With all the drama surrounding the Flight SMP, I think people need to remember that nuance exist, in no way am I defending actions that harm others and I believe that Spidey's actions should be looked at and critised, however there is this issue that if you don't speak up about something or engage with something that may be in support than you are instantly in support of it and there is no middle ground. In reality a middle ground does exist such as unawareness, ignorance (ignorance isnt always bad, sometimes people do it to protect themself from an overwhelming reality), pressure to remain quiet by others they wish to keep close and sometimes just denial. While these are not usually great things, they are common thinhs for humans to feel.
Take this with a grain of salt as I don't know much about Spidey apart from the issues mentioned in the Twitter posts, it just annoys me so much that the internet behaves in a very, you must pick a side, mindset
Nuance exists however, the issue with not speaking up about something or attempting to be 'a-political' as a streamer is that you begin to foster a community that is no longer a safe space. Examples of this would be Skizz last year with homophobic mods and having accidentally grown a community of anti-LGBTQ+ people simply because he failed to speak up about queer issues and wanted to keep streams neutral. This caused a large issue because his streams, videos and community were no longer a safe space for people as they would get openly harassed for simply being themselves, including Skizz' friends as well as quite a few of the people within his circle are LGBTQ+ and the way his comments would talk about them was astounding to read, knowing that was allowed to foster within his community.
With the current Spidey and Flight SMP situation I don't think nuance can be applied at all. This is a current ongoing genocide of Ukrainian people. There ARE sides you have to pick. And if you're trying to remain a-political on a literal genocide then that's insane to me especially if you have a responsibility as a Russian streamer, who has the luxury to not live in Russia, to be able to speak out in defence of Ukraine.
Ignorance is common, wilful ignorance too, I understand wanting to protect your own thoughts and feelings, but the only thing I will say here is just try to imagine what it's like being in the shoes of a Ukrainian person right now. They have been fighting for themselves, their country, to simply be allowed to exist for centuries, this genocide is not new. And when you have someone who is using dog-whistle terminology; ignorantly forgetting Ukrainian heritage; taking cutesy photos outside of Russian landmarks when people are out fighting in an active warzone BECAUSE of that country, then yes, you DO look like you support the war. I understand visiting family, and I understand WHY she went. But you do have to look at what this all looks like to the current victims of war, refugees who CAN'T go home, who CAN'T see their families, have LOST their families, to the bloodshed caused by this genocide.
Ukrainian people have been asking Spidey to make a statement on this for a very long time, quite a few months, and the fact it took her so long to do so, (and she barely addressed any of the concerns actually held and did not even have the bare minimum decency to include links to how to support Ukraine, news and side effects of the genocide, etc) is disgusting in my opinion.
And back to the point about trying to be a-political only festers the wrong types of people, we witnessed that first hand once again with this Spidey situation. Ukrainian people speaking out were called stalkers and harassers, mocked, bullied, called slurs by OTHER STREAMERS AND CONTENT CREATORS, were told 'they deserve the worst'. Can you imagine telling a victim of WAR and GENOCIDE they deserve the worst? That's something I physically read on Sunday. I was fucking disgusted. People seem to have forgotten that this genocide is not just a 'news headline', it's a real fucking war, and people are dying, losing their homes, their livelihoods, their means to survive.
A lot of people showed that they truly didn't understand fundamentally WHAT was happening, WHY it was happening and HOW LONG it's been happening.
I'm sorry if you thought I'd agree with you on this but I heavily do not. The Spidey situation is something you really need to read up on and listen and uplift Ukrainian voices about because they deserve to be listened to when it comes to their concerns, fears and their comfort within the community.
There's no middle ground when it comes to people's lives. And as a streamer you ARE responsible for the community you create, and if you fail to speak up in defence of people, attempt to remain a-political or politically neutral, then you actively allow hostility, ignorance and disgusting people the freedom to feel as though your community has a place for them, and that they can do whatever they want, including what they say to vulnerable people and minorities within your community.
Similarly, if I have made ANY mistakes, especially regarding my knowledge of the Russian war on Ukraine and the genocide of their people, please let me know, I would hate to have false information in my posts and would like to ensure I'm not speaking over Ukrainian voices.
The Kyiv Independent — News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe
