The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.9 H3H3 BTS KPOP Controversy, Walmart Santa Apology, New Zealand Volcano, & India Bill

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup, you beautiful bastards. Hope you're having a fantastic Monday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. Buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is the latest iteration of Who Are People Angry At Today News.

Starting point is 00:00:13 Today's contestant is Ethan Klein, aka one half of H3H3 Productions. And the story, which just blew up over the weekend, stems from Saturday. They had a podcast where you had Ethan and his wife, Hila, breaking down this year's YouTube Rewind. And in this, they get to the part of the YouTube Rewind video that showcases BTS's Boy With Luv being the second most liked music video of the year. And you had Ethan in part saying this. BTS, I don't get the BTS thing. I'm just going to say

Starting point is 00:00:38 it right now. I don't like K-pop. I hate K-pop. I don't get BTS. K-pop. They look like they're just a bunch of... How did this become a thing in Western culture where all these grown men and little girls are jerking off to little K-pop boys? It's like a little fetish. It's like a little twink gay fetish about these K-pop boys. So this podcast goes out, this gets clipped, and very soon we see H3H3 is over party trending on Twitter.

Starting point is 00:01:02 Which probably wasn't a surprise to Ethan. He kind of even commented on like the level of fandom. I'm pretty sure that somebody's going to try to assassinate me. Assassinate me. Yeah, I mean, this blew up. Just the original clip on Twitter alone had 2.7 million views as of recording this video. You had people saying things like,

Starting point is 00:01:19 I'm not a K-pop stan, but what Ethan Klein said about it and its fans and the language he used to do so is atrocious. It was flat out disgusting, homophobic, and racist. Another post that blew up saying, Why don't you just call them a slur for Asian people and get it over with, Ethan? Here's why you can't imagine, quote, little girls and grown men jerking off to little kpop boys. Because you view Asian men as inferior to fine white specimens such as yourself.

Starting point is 00:01:39 Which is a lot to say. But of course at the same time you had a number of people defending Ethan. And Ethan's just a comedian who was making a joke about the kind of crazy levels of fandom when it comes to K-pop. With one writing, I mean, isn't it true that there are lots of young teenage girls that watch weird BTS fetish vids

Starting point is 00:01:56 or fan fictions? I like K-pop, especially BTS, but you can't say that shit ain't weird. Ethan literally just pointed it out in an exaggerated way to make a joke on it. Chill out. And as far as Ethan's reaction to the H3H3 is over party, he kind of seemed to enjoy it. Writing, And posting this to kind of troll. Then tweeting, that face when K-pop stans are trying to take the moral high ground over a joke,

Starting point is 00:02:25 but are responsible for dozens of suicides of K-pop idols because of their online abuse. Which, as far as online reaction, kind of just added gasoline to the fire. With Ethan tweeting about four hours later that the hashtag H3H3 is over party was number five trending. And yeah, I mean the shots have been kind of going back and forth since then.

Starting point is 00:02:42 Ultimately, that's where we are with this story right now. And of course, I'd love to pass the question off to you Then let's talk about there was another story where you had people angry and actually the focus of that anger apologized. Specifically we are talking about Walmart who apologized for several pieces of holiday merchandise on their store like this. It appears to show a wide-eyed Happy Santa with several lines of quote unquote snow with the text, let it snow. And just so there is not any confusion, the product description read,

Starting point is 00:03:09 we all know how snow works. It's white, powdery, and the best snow comes straight from South America. It's bad news for jolly old Saint Nick who lives far away in the North Pole. That's why Santa really likes to savor the moment when he gets his hands on some quality, grade A Colombian snow.

Starting point is 00:03:23 Also, while Coke snorting Santa got a lot of the attention, there were also others, including one where reportedly Santa Claus was seen, quote, roasting his chestnuts atop a burning fireplace. And this one, which I'm having to censor, shows a lingerie wearing Mrs. Claus with a whip, with Santa on all fours with a ball gag, and text reading, Santa has been naughty.

Starting point is 00:03:41 Now Walmart, for their part, once the story kind of blew up, they apologized and also removed the listings and saying these sweaters sold by a third party seller on walmart.ca do not represent Walmart's values and have no place on our website. And yeah, I mean, that's really it, right? This is in no way Walmart's first third party seller controversy.

