MrBeast’s video on “helping” 1,000 deaf people to hear
YouTuber MrBeast, who has one of the most popular channels online with over 150 million subscribers, posted a video on Saturday titled, “1,000 Deaf People Hear For The First Time.”
I will recap the video and then discuss some of the reactions and controversy it’s generated on social media.
The video explains that MrBeast’s team got $3 million worth of the latest hearing aid technology.
MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, took deaf or hard of hearing people and their families into a room where they are fitted with a hearing aid and they become emotional when they can hear clearly. Some of them then got a briefcase with $10,000 in cash in it. One man got a jet-ski.
MrBeast then traveled around the world, giving hearing aids to deaf or hard-of-hearing people in Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, South Africa, Malawi, and Indonesia.
MrBeast said he learned while filming this video that “sign language” can also connect people whether they can hear or not. He said he would donate $100,000 to organizations around the world that are teaching sign language.
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Many people reacted to the video by saying MrBeast is an inspiration and is a wonderful person for helping deaf people to hear.
But there are multiple deaf people on Twitter who are saying the video is an example of “inspiration porn,” and gives the wrong idea that deafness is something that needs to be fixed or cured.
Others reacted to these comments by being confused that there would be anyone who would be disappointed with MrBeast for trying to help deaf people.
Even Elon Musk chimed in on the debate. A popular tweeter, Ed Krassenstein, said he doesn’t understand why people are attacking MrBeast and asked, “Do Americans really feel that deaf people should remain deaf, if there is a solution out there? Shouldn’t people who can be cured of deafness be taken care of?”
Musk replied, “People definitely shouldn’t be attacked for doing good. Is it really just a question of money to restore hearing? I’m always looking ways to donate money that are actually good. Perhaps this is one.”
What MrBeast did is similar to what the Starkey Hearing Foundation typically does — it fits deaf or hard of hearing people around the world with hearing aids, films their reactions, and gets praised and donations for its work. It is also common to see “reaction videos” of people who have their cochlear implants activated for the first time.
So this idea isn’t new to the deaf community, but MrBeast’s fame brings this to a new level.
Feel free to share what you think of MrBeast’s video.
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTOm65IZneg