Jon “JonTron” Jafari appeared on a live stream with Steven “Destiny” Bonnell in order to discuss the “displacement of whites” this past weekend, with the YouTuber upsetting his fan base after arguing that “wealthy blacks commit more crime than poor whites.”
JonTron, who has over 3 million subscribers on YouTube and was formerly a member of the popular channel Game Grumps, frequently argued the case for “tribalism” during the hour-long debate, saying that white people are becoming a minority in the US. When asked to explain the reasoning behind his views, he said: “There is an absolute disproportionate amount of crime committed to whites by non-whites, there’s no arguing that, that’s just FBI statistics. In that sense, you should say ‘why shouldn’t the white people be able to address this?’ But we’re not allowed to because we’ll be called racist by people like you [Destiny].”
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Destiny then countered JonTron’s argument, saying that “the best way to fix crime in the US would be to deport all of the poor people,” as “poor whites commit a lot of crime, too, disproportionately compared to wealthier whites.” When asked whether he thought that “poor blacks probably commit more crime relative to wealthier black people,” he replied: “They do. Wealthy blacks also commit more crime than poor whites. That’s a fact. Look it up.” An astonished Destiny then proceeds to search for a source, adding: “I’ve never heard that in my life, dude … I see an article saying poor white kids are less likely to go to prison than rich black kids…” JonTron interrupted: “Says who? That’s just some conjecture.” “What you just said was conjecture!” Destiny replied.
The article Destiny was referring to can be found here, with it outlining a study that found poor white kids were less likely to go to jail than rich black kids for committing crimes in recent decades, but not that wealthy black people are more likely to commit crimes than poor white people. It’s uncertain whether or not this was the study on which JonTron had based his claim, even though it does not support his statement, but he did not offer the evidence to Destiny to corroborate it.
Take a look at the moment below:
Destiny’s full discussion with JonTron can be viewed below:
Later in the debate JonTron argued against racial discrimination still existing in the US, saying: “Discrimination is wrong. We’ve gotten rid of discrimination in Western countries… if you don’t think we’ve gotten rid of discrimination you’re living in a fantasy land.” He then defended his belief that he wants white people to remain a majority in the US. “I just don’t understand why it’s so bad if white people become a minority. Why is that such a horrible thing?” Destiny asked, to which JonTron replied: “Nobody wants to become a minority in their own country, man.” Destiny continued: “Why? Why does it matter? I don’t consider myself a minority because I’m an American, and everyone around me is an American. Why does it matter if they’re white, or brown, or black?” JonTron then stumbled over his reply: “Well that’s not… I don’t think that’s how… I don’t know how to answer this.”
Destiny later pointed out how immigration is actually beneficial to the economy, attempting to determine a reason as to why JonTron wanted the US to remain predominantly white. “Is it okay to keep a country from progressing in order to keep its racial identity? Do you think that’s an okay thing?” he asked. “Yeah, I think it’s fine. Japan does it.” JonTron replied.
JonTron has received a great deal of criticism for his political views in recent months, with him appearing on live streams with the controversial political YouTuber Sargon of Akkad. He also tweeted the following response to the controversy surrounding congressman Steve King’s comment that “we can’t restore our civilization with somebody else’s babies:”
Wow, how scandalous, Steve King doesn't want his country invaded by people who have contempt for his culture and people! NAZI!!!
— JonTron (@JonTronShow) March 12, 2017
He also called colonization a “net benefit” for the third world:
and that's even going so far as to say colonization wasn't a net benefit for the third world (it was)
— JonTron (@JonTronShow) March 12, 2017
Many of JonTron’s fans have condemned his comments on the r/JonTron subreddit. One user wrote: “Jontron believes that disproportionate crime in black america comes from culture in africa. He actually believes that.” Another added: “GAHHH it’s like watching a fucking train wreck, it’s so horrible and gruesome but I can’t fucking look away.”
JonTron is one of the most popular YouTube Gaming personalities on the site, generating millions of views on his comedy reviews of old games and movies. He left the Game Grumps, another popular YouTube channel, in 2013 and was replaced by Dan Avidan of the comedy band Ninja Sex Party.
