bra size."

Tensions were immediately raised over Rea's suggestion the fighting game community, once insular and limited but now steadily growing year-over-year, was potentially alienating outsiders from becoming fans of fighting games or the competitive scene because of inappropriate sexual language. Bakhtanians took issue with Rea's criticism.

Here’s a lengthy transcript of their exchange:

Rea: You know what it is, to be honest with you? We’re getting older. Do you really want to keep hanging around with a bunch of [guys in their] early 20s who don’t know how to treat one another with respect? That’s what it is.

Bakhtanians: Alright, man. The thing is...if you don’t like the scene, how it is right now, it just seems like you’re trying to create...turn it into something that it’s not, and it’s never going to be. You know what I mean?

Rea: That’s really unfortunate [inaudible]...the way it is right now, they want to enjoy fighting games, but they’re so incredibly turned off by [the language].

Bakhtanians: This doesn’t involve me, Jared, I don’t know if you can hear me--this is Aris. This doesn’t really involve me, but if you don’t like onions, you get your sandwich without onions, man. I mean, this is the fighting game community.

Rea: Can I get my Street Fighter without sexual harassment?

Bakhtanians: You can’t. You can’t because they’re one and the same thing. This is a community that’s, you know, 15 or 20 years old, and the sexual harassment is part of a culture, and if you remove that from the fighting game community, it’s not the fighting game community--it’s StarCraft. There’s nothing wrong with StarCraft if you enjoy it, and there’s nothing wrong with anything about eSports, but why would you want just one flavor of ice cream, you know? There’s eSports for people who like eSports, and there’s fighting games for people who like spicy food and like to have fun. There’s no reason to turn them into the same thing, you know?

You can’t go to the NBA and say “hey, I like basketball, but I don’t want them to play with a basketball, I want them to play with a football.” It just doesn’t...it doesn’t make sense to have that attitude, you know? These things are established for years. That would be like someone from the fighting game community going over to StarCraft and trying to say “hey, StarCraft, you guys are too soft, let’s start making sexual harassment jokes to each other on StarCraft.” That’s not cool, people wouldn’t like that. StarCraft isn’t like that. People would get defensive, and that’s what you’re trying to do the fighting game community, and it’s not right. It’s ethically wrong.

I know that you’re thinking “what do you know about ethics? You say racial stuff and sexist stuff.” But those are jokes and if you were really a member of the fighting game community, you would know that. You would know that these are jokes.

Rea: So, ensuring that we alienate any and all female viewers...that’s the ethical thing to do?

Bakhtanians: Well, you know, there are layers here, if you think about this. There are layers of ethics. There are people who are racist and commit hate crimes, right? And then there are people who are racist but they have tons of friends of all colors and they have deep love for those friends. Do you think those people are one and the same? Absolutely not.

StarCraft was brought up several times during the discussion of fighting games role in the larger eSports movement, specifically in regards to what lessons the community should and should not learn from its popularity.

I reached out to Bakhtanians to discuss his comments on Cross Assault, but he didn't respond.

When I contacted Capcom, I included a transcript of the relevant conversation. The company told me the cast and crew had been informed that “any inappropriate or disrespectful comments will not be tolerated during filming.”

Upon receiving the statement from Capcom, I forwarded it in full to Bakhtanians. No response.

And there is one very important fact about this whole story: Cross Assault is not a male-only event. There are two females: Team Street Fighter’s Sherry “Sherryjenix” Nhan and Team Tekken’s Miranda “Super_Yan” Pakozdi.

During the exchange, as matches raged in the background, Pakozdi chimed in about Bakhtanians’ explanation for the pervasiveness of inappropriate sexual language within fighting game culture.

“It hurts the community,” she said.

Everyone in the stream made reference to Keystone events at the San Jose Bar & Grill in San Jose, California, a spot that’s reportedly known for its more crass comments about during play. Pakozdi acknowledged it was an issue during Keystone events, but that it never went, from her perspective, over the line.

“You don’t know where the line is,” she declared.

“My point is is where I’m from, in our arcade, our line may be different than yours,” responded Bakhtanians, “but the point is that fighting games are never gonna be the same as StarCraft, it’s never gonna be the same. You can’t turn basketball into baseball, no matter what you do.”

