That video is a suicide note. It's legitimate to question whether it should be kept online.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
NYPD on Twitter: "We regret to inform that Desmond Amofah aka Etika has been found deceased." (See guidelines before posting)
- Thread starter JB2448
- Start date
Mate, there's a reason why they are deleting it. I guess everyone grieves in their own way but it's incredibly distasteful to have complete strangers on the internet watching what essentially boils down to a suicide note. I realize it seems weird when it's addressed (presumably, I haven't watched it nor do I intend to) to his fans but I personally consider it way too private to be available for public consumption like that. But that's just me, I guess.
I think this is a trickier subject than you are making it.
Suicide is contagious so it's normal to delete these type of videos.
He also sort of talks about how people can learn from him, almost like a martyr...
So a suicidal martyr? Yes, we can learn from this. But do we really need people potentially suicidal watching this video? Is it really correct to leave it up?
It's like 13 reasons why. As much as they tried to push suicide as something you shouldnt do, people did it anyways.
You mean of course people repeatedly ignored everyone who is more familiar than they are with mental illness telling them that his behavior was an example of mental illness? Because, sure. That happened.
And now is a really good time for those people to reevaluate their own ignorance, the possibly very hateful and hurtful things they said about Etika and people who might be going through similar things, and challenge their own perspective. It's definitely true that some bad actors are trying to target Era over this, but that doesn't mean posters who showed their asses should take that as a free pass to avoid introspection. It's possible to be on the right side in several cases and wrong in others and vice versa.
A whole lot of people have been wrong about this topic and trying to hide behind the other instances where they're right doesn't fix it.
Terrible news. I had been looking for news ever since he disappeared...
Rest well, Desmond. Hope you find peace now.
Rest well, Desmond. Hope you find peace now.
and he isn't wrong. and evilore has the balls saying we bullied etika, he shouldn't talk either that piece of shit
I stopped following ReviewTechUSA awhile ago, but these are the words that everyone needs to hear. Respect to Rich for putting them out there.
I think you misinterpreted my point. What's done is done; calling everyone out for trying to change for the better, just because we didn't do it before, isn't productive. Yes that makes wrong in the past. But that doesn't mean we want things to stay the same either. At least, that's how I feel anyway.
There's no point in justifying the shameless cruelty that was present in that thread. "Of course people would not give him the benefit of the doubt" speaks to how poorly understood mental illness is here, and it's a mindset we should 100% abandon.
People had valid reasons to be skeptical of Etika and be frustrated with him. Look at the things he was saying. This situation isn't as simple as some are making it to be, these words are hurtful.
It's tragic that this man who built up this channel and a lot of fans died in this manner as he didn't deserve to go out like this. However these words were definitely harmful and some people's frustrations were warranted I feel.
Even without the hindsight of his death, a black man praising the KKK and wishing for the death of all black people seems like a huge red flag and cry for help in and of itself.
I looked up some old streams and watched the Xenoblade 2 ending video. Some great moments, especially that certain reveal. RIP
Issues like this is why I keep speaking of balancing acts. In the early days, ResetEra was brigaded by Neo-Nazis and similar trying to sneak by. There are definitely people sneaking in even now to slip in jabs during topics like this with no intention of actually using the forum afterward.
We can't ignore that people like that are here, of course. But the fact that they're here with disingenuous criticism also doesn't make all criticism disingenuous. We need to be open to recognize our flaws and we need to take some pains to be aware of context or to know when we don't have it.
You clearly did not read the post you're responding to. Note, I did not say that there would be 100% crossover, and no, that was not an advocation to witch hunt to come up with some arbitrary percentage.
i'm speaking from the perspective of the marginalized and their reaction to seeing vitriolic posts on social media.
I am in no way saying that he didn't try to go for help. Just that the issue wasn't treated properly. Like you said, he was released from a mental health clinic WAY too fast.
RIP Etika aka Desmond and condolences to his family and friends.
As for the broader context - I try to make a point never to join social media pile-ons when someone says or does something bad. You just never know what's going on in someone else's head, and what a million condemnations can do to someone's mindset.
As for the broader context - I try to make a point never to join social media pile-ons when someone says or does something bad. You just never know what's going on in someone else's head, and what a million condemnations can do to someone's mindset.
But he's not wrong, we did bully him and it was disgusting, another voice stamped out on the most ""liberal"" forum on the internet.
I can't imagine a world where I mock a depressed person who's clearly crying out in an episode of some sort but I'm also not a cowardly piece of dog shit who would do so for forum clout or to appear the "wokest". I'm not sure what to make of this situation other than that this place really needs to re-evaluate how they judge issues related to mental health because as it stands now ResetERA is 100% not a safe place to discuss it.
