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What makes me uncomfortable is the elitism running through many of his videos. Put 100 "poors" in a circle so they can fight it out for $500k [1]? It's just ano

What makes me uncomfortable is the elitism running through many of his videos. Put 100 "poors" in a circle so they can fight it out for $500k [1]? It's just another rich person making poor people do demeaning things for his entertainment and profit. It's disgusting. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxYjTTXc-J8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxYjTTXc-J8

garciasn 3y ago
They explicitly call this out in the article, but, how is what he’s doing any different than what we always were told reality TV was doing or gameshows do? This is worlds better than casinos, sports betting, or any other form of gambling, IMO. People are entertained through watching or participating and some are making big dollars. My kids watch his videos because the algorithm feeds it to them and from what I’ve seen, I’d rather they be watching MrB than ads for DraftKings where they might believe that some day in the future their free $500 will make them rich. Or worse yet: state lotteries selling a dream for $2 and making millions off the stupidity of those who don’t understand basic stats because the education the lottery is supposedly funding doesn’t do a very good job. YMMV.
- DropInIn 3y ago
  [flagged]
- mostly_lurks 3y ago
  > how is what he’s doing any different than what we always were told reality TV was doing or gameshows do? It's not. Those things are bad too. > My kids watch his videos because the algorithm feeds it to them and from what I’ve seen, I’d rather they be watching MrB than ads for DraftKings I'm curious what your goal is here. It seems like you're disagreeing with me by saying "look, Mr. Beast is equivalent to/better than these other bad things, right?" I don't find your particular applications of whataboutism and false dichotomies terribly convincing or at all relevant to the discussion. Like, you understand that "these other things are bad too" and "it's this or draftkings ads" are not substantive or relevant arguments, right?
  - garciasn 3y ago
    I do appear to disagree with you, but you seem to fall into the camp where your mileage varies more than mine and that’s entirely ok.
- xrd 3y ago
  A good point. It's disgraceful how broadcast sports have changed in the last five years to be all about gambling. MrBeast is marginally better than that at least.
Aunche 3y ago
I'm not exactly a fan of Mr. Beast, but this comment reeks of more elitism than any Mr. Beast video I've ever watched. Are "poors" too stupid to make decisions for themselves? Everyone in that video received thousands of dollars. I'm nowhere near poor, but if I was given an opportunity, I'd probably participate.
- namarie 3y ago
  > Are "poors" too stupid to make decisions for themselves? Everyone in that video received thousands of dollars. I'm nowhere near poor, but if I was given an opportunity, I'd probably participate. No one's saying they're stupid for participating. If I was offered thousands of dollars for peeing in my pants in public for a video, I'd very probably take the offer and no one would think I was stupid for it; it would still be a demeaning and exploitative offer to make.
  - Aunche 3y ago
    Why do you get to be the arbiter of what's demeaning? Are "poors" too stupid to determine their own limits? Playing silly games is hardly comparable to peeing your pants in public.
    - namarie 3y ago
      Again, no one is claiming that people who participate are stupid for doing so. Why are you insisting on the idea that others see people in financial difficulty as stupid? Nor did I say I'm the sole arbiter of what's demeaning. We both seem to agree at least that peeing oneself in public is demeaning, but some third person might not see it that way at all.
      - Aunche 3y ago
        Sorry. I didn't realize you were a different person. My point is that the only opinion who matters is the contestants. If I were a poor Mr. Beast fan, I would be offended by the original comments denial of my agency.

garciasn 3y ago

They explicitly call this out in the article, but, how is what he’s doing any different than what we always were told reality TV was doing or gameshows do? This is worlds better than casinos, sports betting, or any other form of gambling, IMO. People are entertained through watching or participating and some are making big dollars. My kids watch his videos because the algorithm feeds it to them and from what I’ve seen, I’d rather they be watching MrB than ads for DraftKings where they might believe that some day in the future their free $500 will make them rich. Or worse yet: state lotteries selling a dream for $2 and making millions off the stupidity of those who don’t understand basic stats because the education the lottery is supposedly funding doesn’t do a very good job. YMMV.

DropInIn 3y ago
[flagged]
mostly_lurks 3y ago
> how is what he’s doing any different than what we always were told reality TV was doing or gameshows do? It's not. Those things are bad too. > My kids watch his videos because the algorithm feeds it to them and from what I’ve seen, I’d rather they be watching MrB than ads for DraftKings I'm curious what your goal is here. It seems like you're disagreeing with me by saying "look, Mr. Beast is equivalent to/better than these other bad things, right?" I don't find your particular applications of whataboutism and false dichotomies terribly convincing or at all relevant to the discussion. Like, you understand that "these other things are bad too" and "it's this or draftkings ads" are not substantive or relevant arguments, right?
- garciasn 3y ago
  I do appear to disagree with you, but you seem to fall into the camp where your mileage varies more than mine and that’s entirely ok.
xrd 3y ago
A good point. It's disgraceful how broadcast sports have changed in the last five years to be all about gambling. MrBeast is marginally better than that at least.

Aunche 3y ago

I'm not exactly a fan of Mr. Beast, but this comment reeks of more elitism than any Mr. Beast video I've ever watched. Are "poors" too stupid to make decisions for themselves? Everyone in that video received thousands of dollars. I'm nowhere near poor, but if I was given an opportunity, I'd probably participate.

namarie 3y ago
> Are "poors" too stupid to make decisions for themselves? Everyone in that video received thousands of dollars. I'm nowhere near poor, but if I was given an opportunity, I'd probably participate. No one's saying they're stupid for participating. If I was offered thousands of dollars for peeing in my pants in public for a video, I'd very probably take the offer and no one would think I was stupid for it; it would still be a demeaning and exploitative offer to make.
- Aunche 3y ago
  Why do you get to be the arbiter of what's demeaning? Are "poors" too stupid to determine their own limits? Playing silly games is hardly comparable to peeing your pants in public.
  - namarie 3y ago
    Again, no one is claiming that people who participate are stupid for doing so. Why are you insisting on the idea that others see people in financial difficulty as stupid? Nor did I say I'm the sole arbiter of what's demeaning. We both seem to agree at least that peeing oneself in public is demeaning, but some third person might not see it that way at all.
    - Aunche 3y ago
      Sorry. I didn't realize you were a different person. My point is that the only opinion who matters is the contestants. If I were a poor Mr. Beast fan, I would be offended by the original comments denial of my agency.