youtubers, please take down "anti-sjw" transphobic videos from the gamergate era (an open letter to JelloApocalypse)
i really don't give af if anyone sees this, i just need to get this out of my system.
as a non-binary person, i don't forgive JelloApocalypse for the Welcome to Tumblr video. not enough was done for me to even consider forgiveness. That video was so destructive and so horrible and convinced a lot of people (including my teenage self) that trans/genderqueer/non-binary people weren't valid or were just some kind of dumb Tumblr fad. It was part of a barrage of transphobic videos on YouTube that prevented me (in no small part) from coming to terms with being non-binary. and if you look at the comments of that vid, you can see for yourself how much this affected a lot of other people by validating their transphobia/general bigotry.
before you say anything, i've read the apology written by Jello in the pinned comment. I think the apology was given sincerely and I do not think in any way, whatsoever, that Brendan is transphobic/homophobic/queerphobic/etc. It's clear they have changed a lot since that video and I don't think they should be de-platformed or whatever for it.
number one: why is this apology only in a pinned comment on the video? the people who need to hear this apology most are the trans/genderqueer/etc. people that were hurt. Why would they willingly go back to a video that made them feel uncomfortable? I certainly didn't discover this apology until just today cause for years I avoided going back on back on this vid for years. it should be posted literally everywhere they have a social media presence, to maximize the amount of people who can see it. hiding it in a pinned comment under a video that only the people who are probably going to agree with you (given they are coming back to watch this video so many years later) seems cowardly on Jello's part.
number two (and this is the big one): please just take the video down.
I genuinely don't get it. you (Jello) agree that this video is horrible and has been weaponized by transphobes and other bigots. so why is it still up? why can people still go freely watch it whenever they please, on your channel?
i get that you don't want to bury your history or whatever and taking the video down randomly may cause more outrage over you trying to cover up your past actions. but personally, i think the best course of action is taking down the video and then immediately uploading a video (on your main YouTube channel) where the apology is read out loud.
as it stands, "Welcome to Tumblr" is still around for any transphobe/bigot to freely go watch and to point others to. the pinned comment isn't enough. we cannot assume everyone who has been/is newly being exposed to the transphobia of that video will scroll down and read the entirety of the rather lengthy pinned comment. just take down the video. stop people from being able to access it on your channel.
and trust me, i know if you did this, someone else would upload a backed up download of the video on their own channel. i don't dispute that would happen. and hey, maybe all the transphobes who used to go and watch that video will find the re-upload and start linking people there and that re-upload would get millions of views just like your original video. but you know what? even if that does happen, you still are under an obligation to delete the video. it's the principle of the thing. continuing to host a video that serves as a gateway drug to transphobia on your channel (with only a pinned comment to try and stop people from being interpreting the video as transphobic) is irresponsible and shows a lack of moral clarity on your part, i think.
you claim to love and care and respect trans people, so prove it. delete the video. do everything in your power to try and scrub that video from the internet, even if that is an impossible and exhausting task. that is your penance. it's the least you can do to show genderqueer people you care, cause for me personally, a single pinned comment is not gonna cut it.
(the above sentiment applies to anyone who uploaded bigoted content in the gamergate mid-2010s "anti-sjw" era. take the videos down and apologize openly and properly. take accountability and do your best to try and correct for your past mistakes--a pinned comment or any other meager kind of apology does not cut it. just take down the video and stop giving bigots a place where their views can be affirmed, validated, and amplified.)
(also if you don't think this is a problem, i beg you, just go to the newest comments under "Welcome to Tumblr." lots of people are still having their transphobic views validated/shaped/affirmed by that video. its harmful legacy is still ongoing.)
turnnoffyourmind
baratheonpilled
pixelskylines
andulkaphoto
jacobvanloon
kianamaiart
kaledo-art
