This video is sponsored by Skillshare.
This video is a little bit different from
what I normally do, it’s a bit YouTube centric.
And I know a lot of you don’t really keep
up with all of that stuff.
So just kinda bear with me, we’ll get back
on track for the next video.
But there’s been this conversation for the
past few months or so, maybe even longer.
But it's definitely picked up more recently.
And in fact I’m pretty late to the party
with this video, as I usually am.
People have been talking about this thing
called “LeftTube” which is kind of a nebulous
term that means different things to different
people.
But it basically refers to a loosely related
group of YouTubers who either vaguely or specifically
make content specifically about or at least
informed by left-wing politics.
And I know that’s kind of an ambiguous definition,
but you know, that’s kinda part of the problem.
You may have also heard the term “BreadTube,”
which is definitely funnier at least.
And I think the term “BreadTube” predates
the term “LeftTube.”
I could be wrong about that, correct me if
I'm wrong, but it’s been on reddit for a
while now.
And I think that most people use the term
“BreadTube” and the term “LeftTube”
interchangeably, but there are people who
want to say that “BreadTube” should only
apply to specifically Leftist content, by
which I mean channels that are most informed
by communist and/or anarchist contest, as
the term is a reference to the book “The
Conquest of Bread” by the anarchist philosopher
Peter Kropotkin.
But there’s also whole thing about that
which I’ll get into in a minute.
My channel, this channel, 'T1J", is often
referred to as a “LeftTube” channel--in
fact I was just interviewed for an article
in the New Republic about LeftTube.
But full disclosure, the more I hear people
talking about “LeftTube” and “BreadTube”
the more I’m starting to hate those terms.
Hi, I’m T1J.
[WEIRD VOICE:] Follow me!
So those of you who have been following me
for a long time have probably noticed a pretty
unmistakable evolution in the way I express
my views both on this channel, and on social
media.
I’ve talked about this in several videos,
but I’ve always considered myself a progressive
person, I've always been in favor of social
justice and economic reform.
My baseline views have pretty much stayed
the same throughout my whole YouTube career.
However, I still found myself occasionally
being reactionary and hard-headed on certain
issues; a little bit of a shitlord sometimes.
I still frequently critique the left, especially
social media activism, but those critiques
are much less cynical than they were in the
past.
Once I began to become a little more empathetic
and thoughtful about how I engaged with topics
like feminism and LGBTQ, while also being
more critical of people who I thought were
confronting these topics in bad faith; I was
immediately branded a “social justice warrior”
or “SJW” by this growing anti-progressive
movement on the internet.
I even lost subscribers.
Buncha angry dudes made videos about me and
everything.
And I’d say the “SJWs” on YouTube who
were trying to create an intellectual alternative
to the reactionaries who dominated political
conversation on YouTube at the time, is the
precursor to what eventually became known
as “LeftTube.”
And after the rise of Trump and other far
right public figures--who I’d argue were
ushered into the mainstream by these anti-SJWs--it
became clear that progressive-minded people
needed to step up to the plate, everywhere,
but also on YouTube.
And step up many of them did, some of them
becoming fairly popular in a relatively short
amount of time.
And their high quality videos inspired other
creators to either start making their own
videos or work harder on their existing ones,
and their success led people to seek out other
creators with similar content, leading to
other channels growing as well.
I’ve definitely benefited from this myself.
Now at first, I was happy to be associated
with “LeftTube,” because most of the creators
that get referenced are people that I’m
fans of.
So I don’t want anyone to take this video
as any kind of jab or sleight against any
other creators, these are people I like.
They’re not people that I always agree with
100%, but these are people making thoughtful,
entertaining content that challenges the systems
of oppression in the world rather than trying
to uphold them.
And I think that's what we need right now.
And most of them seem like decent people personally
as well.
Natalie and Hbomb are literally two of my
favorite YouTubers of all time, I just put
them in the thumbnail so you would click on
it.
But with popular public figures comes a fandom.
And with a fandom comes, it seems inevitably,
drama and gatekeeping.
So the first problem that came to my attention
was the question of ‘Who even counts as
LeftTube?’
It seems like it should include anyone making
videos about progressive or left-wing political
and social topics.
But there are people like Lindsay Ellis and
Dan Olson, whose videos are definitely informed
by political ideas, but who mostly do pop
culture analysis, but are still usually considered
members of LeftTube.
So maybe it’s the format, instead of the
subject matter.
Many of the people who are most often called
LeftTube use a short film or video essay format.
So does that mean that channels like Creationist
Cat and ReyRoSho aren’t LeftTube, because
the format isn’t quite right, even though
they’re both very clearly left-wing channels?
Do you have to make heavily-researched, 40
minute long videos with props and sets in
order to be considered a real LeftTuber?
Sometimes it just seems to me that LeftTube
is just like an exclusive club that you get
into based on who you know, who you’re friends
with, and how much people like you, and not
really based on what kind of channel you have.
