Earlier this month, Logan Paul was under fire and set ablaze on Twitter for a video that he had uploaded, a series of videos actually.
Now for those of you who don't know, Logan Paul was one of the few who started out on Vine and then rose more to fame when he became an avid YouTuber. Now, I'm all for creative differences. Everybody has their own idea of what content they'd like to create and share. What I'm not here to support are the disrespectful actions that Logan Paul displayed in this infamous video.
Recently, Logan and his mates traveled to Japan, a trip I would kill for. Now, once they arrive in Japan they instantly become a nuisance to the public. Him and his gang film themselves going around town dressed up in Pokémon onesies and throwing giant, plush-like Poké balls at drivers in traffic and pedestrians, leaving an octopus limb and a fish on a taxi, and disrespecting sacred places. Now when I say disrespecting sacred places, I mean he walked into Aokigahara, infamously known as "Suicide Forest," and filmed someone who had hung himself. All the meanwhile you hear jokes and laughs.
Aokigahara is a very sacred place to the Japanese. Historically, this place is known as a place where spirits roam to those who have taken their own lives in the forest. Before you enter there are signs placed that remind you that you are loved and to think things over again. The locals say there's only three kinds of people who enter the forest. The people who are interested in seeing Mount Fiji, the people who come to mourn their loved ones, and those who don't plan on ever leaving.
To think Logan Paul took this as a joke, filmed the body, and still sat down for countless hours editing the video, re-watching the footage on a loop to make sure everything was right for his vlog, and still thought it was a brilliant idea to publish the video disgusts me.
Of course, he apologized––via a quick note jotted down in his iPhone. A clump of words that were poorly chosen and meaningless it seems. It was too late anyways, Twitter was setting him ablaze one tweet at a time. (As they should.)
Almost three weeks have gone by since the initial upload and Logan Paul uploaded a video in which he claimed he deserves a second chance. The question is, does he really deserve a second chance? Quite frankly, I don't think so.
Mental health is something I take very seriously. A lot of people take on the day feeling their absolute lowest sometimes, myself included. To see that this body that was discovered by Logan Paul and his friends were nothing more than a joke prop for his content makes me sick.That was somebody's friend, son, a loved one and they chose to expose him during his most vulnerable state, even beyond it. Not to mention his audience is typically younger kids. A whole lot of parents had to explain to their kids what happened in that video and I can't imagine being in that position.
For me, it really hit home when I saw the other videos he uploaded acting like a fool the way he did around town and disrespecting Japan. How does one go to another beautiful country and act the way he did and not be ashamed of himself? How dare you, honestly? My mom would tell me about the tourist she'd hear visiting sacred lands and temples in Thailand and do the upmost disrespectful things. My home is not a playground and Japan is not yours, Logan Paul.
Personally, I think if he ever wants a second chance he'll need to prove himself to the universe. Logan Paul needs to grow up as an individual and especially learn from all of this. He needs to realize all the actions he's done have consequences. Not only that, but he most definitely needs to distance himself for a while from the internet. He needs to not upload any more content and demonetize his videos on Youtube for the sake of a true apology. Personally, I think he should use the money he earned from his Japan vlogs and donate it to the family of the man they filmed in the forest, the Japanese temple he went to, or an organization for mental health.
I don't think I'll ever understand why he filmed himself doing the things he did. I don't think he was thinking at all, but to say you deserve a second chance already? You don't deserve anything. You'll need to humble yourself and reconsider the content you choose to put out. You have a platform where the audience is the future of tomorrow. Essentially, you have the power to reshape our youth into better people and yet, this is the content you choose to put out? Absolutely not. Maybe the universe will give you a second chance, who knows? It's what you do with that second chance that will count.