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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
If anything, this is very on-brand for him. His regular content exudes this "I don't want to upset anyone" attitude too, which leads to his videos being mostly useless. If you want to look at a new device in crisp 4K before buying it, they can be helpful, but that's about it.
User Banned (3 Months): Concern trolling on racial issues, prior ban for transphobic comments
Has anyone called Marques an Uncle Tom yet? Because that's quite common around these parts.
And yes he did fuck up with the whole PDP thing but going from there to saying he forgot he's black goes a fucking long way.
By the way, is anyone who goes to the Joe Rogan podcast automatically an alt-right/racist/jackass? Honestly asking
And yes he did fuck up with the whole PDP thing but going from there to saying he forgot he's black goes a fucking long way.
By the way, is anyone who goes to the Joe Rogan podcast automatically an alt-right/racist/jackass? Honestly asking
Indeed, including and especially the final minutes. Subscribed, thanks for the recommendation!
Weak. Weak as fuck. He's not even a struggling YouTuber trying to stay relevant. He has made it. Use your platform to make a stand, don't ride the fence and be wishy washy. Or just don't say anything.
This shit right here is the worst. Ugh
This shit right here is the worst. Ugh
What pisses me off about this -- yes, I mean that literally -- is that Marques was beaten out by Jonathan Morrison. Nothing against Jonathan, he's a great tech youtuber and youtuber in general, but...
HE'S. NOT. BLACK.
As the biggest black tech youtuber and arguably the biggest tech youtuber in general, the only person who should've beaten him is Jud from UrAvgConsumer, and even Jud has been silent on this. Zach Anderson, too.
These three are probably the biggest black tech youtubers and they've been quiet. It bothers me. It annoys me. It pisses me off.
This video does nothing for me, either.
HE'S. NOT. BLACK.
As the biggest black tech youtuber and arguably the biggest tech youtuber in general, the only person who should've beaten him is Jud from UrAvgConsumer, and even Jud has been silent on this. Zach Anderson, too.
These three are probably the biggest black tech youtubers and they've been quiet. It bothers me. It annoys me. It pisses me off.
This video does nothing for me, either.
Jud has been tweeting at least over the past few days, but still - YouTube is their platform
I just started watching Jon's video and the difference in tone and subject matter vs Marques's video is staggering...only 30 seconds in. And this was posted 3 days ago....
Damn, you're right. The physical embodiment of "Err on the side of caution — to the extreme".
I follow him on twitter and haven't seen shit. But if that's the case, at least he's saying something.
Only tech youtuber I give a pass to right now is Krystal since her grandmother just died from Covid and I'm sure making more heavy videos would be too much for her emotionally right now.
Doesn't sound like he's come to terms with the reality of the world that no matter what, he'll be seen as black and that he'll be a token with how much model minority he aspires to be.
I don't think it's that he hasn't come to terms with it, it's that he's trying to express the situation in an emotionally flat manner so as to not offend his audience by pointing out that might have some racist tendencies.
Pretty on brand for him. He seems to stand in that privileged position in the coloured world where he isn't always hyper conscious of his skin tone but still gets reminded of it here and there and this video reflects it. This will get eaten up by the more well to do world, who are ultimately removed from the reality of the lower classes. Which is something I suppose.
Pretty much, his production values are extremely high which makes the videos useful to a degree. But he's generally a very passive reviewer
Flossy could review an orange for half an hour and I'd still watch it.
Really disappointing.
Part of me wants to argue that isn't fair* since we have only a snapshot of who he is, but purely from a public perspective that bolded sentence is effectively how he has portrays himself.
*speaking of fairness...
His Blackness is intrinsic. His upbringing and current station in life may be different from some, but this speaks to the very core of who he is.
Whether it's the suffragettes or indigenous Australians/New Zealanders, there are certain movements where everyone is called on to do their part.
Whether it's Bob Dylan, or John Boyega, artists have *always* played prominent roles in seeking change.
