DaJuan McDaniel · @Shroomed08
5th Jul 2020 from TwitLonger
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I've been thinking about what to say/how to say it for a while now. I don't often post but I actually feel bad for waiting so long to say something about everything going on. I don't consider myself articulate so bear with me if it seems like I'm rambling. Late night thoughts but I'm just gonna post.
I fucking love the smash community. Some of the people I've met in this community I consider legit family. Smash was always my escape from the problems of life so seeing how much pain it has caused others really hurt. Especially when it's people you consider good friends causing the pain. But this isn't about me. It's about the people who were attending tournaments holding in all these secrets, all this trauma for YEARS.
To all the victims/survivors thank you for speaking up. Thanks to your bravery our community can, and will, evolve. I'm sorry all of you had to endure the shit that happened to you. As someone who helped foster the drinking/party environment I feel partially responsible. There were times where I stepped in to diffuse a situation and others where I wrote things off because it was my friends and I considered them good people despite feeling like shit was off. It can't be like that anymore. As hard as it is to admit, I knew some of these people were problematic but I didn't take it seriously because they were my friends. I gave them the benefit of the doubt even though I saw situations that were very questionable. I regret that now.
We can't change the past but we can make a better future. The timeline has been ugly, but that's a good thing. We can't change shit we don't see. Now that we know how prevalent all this behavior is, we can be more aware of what's going on around us and intervene when necessary.
As I said earlier, smash was always a safe haven for me. My escape. That's what it should be for all of us. But the smash community is made up of people, and we all have our flaws. We all know life is fucked up in a lot of ways, but I believe our community can be better than society at large. It should be a place where no one has to worry about shit except not dropping combos/edgeguards.
Idk, I'm not perfect. None of us are. But we can all be better. I'm glad that everyone is speaking up and all this is out in the open. We're much better off for it. If you're thinking "I hope X doesn't get 'canceled'" FUCK THAT. Best to take all the trash out at once. No matter who it is.
I know I don't post often or seem very involved in the community but just know I love you all and I care. I just feel weird posting to the entire internet for some reason. Always have.
Life comes in waves. We're on a downward slope right now but that just means we're due for a huge upswing.
It's 4am on the WC and I can't think of anything but the community. I just love playing melee and hanging with the homies and I miss it a lot during quarantine. When all this is over I'm excited to come back to a better smash community. Where people feel welcomed and safe. No matter what age/gender.
-Shroomed