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Ahh, what better time to have a nice, cool refreshing virtue signal than when the most popular YouTuber says a naughty word while live streaming a video game? At this point, I’m not even surprised. People getting all up in a pseudo-tizzy because someone said a bad word these days is commonplace now, even though it shouldn’t be. Recently, PewDiePie was live streaming a video game called “Player Unknown Battlegrounds” when he cursed at another player. This is what people are getting upset about. Even Pat the NES Punk took shots at him with his friend Ian on their podcast, talking about how hateful Pewdiepie is.

The issue people are taking with PewDiePie is that he used the “n” word, which is a racial slur. Anyways, joining this faux outrage is Sean Vanaman (creator of the famous walking simulator “Firewatch”) who has decided to do false DMCA takedowns of Pewdiepie’s years-old “Firewatch” videos as a response for the outrage, looking like a fool while doing so as his own website gives players full right to stream and post videos of “Firewatch” and removing an old video that no longer makes money seems incredibly pointless.

When I started this article, it was in the heat of the situation. Every time I thought I was done writing it, something else happened to make it worse, and then another and another. Eventually, I decided to start over and make this a think piece in order to avoid the endless string of news and focus on the issue itself.

Pewdiepie said a “forbidden” word. This is the gist of the situation. I ask you, why does this matter? Pewdiepie is not a professional. He’s not a politician, or a teacher, or anyone of status. Not to say he can’t be influential, because he can, but I don’t see how a guy with a camera and a computer saying one bad word is the worst thing on the planet, no matter how many subscribers he has.

I don’t even understand why we have this arbitrary rule that only certain people should say that word. Personally, I don’t use bad words. I don’t see any reason why I should, but I believe that all people should have free range over all words. A word only has as much power as you give it, and banning a word only makes it that much stronger. The “n” word isn’t Beetlejuice. Saying it won’t summon an annoying ghost that will try to marry you.

It’s kind of insane how fast this fire spread, but let’s be real. The only reason anyone is freaking out is because it’s Pewdiepie. Almost any other YouTuber could say the same word and no one bat an eye. If you want an example, take Idubbbz, who even made a video about how dumb the weight of the ‘n’ word is in the modern-day, but the only time he ever got publicity for it was when he pulled a prank on a fellow YouTuber. However, when Swedish treasure Pewdiepie says the same word once, suddenly everyone and their mother is trying to make a cash grab calling him out through virtue signaling.

As we all know: Drama and Controversy sell like hotcakes.

The audiences of those freaking out about Pewdiepie are also getting upset because they assume that Pewdiepie is being hateful for saying the word, when in truth, he lost himself to the heat of the moment and said a word in anger. Anyone who enjoys video games knows about the heat of the moment. Which is why I wasn’t surprised when Polygon tried to say that there is no such thing as “the heat of the moment”.

Yes, there really is. Especially in online games when you’re playing with other players. Heck, I get mad enough playing Dante Must Die in “Devil May Cry 3”, throwing my controller, turning off my TV in rage before I turn it back on and return to the game in a huff, I couldn’t imagine what I’d do against real people if I played long enough.

Since writing the previous paragraph, it has come to my attention that in “Player Unknown Battlegrounds”, there are no respawns so if you die, you are perma-dead. So I can very well understand the intensity of the heat of that moment. Right now, Pewdiepie is everyone’s cash cow, and if he wants to get everyone’s eyes off him, what he needs to do is simple: he has to ignore the publicity from controversy, continue doing what he does, and not concern himself with Dramahogs and overly sensitive children. Eventually, if he continues to be controversial, the value and power of his controversies will all but vanish.

This isn’t to say he should spew bad words everywhere, but if he ends up in a situation where he is accidentally controversial, he shouldn’t worry about the press. He shouldn’t worry about offending anyone, because at the end of the day, what he says are just words. The press is just trying to make a shallow buck off a controversy that means nothing.

Since the situation, Pewdiepie has given his public apology for saying a word in frustration.



And with that said, what’s your take on this matter? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section down below!



***Disclaimer***

I am an advocate for free speech for all, even for people who say or do things that I disagree with. Furthermore, I disagree with Pewdiepie’s use of the word, but believe that he has a right to say it.

Credit:

Robin Ek – Editor and co-writer

S͞c͢rum҉p̨mo̡nk̢ey͏‏

Mark Kern

Ian Miles Cheong

Nick Monroe

Source:

Firewatch FAQ (“Can I stream this game? Can I make money off of those streams?”, YES!)

The Verge

Firewatch Steam reviews

Pewdiepie Vs Campo Santo (the “Firewatch devs)

Sean Vanaman’s DMCA rant against Pewdiepie (Co-founder of Campo Santo)

Freezepage

NeoGaf

Slate.com

The Guardian

PewDiePie saying the N word

Pewdiepie’s Heart is a F*cking Sewage Pump

Polygon

CBS News

Content Cop – Tana Mongeau



Justin Easler

Senior editor

The Gaming Ground

Twitter: @masterjayshay

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Tags: Firewatch, Pewdiepie, Player Unknown Battlegrounds, Polygon, Streaming, Twitch, Youtube