Youtuber PewDiePie is going all in on deGoogling and the Steam Deck is one of the surprising tools that's helping him to 'escape'
Youtuber PewDiePie is going all in on deGoogling and the Steam Deck is one of the surprising tools that's helping him to 'escape'
Yeah. Guy does a few Nazi things and anti-Semitic things a few years ago and he has to live with that reputation forever? . And come on, why are you living in the past? Just because Kanye straight off said some Nazi shit every few months? Dude, separate the art from the artist!
Oh, and Kevin Spacey did a bit of rape back then. But it was so long ago!
And while we’re here, Bill Cosby drugged those girls in the 70s. Like my dude, who wasn’t a little edgy back then?
Is there an avenue to getting off the hook? Apologizing and not doing it again? Or does he lose everything for the rest of his life?
For context, I barely know who pewdiepie is. I just have to imagine that when public figures fuck up, maybe there’s a spectrum of available consequences other than “they must lose their job and never been spoken of again.”
I was thinking QtPie, who is a much nicer person.
Pretty sure PewDiePie is an ass, but “he said a racial slur once ten years ago” isn’t a great argument against anyone, generally.
He didn’t really apologize at all. He brushed it off, moved on, and then everyone pretended like it didn’t exist.
His PR machine worked hard to clean up his mess.
Imagine if JK Rowling’s got quiet then two years later, came back and everyone gaslight you into saying they just went through a phase.
So I decided to look up the article, and see what the defense was.
Here’s the article: mediaite.com/…/Screen-Shot-2019-09-19-at-16.04.33…
And indeed, it does seem to be a Vetements piece he’s wearing. I could not however find the exact outfit, but those are the Georgian designer’s signature, in Georgian letters, which can be compared here:
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demna_(designer)
In looking through some videos from that era, he is wearing multiple articles of clothing from Vetements which tracks. So it’s not a one off piece of clothing he was wearing from that company.
As for the cross, it is a design used in Georgia, including on their traditional flags:
And it is known as a Bolnisi Cross
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolnisi_cross
It is similar to the German iron cross, except the iron cross always has white or iron bolding, which the Bolnisi Cross does not
(You can compare them in these search results: duckduckgo.com/?t=fpas&q=german+iron+cross&ia=ima…)
You’re not misremembering.
He had a team scrub that off the internet and now a bunch of people have been gaslit.
Yup. We see this with StopKillingGames too where it is “Well. So what if asmongold literally advocated for genocide and ethnic cleansing? He is on our side and that is what is most important!”.
pewdiepie I think mostly fell off the past few years so no idea if he has shown any sign of growth. But it is still a GREAT message to say “Racism is less important than my OS of choice”
Just to be clear: if someone has actively shown growth then I am all for them moving past shit (obviously the amount of growth required depends on the level of shitty before but). James Gunn being kind of the poster child for that where he was an edgelord dipshit when he was younger. But every time that comes up, almost everyone around him makes it clear that he has grown significantly and he owns up to it every time.
Like… look at idubbz. I, and many others, aren’t sure if we can ever actually “forgive” him considering how much abuse we received because of people directly quoting his hate. But he also (at least briefly. Not sure what he has done since) made it a big point of actually APOLOGIZING. And… getting a lot of shit and hatred from other youtubers who refuse to apologize for their shittiness for whatever reason (shoutout to moistcritical for breaking his apolitical stance to aggressively insist Ian didn’t need to apologize for slurs and bigotry…).
Contrast that with “he said the N word a lot a few years back but hasn’t done it recently” with no indication beyond that.
Idubbbz is a perfect example of how to apologize and actually repent. He’s been outspoken about how destructive his old behavior was, and has lost a big chunk of his viewer base over it.
From what I’ve seen, PewDiePie has done nothing close to that.
Serious question.
Do you believe in rehabilitation? I think its admirable for someone to overcome their shortcomings. Especially considering that we are all products of our environments.
To my understanding he apologized for the horrific things he said in the past and is attempting to better himself as a person. I don’t see him continuing to be a problematic person.
Who here hasn’t said or done regrettable things?
I stopped following him after the incident like many, so I am also unsure. I could be misinformed, but I haven’t heard of any controversies since then.
I am sympathetic because I was once a conservative due to my upbringing. But after moving out and experiencing the world, I have gotten more and more progressive. I shutter at shit I used to say, but can’t change the past. I can only focus on bettering myself for the future.
I understand. I grew up a fundamentalist Pentecostal. It’s taken a lot of time and growth to move past that, and I’ve been an ass and had to make up for it.
My problem is mostly that celebrities have a lot of influence and power that they don’t treat with the proper level of respect. If you have an audience of millions, you should consider the example you set. It’s part of the price of choosing to be a celebrity as your job.
This guy is responsible for contributing to a lot of cultural miasma- making up for that takes more effort than apologizing. It requires actual growth and an effort to make amends. You have to not just change, but try to fix the things you broke and help the people you hurt.
