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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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yukoasho

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Edited By yukoasho

@Supah_Ted said:

Excellent article, Patrick. The peeps defending Arris obviously are upset they themselves have been exposed for the sexist, racist and homophobic filth that they are. There is never a excuse for acting like this, to anybody.

sadly, its not just in the fighting game community.

The difference is that the people who play and comment on MLG events for Call of Duty are not the same people on XBL screaming racism, sexism and homophobia. Aris wouldn't be anywhere near a big-money MLG Call of Duty event.

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Supah_Ted

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Edited By Supah_Ted

Excellent article, Patrick. The peeps defending Arris obviously are upset they themselves have been exposed for the sexist, racist and homophobic filth that they are. There is never a excuse for acting like this, to anybody.

sadly, its not just in the fighting game community.

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TruthTellah

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Edited By TruthTellah

This is a real shame. I've quite enjoyed Bakhtanians' commentary during tournaments for a while now, but he is quite wrong on this.

People certainly have a right to say whatever they like, but tournaments and eSports also have the right to enforce their own standards of conduct within a tournament environment. And language like this is simply unacceptable. High-level fight gaming does not need to be held back by things like this; instead, people should perhaps start acting like adults and take responsibility for their actions. Trash talking is one thing, but harassing someone and alienating people from feeling welcome in the fight scene isn't right. And if fight gaming plans on continuing its eSports rise, standards for how people act in tournaments must be encouraged and enforced for the betterment of the sport and the fighting game community at large.

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Mechabolic

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@Hailinel: Have you never played a fighting game online? This is the norm. Curse Patrick for writing this and inciting the masses.

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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@thekingoftoilets said:

And here I thought I would write a wall of text expressing my thoughts of sexism and Aris, but then I realized trash talk was a part of gaming (especially in the FGC crowd) and got over it. She should have stepped up, ignored the asshole-ish remarks, and not let it get to her. She said it herself that she's had experience in the FGC, so why would stupid remarks like that get to her???

Why should stupid remarks like that be the norm? Can you explain that in a context that makes even a modicum of sense?

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Dan_CiTi

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Edited By Dan_CiTi

@thekingoftoilets said:

And here I thought I would write a wall of text expressing my thoughts of sexism and Aris, but then I realized trash talk was a part of gaming (especially in the FGC crowd) and got over it. She should have stepped up, ignored the asshole-ish remarks, and not let it get to her. She said it herself that she's had experience in the FGC, so why would stupid remarks like that get to her???

Yeah, she has been a part of it for years, I've seen pictures of her at past EVOs. I guess the tension and pressure of this 14-hour-a-day training and then elimination with an daily changing challenge get to her.

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SatinScorpion

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Edited By SatinScorpion

@princess_zelda: @princess_zelda said:

of course he looks like that. lmao.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

When did Gimli pick up an arcade stick anyways?

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Dan_CiTi

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Edited By Dan_CiTi

@Chris2KLee said:

@RetroVirus said:

@Hailinel

@Buzzkill said:

@RetroVirus said:

@Chris2KLee

Great article Patrick. It's definitely an issue, along with racism and homophobia that sometimes runs rampant in competitive video games. I don't see it going away tomorrow, but open discussion about it will help to hopefully find solutions and educate people on the dangers of carelessly throwing around derogatory comments.

Also, it's a sad day when I disagree with a man who looks like Gimli.

You and me both, man.

The bleeding hearts in this thread sicken me. "Gimli" was intelligent enough to get under the skin of his opponent. That just makes him all the more invincible.

He also spouts racist, idiotic rhetoric with casual abandon. That is not a person that is to be revered. That is the sign that he is a moron.

For the record I would just like to say that the bullshit this guy has been spouting is disgusting. None of this should be tolerated, and Aris should either pull a 180 attitude-wise (maybe unlikely) or get the fuck out of the spotlight.

Agreed. Guy wants to keep it "street" or whatever, he's free to go back to the arcades and hotel rooms he seems to think the community is still entirely about. Time moves forward, and if you don't like the change in scenery, get off the bus.

The community has responded to what has happened and they do not like it and the actual movers and shakers in the SF community at the very least have come out against what Aris did and how he acted. In fact Mike Ross was abused by Aris on stream too, where he yelled at him to take his clothes and came over to him and unbuttoned his dress shirt he had over his t-shirt. He also said racist things to him. They stated tonight that they want to be more proactive in doing what they have in their power in the community to be more proactive with this issue.