Rea said sexual harassment was less of an issue in the StarCraft community, a point that others, including Bakhtanians, pushed back on. He conceded. Regardless, he argued, private matches can’t be controlled, but the actions of the participants and audience members raised the real concern.

Again, here’s a snippet:

Rea: When I go to MSL or MLG and someone blows up a ghost [Starcraft], does someone go “Yeah, rape that bitch!”?

[group laughter]

Bakhtanians: But, you know, Jared, you’re right. But if there was that much money being spent on Street Fighter, it wouldn’t be happening here, either, you know. There would be more rules, there would be security here, it’s not the same thing. It’s not the same thing.

Rea: When I go to SoCal regionals and I see a Phoenix [from Marvel vs. Capcom 3] on main stage getting blown up and there’s some dude in the audience just yelling “Bitch! Bitch!” every time she gets hit and then she killed and goes “Yeah, rape that bitch!” Yeah, that’s totally acceptable! Really? Really? You’re going to tell me that’s acceptable?

Bakhtanians: Look, man. What is unacceptable about that? There’s nothing unacceptable about that. These are people, we’re in America, man, this isn’t North Korea. We can say what we want. People get emotional.

There was some light discussion after this, but it mostly trailed off.

Pakozdi, who was assigned to work with Bakhtanians as part of Team Tekken, did not simply blow things off. Like many people, she signed onto Twitter and expressed disappointment over the day’s events. She eventually deleted much of her commentary, but it was captured by the same reader who tipped me off to this in the first place.

“I hope my mom isn’t disappointed with all of this shit,” reads one tweet.

“Capcom and the stream teams know and they don’t care. I just gotta wait 2 more days,” reads another.

“I’m not leaving because by contract I have to stay here 2 more days. If it were up to me I would have left long ago," she said.

Bakhtanians is a well known in the community, explaining his Cross Assault involvement.
Bakhtanians is a well known in the community, explaining his Cross Assault involvement.

I reached out to Pakozdi, but she did not respond.

Day six of Cross Assault took place yesterday. Pakozdi played, but if you start watching around eight hours and 32 minutes into the stream, where she's playing as Balrog, she doesn't even attack. She just pushes forward on the stick. This continues in the next matches, where she plays as Ken using the same "strategy."

Essentially, she's given up.

Per the rules of the show, she would then have to face off against John "Dr. Sub-Zero" Rockafeller, who was already eliminated. If he beat her in three out of five matches, he would be "revived."

Instead, she forfeited. Moments after she bowed out, Rockafeller looked over and handed his prizes over to her.

“I would like to donate everything to Super_Yan for being an angel,” he said.

Bakhtanians also contributes the website Avoiding the Puddle and the site’s associated Twitter account.

“esports,” he wrote last night.

Previously, however, he did have his own personal Twitter account. What’s listed in his bio?

“Fuck you.”

Patrick Klepek on Google+

1225 Comments

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Mechabolic

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@soundlug: Explain then.

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AntoineDiamonds

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Edited By AntoineDiamonds

I can see questions like that in a group of friends or something but on a stream it's pure unprofessional and ignorant.

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Claude

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Edited By Claude

Maybe they should give estrogen shots at the door for those in the need.

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JakeLogan

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Wow......we are our own worst enemy.......

*walks away*

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lockwoodx

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@soundlug said:

@Buzzkill said:

@depecheload said:

@Buzzkill said:

I'm having a hard time digesting this. Are internet kiddies seriously outraged because sexuality was a factor in their video games? Seriously just lock the lot of them in a safe and sink it to the bottom of the ocean.

Parents in the 50s-60s were pissed their kids were hippies with long hair and peace loving. These days if you don't have a third nipple and enjoy cocks in any orifice, you're drummed out of social circles. Fuck children spending their parents money with opinions their educations couldn't even begin to fathom how absurd they are.

Did you even read the article?

Seriously, it's like you look a bunch of random words together to make a response. Nothing you said has any bearing on anything that was mentioned in the article. Yikes.

