Dear Thorin,
I’ve watched your video on the P1noy/Keane solo queue incident and felt that the narrative you have spun is rather misguided.
To be specific, you take a case of ethnic discrimination (in which that you’re rather skeptical of) and chalk it up as another example of the League of Legends community sensationalizing issues on reddit for selfish reasons. While the League of Legends community on reddit has its mob-like tendencies, that is a separate issue in itself.
By attempting to intertwine the two separate issues, you are bringing confusion to the public by marginalizing an important social issue. This promotes stifling any progressive and meaningful discussion that could be had on the topic within the community.
Let’s set this straight. This was clearly a case of ethnic discrimination. Not necessarily because of the words that are being used but because of the intent behind the usage of the words.
Context is everything here and as you explain, there was an ambiguous situation that led to a lot of tension. After the teleport play, both parties felt it was within their right to farm the creeps. When pinging didn’t dissuade Keane from leaving, P1noy acted out of frustration and said those words to intentionally hurt Keane.
Maybe P1noy genuinely has some hostility or bias towards Koreans. Maybe P1noy said those words solely to get under Keane’s skin. Or perhaps it’s a bit of both. Whatever the case may be, the fact is P1noy chose to verbalize his thoughts in the heat of the moment with those specific words. (And he’s wrong in saying that he didn’t mean it in a negative way. Because he did mean it.)
You don’t need anecdotal evidence from Korean natives to prove or disprove that this was ethnic discrimination when a modicum of critical analysis will do.
Something else that is troubling is that you consider the different possibilities of why Keane may have felt insulted and come to the conclusion that it was because he felt ethnically slighted and not because he was called a dog. Then, you later go on to acknowledge that he actually was insulted but then claim that it wasn’t based on his Korean ethnicity.
These statements run contradictory to each other.
If not for ethnicity, as you deduced, what other reason would Keane have towards feeling insulted to begin with?
As an avid viewer of your content, I am well aware of the sarcasm, the dry wit, and the edgy approach you take towards spinning a narrative. I find your content to be both compelling and enjoyable for those reasons. But I take much issue with your callousness towards something that involves race/ethnicity.
You do not have the experiences of a person born as a minority. Maybe you’ve experienced a form of discrimination at some point in your life and feel like you could relate on some level but the experiences are not the same.
As a public figure, you have the voice to reach a wide audience. So I implore that you exercise a bit more caution and tread more carefully when approaching an important subject that affects people from all over the world.
Sincerely,
A fellow e-sports enthusiast