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l3reak

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Edited By l3reak

Patrick you great. I was in a really big and diverse group of nerdy friends in college and now have a bunch of female gamer friends. This kinda shit is a real problem for half of the gaming community, and it's not just the fighting game side by any stretch of the imagination. It's not a matter of whether it's acceptable or not; if it doesn't stop you lose out on a lot of awesome potential gaming partners. You decide whether rape joke are more important to you than that.

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Mechabolic

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Wow, after reading more of these comments I find it funny that they call Ares out for being a jerk and then proceed to call him an idiot, hillbilly, jerk, asshole, ect. Though I suppose being hypocritical is part of being a "liberal". Why can't there be a nice middle ground? Now a days it seems you are either a disgusting redneck or a bleeding heart liberal that can't do too much because you are tiptoeing around trying not to offend anyone.

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thekingoftoilets

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Edited By thekingoftoilets

And here I thought I would write a wall of text expressing my thoughts of sexism and Aris, but then I realized trash talk was a part of gaming (especially in the FGC crowd) and got over it. She should have stepped up, ignored the asshole-ish remarks, and not let it get to her. She said it herself that she's had experience in the FGC, so why would stupid remarks like that get to her???

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LiquidSwords

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Edited By LiquidSwords

@Buzzkill said:

@RetroVirus said:

@Chris2KLee

Great article Patrick. It's definitely an issue, along with racism and homophobia that sometimes runs rampant in competitive video games. I don't see it going away tomorrow, but open discussion about it will help to hopefully find solutions and educate people on the dangers of carelessly throwing around derogatory comments.

Also, it's a sad day when I disagree with a man who looks like Gimli.

You and me both, man.

The bleeding hearts in this thread sicken me. "Gimli" was intelligent enough to get under the skin of his opponent. That just makes him all the more invincible.

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tourgen

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Edited By tourgen

It could be that at least this guy would rather their little scene/club whatever stays small and isn't taken seriously. Anyway whatever. Maybe that's for the best. It seems like a big deal made out of nothing. Just some random dude being abrasive and rude.

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Dan_CiTi

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@Buzzkill said:

@soundlug said:

@Buzzkill: >Sportmanship only exists en fairy tales.

Well, that is like your very particular vision of reality and morality

Reality is that sportsmanship doesn't exist at all. Morality is just there to make you feel bad for winning so you can fit in with everyone else who felt bad for losing.

Sportsmanship only exists if you are good or a kid. Obviously none of these people are good at them game(besides a few Team SF players), if you have ever watched the show. Morality is there to make you feel bad for winning? That is the only purpose for morality in all of the idea's existence? Fuck no, and fuck "feeling bad for winning", unless you cheated. Then you're a fraud.

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Chris2KLee

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Edited By Chris2KLee

@RetroVirus said:

@Hailinel

@Buzzkill said:

@RetroVirus said:

@Chris2KLee

Great article Patrick. It's definitely an issue, along with racism and homophobia that sometimes runs rampant in competitive video games. I don't see it going away tomorrow, but open discussion about it will help to hopefully find solutions and educate people on the dangers of carelessly throwing around derogatory comments.

Also, it's a sad day when I disagree with a man who looks like Gimli.

You and me both, man.

The bleeding hearts in this thread sicken me. "Gimli" was intelligent enough to get under the skin of his opponent. That just makes him all the more invincible.

He also spouts racist, idiotic rhetoric with casual abandon. That is not a person that is to be revered. That is the sign that he is a moron.

For the record I would just like to say that the bullshit this guy has been spouting is disgusting. None of this should be tolerated, and Aris should either pull a 180 attitude-wise (maybe unlikely) or get the fuck out of the spotlight.

Agreed. Guy wants to keep it "street" or whatever, he's free to go back to the arcades and hotel rooms he seems to think the community is still entirely about. Time moves forward, and if you don't like the change in scenery, get off the bus.

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Edited By benHaskett

As someone who didn't know that the "fighting game community" was enough of a thing to have a recognizable acronym, I'd say this is pretty cut-and-dry douchiness. I've never heard of a particular type of trash-talking to be integral to any kind of sport ("e" or otherwise), and don't see how staying away from gender-specific insults could ruin the fun. I've never heard of this guy, but it sounds like he just really wants to justify being mean, while using humor as a scapegoat. Whatevs...