It has everything to do with this article. It's called grow thicker skin and learn to roll with the punches. Gaming is a competition and adversity will always exist. I don't care if you're black, white, female, male, whatever. When I'm beating your ass down in a game I'll cal you bitch or whatever. The overly sensitive generations beneath me keep getting sadder and softer with each one, and my elders would say the same about me so in conclusion...

as gamers stop being little bitches. Male or female you're there to compete, which means you're going to get trash talked. Deal with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship only exists in fairly tales and when your livelyhood depends on how you perform at your given profession. Games exist for entertainment, which means they are trivial at best. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen.

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soundlug

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@Mechabolic: I don't think you got your moral priorities in right track

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anal_diarrhea

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Edited By anal_diarrhea

@RagingDaemon said:

@Napalm: If it offends delicate sensibilities, people can avoid it. She said she could handle it, she couldn't. Cried. Quit. First and foremost it's up to those at the heart of that community to change or not change the culture they built and accept the consequences. Not whining dabblers and internet white knights/kids who took feminism 101. Isms become near infinite the more offended you want to get in the "who can be a better victim" game.

This this this a thousand times. RagingDaemon should run for public office.

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Mechabolic

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@depecheload: Nah, that's just HYPE

@soundlug: Same principal. The only difference is that when people are online they are actually malicious about it because of lack of repercussion. Ares was just being Ares, which if you ACTUALLY knew the FGC then you would expect this. This is nothing more than a girl got her feelings hurt and yelled SEXISM!

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soundlug

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Edited By soundlug

@Buzzkill said:

@depecheload said:

@Buzzkill said:

I'm having a hard time digesting this. Are internet kiddies seriously outraged because sexuality was a factor in their video games? Seriously just lock the lot of them in a safe and sink it to the bottom of the ocean.

Parents in the 50s-60s were pissed their kids were hippies with long hair and peace loving. These days if you don't have a third nipple and enjoy cocks in any orifice, you're drummed out of social circles. Fuck children spending their parents money with opinions their educations couldn't even begin to fathom how absurd they are.

Did you even read the article?

Seriously, it's like you look a bunch of random words together to make a response. Nothing you said has any bearing on anything that was mentioned in the article. Yikes.

It has everything to do with this article. It's called grow thicker skin and learn to roll with the punches. Gaming is a competition and adversity will always exist. I don't care if you're black, white, female, male, whatever. When I'm beating your ass down in a game I'll cal you bitch or whatever. The overly sensitive generations beneath me keep getting sadder and softer with each one, and my elders would say the same about me so in conclusion...

as gamers stop being little bitches. Male or female you're there to compete, which means you're going to get trash talked. Deal with it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportsmanship

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lockwoodx

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@depecheload said:

@Buzzkill said:

I'm having a hard time digesting this. Are internet kiddies seriously outraged because sexuality was a factor in their video games? Seriously just lock the lot of them in a safe and sink it to the bottom of the ocean.

Parents in the 50s-60s were pissed their kids were hippies with long hair and peace loving. These days if you don't have a third nipple and enjoy cocks in any orifice, you're drummed out of social circles. Fuck children spending their parents money with opinions their educations couldn't even begin to fathom how absurd they are.

Did you even read the article?

Seriously, it's like you look a bunch of random words together to make a response. Nothing you said has any bearing on anything that was mentioned in the article. Yikes.

It has everything to do with this article. It's called grow thicker skin and learn to roll with the punches. Gaming is a competition and adversity will always exist. I don't care if you're black, white, female, male, whatever. When I'm beating your ass down in a game I'll cal you bitch or whatever. The overly sensitive generations beneath me keep getting sadder and softer with each one, and my elders would say the same about me so in conclusion...

as gamers stop being little bitches. Male or female you're there to compete, which means you're going to get trash talked. Deal with it.

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soundlug

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@Mechabolic: Is actually racism, dude

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RE_Player1

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@depecheload said:

@UrCa1988 said:

@megalowho: He's talking about how people in the FGC act. They talk a lot of trash, but at the end of the day no one takes it seriously except people who can't hang to begin with. Basically, political correctness has no footing in a grassroots community that came out of a bunch of friends hanging together and playing fighting games for money. Go watch any stream or youtube video on the latest Bar Fights for UMvC3, that's basically the FGC in a nutshell and that's what makes it great, not any SC "white noise with earbuds to prevent outside sounds" formality. The Starcraft community is not the FGC, don't try to turn it into it by forcing PC bullshit, it'll ruin what makes it great.

