Hasan "hasanabi" Piker, one of the more conversational streamers on Twitch, has been banned from the website for the use of the word "cracker" while chatting to his followers.
Last week, Twitch banned two of Piker's mods for saying "cracker" in the chat and the streamer was displeased, to say the least. "A person calling you a cracker is powerless," said Piker. "They are doing it as someone who has been historically oppressed blowing off steam. You can say that is infantilizing or whatever the f*ck, but that is true. It's reality." The word "cracker" comes from the sound of the whip used by white slave masters on black slaves in the United States and other countries responsible for the slave trade in 18th century, and nowadays, it is said pejoratively against white people. In his statement, Piker is arguing that calling a white person a "cracker" is not as serious as other insults because the word has been reclaimed from its history and doesn't suggest any sort of degradation on the part of the white person.
It looks like Twitch didn't agree. "Twitch does not permit behavior that is motivated by hatred, prejudice or intolerance, including behavior that promotes or encourages discrimination, denigration, harassment, or violence based on the following protected characteristics: race, ethnicity, color, caste, national origin, immigration status, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, serious medical condition, and veteran status," reads the content under its Hateful Conduct policy, however, it is willing to exempt instances where the words have been "used in an empowering way or as terms of endearment when such intent is clear."
Piker is now banned from the website for the third time and will be streaming on YouTube for the entirety of his ban. While the company has not specifically said why it has banned the content creator, Piker asserted that "it is for exactly what you think it is. anti-white racism for using the term 'cracker.'" The streamer has expressed his disappointment that he'll be missing out on appearances with Ali "Myth" Kabbani and JPEGMafia but has replaced these plans with collaborations with Ludwig Ahgren, Kaitlyn "Amouranth" Siragusa and Ethan Klein for the rest of the week.
Featured Image Credit: Hasan Piker via Twitch
