Hello all! Fresh kiwi here. Not sure how I should be introducing myself, but here goes... I have been following this case since the beginning and been lurking this thread for a while. I haven't had an online presence in years, so I had been sitting on joining for a while. I do hope to provoke some thoughts and discussions while I'm here. I joined specifically for Vic's case though...
I'll go over some points about myself. Before this situation even happened, I have disliked Monica's work. She only fits silly and obnoxious characters as her voice is... well, silly and obnoxious. I enjoyed Vic's work as Edward Elric. I don't listen to dubs as often anymore, so I'm not sure if you can call me a fan. I do watch anime frequently and have done so for many years. I've also attended quite a few conventions over the years and have seen Vic on two seperate occasions.
Back in January, when I first heard the accusations, I really WANTED to believe these "victims". Truly... I did. But too many times they have contradicted themselves and still do til this very day. Even Monica's initial story baffled me when I read it. Her behaviour continues to baffle me going forward. So did the Tekko stories. All I learned from those claims is that their staff is extremely incompetent and Tekko is unsafe as security and staff failed to keep tabs on a guest not just one year... But for two years. Blows my mind. Also Adam's affidavit bothered me A LOT. In fact, a lot of the males that work at Funi that are speaking against Vic bother me. If these men have been aware of Vic's behavior... why on earth did no one speak up for their female coworkers beforehand? These people allowed women to work in a hostile and uncomfortable environment for years. ESPECIALLY Adam... as he allowed Vic to be booked at cons over and over again... knowing how dangerous he was. I mean, he was SO dangerous, that they had locks to keep employees safe from Vic. Give me a break... this is just too ridiculous and hard to believe. The "Vic has too much power" bullshit is just that. As apparently Adam had more authority, but decided to do nothing.
There are still things about this that I am not sure have been discussed. Like how this all came about. What prompted Monica and others to come forward? I know she initially says it is because she JUST learned it happened to her friends... But what started that conversation? What made the Yost twins email Monica out of the blue? It would be nice to see that email. Which I think Monica still failed to turn over at discovery... It is just very weird. Jamie just had her hair pulled which shouldn't have been a surprise to Monica because it was apparently SO common that Vic did it to lots of women in front of everybody. So again, I'm confused. Jamie was SO traumatized by Vic's words that she couldn't remember them. Poor her.
I can see there may be a grain of truth to what people say, but that's all there is to them... a grain. Many people seem to be screaming about testimony being evidence and I can agree with that. It is just that it is the weakest form of evidence as people can... well, you know... LIE. Or simply misremember things. That is why it is so important to get firsthand accounts as well as others to link the similarities to get to the truth.
I can share my experiences with Vic if anyone is interested. They are very simple stories and can be easily twisted to paint Vic negatively like people have been doing for... nine months now? I just can't believe it has been like this for so long. That's why I decided to come strap myself in for the ride with you all.
Sorry if this post is too long. Thoughts have been brewing for a long time and I have been wanting to express it with others.