Treating other people like human beings is not "PC bullshit." You can trash talk without coming off like a wannabe rapist.

Furthermore, who cares where it started? Look at where it is now and where it wants to be. Times change. Get with it.

I have to agree. No one is saying you can't have your borderline offensive trash talking tournaments but when the thing is sponsored by Capcom itself maybe tone it down a bit. I'm not saying don't trash talk, I understand for some people that is a certain aspect, just maybe don't make tons of sexist comments and look like you are a rapist with all the touching...

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deactivated-63c9a5152a56a

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@Mechabolic: Being a perverted creep/racist asshole is not "trash talk."

This is trash talk:

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soundlug

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@UrCa1988: I got the gut feeling that there are many sports or pass times communities with worse social rooting than Fighting games

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twillfast

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Starcraft is only really clean at major events. When watching some players stream, like PsyStarcraft or Destiny, I expect them to be a little foul-mouthed. They are speaking to their stream and their fans and have a tone that's "inclusive" to friends, but could be alienating to outsiders.

If someone who never watched starcraft sees the GSL or MLG, however, they'll be met with professionalism. If the fighting community wants to be as big as the starcraft community, they need to start there. Simple as that. Get a quality stream, cut the shitty casters and in the long run, you'll get more viewers.

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Mechabolic

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"Gamer girl" gets upset at smacktalk in a fighting game tournament! More at 11!

Seriously, I remember when trashtalking was common. I guess this new generation of gamers are so PC that...

Whoops, just got called a ni**er k**e asshole while playing online. I CALL RACISM!

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deactivated-63c9a5152a56a

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@UrCa1988 said:

@megalowho: He's talking about how people in the FGC act. They talk a lot of trash, but at the end of the day no one takes it seriously except people who can't hang to begin with. Basically, political correctness has no footing in a grassroots community that came out of a bunch of friends hanging together and playing fighting games for money. Go watch any stream or youtube video on the latest Bar Fights for UMvC3, that's basically the FGC in a nutshell and that's what makes it great, not any SC "white noise with earbuds to prevent outside sounds" formality. The Starcraft community is not the FGC, don't try to turn it into it by forcing PC bullshit, it'll ruin what makes it great.

Treating other people like human beings is not "PC bullshit." You can trash talk without coming off like a wannabe rapist.

Furthermore, who cares where it started? Look at where it is now and where it wants to be. Times change. Get with it.

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UrCa1988

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Edited By UrCa1988

@megalowho: He's talking about how people in the FGC act. They talk a lot of trash, but at the end of the day no one takes it seriously except people who can't hang to begin with. Basically, political correctness has no footing in a grassroots community that came out of a bunch of friends hanging together and playing fighting games for money. Go watch any stream or youtube video on the latest Bar Fights for UMvC3, that's basically the FGC in a nutshell and that's what makes it great, not any SC "white noise with earbuds to prevent outside sounds" formality. The Starcraft community is not the FGC, don't try to turn it into it by forcing PC bullshit, it'll ruin what makes it great.

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yukoasho

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@Crysack said:

@DrPockets000 said:

The excuses for his behavior are excruciatingly poor. A white supremacist cannot be pardoned for using the n-word just because that's what's expected of him and because he's passionate about his cause.

See: The moronic argument over racism in the Starcraft 2 community around mid-way through last year.

Woah, I missed that. Care to educate?

Seriously, it's so sad that multiplayer communities insist on being as exclusionary as they are.

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ADV215

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@Sword5: It would be hilarious if GB contacted him, he has a great personality. And his podcasts are absolutely insane...

Wreckin' fools for the Lincoln Force!
Wreckin' fools for the Lincoln Force!
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deactivated-63c9a5152a56a

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@Buzzkill said:

I'm having a hard time digesting this. Are internet kiddies seriously outraged because sexuality was a factor in their video games? Seriously just lock the lot of them in a safe and sink it to the bottom of the ocean.

Parents in the 50s-60s were pissed their kids were hippies with long hair and peace loving. These days if you don't have a third nipple and enjoy cocks in any orifice, you're drummed out of social circles. Fuck children spending their parents money with opinions their educations couldn't even begin to fathom how absurd they are.

