The Logan Paul Scandal and My Glimpse of Death
Content warning: suicide, mental health
If you've been keeping up with news stories, odds are you know about YouTuber Logan Paul and the backlash to one of his videos. Before you close this tab and resume your regularly scheduled program, know that this post deals with more than the life of some dude with a baked potato-inspired haircut.
If you are not filled in, this scandal began when he filmed a video in which he explores Aokigahara in Japan, known as the forest where many people go to commit suicide in solitude. Logan explained his interest in the eerie aspect of the forest—which is believable considering his branding style. But all is dispelled quickly as the video progresses, and it reaches a point where Logan and his friends run into the corpse of a man who had recently hanged himself. And this is when I'm glad I didn't watch the original uncensored version because I'm already rattled by the image that I conjured in my head. Now the camera is taking close shots of the body and anyone watching is forced to see this, regardless of what they were expecting to see.
Beyond the gruesome clip, what's equally as disgusting is Logan's take on the situation.
He reassures the viewers throughout the video that he isn't a complete sociopath by saying "suicide shouldn't be taken lightly" and "mental illness is not a joke" Most fans of Logan Paul could have been easily persuaded by this recovery...and for the sake of candidness, this is after he spent a minute reacting to the dead body in a way that sensationalized the man's death.
By making such a statement, Logan is only digging his hole deeper. As much as he claims he cares about people suffering from mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, that does nothing to justify his putting a suicide victim's body online for his millions of subscribers to see, as a prop to get views. Call me Crazy Stacey, but the difference between his (fake) passionate message and the behavior we just witnessed is ironic. Dehumanizing and exploiting the victim is one of the worst possible ways to show that you care about people suffering from mental illness. If I were to set a house on fire, and while its blazing walls crumbled to the ground I filmed it for my followers to see, then offered a caveat saying I care about homelessness, does that make me a hero to homeless people?
What says compassion quite like exploiting someone's death for views and ad revenue?
How do you genuinely show you care about people suffering from mental health issues, you wonder? Be emotionally available. Assure them that they are not alone. Ask them questions to elaborate on. Donate to a mental health facility.
Just do not dehumanize or exploit victims.
From the time one's pet goldfish floats to the top of the tank to the time we attend the funeral of a close relative, death always arrives unannounced. While there are signs and factors that allow us to predict it, death cannot be guaranteed nor abolished. It sure is no help that most people spend their lives mentally preparing for the time to come, nor that the topic is stigmatized. There is such difficulty with weaving it into a conversation often because the concept is associated with pain and fear. No one is willing to relive that feeling voluntarily, so people must talk circles around it.
Dying is one of the scariest things to most Americans. Strangely, I had a close encounter with death shortly after the Logan Paul scandal surfaced.
Talking about the incident is slightly embarrassing since it happened while exiting the highway onto the road. After seeing a sign telling me to lower my speed to 25 mph, I eased onto the brakes—clearly with not enough force because my car lost its grip with the asphalt and swerved nearly 180 degrees. Another car stopped behind me so I could get back on track. How awkward. That moment left me on high alert.
...So here's the actual account of my car accident.
Right after I left the ramp, I halted at a stop sign and looked around to see if the path was clear for me to turn. It was undeniable that there were some cars approaching, and yet all I could think about was how urgently I needed to be on time for my job training.
Without any second thoughts, I rolled around the corner and started picking up speed. If only this Pedro had been aware of the speed limit, I wouldn't be telling this story now. Foolishness is the only word I can use to describe my mistake. People have reminded me on multiple occasions that coasting can be just as risky as driving too fast. But who could have predicted that my habit of driving below the speed limit would lead to an accident like this?
The worst part of the story is I thought I was out-driving all those drivers. The cars had appeared to be moving at snail pace. I could not have been more wrong.
From somewhere in my surroundings came the sound of a car horn. It was then that my heart rate doubled.
My thoughts about needing to be on time to work were replaced by thoughts about the disaster that was to happen in a quarter of a second. Every muscle I had tensed up as if preparing themselves to be damaged. My toes curled. My pupils dilated.
