Here my thoughts on this and current So Cal anime scene as well.
I feel that the current So Cal communitity is slowing killing itself. Back in the old days(James era) While people had disputes going on, that did not get in the way of them coming out to every rebel up event/ others and having fun. Now I feel there is a ton of division. Some people are not happy on the way our scene is being lead/ don't like the new leaders because a lot of the "fun" part has been taken away and a lot more seriousness has been added in it's place. While seriousness is okay in certain situations; Rebel up, and other events are there for everyone to come out and enjoy themselves and play some fighting games. No one should have to worry about being criticized or being shutdown when they talk mess(Unless it gets out of hand). It makes me so mad when I hear people saying things along the lines of "I'm better than you, You're a scrub" to some casual players that want to get to the level so they can compete. I know I get trolled a lot but even so I know that it isn't serious and I love my so cal community because it actually helped shape who i am today. I can always go out to play some games, or even chill at someones house, watch some bad movies (Like Black Dynamite). This division needs to stop and we need to reach an agreement on what needs to be changed in our scene, from both parties. Remember in the end, fighting games are here so we can have fun! Even if we are competing at the end of the day we are all FG players and enjoy what we do. No need to put others down, its GGs and then time to play some more! Let's fix this issue and return back to the good days!