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Dan_CiTi

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Edited By Dan_CiTi

@Buzzkill said:

@august said:

@Buzzkill: Remeber when you were whining about how much content you were getting for your membership and threatening to ask for a refund and leaving?

I miss those days.

I got my refund. Ask Daniel. Anything else you care to fail at? I'm all ears.

@Buzzkill said:

@soundlug said:

@Buzzkill: So that hypothetical hockey player doesn't love his sport >

The world is full of people who do things they don't love to pay the bills. You'll understand this later kid.

You have a fitting name.

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sthusby

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@Bassman2112 said:

Patrick, thank you so much for writing this article. As a 20something who basically refuses to play online because of all the idiots on mics who think casual racism, misogyny and the like are totally fine, it's nice to finally see something about it on a public article. I have lots of female gamer friends who like to play online, but won't use a mic because the moment guys hear a girl's voice on the other end they start harassing them with brash, sexual and offensive comments. I don't think it's a matter of it being "esports versus a fun time," it's just common decency towards other people...

You sait it man. I'd like to see more articles surroundig the overall sad state of online gaming, and the lack of descency and humanity.

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retrovirus

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Edited By retrovirus
@Hailinel

@Buzzkill said:

@RetroVirus said:

@Chris2KLee

Great article Patrick. It's definitely an issue, along with racism and homophobia that sometimes runs rampant in competitive video games. I don't see it going away tomorrow, but open discussion about it will help to hopefully find solutions and educate people on the dangers of carelessly throwing around derogatory comments.

Also, it's a sad day when I disagree with a man who looks like Gimli.

You and me both, man.

The bleeding hearts in this thread sicken me. "Gimli" was intelligent enough to get under the skin of his opponent. That just makes him all the more invincible.

He also spouts racist, idiotic rhetoric with casual abandon. That is not a person that is to be revered. That is the sign that he is a moron.

For the record I would just like to say that the bullshit this guy has been spouting is disgusting. None of this should be tolerated, and Aris should either pull a 180 attitude-wise (maybe unlikely) or get the fuck out of the spotlight.
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vague_optimism

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@Artigkar: He played the butchest drag queen I've ever seen. At least Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo tried to soften up a bit for the role...

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sthusby

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Edited By sthusby

What an idiot. I get really provoked by reading this. One would think we'd have come further in the 21st century, but hillbillies like him is holding us back.

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august

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Edited By august

@Buzzkill said:

@august said:

@Buzzkill said:

@august said:

@Buzzkill: Remeber when you were whining about how much content you were getting for your membership and threatening to ask for a refund and leaving?

I miss those days.

I got my refund. Ask Daniel. Anything else you care to fail at? I'm all ears.

I think you're confused about the point of my post. I don't give a shit if you got your refund or not. Congratulations though. I guess.

I'm not confused, I'm just not phased. Your post did nothing but give me a platform to prove you wrong, and you grats me in the process so I must have dinged. Forums lvl +1 woot!

What did you prove me wrong about, exactly?

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Mechabolic

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Edited By Mechabolic

@jmic75: "I could get away with greeting a friend by saying "sup sucker", if I went around saying that to every stranger I saw, that wouldn't go over very well'

That depends, how fly are you?

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Mechabolic

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Edited By Mechabolic

@Buzzkill: While I don't agree with you about everything you have been saying, I feel like this article was blown WAY out of proportion. Nothing new though, for every legitimate racism/sexist/ect case there are ten more people yelling racism/sexism/ect. See the Jennifer Hepler/Bioware debacle. I think this falls on the latter though i'm sure there are plenty of people ready to call me misogynistic just because of my opinion.

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soundlug

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Edited By soundlug

@Hailinel: But... but... buzzkill said he was the Ubermensch

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Ulong

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Edited By Ulong
@Buzzkill: The woman this misogynist was harassing was on his team, he was supposed to be coaching and supporting her. You really should try and read the article.
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Hailinel

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Edited By Hailinel

@Buzzkill said:

@RetroVirus said:

@Chris2KLee

Great article Patrick. It's definitely an issue, along with racism and homophobia that sometimes runs rampant in competitive video games. I don't see it going away tomorrow, but open discussion about it will help to hopefully find solutions and educate people on the dangers of carelessly throwing around derogatory comments.