I don't expect Marques to be a firebrand, shooting darts at the forefront, but he honestly has to do better. From his race to his support of racists, his past and current comments highlight what it is that he truly values.
This is some weak shit on his part.
Despite watching his videos for YEARS, I don't actually follow him. I only saw one or two comments about PDP, and didn't know he actively tried to get on Joe Rogan's show like BossAttack mentioned.
This post...
I need a drink.
Damn.
Part of me wants to argue that isn't fair* since we have only a snapshot of who he is, but purely from a public perspective that bolded sentence is effectively how he has portrays himself.
*speaking of fairness...
I appreciate the parallels you've drawn to women in gaming, but this is a critical inflection point in history - one marked with centuries of murder and opression.
His Blackness is intrinsic. His upbringing and current station in life may be different from some, but this speaks to the very core of who he is.
Whether it's the suffragettes or indigenous Australians/New Zealanders, there are certain movements where everyone is called on to do their part.
Whether it's Bob Dylan, or John Boyega, artists have *always* played prominent roles in seeking change.
I don't expect Marques to be a firebrand, shooting darts at the forefront, but he honestly has to do better. From his race to his support of racists, his past and current comments highlight what it is that he truly values.
This is some weak shit on his part.
This is what has had me looking at him differently the last few years.
Despite watching his videos for YEARS, I don't actually follow him. I only saw one or two comments about PDP, and didn't know he actively tried to get on Joe Rogan's show like BossAttack mentioned.
This post...
I need a drink.
Yeah, I watch both for entirely different reasons. Just not sure how much longer I can watch MKBHD's content, though.
For me personally, Marques' calm and measured demeanor, as well as sounding like he puts some thought into what he's saying before he says it, never making obnoxious "jokes" or having unnecessarily high-energy reactions (unlike many other (tech) Youtubers, e.g. Linus), was the main reason why I started to appreciate his videos and subscribed to his channel, which is not something I usually do (right now, I subscribe to a total of eight channels). Now I see that those very same qualities can also help condemn him as passive, milquetoast, or worse. Not all people are cut out to be impassioned orators, or great at expressing strong emotions publicly, but I don't know if that alone is reason enough to second-guess their intentions or stick labels on them.
Having said all that, his tweet congratulating PDP is a whole different matter (I don't follow him on Twitter, so didn't know about it before). It will definitely make me look at his output with a more critical eye in the future.
Having said all that, his tweet congratulating PDP is a whole different matter (I don't follow him on Twitter, so didn't know about it before). It will definitely make me look at his output with a more critical eye in the future.
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"So, all you scared to death negros
Just sit down
Don't you come out to defend our enemy
You sit down and you shut up
And tell your master to come on out and deal with this"
*music starts*
This is too convenient and he comes out with this only when it's safe to care or pretend to.
Just sit down
Don't you come out to defend our enemy
You sit down and you shut up
And tell your master to come on out and deal with this"
*music starts*
This is too convenient and he comes out with this only when it's safe to care or pretend to.
He literally says that he doesn't care if he loses racist subscribers.
Yes. This. This guy never has any insight worthwhile on anything. Including tech. And I'm a subscriber. For the video quality mostly. He says what will keep most people pleased on his channel at most.
Yeah I didn't want to say it, but even from a review standpoint, I don't get the hype. The videos look awesome, but the actual reviews are not that great. The Verge, Flossy, Engadget and Lisa from Mobiletechreview are better. So many techtubers just get up there, talk vaguely about super hyped products, then move on. They're like hype men and women. I don't love Linus cause he still buddies up with PDP too, but at least on his channels they actually go in-depth and try to review things.
Most of us now that I take a look. We know the usernames for a lot of us. And I recognize most of them.
Marques has earned that criticism. Like some others said though, I just personally don't feel like nows the time to do this publicly. But he's earned it.
