Popular streamer HasanAbi called out Twitch for apparently banning viewers using a specific slur. However, he believes it’s for a different reason than we all might think.
Hasan was streaming on May 20 and like always, his main focus was politics. However, for a short amount of time, he went into a discussion why a certain c-word is banned in his chat. He pointed out it’s due to how people will get reported for using it 24/7, and eventually get banned, which the streamer dubbed “fucking stupid.” The word Hasan and his chat were talking about is “cracker.” It’s a racial epithet of white people, especially those who came from poor background in the Southern U.S., originating in the 18th century. However, historically it has also been used to name natives of Florida, according to study.com.
“The reason why it’s censored in the chat is because […] people sit in this chat 24/7, and will literally report you, and you will get banned,” Hasan said on his stream. “Because Twitch is fucking stupid. That is why the word is banned. Not because the word is inappropriate to say or something like that.”
As per usual, Hasan’s words caused quite a discussion among the streaming community. Many people on Reddit shared their thoughts about Hasan’s attitude, calling him out for being protective of racial slurs and hypocritical in his actions—although the collection of people that believe Hasan is in the wrong seem to be mostly made up of those who believe in the existence of reverse racism, a topic still widely debated.
At the same time, people pointed out how apparently Twitch bans viewers for using this slur, however when a streamer uses it, they’re fine. “Twitch bans chatters but not streamers for using it as a slur,” one viewer wrote. “Thats [sic] a weird strat on their part.”
