The Giant Beastcast: Episode 122

Learn to form your own opinions.

So Vinny had to address it in again in corrections, because people were attacking him for not saying enough when they talked about it previously? I'm sorry but that's pretty lame.

You shouldn't say 'the n-word' the same way you shouldn't waste electricity or shouldn't be too noisy. The kind of reaction PDP gets for blurting it out in a heated moment (and the reaction other people get for not having quite the right opinion on this one) is absurd and an issue worth addressing far more than an accidental use of the n-word (which affects no one).

Though going further out there I think it's really dumb to give words this much power anyway and everyone should get over it, like black people already have when other blacks use it.

The word is always gonna be there, we can't make it go away by not saying it. It only gains power and becomes worse when the actual terrible people keep on using it.

but like yeah racism is bad try not to be a racist and probably don't use the n-word where you can avoid it etc.

Never go to a chiropractor for anything if you enjoy being alive.

Josh Gad as Young Gerstmann

@nonesun: There are literally people in the comments here saying that it does affect them. To suggest that a racial epithet is equivalent to leaving the lights on is absurd.

Wow Vinny, that was perfectly said. Man I love the GB crew!

@nonesun: People are affected by that word - which is understandable given the long history of it being used in hateful ways which reinforced an unjust social order. Trying to will that kind of word to not have power anymore seems rather naïve. That it's less loaded when used by black people has more to do with social dynamics than frequency of use.

The word is always going to be there? Language is mutable, words are invented and abandoned all the time organically. It will literally go away by not using it. And there's simply no reason for decent non-black people to use that word in a social context. It has some use as a way to identify who you might not want to hang out with, though.

We have plenty of Swedish racists!

But regardless of that, I don't really care what Pewdiepie "is", I care about what he does.

If anyone in this thread hasn't listened to the Spawn On Me podcast, you should check out this segment where they talk about PDP and what he said. The word he said has a weight and history behind it. That's why he used it. PDP is old enough and smart enough to know what it means and he just simply shouldn't use it. There's no excuse.

(timestamped at the relevant discussion - 00:52:50)

Hysterical man hopes others are less hysterical. You really just don't get it at all if THIS is your response to people telling you to consider the words that come out of your mouth. Compassion isn't self-righteousness. Jesus christ, be a human being.

Vinny and Alex, very well said.

As someone who has played games inverted since the Nintendo 64 (my first 'stick' based controller), I have never felt 'hindered' by my preference. Changing an option in the game, or on the system itself as Vinny mentioned, is not a big deal. That said, it does get annoying when passing a controller back and forth with someone who has the opposite preference. So, my soon to arrive son will likely have the same preference I have without really making that decision on his own. Sorry kid!

Also wanted to say how much I appreciated Vinny's bit at the end. What should be self-evident has become controversial, so I know it wasn't easy to do. H3H3 speaking out against it was tantamount to self-immolation, which is ridiculous.

My problem with the race stuff is that the charge of racism is so overused today. I don't, nor have I ever used the language of racism as Vinny calls it. I grew up in the midwest, where there was almost no racism to be seen. We do not have a huge minority population here. Race relations were always excellent here. There was almost no overt racism. Fast forward to today, and I'm constantly called a racist by the left for things that have absolutely nothing to do with race. I was called a racist for wanting a balanced budget. I'm called a racist for wanted true equality to be enforced from the government. No sanctioned discrimination against anyone of any color. To the left, that's a racist statement, which makes no logical sense at all. The dog whistle racism charge is the last refuge of a scoundrel in my opinion. Dog whistle simply means that everything I say might be racist if I don't agree with your politics.

I think Trump is a reaction to the constant scream of racism. Sure there are racists on the right, but they are a fringe minority, at least here, in a place Trump won and Obama won twice (Wisconsin). I never hear anyone saying or doing racist things and I know lots of conservatives. There's also plenty of racism on the left directed at white people. Let's not kid ourselves. Final point, I agree that the language of racism should not be used by anyone. I think even black people using the "n" word is likely not a healthy thing for black people. It also makes it a very casual thing. I don't care about putsy pie or whatever his name is. He sounds like an idiot, and using the "n" word while streaming as a white dude is pretty stupid. I'm sure it's not doing him any favors for his brand or business, and I tend not to listen to anyone or any media that uses that word.

Ah, the modern internet! Where saying things like "you shouldn't say the n-word" is negatively labeled virtue signaling and indicated as a possible thing that ruins some individual's podcast listening experience.

I think it might be time for you to find a new podcast. I doubt anyone at GB is planning on changing their extremely controversial stances on, you know, stuff like hurting people with words.

@sethmode:I think he's referring to the idea that the lack of repeated condemnation of racist language is a tactic endorsement of it. I'm not really seeing anyone complaining about Vinny's initial condemnations, it was great that he did and everyone appreciated it. But the reluctance to do it again and again for the same incident was perceived as moral indifference by some, and that's slightly exasperating.

And to correct @tehlaughingman, the community that uses that word and the community that doesn't want to hear it anymore are two different groups of people. By virtue of the fact that they have different outlooks. Try not to generalize.

That Michael Transaction is one smooth criminal.

I love Jeff.

@tehlaughingman: Cool.

Thank you Vinny.