I'm black. Pretty sure the strongest critics here are black. White folks are congratulating him on Twitter cause they think it's so powerful when us black folks, who's paid attention to him over the years, know what's up. Anyone who want to lead by example to become some "model minority" is a damn fool, cause at the end of the day, his skin color still supersedes everything else in this country. His statement about Black Lives Matter was dripping with resentment, like he thinks he's too good for it (cause he doesn't want to jump on hashtags).
I watched this right after watching Austin Creed / Xavier Woods speak on the issue and it was a stark contrast. I'm still glad he said something, but there are moments in this that speak to where he's coming from (when he talks about almost being able to ignore that he's the only black guy in a white space for example). Marques' parents clearly did an exemplary job of providing for their son and doing everything they could to let him do the things he wanted to do regardless of his color. As a white guy, I can understand the pull there must be for someone in Marques position to try and distance himself from his skin color and exist primarily in circles that I get to.
And I can only imagine the betrayal that must feel like for people who not only suffer from much more than Marques does, but who are seemingly more aware of the ways Marques suffers due to his skin color than he is.
Seriously though, if anyone wants to listen to something like this *from the heart* from someone who sees it and feels it, check out that Austin Creed video instead. Parts of that were things I'd never considered (most memorably, him talking about how much work he has had to do to ensure people don't see him as threatening) and they resonated with me.
This feels more like someone who doesn't want to believe racism effects them much, kind of sort of beginning to recognize that it actually effects them more than they want to admit. Again, I'm glad he put this out there vs nothing, but it is, as others have said, still very on brand.
And I can only imagine the betrayal that must feel like for people who not only suffer from much more than Marques does, but who are seemingly more aware of the ways Marques suffers due to his skin color than he is.
Seriously though, if anyone wants to listen to something like this *from the heart* from someone who sees it and feels it, check out that Austin Creed video instead. Parts of that were things I'd never considered (most memorably, him talking about how much work he has had to do to ensure people don't see him as threatening) and they resonated with me.
This feels more like someone who doesn't want to believe racism effects them much, kind of sort of beginning to recognize that it actually effects them more than they want to admit. Again, I'm glad he put this out there vs nothing, but it is, as others have said, still very on brand.
Marques obviously has insecurities about his identity as a black man and this has been clear way before this video dropped. I applaud him to try to discuss and explore why this is the case on video, but his largely white audience has really no clue what he's talking about. The gist of the video is that he's always been drawn to spaces where black representation is lacking, and has struggle to figure out present himself in those spaces, so he largely just shys away from blackness. That's tough, and I've been there at times earlier in life, but I've learned that it's never wrong to be confident in your blackness in those spaces. It just makes you have that much more to offer. Honestly, Marques content would actually be much better if it wasn't so detached from the culture, but again, that may be just a result of his own insecurities.
I'm torn here.
On one hand, that statement was, yeah...a bit milquetoast.
But on the other hand, I feel that Black people deserve a bit of grace, because there's a difference between acknowledging your Blackness and coming into your Blackness. For the latter, that journey is different for all of us -- being able to not just acknowledge one's own blackness, but to lead with it and speak on it with authority. It's a false idea that all Black people are all these Soldiers for the Movement in waiting, or that we come equipped with the perfect words and attitudes to meet the moment. That journey takes time (and some people never truly get there), and while I'm sure some of Brownlee's statement is a bit of corporatist calculating, I also think it was mostly sincere. A Black man who's carved out a space that's not really represented by us trying to articulate his place in this moment.
All I ask from those Black people in these moments is that they just...do no harm. And that's what I think of Brownlee here. I didn't get much out of his statement, but at least it did no harm.
On one hand, that statement was, yeah...a bit milquetoast.
But on the other hand, I feel that Black people deserve a bit of grace, because there's a difference between acknowledging your Blackness and coming into your Blackness. For the latter, that journey is different for all of us -- being able to not just acknowledge one's own blackness, but to lead with it and speak on it with authority. It's a false idea that all Black people are all these Soldiers for the Movement in waiting, or that we come equipped with the perfect words and attitudes to meet the moment. That journey takes time (and some people never truly get there), and while I'm sure some of Brownlee's statement is a bit of corporatist calculating, I also think it was mostly sincere. A Black man who's carved out a space that's not really represented by us trying to articulate his place in this moment.
