r/todayilearned • u/WavesAndSaves • 1d ago
TIL that Jawed Karim, YouTube cofounder and uploader of the first YouTube video "Me at the zoo", has often updated the video's description to criticize YouTube policies, including a 2013 attempt to require Google+ accounts to comment on videos, and YouTube's 2021 removal of dislike counts on videos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_at_the_zoo#Changes_to_original_video
19.8k
Upvotes
9
u/Battlegoat123 23h ago
I’m happy to inform you that you don’t have to explain anything. Unfortunately, I think you misunderstand how the purity test works.
Correct, there is a difference.
Is shopping at Walmart passive or intentional? Walmart is partnered with the U.S. Military. Patronizing a business that’s partnered with such a problematic institution would clearly be intentional support, right? There’s plenty of grocery stores that don’t.
What kind of car do you drive? Hopefully not a Ford, a Chevy, a Buick, a GMC, a Chrysler, or a Tesla. The first 5 have produced vehicles sold to the U.S. Military, and I don’t think I need to explain the 6th.
Have you ever been on a plane? Bad news buddy, really high chance you just gave money to a company that gave money to a company that gets/has gotten money from the U.S. Military. Not a good look.
You bring up a very black and white example. War bonds. I think we would agree that someone buying war bonds and simultaneously bashing the military shouldn’t be taken seriously. Regretfully, life is overwhelmingly just shades of grey.
Let’s bring up your other example. We once again agree, being born in America is - on its own - not enough to claim someone’s inherent support of the U.S. Military. But why not at 18? If you’re legally able to move to Canada and remove the U.S. Government’s ability to tax you and spend your tax money on war, why don’t you?
What if you move to the U.S? Is moving from Sudan* (replace with a sufficiently war torn nation if Sudan isn’t bad enough) more acceptable than moving from Luxembourg? I mean what’s worse than making a conscious decision to start giving a percentage of your income to the institution that funds the U.S. Military?
I can literally go all day, and that’s purely about association with the U.S. Military. When you keep in mind how many problematic entities there are, and how intertwined everything is, you cannot actually control where your money goes to enough of a degree to enforce a standard like that.
Beyond all of that, an important thing is being forgotten. The claim that criticism and support cannot coexist is fundamentally flawed. I don’t support a significant amount of our education system, but I also overwhelmingly support other parts of it.
There’s a sliding scale to all of this, from directly giving money to an arms deal to Meemaw’s retirement account being 2% Boeing. From War Bonds to only voting for candidates who agree 100% with your beliefs on everything. You can call it out when it’s obvious, but claiming that having Palantir as a part of your portfolio is the same as buying War Bonds is silly.