you guys are right. my behavior during SPL was a part of the toxicity i have a problem with in this community (minus the blatant bigotry and literal harassment). i still shitpost and joke around, but since SPL, i have tried to not attack people personally. the only negative behavior i've engaged in that i can think of since the middle of SPL is when i made fun of mcmeghan for his seeding thread.
it's almost as if things can happen in my personal life (read: not on a stupid pokemon forum) to make me realize that being mean to people online for no fucking reason is not cool.
i don't think i'm getting on a high horse or acting holier than thou for calling out this behavior when i see it. what i regret just as much as my negative behavior during SPL is not sufficiently calling out these genuinely hateful ideas, beliefs, and practices i've seen within our community for years. i care about the community, and i think the way to get rid of this negative behavior is to just stop associating with the damn people that engage in it so often. i'm not saying to end all your friendships, but if you have certain friends who constantly make bigoted and harmful comments or go out of their way to incessantly harass people with no remorse and no desire to change or grow, maybe it's time to stop supporting those people by giving them both direct and indirect power and influence in this community.
i understand that i did not have the best reputation in the world prior to SPL, and SPL made that reputation a lot worse. i don't think me being an ass during SPL detracts from my grievances regarding the bigots in this community and the people who remain supportive of them time after time, all because they are good pokemon players? speaking of,
man ABR, i really gave you the benefit of the doubt for a long time. i thought the whole "grey is gay" thing that happened recently was blown way out of proportion, and i thought you had grown from your past bigotry that i witnessed back in the day in BOF. it's clear that you haven't grown much at all during the time i've known you. i am disappointed, but i'm not surprised.