Did you even read the article?

Seriously, it's like you look a bunch of random words together to make a response. Nothing you said has any bearing on anything that was mentioned in the article. Yikes.

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Frumpa

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@Conceited said:

Great, now a bunch of people who have no idea what happened and have no perspective on this because they aren't involved in the FGC will blow this infinitely out of proportion and think the FGC is filled with scumbags. While I realize Aris is largely to blame for this, this article did not need to be written. Why not do a positive piece on how awesome the FGC is? How accepting they are of Ricky Ortiz (openly gay) and Kayopolice? (Trans-gendered)

Umm we have all those quotes and links up there dude - its in "proportion".

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lockwoodx

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I'm having a hard time digesting this. Are internet kiddies seriously outraged because sexuality was a factor in their video games? Seriously just lock the lot of them in a safe and sink it to the bottom of the ocean.

Parents in the 50s-60s were pissed their kids were hippies with long hair and peace loving. These days if you don't have a third nipple and enjoy cocks in any orifice, you're drummed out of social circles. Fuck children spending their parents money with opinions their educations couldn't even begin to fathom how absurd they are. Why Patrick thinks this is news is part of the problem, not the solution.

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RE_Player1

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@august said:

Real Talk: anyone who shouts "rape that bitch" in a public place should have thier goddamn balls cut off.

I tend to have the same thinking. Even when I play with friends at their house or online I can't even fathom yelling those words. I just don't get it but hey maybe it's because I'm not "raw" enough...

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deactivated-63c9a5152a56a

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@Nefarious_Al said:

Miranda and everyone on Cross Assault shouldn't have had to put up with Aris for sure. That said Miranda quitting as she did was insanely bad form. That is my only gripe with how she handled the situation. I do feel bad she folded under the pressure of the situation and Aris being a dick to her and everyone else on the show. She plays at Keystone though she isn't new to some colorful language.

Sometimes harassment/bullying can just become so overwhelming that the only thing you can do is just give up. The straw that breaks the camel's back, as it were.

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Edited By august

Real Talk: anyone who shouts "rape that bitch" in a public place should have thier goddamn balls cut off.

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TwoPiArrrr

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@chaosnovaxz said:

@depecheload:

Woah woah dude, did you miss the part where I said I didn't support that kind of talk at all?

I'm saying it's stupid to call it sexist. Imagine you were a man who was raped; you wouldn't find it funny then, either. I'm just humored by women claiming to be offended by the word "rape" everywhere it's used because they say it's "sexist". Because only women can be raped, right?

My point is that you can go play any game online, and hear "Get raped bitch!" in a lobby full of just GUYS. It's ludicrous for a woman to join up in such a session, and then claim that they're only saying those things to her because she's a woman and the guys she's with are sexist. They're just dumbasses.

The "bitch" in "get raped bitch" is either a woman or a man who is being given the "role" of a woman by being called "bitch." It's a sexist comment. Deal with it.

And even if using the word rape everywhere isn't sexist, it's stupid, immature, hyperbolic, overplayed and horribly offensive.

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unstoptheday

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Edited By unstoptheday

I think the best part is when he tells Jared he's not truly part of the fighting game community.

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Sword5

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ThePhenomenal1

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for some reason this fighting game community aris speaks of isn't what my FGC that i've been a part of is.

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Edited By 1p

Yeah, that guy is a grade A dickhead, and the fact that he thinks there's "nothing unacceptable" about how he behaved himself makes me even more angry. I hope the fighting game community shuns him.

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deactivated-60339640361ae

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Great job Patrick. This needed to be written.

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ZenTzen

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Edited By ZenTzen

Ok i just need to say my 2 cents about this.

First, Miranda enabled the guy, not only did she not say anything about his behaviour but she also took part and said some pretty retarded stuff (talking about korean p**** sizes and that she likes being hit on by black guys and other pretty stupid stuff) during all those days of the show, in all those days she was laughing, talking with Aris, engaging on his conversations even when they turned stupid, all the while without any problems, forget the fact that she also said she didnt give a damn about what he was doing.

