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Marques Brownlee (MKBHD, the biggest black tech YouTuber) reflects on the color of his skin and this week in racial politics
- Thread starter RastaMentality
- Start date
Why would you, as a black man, not only congratulate someone who is clearly a massive racist but also encourage others to follow them? That's making a statement, that you don't care.
Exactly. He seems like the type that would say, "It's just a word. We shouldn't give it power," or some BS. I hate the whole, "I'm above it," attitude, and I've seen it from a few black folks in my day. Well--they--white people--aren't.
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I wholly agree. Waiting until every white owned company under the sun posts BLM just to post this milquetoast shit would be sad enough but he also associates with terrible people. He has a right to navigate his blackness in any way he wants to as long as he's not harming folks, but this stuff is such a huge disservice to his young black fans.
I'm black and in tech and you see this sort of "only one in the room" behavior all the time. It's completely disappointing and it entirely exists just to make white people comfortable.
This is what I never understood. Like internally, what's going on there?
I've been unsubscribed since that co-sign (I'm interested in following tech in general and there are other great channels). Most of these tech dudes are all apolitical but he should have taken this opportunity to be more specific since these issues direct relate to him and other black creators.
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This ain't even non black people's place to critique but it's funny how they literally chomp up any and everything
Yeah most of his comments on insta is just hella white people with blue checks praising him with like 2 or 3 words of adjectives.
This dude identifies more with being a YTber than being Black. I don't mean to sound harsh, but he's continually chucked aside statements about race and social issues in order to not rock the boat with his audience. Not only that, he stood up for PDP when he shouted the n-word during a stream.
He's a coward, fuck him and his pathetic statement.
He's a coward, fuck him and his pathetic statement.
What's weird is that he's a very young guy. You'd expect more social consciousness from a younger dude.
That said, I think he's also very calculating. He knows what he's doing. He's a hustler and the social stuff was just not cool for a long time. It's cool this week. Let's see how long this lasts, tho. I assume he intentionally avoided it to stick to tech to maximize his audience. Again, he's very calculating.
Additionally, the guy started doing this very young and is a huge success. He hasn't seen the adversity of, let's say climbing the corporate ladder and navigating those very white politics. He's naive.
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This reads like a bullshit, cowardly response. It reads like I don't want to rock the boat. It reads like "I dont like politics in my X"
Youtuber's big blindspot has always been their fellow Youtubers. I imagine if you're in the top percent you're either friends with a lot of those people, or else afraid of starting something that would destroy your business. It's the problem with Hollywood just with smaller stakes. "Those people are bad, but this guy is my pal, so he can't be bad."
I don't think he's naive, as you say he's calculating. In some ways social media lets creators be themselves more, but in other ways it turns you into a specific brand and if you go off it, there's hell to pay.
I feel uncomfortable expecting people to care about certain stuff specifically because of their innate traits, but I get where people are disappointed the people with platforms don't leverage them more.
You know what is funny is that if he said nothing really nothing when the PDP thing happened i would have given him the benefit of the doubt because he does not want to fuck up his money because of the field that he is in. But him kinda capping for him fucked it up because in his position i would have understood why he did not say anything .
I think he's naive or inexperienced to working for the Man, while black. That's what I meant. He's been an entrepreneur all his professional life. That shelters you from a lot of nonsense. But you also don't see the experience what black professionals see in the corporate world.
But he's very calculating with his "brand".
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Nobody's gonna get his money fucked up when he's an independent Youtuber in a field where white CEOs are saying even way more than he is. I understand that he himself may not be comfortable discussing it but "he'll lose fans" is such massive bullshit.
My favorite. That video is so good, everyone should watch it. With everything that's going on, you gotta just comply with the cops and get it over with as quick as possible. Although that still doesn't guarantee your survival, buy it probably increases your chances.
Preach, have never really liked the dude all that much to be honest. It's always been a shame how he's never really spoken up on political issues or anything remotely dealing with race given his success, platform, etc.
Flossy >
I have watched so many videos of his about products I couldn't care less about. Dude is hilarious and charismatic.
It doesn't press them and plays into their own assumations with empty and meaningless platitudes
Justine is a sweetheart, though. One of the nicest people on Youtube. She means well. I'll give her handicap unlike Marques lol.
No doubt.
Just remember the tech community is very incestuous. It's more friends showing support than actually doing anything meaningful.
Flossy and Marques are my top 2 favorites. They're great in different ways.
We need to divorce youth from "wokeness". It's been made abundantly clear how bigoted the youth can be.
For a guy who mostly works with Silicon Valley tech and California production teams that have largely given statements in favor of Black Lives Matter... he is far less committed to anything at all in his comments on Twitter this past week and in this video than even deeply capitalist brands who actually have headquarters in red states...
absolutely bizarre
absolutely bizarre
I know sadly lol. The rise of white supremacy amongst young white men is sad.
Yup, Ben and Motherfucking Jerry's went harder than him!
https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/media-center/dismantle-white-supremacy
Meanwhile this fool can't even say his name. Really? Then you have all these white tech folks giving him a pat on the back. He's a joke, they're jokes, to hell with all of 'em. I stick to Flossy and The Verge. All the big tech tubers suck cause most of them don't even review products. Linus goes the most in-depth and he can get bent too.
