Michael Beyer

Michael 'Mike from PA' Beyer

Prolific couch-beater Michael from Penn State is a well-known beta male in the Twitch streaming space. In recent years, Mike has resigned himself to life as an extra testicle for Hasan Piker, streaming strictly to gobble up Hasan's viewers whenever he is offline. Much like the socialists he idolizes, Mike is a parasite. He briefly attended law school, after which he never passed the bar.

nathanYikes

On stream appearances with Destiny

First Appearance

Mike's first conversationwith Destiny occurred on August 6th, 2019. Over the course of the conversation Destiny and Mike engaged in a deep discussion covering electoral politics, policy and the healthcare system. The response to Mike's first appearance was generally positive as he managed to have a thoughtful discussion over polling and the American healthcare system.

Second Appearance

Mike's second conversationwith Destiny occurred on August 7th, 2019. This conversation was much more contentious compared to Mike and Destiny's initial discussion.

The debate centered on economic and environmental regulations and their impact on developing countries. Destiny argued that first-world countries often impose stringent regulations on developing nations, which he sees as hypocritical since developed nations historically polluted heavily during their industrialization phase. Mike contended that this is a nuanced issue, suggesting that merely placing environmental restrictions on developing countries isn't sufficient. He argued for more comprehensive measures, such as substantial financial transfers and development subsidies, to help these countries adhere to environmental standards without compromising their growth.

The discussion also delved into the topic of multilateral trade agreements, specifically focusing on how these agreements can unfairly benefit corporations at the expense of labor and environmental standards. Destiny brings up that economic shifts from manufacturing to service-based jobs in the U.S. generally have a positive impact. Mike argued that this shift has led to growing income inequality and is not inherently beneficial.

Both seemed to agree, at least in part, that trade agreements could play a role in enforcing labor and environmental standards. However, they differed in how effective or ethical this role was, with Destiny being more open to the utility of these agreements and Mike more critical of their real-world impacts.

Third Appearance

Mike's third conversationwith Destiny occurred on August 18th, 2019. This conversation was even more contentious than the prior two debates.

The debate centered on the topic of stock buybacks, particularly questioning whether Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) is economically illiterate for criticizing them. Destiny argued that AOC's comparisons between stock buybacks and R&D expenditures are not directly related, while Mike defended the point that both come from the same pool of money. Destiny contended that companies won't buy back stock if there are profitable investments to be made in R&D, suggesting that doing so doesn't necessarily detract from innovation. Mike argued that this behavior could be influenced by the self-interest of executives rather than the company's well-being.

A historical discussion then arose, with Mike pointing out that stock buybacks were not common until the Reagan era, linking the practice to increased income inequality and imbalances between executive and worker pay. Destiny countered that multiple factors contributed to the economic growth post-World War II, and attributing it solely to the absence of stock buybacks is misleading.

Eventually, both debaters acknowledged the need for increased minimum wages and stronger unions but still disagreed on the role stock buybacks play in economic inequality. Destiny argued that they are merely a symptom, not a cause, of broader issues.

Fourth Appearance

Mike's fourth conversationwith Destiny occurred on August 18th, 2019. The cracks in the foundation of Destiny and Mike's relationship begin to show at this point, with Destiny ending the conversation by stating "I'm on the fence about whether or not you're a tankie". The conversation occurred on Mike's channel.

Mike and Destiny engaged in a debate covering various topics, such as stock buybacks once again, political institutions, and democratic socialism.

Mike argued that addressing issues like stock buybacks is part of a larger effort to reduce inequality. Destiny questioned if stock buybacks would be bad in an ideal world where workers are well-compensated. The two also discussed the influence of political appointees on institutions like the EPA and the FBI, with Destiny warning against undermining these institutions. Mike insists they are not entirely independent and can be influenced by political appointments.

They also debated the merits and drawbacks of the electoral college versus popular vote systems. Mike argued for a more democratic system, while Destiny suggested that the electoral college serves a purpose.

Both touched on issues like gerrymandering, the role of the Supreme Court, and the potential dangers of populism. Mike leaned toward technocratic solutions, while Destiny remained adamant in cautioning against undermining existing, essential, institutions.

Fifth Appearance

Mike's fifth conversationwith Destiny occurred on August 19th, 2019.

The debate centered on the economic literacy of AOC, specifically her opinions on stock buybacks and research & development (R&D) spending by companies. Destiny suggested that economic rationality doesn't mean actors have perfect information but that they make what they believe to be optimal choices based on the information available to them. Destiny also emphasized the need for more empirical evidence to definitively say whether stock buybacks have a long-term negative impact on companies and their level of investment in R&D. Mike was critical of the practice of stock buybacks, agreeing with AOC's viewpoint. He argued that stock buybacks serve to inflate stock prices, primarily benefiting CEOs whose pay is often tied to stock performance. He suggests that this focus on stock buybacks diverts funds from other important areas like R&D. Mike challenges the notion that the current economic system is optimal or rational, pointing to how CEOs may have interests that don't align with the long-term health of their companies.