Regarding the previous topic on this incident
Official Staff Communication
As staff we should in fact have paid more attention to and done better with the initial thread, and that's something we've been agonizing over for days. We do usually moderate mental health topics much more vigilantly and that did not happen in this case. We regret that enormously and it's taken a personal toll on all of us.
We do not usually retroactively revisit old threads to issue a lot of bans, but this is an unprecedented situation and we feel it is both appropriate to correct a mistake and also the best way for the community to heal. We will be reviewing the thread again. We have to balance what was known at the time with what is never appropriate, but the bans will not be short.
At the end of the day we are a small team of volunteers trying to keep up with a massive community as best we can. We are members as well and we feel the same things you do.
We do not usually retroactively revisit old threads to issue a lot of bans, but this is an unprecedented situation and we feel it is both appropriate to correct a mistake and also the best way for the community to heal. We will be reviewing the thread again. We have to balance what was known at the time with what is never appropriate, but the bans will not be short.
At the end of the day we are a small team of volunteers trying to keep up with a massive community as best we can. We are members as well and we feel the same things you do.
I doubt anyone including the staff disagrees with this, to be fair.
Keeping a digital suicide note up especially from somebody who's audience that consists of a LOT of impressionable children doesn't seem like the best course of action.
Last edited:
That's something we share in common, then. But I think there's a healthy middleground between "ResetEra is garbage dumpster fire" and "ResetEra is completely fine the way it currently is." We don't need to address disingenuous trolls, but we shouldn't lump legitimate concerns in with them either.
Oh. Glad we're on the same page.
If we take just one thing away from losing Etika, it should be this...let love be the driving force in all you do, every aspect of your life. Your words and your actions have consequences, in your life among your family, friends and world community, or online, behind a computer screen and anonymous, we need to show more love and empathy, all of us, to our fellow humans. I think that is what Etika wanted people to realize when he posted his final video. So next time you get all cozy behind your computer monitor, take a second to remember that you are talking to a real person with blood in their veins, a person you have no idea what they may be going through in their life.
It's like your mother used to say, "don't have something nice to say? keep your mouth shut" and "treat others how you would like to be treated"
LOVE MORE
It's like your mother used to say, "don't have something nice to say? keep your mouth shut" and "treat others how you would like to be treated"
LOVE MORE
I feel like further punishing users for the way the moderation team handled the situation is a strange move. Hopefully the review of how the staff and mods here handled this situation goes far beyond this
That's great, but how is anyone here supposed to know who is far more familiar with certain issues than anyone else?
Honestly I don't think now is the right time for people to go on witch hunts calling other people out. In the same way people are saying the problem with the culture here and all over the internet is people dunking on each other that's exactly how a lot of these posts are coming across whether or not that's the intention.
Edit: glad to see the mods are re-reviewing the original thread.
Thanks for doing that.
Would it also be possible to create a seperate discussion where the meta actions can be discussed so that this thread can serve it's primary purpose of mourning the tragic death of a person?
I love this! Well said, thank you for sharing this perspective.
There's no point beating a dead horse and I'm not going to call anyone out but I'll just say this whole situation was handled terribly, that goes for some of the members of this site, some of the moderators, and especially to most of Etika's fanbase
I was always shocked by how many people quickly dismiss the whole thing as a hoax when the signs for so clear, none of his actions during his mental breakdowns were benefiting him, people were watching a man destroy himself and then applauded while he sunk deeper
I almost took my life years ago but I won't act like I know what Etika was going through, depression and mental illnesses hit people in different ways but I'll just say this there is always a brighter tomorrow
I was always shocked by how many people quickly dismiss the whole thing as a hoax when the signs for so clear, none of his actions during his mental breakdowns were benefiting him, people were watching a man destroy himself and then applauded while he sunk deeper
I almost took my life years ago but I won't act like I know what Etika was going through, depression and mental illnesses hit people in different ways but I'll just say this there is always a brighter tomorrow
Thank you. As always, I hope that we can successfully continue to improve this site and its community going forward.
Hi. Thank you. For what it's worth as someone who's dealt with suicidal feelings for years this means a lot.
I'm going to not try to politicize this issue any further than it needs to be, but there's no need to scare quote liberal there, this is a pretty inherent part of liberal online communities. There is a massive current in liberal culture to be as punitive to people as possible, and rehabilitation is generally not seen as a necessary principle, or it is a complete afterthought at the very least. This creates a big problem for those who are mentally ill, who often times of no fault of their own, act out in ways that aren't socially acceptable. Despite that, that understanding isn't afforded to them by current liberal orthodoxy. And before people accuse me of being a conservative or whatever, this is a criticism coming from the left of resetera generally speaking, not the right.
Thanks to all of you.
Really appreciate your work and feedback.