Starting point is 00:03:57 There've been others in the past that got through that involved like racial slurs. There was the impeach 45 one. But also with this one specifically, I wonder if it was done on purpose because one of the main reactions from this whole debacle, There was the impeachment, the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment,

Starting point is 00:04:08 there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment,

Starting point is 00:04:16 there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment,

Starting point is 00:04:24 there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the impeachment, there was the Let's talk about New Zealand, where today a volcano erupted. According to reports, both tourists and New Zealand natives are believed to have been on the shore of White Island when it erupted around 2 p.m. local time. The video is spreading on social media, showing these enormous plumes of smoke. Now, as far as the casualties here, according to New Zealand police, five people have been confirmed dead.

Starting point is 00:04:40 Eight at this time are still missing. Also reporting that 34 people have survived, with 31 of those getting treated at the hospital. According to a press release from the New Zealand police, inquiries with tour operators indicate that 47 people were on the island when the eruption happened. We also saw John Timms, the New Zealand deputy police commissioner,

Starting point is 00:04:56 announcing that rescue operations are currently on hold. This because of the unsafe physical environment on the island and the risk of another eruption. Even though there are a number of people that are listed as missing, and you have the national military expected to send drones to look for survivors at first light on Tuesday morning, there's also not a lot of hope there.

Starting point is 00:05:11 You have New Zealand police saying in a statement that they have seen, quote, no signs of life on the island. Also this morning, we had the prime minister of New Zealand saying that this is, quote, very sadly a recovery operation. Now as far as who was there, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has confirmed

Starting point is 00:05:23 that some were passengers from one of their ships. White Island is a tourist destination, right? You can even walk inside the crater. Just on that note, according to reports, tourists were actually seen walking inside the crater moments before the eruption. Also, as far as did this eruption happen out of nowhere? Not fully.

Starting point is 00:05:37 White Island is the country's most active volcano. Also, GeoNet, an agency that monitors geological hazard information for New Zealand, had been reporting noticeable levels of activity on White Island since late September. Also, issuing an alert as an agency that monitors geological hazard information for New Zealand, had been reporting noticeable levels of activity on White Island since late September, also issuing an alert as recently as December 3rd, saying in that bulletin last week, "'Observations and data to date suggest

Starting point is 00:05:53 "'that the volcano may be entering a period "'where eruptive activity is more likely than normal. "'These eruptions can occur with little or no warning.'" But it also said that, quote, "'The current level of activity "'does not pose a direct hazard to visitors.'" Ultimately, that is where we are with this tragedy right now.

Starting point is 00:06:07 We'll keep our eyes open to see what other information comes out. Also, obviously, our thoughts and our well wishes go to those affected. Yeah, it's just horrible to see this news. And then, let's talk about this really interesting story coming out of India. Today, we saw hundreds of protesters

Starting point is 00:06:20 taking to the streets of India after the lower house of parliament there started debate on and passed a controversial piece of legislation called the Citizenship Amendment Bill. And if passed by the upper house, the bill would grant citizenship to religious minorities who illegally immigrated to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

Starting point is 00:06:34 And in order to become a citizen, those people would have to live in India for six years and take a test to prove that they belong to one of six religions. And the religions that would be eligible for citizenship in India are Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and Parsis. Notably not included on that list are Muslims.

Starting point is 00:06:49 And this is a massive deal for two reasons. First of all, India is a secular country and its constitution mandates that all religions be treated equally. Right, so now many have described this bill as the most significant move to change the secular nature of the country since it gained independence back in 1947.

Starting point is 00:07:03 And secondly, the bill would also make it easier to jail and deport Muslim residents in India, including people whose families have lived there for generations, but don't have proof of citizenship. And that means that millions of Muslims in India could be left stateless. Now this bill was actually introduced back in 2016. It even passed the lower house earlier in 2019,

Starting point is 00:07:20 but it was ultimately dropped by the upper chamber after massive protests against the bill. And so now again, with this bill being re reintroduced protesters have come out to oppose it There have been reports of protests and marches in multiple cities all over India and specifically in the state of Assam where people strongly oppose The bill the first time it was proposed this also because they were worried that it would encourage tens of thousands of people from neighboring Bangladesh to immigrate to their state and get citizenship You have protesters reportedly blocking roads burning tires and painting walls with slogans against the bill. This also prompting shops, businesses, and schools to close.