THUD.
People claim that before you die, your whole life will flash before your eyes in cinema format. You see all the people who meant something to you as well as the moments you shared together. Each of the significant moments is displayed in front of you before your life comes to an end. The fact that I didn't experience this should have indicated that I would survive this. Instead of reliving all the major moments from the eighteen years I have been on this planet, I was replaying what had just happened. The turning, the narrow-mindedness, the honking, and the collision reoccurred in my head. Every few seconds, it began once again from the moment I hit the gas pedal.
Suddenly, nothing was real in my conscious mind. I was watching the event unfold with the same dissociation as I would have in my dreams. But this was something that I couldn't wake up from. This was a permanent occurrence and it was permeating my biography.
The woman in the other car asked that I call 911 for her. After the police officer took note of the scene, he asked me which of us left the skid marks, and I was surprised to hear that there were skid marks at all. This woman foresaw the collision and did her best to hit the brakes and switch lanes. It was as if the universe had prevented me from being injured, let alone losing my life.
Death is a primary cause of fear and fear is a primary cause of death. Because my life had been endangered by the incident (and of course the life of the woman involved), I was ridiculously afraid of being on the road afterwards. Seeing how close I had gotten to being wiped off the Earth inspired a negative feeling to the mere act of driving. On the other hand, fear directly and indirectly drives people to their demise.
Death should not be a topic that we discuss in sacred settings alone. We see and hear about death in the media but that does not make us any more comfortable discussing it openly. But if we practiced how we address it in those moments, we wouldn't be as distraught when it enters our personal lives. Logan Paul had extreme difficulty in this situation, and he is only one example of our societal inability to discuss it openly. The fear and pain associated with death needs to be dissected before we can leave ugly scandals like this in the past. The future will be a time for us to enjoy our lives rather than worrying about its end.
Note: recent news suggests that Logan Paul's production team paid a media strategist to start a smear campaign against Shane Dawson, to lure the internet's attention away from Logan's mistake. Tea.
If you've been keeping up with news stories, odds are you know about YouTuber Logan Paul and the backlash to one of his videos. Before you close this tab and resume your regularly scheduled program, know that this post deals with more than the life of some dude with a baked potato-inspired haircut.
If you are not filled in, this scandal began when he filmed a video in which he explores Aokigahara in Japan, known as the forest where many people go to commit suicide in solitude. Logan explained his interest in the eerie aspect of the forest—which is believable considering his branding style. But all is dispelled quickly as the video progresses, and it reaches a point where Logan and his friends run into the corpse of a man who had recently hanged himself. And this is when I'm glad I didn't watch the original uncensored version because I'm already rattled by the image that I conjured in my head. Now the camera is taking close shots of the body and anyone watching is forced to see this, regardless of what they were expecting to see.
Beyond the gruesome clip, what's equally as disgusting is Logan's take on the situation.
He reassures the viewers throughout the video that he isn't a complete sociopath by saying "suicide shouldn't be taken lightly" and "mental illness is not a joke" Most fans of Logan Paul could have been easily persuaded by this recovery...and for the sake of candidness, this is after he spent a minute reacting to the dead body in a way that sensationalized the man's death.
By making such a statement, Logan is only digging his hole deeper. As much as he claims he cares about people suffering from mental health issues and suicidal thoughts, that does nothing to justify his putting a suicide victim's body online for his millions of subscribers to see, as a prop to get views. Call me Crazy Stacey, but the difference between his (fake) passionate message and the behavior we just witnessed is ironic. Dehumanizing and exploiting the victim is one of the worst possible ways to show that you care about people suffering from mental illness. If I were to set a house on fire, and while its blazing walls crumbled to the ground I filmed it for my followers to see, then offered a caveat saying I care about homelessness, does that make me a hero to homeless people?
What says compassion quite like exploiting someone's death for views and ad revenue?
How do you genuinely show you care about people suffering from mental health issues, you wonder? Be emotionally available. Assure them that they are not alone. Ask them questions to elaborate on. Donate to a mental health facility.