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Hmmm, he doesn't really say much does he?
Like he doesn't even mention "police brutality", he always refers to the whole situation as "things that are going on".
"I had encounters with the police" - which kind? Did they give you the sideeye for owning a Tesla? Did they excessively question you? Like, share something... What were you implying?
Like, i wasn't expecting any particularly strong statement, because Marques is a Youtuber, in tech - like, as opposed to any "black celebrity", his personal business can and would be directly affected by having a hate mob go after you. And that is reflected in the way he tip-toes around making an actual statement.
His initial tweet a few days ago is followed by so many #AllLivesMatter and he certainly knows his following is mostly white kids, so while i understand that he doesn't want to rock the boat too much, i really don't think this video is anything people should be sharing and applauding that much.
"As a black man, let me tell you: Racism is bad."
I guess a "desire and skill to please everyone" is something you eventually internalize when your job is covering both Apple and Google products. Not even kidding.
Like he doesn't even mention "police brutality", he always refers to the whole situation as "things that are going on".
"I had encounters with the police" - which kind? Did they give you the sideeye for owning a Tesla? Did they excessively question you? Like, share something... What were you implying?
Like, i wasn't expecting any particularly strong statement, because Marques is a Youtuber, in tech - like, as opposed to any "black celebrity", his personal business can and would be directly affected by having a hate mob go after you. And that is reflected in the way he tip-toes around making an actual statement.
His initial tweet a few days ago is followed by so many #AllLivesMatter and he certainly knows his following is mostly white kids, so while i understand that he doesn't want to rock the boat too much, i really don't think this video is anything people should be sharing and applauding that much.
"As a black man, let me tell you: Racism is bad."
I guess a "desire and skill to please everyone" is something you eventually internalize when your job is covering both Apple and Google products. Not even kidding.
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Marques knows very well where his new prestige comes from, he won't alienate them.
Which is disappointing, the man is rich enough by now to risk it in the name of using his wide platform for a greater message.
Which is disappointing, the man is rich enough by now to risk it in the name of using his wide platform for a greater message.
His last 30 seconds the main word I kept hearing was "thing". Like come on just say it man damn.
I think it's safe to assume Nilay Patel has some skin in this game. He might be non-black, but he's very non-white.
Can't help but roll my eyes at how uncomfortable Marques gets every time Judner (UrAvgConsumer) brings up their skin color.
As always, Flossy keeps it real.
As always, Flossy keeps it real.
This dude is talking a whole lot without saying anything, it's also impressive. He's like the minority white people keep around but still make fun of but he still stans them because they make him feel like he's better than the other minorities.
Needs to take his ass right back inside that house.
Deep down at his core, I know Marques is good dude... but BossAttack & Mortemis are keeping it 100 and said what I wanted to say. There is no "right" wa" to be black. We have a right to be who we are and at the end of the day all that "be the change you want to see" isn't changing anything for us. The most you can get from it is "you are one of the good ones" — but at what cost?
I'll just say that I'm not a fan of the model minority status and what it entails. More often than not it's entry fee is the taking of a shared enemy to cement (and periodically renew) your new in-group status, and that is always either hatred/self-hated/suppression of blackness.
There's a larger discussion to be had on the same stories we see - doja cat types shitting on blackness for acceptance, anti-blackness from other minorities in pursuit of white acceptance, the amount of WS with PoC partners who reflect their anti-black views, our own who will happily take a shit on the rest of us to build themselves up, and then the well-meaning-but-naive types like MB who will still co-sign peeps who think it's cool to use the n-word as a slur — but like Slayven says I don't think Era is really a place for that discussion...
I'll just say that I'm not a fan of the model minority status and what it entails. More often than not it's entry fee is the taking of a shared enemy to cement (and periodically renew) your new in-group status, and that is always either hatred/self-hated/suppression of blackness.
There's a larger discussion to be had on the same stories we see - doja cat types shitting on blackness for acceptance, anti-blackness from other minorities in pursuit of white acceptance, the amount of WS with PoC partners who reflect their anti-black views, our own who will happily take a shit on the rest of us to build themselves up, and then the well-meaning-but-naive types like MB who will still co-sign peeps who think it's cool to use the n-word as a slur — but like Slayven says I don't think Era is really a place for that discussion...
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Lol maybe it's naivety but you're joking if you think there's literally any sort of ally ship between South Asian and black communities. Indians are some of the most racist groups towards Afro Caribbeans and many of them consistently look down on black folks since they tend to be wealthier than average in the west. They may have dark skin but there's a world of difference in how we interact.
I tried.
This is some weakass shit, first MKBHD video Ive watched in a long while.....looks like im going back to NOT watching this cat.
This is some weakass shit, first MKBHD video Ive watched in a long while.....looks like im going back to NOT watching this cat.
I like Marques, but yeah this is such a milquetoast statement unfortunately. If anything, now is the time to go hard if you repressed how you really feel.
I also don't like the whole "I try to be a role model" thing for what it insinuates.
I also don't like the whole "I try to be a role model" thing for what it insinuates.