Then we have Sherry, the girl that was part of the other team, shes personally acquainted with Aris and they are friends, she says hes a pretty good guy(a sentiment shared by the people at cross assault that know him by the way) but he can seem like a pretty rude and mean guy to the people that dont know him and has come out and said that the way Miranda acted to the whole situation was uncalled for, she also said that if Miranda said anything to him and said to him that she didnt like the way he was treating her he would have stopped, but none of that happened.

Heres the thing about the FGC, they all trash talk, just see any tournament streams or videos by so called "professional players" and you will see this and in a community that likes to talk trash on anyone it is true that people need to toughen up and not pay attention to the s*** thats flinged at them. Another thing his that the FGC is a pretty emotional one, they vibrate and live for the hype in matches, it is a competition, especially an action packed genre like FGs , the whole "Rape that b****" was only about a character in a game that was unfair and overpowered that people would make these kinds of comments in the heat of the moment isnt surprising, similarly the same can be said with "kill that guy" or "F*** him up", people say these things and they dont have any real malice intended, especially in competitive games.

Now about Aris himself, sure he should have controled himself more, but how things played out in all these days of Cross Assault isnt all on him, he isnt some villain that needs to be crucified, because besides the fact that he was insensitive, Miranda(Super_Yan) did go along with him and took part in all of his B******.

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TannerSmith

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Edited By TannerSmith

After reading this and seeing what this guy looks like I have a few adjectives that I feel adequately describe him:

  • Juggalo (ICP fan)
  • Unhealthy
  • Obese
  • Uneducated
  • Unclean
  • Lonely (based on his amazing ability to alienate anyone of the opposite sex)
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Sword5

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Edited By Sword5

@ADV215: "I am coming for you Tom Brady" was the Lincoln Force t-shirt guy. Bizarre and amazing video.

Patrick should reach out to 16-bit. Top 8 in Evo and a giantbomb fan.

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benson

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Edited By benson

@Robo: Let me check my inbox to verify if I changed any part of your post... nope, that big paragraph at the end that once again doesn't support your argument wasn't there before.

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GreggD

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Edited By GreggD

@Sword5: Fair enough. I think the main thing with fighting games and me is that I don't really wanna get to the point where I'm counting frames. I'm wicked casual, but I LOVE to play them. It's really hard finding like-minded players in my particular "bracket", though. And then I read this article and what's going on, and it kinda seems to stem from what I've learned about the FGC, and how it's really impenitrable and for a specific subset of players.

I will say this, though. People defending Aris are not good people. He is wrong, and seems like a despicable human being. He has the right to say what he wants, but that doesn't take away our right to react the way we did to it.

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DrPockets000

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Edited By DrPockets000

@Crysack said:

@DrPockets000 said:

The excuses for his behavior are excruciatingly poor. A white supremacist cannot be pardoned for using the n-word just because that's what's expected of him and because he's passionate about his cause.

See: The moronic argument over racism in the Starcraft 2 community around mid-way through last year.

Oh damn, totally forgot about that. All is excused, then. Carry on, Aris.

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ADV215

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Edited By ADV215

@Sword5: TestYourMight is great with welcoming new players to Mortal Kombat. It's one of the benefits of having a smaller community. A lot of the top players are actually willing to play you online... even though MK's online leaves something to be desired... They also are usually good with advice.

TYM actually reminds me of Giant Bomb in a weird way. And it's funny that you mention 16 Bit because he's actually a member of Giant Bomb. I saw him wearing a GB T-shirt in pools right before he won an MK major. Cool stuff.

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r3dt1d3

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Edited By r3dt1d3

Even though this is blown out of proportion, the fact still remains that Aris would rather have a community of 15-20 year olds who are hostile to new comers than a larger, more accepting community.

I don't care how you frame it, that's just childish. Hopefully someday he'll mature and realize how great a real community is.

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chaosnovaxz

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Edited By chaosnovaxz

@depecheload:

Woah woah dude, did you miss the part where I said I didn't support that kind of talk at all?

I'm saying it's stupid to call it sexist. Imagine you were a man who was raped; you wouldn't find it funny then, either. I'm just humored by women claiming to be offended by the word "rape" everywhere it's used because they say it's "sexist". Because only women can be raped, right?

