Was Sam Pepper Really Funny?
If you haven’t heard about the Sam Pepper incident until this very moment, allow me to guide you through it.
Sam Pepper is a YouTuber who mainly specializes in “prank” videos. I love a good prank because laughing is great, and I really think our society needs to learn how to laugh a little bit more. But what is the borderline between funny and mean? I think Sam took a big step over this line. Like, the line is in New York, and Sam is in Sydney.
Let me tell you that when I first watched the video, my reaction was, “What the hell?” I was confused at first because of the girls’ behavior. Sure, they seemed embarrassed and confused, but no one fought back or punched him in the face. This fact did cause me to have a little bit of a freak-out, but then some wise comments on the video seriously made me think.
Would I be so brave if I were the victim of the prank? Because if I want to be totally honest right now, the answer to that is “no.” I wouldn’t be so brave. We all have different reactions to these kinds of situations because we haven’t been taught how to react properly to harassment.
He is allegedly really happy that his video has started such a storm of indignation. He was “inspired” by a male friend of his who had experienced domestic violence from his partner.
Now, I do agree with some points made in Sam’s “apology.” Yes, we (as a society) totally need to react to the problem of street harassment, and, yes, we are often guilty of thinking that the victims of sexual harassment and domestic violence are just women.
But this does not excuse the fact that in Sam Pepper’s original sexual harassment prank video, he mainly targeted women. In order to “raise awareness” about male domestic violence, do we honestly think that methods like the one Sam Pepper employed are the answer?
After all, I think that Sam’s video was wildly inappropriate. Even if you are motivated by a good cause, this is not normal. This is clearly straight-up sexual harassment. Sure, do your research and speak up about an issue, but don’t try to solve a problem by instigating it.
Do we need to talk about street harassment more? Yes. Do we need to teach women and men to stand up for themselves? Hell, yeah. But this is definitely NOT the way to do it.
Violet Baudelaire is 20 years old, bilingual (or maybe more), Christian, dreamy, bookworm. Studies in Hungary, lives in Ukraine, heart belongs to England. Wants to work with youth. Spends too much time on Internet. Loves rock music. A huge Sherlock fan. Thinks ordinary life is not cool at all. Wears checked shirts a lot. Loves sci fi. Especially Doctor Who. Obviously, Britain obsessed. Would love to travel around the world with a book and a camera in her hands.