#blackwomenwrite

I wrote this after waking up to a message from yet another persistent knucklehead. He sent it at 3:39 a.m. I know boredom and loneliness can be intense during those late night, early morning hours but I ain’t the cure!

Before I begin this blog, I want anyone who may read this to know; if you feel alone, helpless, please reach out because there is help. If you feel you are unable to talk to friends or family, you can reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255. Know that you are loved and are not alone. This post does not contain the video posted by Logan Paul but does discuss the content of the video.

Nothing is stronger than the confidence of a mediocre white man. Logan Paul, a massively popular YouTuber with over fifteen million subscribers, is a perfect example of how mediocrity as a white male in America can make you a millionaire. Literally. I will fully admit that I had no clue who this guy was before a couple months ago. I wouldn’t have been able to point him out in a line up if you asked. On December 31st, 2017, Logan Paul uploaded a video to his YouTube channel. He and a group of friends (I believe they are also part of his team) were in Japan and traveled to Aokigahara. Aokigahara is also widely known as the “Suicide Forest” and sits at the base of Mount Fuji. For those who are curious why it’s called “Suicide Forest,” many people go into the forest each year to take their own lives. Long story short, Logan and his team of friends were walking in the forest, with camping gear, and stumbled upon the body of a dead man. Instead of turning the camera off or showing any sort of empathy, he laughed. The video garnered millions of views. Also, it should be noted, Logan’s fan base are young children and pre-teens.

The video received massive backlash from every day social media users to other larger YouTubers. When Logan became aware of the massive backlash, he voluntarily took the video down. Logan’s initial apology came in the form of an iPhone note. In his apology, he claimed he posted the video, “…because I thought I could make a positive ripple on the internet, not cause a monsoon of negativity.” You can read the screen capped apology below and it also on his Twitter page:

 That apology was absolute garbage. The apology was arrogant, egotistical, and devoid of any sympathy. Here is the thing, this was not a mistake. There is no way to mistakenly film a dead body, laugh, then edit and upload the video to a YouTube channel. He had to see this video multiple times before he hit publish on his channel. He walked into a forest full of souls that felt alone and hopeless and, proceeded to disrespect the dead. Then disrespected the body of a man whose family may still have been looking for him. He disrespected Japan and all of its people. Without a single care, he not only triggered people who may be having thoughts of suicide, but those who have lost someone to suicide. The privilege displayed by Logan is astonishing. White, insufferable and mediocre; the holy trinity in YouTube entertainment.

I don’t understand the fascination with going to another country and being disrespectful. White people are the biggest culprits of this. You may be untouchable in America, but other countries do not play around with stuff like this.  YouTube did little to ease the anger of the public. The response from them was a slap on the wrist in my opinion. People are calling for Logan Paul to be banned from YouTube. However, YouTube didn’t ban PewDiePie (who has 58 million subscribers) who most recently said nigger on a gameplay. I highly doubt they will ban Logan. Logan Paul is twenty-two years old. He is not a child. He is a grown man. He knows better. His behavior in that forest was reprehensible. I don’t know if there will be any consequences for him. I do hope that he learns a lesson from this. No one is untouchable.

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