Why Hasan Piker Thinks He Was Banned On Twitch
Hasan "HasanAbi" Piker received a Twitch ban on Monday after a broadcast in which he and his mods repeatedly used the word "cracker," a derogatory term often used against white people. Twitch hasn't explicitly commented on why he was banned, but Piker stated that he believes the suspension occurred because Twitch considered "cracker" to be a punishable slur.
Piker quoted an announcement of his ban on Twitter with the caption, "Yes, it is exactly what you think it is. Anti-white racism for using the term 'cracker'." Piker aligns with the idea that it's impossible to be racist against whites because they are a historically dominant, non-oppressed group. He also later posted a more in-depth explanation on the history of the concept of "whiteness" and who is considered part of the "dominant in-group."
In his now-deleted stream, Piker said, "Recognize that the person calling you a f***** cracker is literally powerless, okay? Sorry, it's just the truth," he said (via Dexerto). "They're doing it as someone who's been historically oppressed blowing off steam. You can say that that's infantilizing or whatever the f***, but that's truly the reality."
However, many people still consider the term offensive. Piker's ban snowballed into a community-wide discussion of white identity politics and what banning someone for using the word cracker, true or not, implies about racism.
Secondary problems besides the saltines
Opposing parties denounced cracker as a slur that shouldn't be used, similar to the way slurs toward minority groups shouldn't be used. However, some commenters pointed out that Twitch has historically failed to ban those using racial slurs, integrating racial slurs into their usernames, or otherwise finding ways to insult oppressed non-white groups. It comes across as a double standard for banning users saying the "cracker," yet failing to ban users who use slurs that target minorities.
Vaush and Fawn, two other popular streamers, also received bans later in the week. Vaush in particular shared an email he received for "hateful slurs and symbols." So, in his case, it seems Twitch really did ban him for using what it considered a slur. Fawn didn't post confirmation from Twitch about her ban, but she believes it was for the same reason.
"Proud of Twitch for finally taking a stand against anti-white racism," Vaush said sarcastically about the ban.
Piker has been retweeting and supporting those spreading the word about how "cracker" indicates a bigger problem outside of just being considered a slur. Just this past year, he considered quitting streaming because of the constant harassment and doxxing, and even received death threats for buying a house. Thankfully, this "cracker" example seems less extreme.
For now, Piker plans to stream on other content creators' channels because he can't host them himself during his ban. He has also uploaded a cracker tier list, seemingly to rub the salt in his haters' noses. His ban is due to lift next week.