Also, it's a sad day when I disagree with a man who looks like Gimli.

You and me both, man.

The bleeding hearts in this thread sicken me. "Gimli" was intelligent enough to get under the skin of his opponent. That just makes him all the more invincible.

He also spouts racist, idiotic rhetoric with casual abandon. That is not a person that is to be revered. That is the sign that he is a moron.

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soundlug

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Edited By soundlug

@Buzzkill: He was her coach, not her opponent

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lockwoodx

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@august said:

@Buzzkill said:

@august said:

@Buzzkill: Remeber when you were whining about how much content you were getting for your membership and threatening to ask for a refund and leaving?

I miss those days.

I got my refund. Ask Daniel. Anything else you care to fail at? I'm all ears.

I think you're confused about the point of my post. I don't give a shit if you got your refund or not. Congratulations though. I guess.

I'm not confused, I'm just not phased. Your post did nothing but give me a platform to prove you wrong, and you grats me in the process so I must have dinged. Forums lvl +1 woot!

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lockwoodx

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@RetroVirus said:

@Chris2KLee

Great article Patrick. It's definitely an issue, along with racism and homophobia that sometimes runs rampant in competitive video games. I don't see it going away tomorrow, but open discussion about it will help to hopefully find solutions and educate people on the dangers of carelessly throwing around derogatory comments.

Also, it's a sad day when I disagree with a man who looks like Gimli.

You and me both, man.

The bleeding hearts in this thread sicken me. "Gimli" was intelligent enough to get under the skin of his opponent. That just makes him all the more invincible.

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august

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@Buzzkill said:

@august said:

@Buzzkill: Remeber when you were whining about how much content you were getting for your membership and threatening to ask for a refund and leaving?

I miss those days.

I got my refund. Ask Daniel. Anything else you care to fail at? I'm all ears.

I think you're confused about the point of my post. I don't give a shit if you got your refund or not. Congratulations though. I guess.

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soundlug

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@Buzzkill said:

"Yo dawg you threw me off my game because you were being racist/sexist"

Awww was that all it took? Good thing you weren't genuinely talented then, because hockey players lose teeth doing what they love and get back out on the ice, but one little word that bruises your ego and you want to quit and cry foul? ROFL.

@Buzzkill: But you said they loved what they do

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petitfool

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@churrific said:

@m2cks said:

@churrific said:

@m2cks said:

@churrific said:

@m2cks said:

@churrific said:

Like others have said, I wish Patrick would've gotten both sides of the story, including an insider's view from the community (not jared). Running the story without even speaking directly to the participants, or even getting a quote out of them, only provides a superficial glance at the situation and the community as a whole. A really negative one at that. No one's saying the FGC is perfect, but If you're gonna blow up a community, at least get some opposing viewpoints before using one man to paint a really ugly picture of a group of people to outsiders who have no exposure to them.

Yes, but note how he tried twice, unsuccessfuly, to reach out to Bakhtanians for his side of the story. Patrick shouldn't be blamed for being biased; rather he should be commended for trying. If you need someone to blame for this story sounding "one-sided", blame Bakhtanians for not responding.

I disagree. I don't think just trying a couple of times (unsuccessfully) to contact someone on twitter for a quote/discussion is enough due diligence... (and posting a cut-together video from youtube of all places as part of the article seems unprofessional to me).

Then I agree to disagree. For one, Patrick no doubt has a schedule, and with it, a deadline. I do not see it as unprofessional, but rather, efficient. Bakhtanians should have realized the best approach to quelling the situation is to approach it head-on, and not ignore it when he had the chance. Also, cut-together or not, it doesn't change the fact that he did indeed say such inappropriate words that in my opinion should not be overlooked or shrugged off. Them's the facts.

Yeah, I'm simply criticizing Patrick's journalism methods, not giving my opinion on the situation. I didn't realize that there's a deadline on a still-continuing story about some dickheaded comments on a reality show. Also, anyone can go through the archives and cut together any number of random comments super_yan made to make her look bad in a video. Youtube's just not a reliable news source.

And there's your problem: still-continuing or not, as a journalist, Patrick has a constant pressure and motivation to print and release his stories. There are always deadlines in his line of work. And of course, if there is any new information revolving around the story in particular, he will add onto it under the headline "UPDATE", as he has done before.

