1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,030
You know how when something really bad
happens, especially in the public eye,

2
00:00:03,570 --> 00:00:07,589
people talk about it. They get outraged
about it. They want to lift awareness for it.

3
00:00:07,589 --> 00:00:13,650
And then maybe a few days... a week... 
a month later...

4
00:00:14,309 --> 00:00:19,230
No matter how much we said we should all
keep talking about this, we stop talking

5
00:00:19,230 --> 00:00:20,279
about this.

6
00:00:21,700 --> 00:00:26,220
Well, I don't want to. Some short years
ago it was disclosed that many youtubers

7
00:00:26,220 --> 00:00:29,369
were taking advantage of their position.
They were being abusive,

8
00:00:29,369 --> 00:00:32,940
they were harassing, they were assaulting.
In a couple cases, they were committing rape.

9
00:00:33,740 --> 00:00:39,059
And these disclosures brought about the
formation of an organization that is now

10
00:00:39,059 --> 00:00:46,590
called Uplift. Uplift! Uplift formed to
combat sexual violence online. As a

11
00:00:46,590 --> 00:00:50,700
part of that, they put together a safer
community pledge and requested that

12
00:00:50,700 --> 00:00:57,210
everybody take it. I have taken it the
first year, the second year, and now i'm

13
00:00:57,210 --> 00:01:00,899
going to take it for my third year. This
pledge does a good job, I think, of giving

14
00:01:00,899 --> 00:01:04,199
us some guidelines. And I'm happy to take
it again!

15
00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:10,460
I pledge that I will always prioritize
consent. I understand that consent is the

16
00:01:10,470 --> 00:01:15,390
presence of an enthusiastic yes rather
than the absence of a no and that

17
00:01:15,390 --> 00:01:20,470
consent cannot be given when someone is
asleep or physically or mentally incapacitated.

18
00:01:21,020 --> 00:01:23,900
I pledge that I will
respect my partner's wishes and that I

19
00:01:23,909 --> 00:01:27,809
will not pressure or coerce them into
doing anything that makes them uncomfortable.

20
00:01:28,300 --> 00:01:31,280
I pledge to stand with
survivors of sexual abuse or harassment

21
00:01:31,290 --> 00:01:35,030
by showing them compassion and respect

22
00:01:36,060 --> 00:01:38,060
I pledge to never blame the victim for any

23
00:01:38,070 --> 00:01:43,550
abuse they've experienced. Sexual
violence is never the victim's fault!

24
00:01:44,369 --> 00:01:48,899
I pledge to admit when I make mistakes and
to apologize for my actions. When someone

25
00:01:48,899 --> 00:01:53,640
tells me that I've done something sexist,
victim-blaming, or otherwise offensive, I

26
00:01:53,640 --> 00:01:55,640
pledge to be open to their words.

27
00:01:56,860 --> 00:01:59,280
I pledge to support conversations

28
00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,630
surrounding sexual abuse and harassment
in a way that is respectful of my needs

29
00:02:03,630 --> 00:02:05,480
and the needs of those i'm speaking with.

30
00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:10,200
And I pledge to create safer communities
both online and off.

31
00:02:11,220 --> 00:02:13,220
I've also been proud to help out uplift

32
00:02:13,220 --> 00:02:17,120
at the booths they've had at VidCon these
past couple of years. This year they made

33
00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:21,710
and i helped to give out these Con
Safety cards. I don't need to wait for another

34
00:02:21,710 --> 00:02:26,690
disclosure of an incidence of sexual
violence on youtube to still be opposed

35
00:02:26,690 --> 00:02:30,770
to it happening and to still want to
raise awareness for everyone that this

36
00:02:30,770 --> 00:02:37,790
is a dangerous thing that happens! Not
infrequently! Too much! Just this month i

37
00:02:37,790 --> 00:02:42,560
read a Mashable article about how one of
the victims of Tobuscus came forward and

38
00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,670
had to deal with the repercussions of
that. Just this week I retweeted the

39
00:02:46,670 --> 00:02:51,200
statement that you're more likely to
have your career hurt by reporting

40
00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,770
sexual harassment then by committing it.

41
00:02:54,770 --> 00:02:57,650
This is the world in which we live and
it sucks, but it's not going to get any

42
00:02:57,650 --> 00:03:01,670
better if we don't talk about it, or if we
don't admit that it's happening. I am

43
00:03:01,670 --> 00:03:05,390
aware and I admit that this platform
that I'm a part of, this YouTube

44
00:03:05,390 --> 00:03:08,480
community, is a place where (though I'm
happy to be here)

45
00:03:09,110 --> 00:03:13,190
it does have people committing heinous
acts. And I want everyone to be aware of

46
00:03:13,190 --> 00:03:16,910
it, not so that they are afraid, but so
that they know what to watch out for and

47
00:03:16,910 --> 00:03:21,080
so we can help each other to prevent
these things from happening more, and

48
00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,709
from spreading, and from continuing where
it's happening now. If you don't already,

49
00:03:24,709 --> 00:03:29,450
please follow uplift on Twitter or
Facebook or tumblr or youtube. I'll

50
00:03:29,450 --> 00:03:34,670
include links in my description. They do
good work. And if you also have a public

51
00:03:34,670 --> 00:03:38,720
platform where you can do this same
thing, I encourage you to also take the

52
00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:42,240
Safer Community Pledge if you haven't
yet, or if you want to take it again.

53
00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,380
That's my VEDA for today. Tell me what
you think about uplift's work and the

54
00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:49,670
Safer Community Pledge in the comments
below or tell me anything that matters

55
00:03:49,670 --> 00:03:52,770
to you because I want to know what
matters to you.

56
00:03:53,500 --> 00:03:55,040
And I really appreciate

57
00:03:55,040 --> 00:03:58,280
you watching all the way to the end of
this video. The end of my videos is where

58
00:03:58,280 --> 00:03:59,280
I always say:

59
00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:00,520
Tomorrow

60
00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:02,520
will be even better!