Yeah. Guy does a few Nazi things and anti-Semitic things a few years ago and he has to live with that reputation forever?
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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 think your original argument just wasn't fully fleshed out. Seems you don't like the guy for a lot more reason than the one you gave, which might be legitimate.
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:
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:
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.
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.
Do you have any evidence that he's made an effort to make up for his behavior that goes beyond words? This is an honest question, I never followed him because of random happenstance, so I don't know.
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. There's no remorse. Just a "Well sorry that happened".
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 has.