Just do not dehumanize or exploit victims.
From the time one's pet goldfish floats to the top of the tank to the time we attend the funeral of a close relative, death always arrives unannounced. While there are signs and factors that allow us to predict it, death cannot be guaranteed nor abolished. It sure is no help that most people spend their lives mentally preparing for the time to come, nor that the topic is stigmatized. There is such difficulty with weaving it into a conversation often because the concept is associated with pain and fear. No one is willing to relive that feeling voluntarily, so people must talk circles around it.
Dying is one of the scariest things to most Americans. Strangely, I had a close encounter with death shortly after the Logan Paul scandal surfaced.
Talking about the incident is slightly embarrassing since it happened while exiting the highway onto the road. After seeing a sign telling me to lower my speed to 25 mph, I eased onto the brakes—clearly with not enough force because my car lost its grip with the asphalt and swerved nearly 180 degrees. Another car stopped behind me so I could get back on track. How awkward. That moment left me on high alert.
...So here's the actual account of my car accident.
Right after I left the ramp, I halted at a stop sign and looked around to see if the path was clear for me to turn. It was undeniable that there were some cars approaching, and yet all I could think about was how urgently I needed to be on time for my job training.
Without any second thoughts, I rolled around the corner and started picking up speed. If only this Pedro had been aware of the speed limit, I wouldn't be telling this story now. Foolishness is the only word I can use to describe my mistake. People have reminded me on multiple occasions that coasting can be just as risky as driving too fast. But who could have predicted that my habit of driving below the speed limit would lead to an accident like this?
The worst part of the story is I thought I was out-driving all those drivers. The cars had appeared to be moving at snail pace. I could not have been more wrong.
From somewhere in my surroundings came the sound of a car horn. It was then that my heart rate doubled.
My thoughts about needing to be on time to work were replaced by thoughts about the disaster that was to happen in a quarter of a second. Every muscle I had tensed up as if preparing themselves to be damaged. My toes curled. My pupils dilated.
THUD.
People claim that before you die, your whole life will flash before your eyes in cinema format. You see all the people who meant something to you as well as the moments you shared together. Each of the significant moments is displayed in front of you before your life comes to an end. The fact that I didn't experience this should have indicated that I would survive this. Instead of reliving all the major moments from the eighteen years I have been on this planet, I was replaying what had just happened. The turning, the narrow-mindedness, the honking, and the collision reoccurred in my head. Every few seconds, it began once again from the moment I hit the gas pedal.
Suddenly, nothing was real in my conscious mind. I was watching the event unfold with the same dissociation as I would have in my dreams. But this was something that I couldn't wake up from. This was a permanent occurrence and it was permeating my biography.
The woman in the other car asked that I call 911 for her. After the police officer took note of the scene, he asked me which of us left the skid marks, and I was surprised to hear that there were skid marks at all. This woman foresaw the collision and did her best to hit the brakes and switch lanes. It was as if the universe had prevented me from being injured, let alone losing my life.
Death is a primary cause of fear and fear is a primary cause of death. Because my life had been endangered by the incident (and of course the life of the woman involved), I was ridiculously afraid of being on the road afterwards. Seeing how close I had gotten to being wiped off the Earth inspired a negative feeling to the mere act of driving. On the other hand, fear directly and indirectly drives people to their demise.
Death should not be a topic that we discuss in sacred settings alone. We see and hear about death in the media but that does not make us any more comfortable discussing it openly. But if we practiced how we address it in those moments, we wouldn't be as distraught when it enters our personal lives. Logan Paul had extreme difficulty in this situation, and he is only one example of our societal inability to discuss it openly. The fear and pain associated with death needs to be dissected before we can leave ugly scandals like this in the past. The future will be a time for us to enjoy our lives rather than worrying about its end.
Note: recent news suggests that Logan Paul's production team paid a media strategist to start a smear campaign against Shane Dawson, to lure the internet's attention away from Logan's mistake. Tea.
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