The ESEA has been in a bit of hot water lately. With the community hating their guts following the release of an intrusive and dangerous new client, and people suggesting that they take their business elsewhere, what else is a company to do than to apparently go for broke and make fun of those with Down's syndrome.
That is, essentially, what happened yesterday when the ESEA made public a video in which they try to suggest that there is nothing to be concerned about with their new client. They equate their new client to an athletic person doing flips, while the competitor's client and those that use it are equated to someone with Down's syndrome. What you see below is a mirror of the video, as the original was hidden less than 30 minutes after it went live on ESEA's official channel.
The main person in the video is Ben Roesser (broesser). The individual that Ben is making fun of in the video is Ben's brother, Jon. To his credit, I will say that I've heard many good things about how Ben takes care of his brother and will often include him into his attempts at funny or humorous YouTube videos. That said, portraying Ben and his disability as a negative and a visual means to insult the community bypasses the positives from being inclusive and goes straight into the realm of incredibly poor taste. There is a time and a place for Ben and his brother Jon to make amusing videos together, but this was most certainly not one of them.
The ESEA's lpkane issued a statement on the matter.
That is, essentially, what happened yesterday when the ESEA made public a video in which they try to suggest that there is nothing to be concerned about with their new client. They equate their new client to an athletic person doing flips, while the competitor's client and those that use it are equated to someone with Down's syndrome. What you see below is a mirror of the video, as the original was hidden less than 30 minutes after it went live on ESEA's official channel.
The main person in the video is Ben Roesser (broesser). The individual that Ben is making fun of in the video is Ben's brother, Jon. To his credit, I will say that I've heard many good things about how Ben takes care of his brother and will often include him into his attempts at funny or humorous YouTube videos. That said, portraying Ben and his disability as a negative and a visual means to insult the community bypasses the positives from being inclusive and goes straight into the realm of incredibly poor taste. There is a time and a place for Ben and his brother Jon to make amusing videos together, but this was most certainly not one of them.
The ESEA's lpkane issued a statement on the matter.
earlier tonight the video team released one of the weekly "funny" videos on our youtube channel featuring broesser and his brother jon
most long time ESEA members know jon from previous videos broesser included his brother in, like the following from a few years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfavcru8 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouFiVRIf ...
the problem is that in tonight's case, jon's disabilities were portrayed in a negative comparison, rather than in an inclusive way, and isn't something we support
the video was taken down within 30 minutes, and though i've spoken to those involved in its publication, ultimately it's entirely my fault and my responsibility to improve our controls in the content creation process
most long time ESEA members know jon from previous videos broesser included his brother in, like the following from a few years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfavcru8 ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouFiVRIf ...
the problem is that in tonight's case, jon's disabilities were portrayed in a negative comparison, rather than in an inclusive way, and isn't something we support
the video was taken down within 30 minutes, and though i've spoken to those involved in its publication, ultimately it's entirely my fault and my responsibility to improve our controls in the content creation process