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Can anyone help me understand why Hasan Piker is so popular in leftist political spaces despite his immense privilege? (lemmy.world)

submitted 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) by extremeboredom@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

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This guy's dad is the former VP of a multibillion dollar Turkish conglomerate, as well as the secretary of a government department. Mom and Dad were able to fly to their other home in NJ to give birth so he'd get US citizenship. His uncle is the founder and owner of TYT Media and gave him his media career. He went to Rutgers. He lives in a multimillion dollar mansion in the Hollywood Hills. This is by definition not the kind of person who can be a voice of the People. Saying "I recognize my privilege" over and over, while living his lifestyle, doesn't negate his privilege and complete lack of real-life experience outside of the curated garden of the wealthy. He gets paid obscene amounts of cash to sit in his bedroom and word-vomit for 9 hours a day. Why are his unending opinions taken so seriously? He gives me strong controlled opposition vibes.

Edit: Thank you all for this discussion. I learned a lot.

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[–] yardy_sardley@lemmy.ca 17 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

In case you're actually, seriously asking and not just trolling, having privilege and success under capitalism does not disqualify a person from being a leftist. You can't really criticize a person for participating in a system where if you don't participate, you starve.

He's using his influence to organize the working class and advocate for collective action, which is the one tool workers have in the fight against their own exploitation. Even if you don't like him personally or don't think he's part of the working class, he is a very strong ally and has undeniably strengthened the movement.

[–] AnneVolin@lemmy.ml 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

He’s using his influence to organize the working class and advocate for collective action, which is the one tool workers have in the fight against their own exploitation.

Posting and streaming (which is just video posting) is not "organizing the working class and advocating for collective action". The closest he gets to this is fundraisers, but the buck pretty much stops there.

Money is important sure, but that's not what organizing is. If fundraising is organizing than the Democratic Party should be Bolsheviks.

Going on stream to tell the people who decompress from their shitty McDonalds shifts that they should organize as they say hell yeah man and go back to the work the next day without doing anything isn't organizing, it's not advocacy, it's entertainment.

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