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MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

nytimes.com

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Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#251

Post by namarie »

Aunche wrote: post #240
mostly_lurks wrote: post #73

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What makes me uncomfortable is the elitism running through many of his videos. Put 100 "poors" in a circle so they can fight it out for $500k [1]? It's just another rich person making poor people do demeaning things for his entertainment and profit. It's disgusting. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxYjTTXc-J8

I'm not exactly a fan of Mr. Beast, but this comment reeks of more elitism than any Mr. Beast video I've ever watched. Are "poors" too stupid to make decisions for themselves? Everyone in that video received thousands of dollars. I'm nowhere near poor, but if I was given an opportunity, I'd probably participate.

> Are "poors" too stupid to make decisions for themselves? Everyone in that video received thousands of dollars. I'm nowhere near poor, but if I was given an opportunity, I'd probably participate.

No one's saying they're stupid for participating. If I was offered thousands of dollars for peeing in my pants in public for a video, I'd very probably take the offer and no one would think I was stupid for it; it would still be a demeaning and exploitative offer to make.

Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#253

Post by imgabe »

batmaniam wrote: post #172
motoxpro wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find this take on him so strange. I also don't understand the take that altruism/philanthropy has to be zero sum. i.e. true altruism means that I lose something and you gain something. Maybe it is a hold over from religion and the idea of sacrifice being the ultimate good. The times I have had the most impact (helping people in need, teaching, starting my own NPO) it has been very much positive sum. If he has zero…

> Can someone give me some examples of philanthropy that is NOT predatory/extractive? Richard Stallman and his work on free software? I think what OP is saying is that at Mr Beast's income level, he can effectively create a lasting change that most of us can't. Instead he focuses on people individually, giving them nice gestures but nothing life-changing, and he continues to do this because his viewers demand these t…

Nothing life changing? Didn't he help blind people get medical treatment that restored their sight? That sounds pretty life changing to me.

Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#254

Post by eldritch_4ier »

guyzero wrote: post #210
Dig1t wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Man this is such a cynical take. I listened to his interview on the Joe Rogan show and was really impressed. Mr. Beast built his channel by taking all profits from each video and plying it into the next video. Using this approach he was able to produce progressively larger and more expensive videos. He has demonstrated his frugal lifestyle, has publicly given away an incredible amount of money to good causes, and has…

"Mr. Beast built his channel by taking all profits from each video and plying it into the next video" To me this seems like a semi-obvious minmaxing solution to making popular videos: make essentially zero profit, regardless of revenue. At some point you get so much revenue that you can't spend it all so the next logical step is to simply give it away as part of the video. And in this case it's a virtuous cycle - app…

It’s never enough. This guy is throwing millions towards others and helping their lives, but because he’s not suffering enough to do it, or doing it out of your defined pure intentions, it’s hardly good at all? It’s clear you care more about the sacrificial theater of giving than you do about actual impact.

What good have you done for anyone but yourself in the last month? Do you even fulfill your own standards? Is any charity less than implementing your preferred political policies useless? It’s hard to even describe how childish and selfish your take is.

Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#255

Post by namarie »

cm2012 wrote: post #74
scaredginger wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For me, the discomfort is that Mr Beast's content relies on exploiting people's desperation due to the lack of social safety net. It's not his fault that they're in such dire straits to begin with, but he's nonetheless behaving opportunistically and his actions have no chance of changing the system that landed these people in such tough situations

Would it better if he paid the people to make beads or dig holes instead of entertaining his viewers?

I think so, yes. It'd be even better if he just gave the money, no strings attached.

Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#257

Post by imgabe »

chimen wrote: post #80

It's not altruism if it's your source of income. Sorry but I don't buy this bs. He's doing it to generate income, that's all. Altruism is "unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others" but we have quite the opposite here - a selfish way of milking poor people for emotions in order to generate income. Real altruism is hard and done only by a few. Literally EVERY man/woman/child on this planet will say yes…

It's a lot easier to complain about how someone else isn't helping people the way you think they should than to help people yourself.

Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#258

Post by j45 »

chimen wrote: post #80

It's not altruism if it's your source of income. Sorry but I don't buy this bs. He's doing it to generate income, that's all. Altruism is "unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others" but we have quite the opposite here - a selfish way of milking poor people for emotions in order to generate income. Real altruism is hard and done only by a few. Literally EVERY man/woman/child on this planet will say yes…

It might be of interest to know that there is a form of altruism originating out of South Asia where you distribute to others before partaking in their earnings themselves.

There is another that says to earn a honest living through hard work.

Dictionary definitions are rarely complete and independent of the model Christian lens (and sometimes bias) that writes them. It can make things harder.

Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#259

Post by paulpauper »

memefrog wrote: post #215
HDThoreaun wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Attention is money. Their time is paying for the charity in the videos.

Attention is not money. Watching a YouTube video is not being charitable. You cannot just blankly assert that "their time is paying for the charity in the videos" without explaining why this is true. You will have a difficult time explaining that, because it isn't true. As I said in the comment you replied to, but apparently didn't take the time to read, his viewers do not give him money by watching the videos. YouTu…

he's splitting hairs.

Re: MrBeast has become a viral sensation for his acts of altruism

#260

Post by j45 »

dmarchand90 wrote: post #242
guyzero wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Mr. Beast built his channel by taking all profits from each video and plying it into the next video" To me this seems like a semi-obvious minmaxing solution to making popular videos: make essentially zero profit, regardless of revenue. At some point you get so much revenue that you can't spend it all so the next logical step is to simply give it away as part of the video. And in this case it's a virtuous cycle - app…

I thought he was cool until he launched a chocolate line. Really? Is that what we need? Most of his audience is young gen z, and I'm sure the last thing the most obese generation ever needs is someone pushing more sugar on their diets

Would an alcohol, gambling, drug or other line be more acceptable since suns are being compared?
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