Jacksepticeye [Seán McLoughlin], a famous long-running YouTuber, is under fire for comments he made during a live stream. During his live stream of the game Moldrise, Jacksepticeye mocked Charlie Kirk’s assassination, saying to one of the characters, “You look like Charlie Kirk. You wanna get Kirk-ed?” Many are justifying his statement by saying that it was a joke. It is not uncommon for YouTubers and streamers to make dark, edgy jokes, but many are saying that this is not a joke at all. Getting “kirk-ed” is not a joke; it is a threat of personal violence for the crime of disagreeing politically with someone, which is why comments like those should be taken very seriously. And Jacksepticeye was specifically implying that it is justifiable to kill someone in the game because they resembled Charlie Kirk. That is taking a real political killing that happened only a year ago and turning it into a slang word to describe assassinating someone indiscriminately. Additionally, his statements indirectly imply that he supports the killing of Charlie Kirk. People, however, are not simply pushing back on Jacksepticeye because of his joke; it is also due to the total hypocrisy of his claims. Several years ago, Jacksepticeye was on the other side of this joke, and made a public statement when people online and in his comment section repeatedly mocked his own father’s death. He stated, “To any of you who posted memes about it and posted negative stuff about it, you are absolute scum.” Yet, here he is today mocking the death of another father and husband, who was killed for having open and respectful discussions with college students. Additionally, when one of the YouTubers who helped Jacksepticeye get his start, PewDiePie, was getting canceled for saying the N-word on stream, he chose to turn his back on him. These past situations have left many calling Jacksepticeye a “hypocrite” and “loser” who should have known better. Jacksepticeye personally knows how it feels to have someone ridicule and parody his father’s death, so for him to go and do the same thing to a man who left two small children behind is incredibly short-sighted and impossible for many to brush off. It is no secret for any who watch his videos that Jacksepticeye is a leftist who has been overly involved in American politics—despite not being a US citizen himself—but this has hit a point that many are calling psychotic. Ultimately, it harkens back to the blatant double standard between the right and the left. Jokes at the left’s expense are seen as inappropriate and cruel, while the right is fair game enough to kid at the expense of a murdered man. People on the right weren’t seen making jokes at George Flyod’s expenses without major pushback, with some at risk of having their livelihoods destroyed. The left likes to claim to be the side of tolerance and compassion. Yet, time and time again their supporters reveal the other side of that tolerance, where they openly support or mock the murder of those on the opposing side of the political spectrum. The irony here is that Jacksepticeye has stated that he wanted his channel to be a “safe space,” except for Charlie Kirk, of course. He has removed the comment from his official YouTube video, but many still see this as the beginning of the end of his career. Currently, he has not addressed the situation, which has led many to theorize that he is trying to make the controversy disappear quietly. But at the moment, while the controversy spreads across the internet, that doesn’t seem likely to happen any time soon.
By Alexandra Miskewitz
Grand Theft Auto 6 (GTA 6), a game made by Rockstar Games, is one of the most highly anticipated games to ever be released. This anticipation has also brought on a lot of criticism. Some have pushed back on elements of the game design, the characters, and the controversial all-digital release. But one area of pushback many fans did not anticipate is that people are now breaking up over GTA 6. After the extended look trailer was released on Netflix and then YouTube, gamers were introduced to the dynamic between the two protagonists, Jason and Lucia, who have an optional romantic relationship depending on player choice. This romantic pairing has caused many people to encourage women not to “let your boyfriend or fiancé or husband play Grand Theft Auto VI.” Many women have claimed that men who not only choose to partake in the relationship but also simply buy the game in general are “cheating.” One of the features the game offers players is the ability to maintain or destroy Jason and Lucia’s relationship, where going to strip clubs, not answering text, or not spending time together will diminish their bond and doing the contrary will make their connection stronger. This information sparked concern among women that their boyfriends or husbands will treat a video game girlfriend better than their real-life relationship. Some are even “banning” their partners from playing the game, with one TikToker saying: “In absolutely no human way is my fiancé playing GTA VI. You literally have to maintain a relationship with a girl in the video game and text her, and she’ll get mad if you don’t text her back. You have to take her on dates, and you can have [sex] with her.” Meanwhile, others are calling this attitude absurd and saying that people who do this are in very fragile relationships if a video game is enough to destroy it. Many are bringing up the fact that Lucia is a fake human who players do not even have to romance in the game if they do not want to. Others note that people are taking one of the game’s main characters and reducing her role to nothing more than a romance option and a threat to their own relationships. In retaliation, some men are drafting relationship contracts that let them play GTA 6 as much as they want without their girlfriend or wife getting angry. Others are mocking their partners about how well they are going to treat Lucia. Ultimately, the whole situation does not seem very healthy for either side. Men should not be bragging to their partners about romancing Lucia, and women should not feel the need to be insecure about a fictional character. Of course, girlfriends are allowed to be uncomfortable with their boyfriends playing a game where they go to strip clubs and partake in borderline pornographic material. Still, if people genuinely worry they will lose their relationship over a game, maybe that’s a relationship not worth having in the first place. But this controversy does beg the question: if romancing Lucia is cheating, then is enjoying other forms of media also cheating? There are plenty of dating video games, as well as a whole industry built off of romance novels and movies. Is engaging with any form of romantic media while in a relationship cheating? And if it isn’t for those things, then why does this idea apply to GTA? Ultimately, there is a difference between fiction and reality, and many are forgetting the fact that Grand Theft Auto is a series about robbery and crime. It was never meant to promote moral behavior. And if those who say that having a relationship with Lucia plants the seed for cheating, do they also believe that playing the game will plant the seed for their partner to become a crime lord too? It is not unreasonable to criticize GTA 6 for promoting immorality. Still, the whole situation does harken back to the old days of parents berating the games industry, falsely insisting that video games caused players to become violent in the real world. People who ultimately worry that their partners will love their pixelated girlfriend more than them say far more about the state of their personal relationship than about any issue with the game itself. Every relationship is different, but being unable to differentiate between fact and fiction is unhealthy in any case. Because, after all, at the end of the day, it is just a game.
By Alexandra Miskewitz
Has the response to the September 11th attacks of 2001 made America safer from terrorism? Since the attacks of September 11th, 2001, the Federal Government has capitalized off Americans’ fear of terrorism to encroach upon more and more of our liberties. The passage of the USA PATRIOT Act directed law enforcement agencies and even private banks to help governments spy on millions of Americans’ transactions and use of technology, in violation of our essential right to privacy. The War on Terror in Iraq and Afghanistan has cost thousands of American lives and added trillions of dollars to the national debt, all while creating massive political instability throughout the Middle East through failed nation-building plans. Has more tyranny been the solution to fighting terrorists who hate the liberty and freedom that made America so prosperous?
By Edward Kim
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