Starting point is 00:07:48 Also of note, it's not just protesters, people in the streets that oppose the bill. Opposition members of parliament and Muslims all over India are also against it. Opponents of the bill and many legal experts saying that it would violate India's secular constitution with opposition parties arguing that the bill discriminates against Muslims,

Starting point is 00:08:01 which make up nearly 15% of India's population. But the thing is here, many Muslims in India say that this is a very intentional plan on the part of Prime Minister Modi and his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, to essentially make Muslims second-class citizens in India. Modi is a staunch Hindu nationalist, meaning that he believes India is

Starting point is 00:08:18 and should be a Hindu nation. Ever since he and the BJP were reelected earlier this year, he has significantly ramped up his efforts to advance his Hindu nationalist agenda. One of the biggest examples of this is the situation in Kashmir, which we've talked about on the show a number of times. Right back in August, Modi stripped Kashmir

Starting point is 00:08:32 of statehood and autonomy, and that was a massive deal. This because it gave India's central government a ton of power over Kashmir, which had been one of the only Muslim majority territories in India. And on top of that, Modi has sent tens of thousands of troops to the region, basically putting the territory on total lockdown.

Starting point is 00:08:47 And that lockdown has largely remained in place since August with things like widespread internet and phone restrictions remaining in place to clamp down on protests and shops, businesses, and schools in Kashmir largely staying closed. That's also not the only major Hindu nationalist policy that Modi has implemented recently. This summer, the government actually started

Starting point is 00:09:02 a very similar program to the one proposed in the citizenship amendment bill. That program taking place in the state of Assam, the government actually started a very similar program to the one proposed in the Citizenship Amendment Bill. That program taking place in the state of Assam, the same state that protested the original bill. And under that program, all 33 million residents of the state had to provide documents to the government that proved their ancestors were Indian citizens. And that resulted in nearly two million people,

Starting point is 00:09:18 many of whom are Muslims and lifelong residents of India, being left off the state's citizenship rolls. And so as a result, critics say that the Citizenship Bill is just part of Modi's efforts to identify and deport or even intern Muslims who have lived in India for years or even generations. With critics and opposition leaders even trying to paint the bill as endangering democracy in India.

Starting point is 00:09:35 One member of parliament even saying, "'We are heading toward totalitarianism, a fascist state. "'We are making India a theocratic country.'" Now, Modi and his party have defended the citizenship bill, arguing that they're just trying to protect persecuted religious minorities who migrate from predominantly Muslim countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan, arguing that Muslims are not persecuted in Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Afghanistan. And while critics have said that part is true, they also say that it ignores neighboring countries where Muslims are persecuted. With

Starting point is 00:10:01 one constitutional expert saying, if Indian government through this bill wants to give citizenship to persecuted minorities in the neighboring countries, how can it exclude the Rohingya of Myanmar who are far more persecuted than any other group in the neighborhood? Ultimately, that is where we are right now. As far as what happens next,

Starting point is 00:10:15 the bill will now go to the upper chamber, kind of their equivalent of the Senate. And there right now, according to reports, Modi seemed to have enough allies that most analysts and experts say that this citizenship bill will soon become law. And so with that said, that is where we end today. And of course, I pass the question off to you.

Starting point is 00:10:29 Are you concerned? Yes or no? Why, why not? And while that's also a general question, if you have family there or you live around there, I of course would love to know your thoughts on this even more. And that is where we're going to end today's show.

Starting point is 00:10:41 And hey, after you leave a comment, maybe you like this video, let us know. Hit that like button. Also, if you're new comment, maybe you like this video, let us know. Hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, you want more of these daily weekday videos, you just hit that subscribe button, tap that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you're looking for more to watch after this,

Starting point is 00:10:53 you can check out that latest podcast I did, or maybe dismiss the last Philip DeFranco show you wanna catch up. You can click or tap right there to watch either of those. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 12.9 H3H3 BTS KPOP Controversy, Walmart Santa Apology, New Zealand Volcano, & India Bill

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