And there's your problem as well. "UPDATE" is too late. Some people, not saying you, won't get past their initial impressions of something they have no previous exposure to. Is it fair for that community to win trust and respect from outsiders when they're starting below the curve due to one article that's not fully researched (from my view)?

Well, though it may seem harsh, one should not assume the fighting game community here is going to be taking any sharp hits as to its population. I feel like those who have made up their minds to join the community have already done so, and those who choose to take this as what the community is as a whole were most likely not interested to join in the first place. All in all, this is only one article- I don't think it will deeply affect the community's health anytime soon.

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retrovirus

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Edited By retrovirus
@Chris2KLee

Great article Patrick. It's definitely an issue, along with racism and homophobia that sometimes runs rampant in competitive video games. I don't see it going away tomorrow, but open discussion about it will help to hopefully find solutions and educate people on the dangers of carelessly throwing around derogatory comments.

Also, it's a sad day when I disagree with a man who looks like Gimli.

You and me both, man.
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Edited By Frodofeet

Awesome job Patrick, thanks!

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lockwoodx

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@soundlug said:

@Buzzkill: So that hypothetical hockey player doesn't love his sport >

The world is full of people who do things they don't love to pay the bills. You'll understand this later kid.

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@Buzzkill: So that hypothetical hockey player doesn't love his sport >

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lockwoodx

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@august said:

@Buzzkill: Remeber when you were whining about how much content you were getting for your membership and threatening to ask for a refund and leaving?

I miss those days.

I got my refund. Ask Daniel. Anything else you care to fail at? I'm all ears.

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august

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@Buzzkill: Remeber when you were whining about how much content you were getting for your membership and threatening to ask for a refund and leaving?

I miss those days.

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lockwoodx

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@soundlug said:

@Buzzkill: But you said they are just doing it because money :(

Money, baubles, cred.... We all risk something for the sake of gaining something. He risked his reputation by playing the psychological game with the competition. If the competition would have beaten him regardless, then it's a hero's tale and happy ending. Instead the competition ran and cried to mommy (aka the internet) and it sickens me Patrick would sensationalize such a sob story but he use to work for MTV so it doesn't surprise me.

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@Buzzkill: Oh Boy, you are one of those

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Edited By JJWeatherman

Just listened to the conversation about this on the podcast. It's baffling to me that some of these people see this awful behavior as being so closely tied to the fighting game community. I've always loved Jared and I'm glad he's continuing to shine light on the issue.

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lockwoodx

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@soundlug said:

@Buzzkill: >Sportmanship only exists en fairy tales.

Well, that is like your very particular vision of reality and morality

Reality is that sportsmanship doesn't exist at all. Morality is just there to make you feel bad for winning so you can fit in with everyone else who felt bad for losing.

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@Buzzkill: But you said they are just doing it because money :(

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Yadilie

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It is what it is. Multiplayer games have always been a genre where arguments and yelling starts easily. If you can't shit talk whether it's sexually derived or not then grow a backbone and man up.

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@Buzzkill: >Sportmanship only exists en fairy tales.

Well, that is like your very particular vision of reality and morality

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lockwoodx

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"Yo dawg you threw me off my game because you were being racist/sexist"

Awww was that all it took? Good thing you weren't genuinely talented then, because hockey players lose teeth doing what they love and get back out on the ice, but one little word that bruises your ego and you want to quit and cry foul? ROFL.

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deactivated-63c9a5152a56a

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@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.

First of all, google "sexuality" and see that you're using the wrong word.

Secondly, "grow thicker skin" has to be the STUPIDST thing I've ever heard. So kids who are bullied to the point of wanting to kill themselves should just "suck it up?" Women who are catcalled on a daily basis should just ignore it? People who are beaten down for their sexual orientation should just roll with it? Based on your logic, racism is okay in a sports setting I guess, because hey, i'ts "just trash talk"

Your "argument" boils down to this: You're an entitled male who feels threatened now because one of the tools you use to oppress women/minorities (slurs and insults) is being called into question by a society that is finally wising up to this bullshit. Cry me a river. Don't like it, go join a "men's rights' forum and complain with other virgins about how strong women are ruining everything for real men like you.

Go away.

ETA: Just saw your reply about sportsmanship too. Wow. Nevermind. You're obviously too far gone in your own world of entitlement that you're a lost cause. Go have fun saying "bitch" to your friends, I'll be engaging in intelligent conversation with adults.