Some people try to draw the line in terms
‘just how left-wing are you?’
Channels like Meghan Tonjes and Akilah Obviously
are very clearly informed by left-wing politics,
but I rarely hear people call them LeftTube.
Maybe they’re not perceived as left-wing
enough?
Destiny is a polarizing figure in this conversation,
because while most people agree that he’s
doing good work fighting against the far-right,
many others find his edgy persona and overt
support for capitalism problematic.
And so as far I’ve seen, he’s usually
excluded when referencing LeftTube.
But if I had to guess, I’d say my economic
views are probably closer to Destiny’s than,
say, Shaun’s.
But people still call me LeftTube all the
time.
Many other YouTubers came up in the social
justice space just like I did, but rarely
get referenced in these conversations.
People like Steve Shives and demotivatoropinion.
How am I LeftTube, but they aren’t?
Is it because I have more Twitter followers?
I think it’s literally just because I’m
more friendly with most of the “established”
LeftTubers than they are.
But “not left-wing enough” seems to be
just about where we’ve landed in this conversation.
And that’s just super cringey to say outloud.
If that isn't gatekeeping, I don’t know
what is.
Most recently, some folks are trying to shift
the definition of LeftTube away from social
justice to focus specifically on critiques
of capitalism.
This seems odd to me, because a lot of the
so-called LeftTubers don’t even really make
that many videos about class or economic theory.
And of course, if you don't wanna make videos
about that, you don't have to.
But it’s almost like you’re needed to
check a box on your personal convictions,
before you're invited to this club, regardless
of what’s actually on your channel.
At least that’s how it seems some people
want it to be.
Now, much like with any of these “isms”,
I think when people talk about “capitalism”
they're often adding a lot of baggage to it,
based on their own interpretations of current
events and how certain countries operate,
particularly the United States, as if this
silly country should be used as a model for
anything.
But assuming this is referencing the basic
textbook definition of capitalism (and I think
that people are rarely doing that, but let’s
be charitable), an “anti-capitalist YouTuber”
would be a YouTuber who doesn’t think that
the means of production should be privately
owned and used for profit.
That would be the baseline, right.
Certainly this includes many, if not most,
of the “established” LeftTubers, but I
wonder if it includes all of them.
I think America’s economic and social system
is supremely fucked and needs to be completely
overhauled systematically, like ASAP, but
I don’t have much of a problem with the
idea of private ownership and profit as a
concept.
So if that single fact disqualifies me from
being a ‘LeftTuber’, *chuckle* okay, I
guess.
But I feel like most people knew this about
me, and even when people don't know, when
they find out, they’re usually like, ‘it’s
okay!
You can still be part of the team!’
Like I’m some kind of charity case.
Like I’m the out of shape kid getting picked
for the kickball team because they feel bad
for them.
Even worse is people who basically say, "well
I love your work, I think you’re doing good
work.
But eventually, down the line, we’re gonna
need you to step aside, so we can do our thing.
But thanks for your contribution.
I think you did some good work!
But we won’t need you anymore at that point!"
Someone literally told me that I am the equivalent
of the woman in the red dress from the Matrix.
Implying, I guess, that while I might have
a little more to offer than the average drone,
I’m nevertheless just another product of
the system.
And it’s like, I’m a person.
I have agency, my perspective is just as valid
as anybody else's.
I’m out here trying make thoughtful content
and start conversations about topics I think
are important.
I’m not an accessory to someone else's revolution.
I have no interest in that.
The Woman in the Red Dress analogy is particularly
insulting, because in the movie, the woman
served to distract Neo from his objective.
And I don’t think of myself or my content
as a distraction.
My goal is to move things forward, and maybe
make things better.
Again this why some people want to separate
“BreadTube” from “LeftTube.”
But some peple say, 'if you’re not a leftist,
then you're not a LeftTuber.'
Yo, I’m super down for discussing and debating
the merits of different political and economic
ideas, and I’m super down for trying out
different policies and proposals that might
make the world better for the most disadvantaged
people, even if it’s not an idea that I
came up with.
I’m not super down for essentially telling
people to get out of your way so that you
can impose your ideology on the world.
Whether I agree with you or not; whether that
comes from the left or the right.
But anyway this just leads to more debate
about who’s the "real LeftTube."
Or even worse, “who should we ALLOW to be
in the LeftTube”, and it’s just all very
not my jam.
So next, I’m gonna talk about is the “LeftTube
So White” thing.
People have commented for a while now about
how most of the most successful “LeftTubers”
and probably most LeftTubers in general are
white.
Kat Blaque made a great video not too long
ago discussing this, which was the first time
I think an actual prominent YouTuber of color
has addressed it in a significant way.
I could be wrong about that.
And when you think of what people generally
refer to as LeftTube, it is usually the same
names that pop up over and over again, and
it’s 95% white people.
And you should watch Kat’s video for more
thorough discussion, but it should be no surprise
to anyone who has done any research on social
issues that people are generally more willing
to hear ideas when it's coming from a white
person.
