What happened
AUSTIN, TX— Destiny, a popular political commentator on Youtube and Twitch, recently partnered with Bridge Texas to discuss anti-wokeism and abortion–taking the pro-choice position–with students at the University of Texas at Austin.
Steven Bonnell, commonly referred to as Destiny, is a former Twitch streamer and Youtuber who went viral for his controversial political commentaries on Twitch. In a joint partnership with Bridge Texas, Destiny came to the University of Texas at Austin on October 17th to debate UT students and faculty members on the topics of wokeism and abortion. Destiny set up a tent outside of the Perry Castañeda Library, with the stated goal of fostering consensus between two opposing viewpoints.
Destiny has had a controversial reputation all over the political spectrum. Like many on the platform, Destiny began his work as a professional gamer streaming on Twitch. He frequently argued with right-wing conservatives, but readily debated anyone with underlying beliefs. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Destiny drew back from the far left and frequently criticized, and drew criticism from, both sides of the political aisle. With numerous Twitch suspensions already under his belt, in March of 2022 Destiny was indefinitely banned from Twitch due to violation of community guidelines and hateful misconduct.
Destiny creates conversations with students by hosting a “Change My Mind” event: a phrase pioneered by popular conservative YouTuber and podcaster Steven Crowder. It’s a concept that allows individuals to sit and have a debate in a non-hostile environment.
He would have students attempt to change his mind specifically on topics of “Wokeness Has Gone to Far” and “I am Pro-Choice.” Discussing controversial topics, defending the civility of discussion, and leaving both sides to have new perspectives to consider are the main goals of “Change My Mind.”
Destiny announced his appearance in advance to mitigate bad press of him taking advantage of unprepared college students–as the phrase “Change My Mind” has its fair share of negative connotations in the political landscape.
When reached for comment, BridgeTexas stated that the event “went well. We had pretty good attraction and it helped our org gain some attention. We had several people reach out to us interested in our org after the event.” Additionally, they “feel that the conversations were good and mostly civil. The stream topped at around 10,000 viewers and we had 10-30 students around the table throughout the day.”
Author’s opinion
Although Destiny is left leaning, he emphasizes the need for civil discussions on college campuses. In a time of political division and utter absolutism on both sides, events such as this serve the purpose of promoting civil stability for individuals with diverse ideologies to find common ground through disagreements. Destiny’s event is an amiable way to heal the divide and detach ourselves from the extremism of our self-imposing ideologies.
Destiny held conversations in both conservative and liberal viewpoints without being a hardliner for either side. Despite a few minor incidents of students who were put off by the event, Destiny managed to bridge divides and create meaningful conversations with people of opposing ideologies. As a result, the event was an overall success and seemed to have met its purpose.
For more of Destiny’s upcoming events and digital content, visit his Instagram, YouTube, website, and merch store.
