Well, as a TO I have to make sure no shit goes down in my future tournaments once the COVID thing is dealt with. We need to make it so we police ourselves and be harsh on people who even think of making this mistakes. Minors should be supervised by an adult, adults should stay vigilant.
I'm talking with other TO's in my local scene and honestly it's just depressing all around. Personally I have never gotten involved with this ugly side of the community because I rarely go to the houses or really interact with the players in a more private way, since I have always been kind of a no-nonsense guy for that type of stuff. Maybe I should have kept a closer eye instead of just avoiding the issue altogether. So for me that now I want to be part of the conversation I find out there is a lot of stuff that was going on that I didn't even realize where issues, because I never really looked for it.
I think people saying stuff like "burn it all down" and "smash will never recover" are either overreacting or vitrolic. The game doesn't brew this behaviour, society and people do, and we can stop it. We need to stop it. And we need to work on it if we want it to stop it. Just expressing outrage or mentioning how disgusting it is is not enough.
We need to make the scene a safe place. We really don't need the old scene for that, but we do need to use the good side, the people that are behind the victims, the people that are speaking up, and the people to genuenly love the game to stay strong and, if they still feel like it, claim back what was once theirs. The game that means so much.
Of course it would take time, and it would take a lot of work. A lot of making sure the people who lead are the right people for the job. A conscious effort.
And, just to make it clear, this is not a post dismissing all the accusations. They all are valid and should be scrutinized. Lawyers should be contacted and organizations are issuing investigations and bans. This are serious and should be taken as such.
This post is really about what the TO's can do, should do. It really saddens me that some TO's are even the source of the issue, or complicit in them. I find myself side-eyeing the ones I know and looking for information withing my community before taking the next step. But I don't want to give up on something I truly do for the love of the game, even if I have to do it all by myself.
Sorry this is a "me, me, me" post but I felt like I could offer a unique perspective on this, I feel everyone else on this thread has done a good job of feeling for the victims and providing support, I tried to do my part by bringing this to the attention of my small community (That is not in the US, btw, but this behaviour is not US exclusive).