It sucks, but it's a thing.
But it’s not just the creators.
I don’t know if you all know this, but there
are quite a few YouTube channels that feature
people of color, some of whom are actually
doing pretty well for themselves- who regularly
discuss or at least reference politics and
social issues from a primarily progressive
standpoint.
Sometimes the videos are very similar to other
LeftTube stuff but with a specific focus on
racial and cultural issues.
But they also often do it through a different
lens than what is normally found on LeftTube,
or at least what is usually referred to as
LeftTube.
Sometimes it’s pop culture reviews, or comedy
sketches, or interviews, or celebrity gossip,
or even beauty tutorials.
It’s a different format but they still sometimes
find a way to talk to their audiences about
important topics.
And as I mentioned before, there are established
LeftTubers who don’t focus specifically
on politics, so that’s not a dealbreaker.
The difference really, in my estimation, is
that those videos made by people of color,
aren’t really made for white people.
And so they're thought of as a completely
different genre.
And YouTube’s algorithm no doubt considers
them a different genre as well.
And I obviously don’t make my videos FOR
white people, at least not usually, but I
don't specifically target black people either.
And I think a lot of those other channels
do specifically target people of color, which
is fine.
But as a result, my audience is nevertheless
overwhelmingly white, and I know this because
I survey my audience every year.
And that’s fine, I’m okay with that.
But I also think it has a lot to do with why
people are so comfortable with allowing me
into the LeftTube conversation.
My videos are white-people approved.
And I don’t know other people’s demographics
but I’d bet it’s similar for other people
of color in this community.
Similarly there are a lot of channels that
are focused on women’s issues, and LGBTQ
topics that rarely get mentioned in conversations
about LeftTube.
And it’s a little bit different because
there are definitely a lot of women and LGBTQ
people within the LeftTube community, but
it still seems that if your content isn’t
specifically palatable to straight white people,
you have a fairly low chance of being involved
with this club.
You can be a successful YouTuber, as most
of the people I’ve featured are to some
extent, just not a successful LeftTuber.
And I am pretty wary about this push to move
LeftTube away from social justice, because
it’s a thing we very much need to still
be talking about.
Critiquing economic systems is fine and necessary,
but it’s not the full story, especially
if you’re leaving out how different groups
are disproportionately affected.
So, look.
I’ve been making YouTube videos for something
like 10 years now.
My channel has gone through many different
evolutions, and probably will continue to
evolve.
But the primary reason I make videos has always
been the same.
I like doing it.
I like making stuff and sharing it with people.
That’s it.
That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do really.
I’ve managed after grinding for a long time
to make it into some semblance of a career,
but it's something I would definitely still
do if I didn't get paid for it.
I also obviously have some thoughts about
things I think are important and want to start
discussions about, and it seems like a lot
of you like to listen to what I have to say,
which I appreciate vastly.
But I don’t want to make it seem like this
is anything other than basically a random
dude making videos on the internet.
Now don't get me wrong, I’ve definitely
gotten a lot of messages from people who've
said that my videos helped them understand
something better or I've helped them become
more thoughtful about things, and that's amazing.
I don’t mean to downplay the real effect
that people in my position can have.
And I don’t take that lightly at all, it’s
something I’m always conscious about, and
in fact it’s one of the reasons why I’ve
chosen to have these discussions in the first
place.
But, and I’ve said this before many times,
I’m not an expert or authority on any topic.
If you like what I have to say that’s awesome,
but I don't want to pretend that I’m some
kind of thought leader, or that I magically
know what's going to fix society just because
I may have read a couple books or watched
a couple of video essays.
Any of your measured opinions on any topic
that I cover are just as useful and valid
as anything I have to say.
And a lot of you might not really care about
this, but I just wanna make sure you know
where I stand on that.
A lot of people talk about LeftTube and other
political creators as if they’re like “the
chosen ones”, but really we’re just some
people on the internet who are pretty good
at talking.
That article I mentioned earlier is titled,
“Can the Left Win YouTube?”
But I’m not really trying to “win” YouTube.
I know I'm a broken record at this point,
but I just want to make some videos yall.
If we can help some people and change some
minds along the way, then that’s great too.
So yeah.
I’m just over the whole LeftTube thing at
this point.
I mean I 100% appreciate all the support that
I've gotten from the people in this community,
and all of the shoutouts and sharing of my
videos and my channel.
That's amazing, I love it.
I can not express how much that means to me.
And I’m not gonna like freak out if people
continue to add me to lists of LeftTubers
or whatever.
Feel free to do that, if you want to.
But at the end of the day, all I wanna do
is make some cool videos that encourage people
to be to be kind to each other and to be thoughtful
about how we might make the world a better
place.
And if I’m able to do that, I don’t really
care about all the other stuff.
Especially if there’s exclusion and gatekeeping
involved.
but DAS JUS ME DOE.
What do you think?
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