Ben's Thing: Burnie Burns on Terrorism

So there are these guys, people know them as Rooster Teeth, Achievement Hunter, Red vs. Blue, they do a lot of things. They get to do these because they've become famous on the internet and have a powerful voice across many communities.

Burnie Burns (or what we see of him online) is generally trying to move things along among a group of young men and women who are having an awful lot of fun. There are plenty of times, though, where we get to see him red in the face with anger or laughter. He is a passionate person in his own way, not always an avid supporter of everything he does or reviews, and not consumed with hatred towards things too, unlike many other online personalities, which seem to be running at 100% all the time.

The reason I have to explain this, is because when Burnie Burns really does care about something, it shows.

He may not be the most articulate in this clip, but what is important is that he is using his voice, his presence to say something incredibly meaningful, productive, and different. In a world of text forums and online rants, Burnie Burns is reaching out to the people who listen to him in a way that they can understand and process. He's also combating an increasingly dangerous tendency for the public to overreact and take matters into their own hands (the Reddit witch hunt of the Boston Bombers) It's not often that we hear people say "Don't dwell on it." to things like 9/11 and the Boston Bombings, but I also believe he is absolutely correct. If terror is a new global weapon, the best way for the public to fight back, to become safe, is by rendering that weapon useless. Not by knowing that we can find the roots of whatever organization was behind the act, or being able to carry on, but by not even giving the act enough weight to merit the act in the first place. Yes, it is important to care for the victims. Yes, they deserve our sympathy and support. But we do not need to dwell.