Was Logan Paul Zapped By A De-Douching Ray?
Logan Paul, yes, that Logan Paul, just came out with a statement about Black Lives Matter and left the internet speechless. I was absolutely blown away myself.
Not because it was terrible, mind you. Because it was one of the best statements on white allyship, I'd ever heard.
A few days ago, our friend Logan posted a video on Twitter of a clip of him on his podcast passionately speaking out against police brutality and the protests surrounding the death of George Floyd, and it is truly one for the books.
He starts off with a bang, stating his embarrassment at his own ignorance and emphasizing that silence is compliance. "It's not enough to not be racist. You have to be actively anti-racist." That was the point I put down my water bottle and went "Hmm. Baby Woody Harrelson is making some points."
He goes on to talk about the importance of holding the people you look up to accountable for their views about race, whether they be authority figures like the police or loved ones like family and friends. Again the guy's really zeroing in on the concept that silence absolutely equals compliance, which is fascinating because men actually holding their friends accountable for anything is a groundbreaking concept for a lot of dudes out there.
And then he hits us with the knock out punch. When talking about white privilege, he admits to the world, "Half of the reason I'm able to get away with some of my hooligan shit I do in my vlogs is because I'm a white kid."
Did I rewind the video a few times to make sure I heard correctly because I can't remember the last time I've seen that much self-awareness and personal accountability coming from a white celebrity? I'm afraid so. And ya'll, I'm furious. Because now the rest of the world now has no excuse. You have actors like Chris Pratt avoiding the topic completely and just linking an article written by their father-in-law (Arnold Schwarzenegger) ...
... companies making statements on their social media that seem either copy/pasted ...
... or just straight up disrespectful ...
... and you have police officials just flat out blaming protesters for George Floyd's death.
But Logan Paul? The Japanese suicide mountain kid? He brought personal accountability to the table. Passion. Anger. Verbal acknowledgment that him having a privilege based on the color of his skin is absolutely unacceptable. He even called out his younger brother for not taking these protests as seriously as he could. And he ended the clip invoking the names of the victims themselves. "On behalf of Breonna Taylor, we must change. On behalf of Ahmaud Arbery, we must advance. And on behalf of George Floyd and the hundreds of others who have been unjustly murdered in this country, we must evolve."
Yeah, I don't know what kind of Twilight Zone episode we've stumbled into, but this is unacceptable. We now live in a world where a pranking YouTuber cares more about black people's survival than most white people in this country, including the people whose very job it is to protect us. But it really has come to this -- a problematic frat boy Roman soldier looking motherfucker who harasses people for a living is one of the best allies the Black Lives Matter movement has. Ya'll could really learn from this man. What even is this year??
Archie says Black Lives Matter or get out. You can reach her on Twitter or her website.
Top Image: Logan Paul