All I ask from those Black people in these moments is that they just...do no harm. And that's what I think of Brownlee here. I didn't get much out of his statement, but at least it did no harm.
Nothing's wrong with it. But it's like they are giving him a pat on the back for doing the bare minimum, and it took this long, a man being killed slowly on film, and an entire movement for him to discuss this. And when he does he still tip-toes around shit. So it's lame. Obviously, the white folks have no right to call him out, but I wish another black YouTuber or tech person would try to educate him.
Someone needs to tell him leading by example in silence is bullshit. You have to speak out. Don't just go around sucking up to racists like PDP. He reminds me of the token black dude who's learned to ignore racism cause he just wants to fit in, and doesn't want to make his white friends uncomfortable. That's the only reason you'd shy away from discussing race--for the benefits of the oppressors. Because it makes so many whites wiggle in their seats. Kinda like how Drew Brees told his team mate, "Not now," when he tried to call out his "respect the flag" shit in person.
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Greetings.
His type of political engagement is loved by white people. It makes them all warm and fuzzy because it is so vague. Its corporate PR dressed as politics. He is the paragon of Malcolm's House Negro. Look up a dictionary of that concept- and there Marque is, staring bank vacantly, pretending that he isn't black.
Motherfucker burned that card when he was promoting nazi lover PDP and 1 man alt-right recruiting agency Joe fucking Rogan.
I mean, Jud hasn't made a video, but he hasn't been quiet. Depends on what you follow him on I guess.
I like Marques and I get what he's saying but when you stan for PDP after him dropping (multiple?) N-bombs, it's a bit hard to take it as more than a bullshit statement.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not defending PDP or that idiot Joe Rogan.
But I can't put all that weight on Brownlee like he's the only Black dude who's gone on Rogan's show. TOO MANY Black dudes have gone on Rogan and thought that shit was ok.
Yeah, I feel you.
Especially in times like this, you see the difference more starkly.
It's still the fundamental difference between the haves and have-nots.
Now, I'm not Steven Lim but I am Asian so maybe my perspective can help here.
With BLM and recently George Floyd, I've always supported the efforts to condemn and bring awareness. However, at times it's difficult to know when it's appropriate for me to do so. The last thing I want to do is to speak for, or even worse speak over someone who needs their voice to be heard. Manplaining and whitesplaining already exist, so I don't want to add onto the pile.
What I do want to do is to use and leverage my own privilege to give black and indigenous voices some room to speak and be heard -- and I have to do this a lot in and outside of the classroom. I do admit that I still have a lot more to listen and learn, especially because my experiences do not mirror those of other minorities.
And because I do not have the same experiences, I feel even more of a need to give room for them to speak.
This is 100% truth, and I realized this too late, after trying to be some sort of model or assimilated person for many years of my early life.
No matter how much personal standing a person has, skin color will unfortunately be the first and only thing that people will look at.
If only George Floyd could articulate the differences between the Google Pixel 4 and iPhone 11's cameras and biometric systems he'd still be here today.
Thanks for answering. As a white person I just don't know how his white friends could act in this case. They can not retweet him but at the same time I understand wanting to pass his message.
I understand your point regarding his video. My ignorance here is regarding his friends behavior and what would be best since I also don't think they (or we, white people) should be calling him out obviously.
Exactly. He's so incredibly naive it's hard for me to take him seriously. Because the cops don't care, the Karens don't care--just look at that Harvard Grad who got the cops called on him cause the lady wouldn't leash her dog. His YouTube subscriber count doesn't matter--he can still get pulled out of that Tesla and killed by the police.
This is why silence doesn't work for us. You have to speak up about these issues. Leading by example also makes it sound like the folks getting killed did something wrong. Why do we have to be better than our white counterparts? Oh yeah--racism!