Community TO statement about Rapid and BSL

Contrary to what blackmanpl said it seems way more than 5 people are concerned over the issue. Or maybe he can only count to 5… ^_._^

I think this wasnt necessary.

I put the events on the TL calendar, even double checking with ZZZero, to support this event. This was prior to knowing Rapid would be there.
For the historic value and TL still being BW’s hub I was unsure whether to take off the events of the calendar or not. Since on day 2 – to my knowledge – nothing was addressed yet. I decided to take off the events of the calendar as a way of saying this whole ordeal is not cool.

Like OP & co, I am also waiting for a statement and very suprised there has not been one yet.

I was wondering why it wasn’t on the calendar.

Edit: in the interest of keeping this thread on point and not just engaging in arguments anyone who wants to discuss further @me in the other thread: https://tl.net/forum/brood-war/618831-rapidcasting-is-back-in-bsl or in FBW discord

I’ve said plenty. I wish more people would put their 2 cents in as well. I think we’ve had some good discussion on it.

User was temp banned for this post.

I myself took note of the ongoing discussions regarding the Rapid rage topic on this forum. In response, I chose to shield ZZZero from this discourse for a few compelling reasons:
Firstly, I sought to prevent any distractions that might impede his commitment to delivering online content. I offered him the option of refraining from casting this tournament from the very beginning, however, ZZZero is a man of his word, and he proceeded with the online cast as he comitted years ago.
Secondly, I aimed to safeguard ZZZero’s emotional well-being and overall mood, unti at least he transit from the warmth of Phuket to the harsh winter in Poland.

While I do hold in high regard the combined collective represented in this platform, it appears that some may lack firsthand experience in organizing events of such a scale, let alone offline tournaments. One must question the basis for calling for someone’s removal solely on the grounds of criticism in a forum.

The offline segment of the tournament fell under my purview, with Rapid providing valuable support by facilitating the participation of Sharp and offering outstanding photography services, among other contributions. It would be a misjudgment to conclude that acknowledging this part of the statement absolves Rapid of any responsibility for his past actions. However, making these past actions public can serve as a means of accountability, at least until such actions might potentially recur.

Let me now consider the situation from an alternative perspective. Suppose, for the sake of argument, that every facet of the event was ZZZero’s sole responsibility. In such a scenario, overlooking Rapid’s involvement as a caster could be viewed as a form of negligence. Having had the privilege of collaborating with some of you in the past, however, I am aware that certain individuals have displayed a level of neglect in fulfilling their responsibilities that could have warranted legal action. In comparison, ZZZero’s lapses appear far less severe.

In the words of the Bible, as found in Matthew 7:1

“Do not judge, or you too will be judged.”
“For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”

it is essential to reflect upon our own actions before casting judgment upon others.

As for matters of finance, let us not forget that, in the grand scheme of existence, money is but a fleeting concern. When we depart this world, our possessions will hold no sway. And for those who may have missed it, Geoff, at the very least, has departed during the time from the 20th Anniversary to the 25th Anniversary.

Let us strive for understanding, empathy, and unity in our interactions, both online and offline.

Why is it so difficult to just receive a stance on whether you think he is a sexual abuser or not. My concern is the safety of the people who attend, not the event itself. I understand that Zzzero is busy running the tournament and I didn’t expect any statement until after the event. But it doesn’t take a genius to go “hey, this guy doesn’t have a good history, maybe we shouldn’t allow him to take part in the event without addressing the big fucking gap is his history of Sexual abuse.” I don’t want to fuck around with people who have patterns of abuse without there being any movements towards doing better.

I wanted to have empathy for Rapid when the statements against him came out. I waited in hopes he would say anything about the accusations. I wanted to hear him say “hey, these things I’ve done were immature and wrong and I know it now.” or “I did not do the things that are being accused against me.”

Again no followup whatsoever and I’m supposed to believe he’s a changed person. That I have to look at the good when I was already let down 3 years ago.

I actually liked rapid once. I was happy to hear him during ASL Casts because it was English casting. I can accept he doesn’t have much brood war strategy knowledge but he was calling out plays as they unfolded. He even did some translations for the interviews. I wanted so fucking badly to hear him say anything. But he left. I bet he was hoping we would all forget about it too. I didn’t forget.

Offer up a statement about his return instead of asking us to just blindly accept him, otherwise Fuck off Rus_Brain.

I expect you’re mistaken that the opinion represented here on TL represents a vocal minority, even if the posts are from a select number of people. The overlap between people who watch BW and the people who support the MeToo movement is probably rather large. When you give someone a platform to spread their influence and reassert themselves in a community without even acknowledging a variety of complaints, you send two messages: (1) people can either avoid or buy their way past previous transgressions (e.g., bringing a pro to a tournament, other services), and (2) it is acceptable to work with this person again. Given that the MeToo movement was purposed, in part, to shine a light on people using their power to escape culpability for their actions, you can imagine many people’s continued ire in BSL’s choosing to work with Rapid and their desire to remediate the situation as quickly as possible before further harm was done.

I don’t want to speak for others, but I’m not looking for Rapid to prove his innocence in total. Rather, I’m just looking for some sort of accountability, be it through acknowledgement or statement to the community he appears to be looking to reenter, and then people can decide for themselves how they feel about it.