A lot of celebrities will performatively apologize, but not do anything and that’s really annoying.
As we watch Kanye, Asmongold, [random influencer] continues to say and encourage their fan base to believe in the most terrible shit…
Remember that if their actions start affecting too much of their pocketbook, they can just apologize. Oh, and pay PR shills to clean up their mess.
PewDiePie spent years putting that belief out in many different ways. What you saw in the news was just what was reported.
Here is the thing with Asmondgold. He apologized for calling Palestinians subhuman, then went on to say right after that voices for Palestinians deserve what’s coming to them and a bunch of other horrendous shit.
From what I understand Pewdiepie hasn’t been problematic since the bridge incident. So it’s not a 1:1 comparison.
I don’t claim to know him but I think he was a foolish kid who is now learning the error of his ways. He never struck me as someone who was intentionally malicious but rather someone who is very uninformed and didn’t realize it. He said it once in a stream, he used it to mean basically “asshole” when someone killed him. I’m sure he knew it was racist, but he probably didn’t know the WHY to why it was or the real cultural significance it has in the US, he’s swedish, he’s so far removed from American culture. And I don’t think he realized the impact of saying that and some of his other comments had on his young impressionable fans.
It SEEMS like he’s becoming more politically left leaning and has unlearned some of his bias he had in the past. I don’t know for sure but I hope he is.
It may not be common, but it does happen:
That’s not even close to remotely what they said. They said it’s easy to become one if you’re trying to be edgy. They never said it was OK. They said you can change and get out of it. If you were just doing it to be edgy, and not because you believed white people are superior, then it’s easier to change.
Argue in good faith if you’re going to argue. Don’t change people’s words to fight a strawman. It only makes you look stupid.
I watched a documentary recently about a former skin head who was getting his tattoos removed because he hated them because he didn’t believe that stuff anymore. I don’t remember his age, but he had to be in his 30s.
You don’t “grow out of it” but you can learn that you were wrong. I’m not saying that anyone should support pewdeepie, but it should be encouraged when people change their views like that. Even if he’s being dishonest, it should be encouraged that he’s telling others it’s wrong, and also that it’s more beneficial to not do that.
The goal should not be revenge, it should be less hate. Revenge only puts us further away from what we supposedly want.
if anyone wanted revenge on him, it would be extremely easy for someone to find him and do him harm. stop trying to make cancel culture against white men a real thing. Felix is one of the richest YouTubers in the world. he would be unemployed if the reality you’re painting existed.
let’s stop acting like Nazis need to be personally hugged and kissed on the forehead until they stop being violent
stop trying to make cancel culture against white men a real thing.
Where did I say that? I just said revenge doesn’t gain us anything if it prevents people from becoming less asshole, or spreading that behavior.
let’s stop acting like Nazis need to be personally hugged and kissed on the forehead until they stop being violent
Let’s stop acting like former Nazis are just as bad as existing ones. Unless you’re going to kill him, shut the fuck up. He exists and is going to use his platform, whether you like it or not. I’d rather it not be used to promote Nazism.
Why do you say that?
Look at all the so-called “subtle bigotry” that predominates western media and then ask yourself why you expect anything else.
Bruh, he literally paid some people to wave a sign that said, “Death to all Jews.” Link to Vox
“Subtle bigotry,” my ass.
I did say " subtle".
I wasn’t talking about mainstream shit but I wasn’t thinking about him per se. More so commonly watched movies, TV shows and the manner in which the news presents certain people and parts of the world. I’ve never seen his content.
You're exposing your privilege and lack of understanding other perspectives.
Not everyone grew up knowing the impact words or phrases have on marginalized communities. I reflect on the day I learned women think twice about going for a runs at night. Growing up a white-passing guy in a relatively safe neighborhood, the possibility of getting raped was a foreign concept, but a sad reality for many women. In that same vein, you lack the humility to consider people like me, who grow up in an environment where slurs were common and "just a joke".
I've educated myself, learned from my past, reflected on how my actions may have impacted others at the time and walked away from ignorance. I am not who I used to be, and we must allow people to grow, or would you prefer to see no change?
If you grew up perfect, you should feel blessed that you've had the opportunity. Not everyone gets that.
Here’s the problem with public figures in particular: they have an extrinsic motivation to make others believe they’ve changed. You can’t actually know if they’re doing it for the money or because they actually believe it.
The same issue goes for doing good too. Do people donate to charity because they want to or because they want people to see them? Is it still good if it’s the latter? Is there a difference functionally?
100% agree, but this logic applies to everyone, not just public figures.
they [public figures] have an extrinsic motivation to make others believe they've changed.
Replace public figures with people and its just as accurate. Nobody wants to be the bad guy, even demon-spawn incarnate, Stephen Miller tries to put everything in a positive light "detaining violent illegals" vs "breaking innocent families apart and sending them to concentration camps".
Judge people based on their actions, not their words.