My point is that you can go play any game online, and hear "Get raped bitch!" in a lobby full of just GUYS. It's ludicrous for a woman to join up in such a session, and then claim that they're only saying those things to her because she's a woman and the guys she's with are sexist. They're just dumbasses.

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Crysack

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Edited By Crysack

@DrPockets000 said:

The excuses for his behavior are excruciatingly poor. A white supremacist cannot be pardoned for using the n-word just because that's what's expected of him and because he's passionate about his cause.

See: The moronic argument over racism in the Starcraft 2 community around mid-way through last year.

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DrPockets000

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Edited By DrPockets000

The excuses for his behavior are excruciatingly poor. A white supremacist cannot be pardoned for using the n-word just because that's what's expected of him and because he's passionate about his cause.

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benson

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Edited By benson

@Robo said:

@benson: No, you're just arguing with utter nonsense because you don't really understand the topic or the statement I made.

You didn't read a word of the link I posted. You are completely ignoring the fact that the individual in question admits to being born genetically male.

Unless you want to really provide some pertinent proof to the contrary, again, fuck off.

Nah, I'm pretty confident of the fact that I have a better grasp on transgender issues than you, and I intend to stay.

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KoolAidMan

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Edited By KoolAidMan

@Katkillad said:

What is funny...is the MOBA community is even worse than the fighting game community if you can believe that.

It depends on which MOBA we're talking about. HoN is the absolute worst in my experience while the DOTA 2 community has been surprisingly cool so far.

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Alkaiser

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Edited By Alkaiser

@RagingDaemon said:

If this is the kind of crying and hand-wringing that ensues, "Esports" just needs its own version of a WNBA that no one gives a shit about and no one watches because comparatively speaking it's unskilled garbage. I can remember an 8 year old boy getting close to the finals at the last EVO. Can't remember a single woman getting that far.

Real talk: name a single thing women have ever invented that men clamored to be a part of? Vagina doesn't count. Everything from dungeons and dragons to combat sports started as a by dudes, for dudes cool thing.

If the community doesn't want to change and is willing to give up some or all of the corporate money to be free, it's their choice. The choice of the guys who were there from day 1 and paid their dues. They don't need your idealistic bullshit moral highground finger wagging.

Or it's entirely possible mainstream culture accepts the behavior. Look to rap lyrics and torture porn style horror movies for one. Competitive outlets must exist. You cannot shut away the primal and negative sides of human emotion because in your rainbow sunshine worldview that would be real nice.

Those of you going nuclear at this smack of hyper liberal idealists who are either ignorant or willfully naive about how the real world with real people works. It's ugly. We're tribal.

Look at your righteous indignation and understand there are people who legitimately wish one or all of their hobbies never went mainstream. Back when it was just the truly passionate working in the trenches without leeches and Johnny come latelys trying to change the shit the pioneers built. And people who wanted to be a part of it had to be able to handle it.

This situation reminds me of the vast majority of women who tried to hang in one of my former kickboxing gyms. They would talk a good game, but the first real, full force punch to the face, and they were gone. The ones who stayed and flourished weren't the cry babies, mentally weak, victim mentality types.

Real Talk: Things that women invented that might be important to men. Hmm... lets see... maybe kevlar, fireproof materials... the circular saw... computer languages such as COBOL...

But lets stick to strictly nerd stuff. How about our beloved Street Fighter? God, SF2 sure had a kicking soundtrack huh? I wonder who was responsible for composing most of that game, along with a few other nerd-famous games...

Or what about comic books? Certainly that is a male dominated genre! I'll bet a woman wouldn't go anywhere near those things...

Look, no one is forcing them to change their ways. But that doesn't mean that people can't criticize them for what they choose to say. It works both ways.

Edit: Ack, too slow on the draw I guess. Somebody beat me to my first sentence. Ah well.

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KoolAidMan

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Edited By KoolAidMan

@RagingDaemon: It's because most of your points are stupid.

I actually do agree that people in the people in the FGC have every right to act the way they do. It is their community and if they want to keep it insular and not "sell out", which in this case means institutionalizing abusive and unsportsmanlike behavior, it is their prerogative. Aris just shouldn't be surprised at any backlash that comes as a result.

Sperg away