Of note, the broader DGG community was rather unhappy with his treatment toward an undergraduate student who sat in on the call, and his general rudeness during the call.

Mike calls Destiny a "useful idiot" for the Right

On September 6, 2019 Mike, seemingly unhappy with Destiny's treatment of the "far left", states in a twitch clip that Destiny's actions have made him a "useful idiot" for the right.

Sixth Appearance

Mike's Sixth conversationwith Destiny occurred on October 16th, 2019(Mike also became a partnered streamer the same day). The conversation was hosted on the Big Brain Podcast. Notable participants in the conversation included Destiny, Mike, Actual Jake(someone make a wiki page for this moron please), MindWaves, and Bastiat.

Several weaselly moments from Mike can be found throughout the podcast:

• The first topic was regarding a pro Hearthstone player being fired and having his award money taken by Blizzard, because he(and two broadcasters) had come out in support of the Hong Kong protests. Destiny stated this was fairly standard for Blizzard, but acknowledged they were in a very tough position. He went on to say while we would like to see the company take the side of Hong Kong, it would be at the cost of their Chinese market, so their actions are not too surprising. Mike started off his position by stating that we "should not succumb to pundit brain", and that making observations about the economic interest of Blizzard and "leaving it at that" is not the correct position to take. Mike went on to say that allowing China to take such actions would create a scary precedent, and went on to push his critique to capitalism and neoliberalism for forcing the company into this position. He concluded by saying it is "our responsibility as consumers to put the pain to Blizzard." Mike's first weasel moment can be found here, as despite this impassioned speech, Mike still said he was "on the fence" about who is right or wrong during the protests.

• Mike states "I support the right to protest, and any time I see an authoritarian government stepping on the right to protest, I don't need to know what the protest is about to defend them..." Destiny then asks Mike if he would defend against James Damore's firing for his memo "about how women are biologically inferior to men." Mike refused to acknowledge this as a form of protest, nor the parallel between an individual exercising their free speech in both cases. Destiny is incredulous at this, and points out the irony in Mike willing to "shit hardcore on Blizzard for buckling to China over financial interests", yet is too scared to take a position on the protests. After further pushing, Destiny claims that Mike is only taking this position to take a "cheap shot at capitalism".

• The second topic was Trump's impeachment. Mike was adamant that "neolibs" and moderate democrats were at fault for being so hesitant to want to impeach Trump despite all his corrupt actions. He also claimed that the only reason Destiny was now on board for impeachment was because Nancy Pelosi signaled to other Democrats that it may be a good idea. Destiny stated that Mike was being fantastical, stating that Pelosi would never do something that the electorate didn't want, to which Mike responded Pelosi was clueless and agreed that she was a "dumb old women."

• Mike claimed that "Bernie and Warren are doing great, the progressives are going to win the nomination"(they did not).

• Mike claimed that the Democrats "rolled over" and allowed(i.e. didn't filibuster or oppose the nomination) David Baer to be appointed. Destiny took issue with this claim and responded that it would have been near impossible for the Democrats to filibuster when the nuclear option had been triggered in the Senate, and asked Mike how they could have opposed it. Mike then goes on to "gish gallop a million points", and asked Mike multiple times again how he thinks the Democrats could have stopped the nomination, when they didn't have a majority in the Senate. Mike responds they could have stopped all legislative business, to which destiny was incredulous and began shouting at Mike to explain how. It is at this point that Destiny is certain Mike does not know what the Nuclear option is, and calmly explains to Mike that it means "the filibuster does not work anymore." Mike eventually comes to the conclusion(likely in real time) that the Democrats should have filibustered the budget in order to stop the attorney general nomination.

Seventh Appearance

Mike's Seventh conversationwith Destiny occurred on November 21st, 2019. This was a three hour long conversation which ultimately cemented the two streamer's disdain towards one another.

The video begins with Destiny reacting to Mike's response to a conversation between Destiny and David Pakman regarding the coupe in Bolivia. It was at around this time that the lefty arc was in full swing, and Destiny's patience for those he perceived to be a "commie" or "chapo poster" was worn thin(in fact he bans one of those individuals 3 minutes into the video).

Destiny begins the call by saying he'd like to go over Mike's conversation with MindWaves, a conversation that Destiny had prepared extensive notes for. The conversation starts off cordial enough, with Destiny positing the question to Mike: "Is it possible for an individual to not be racist/sexist, but still partake in a racist/sexist system?" Mike states it is certainly possible, and goes on to say "while personal racism is objectionable, it is not as important as structural racism". Destiny then asks Mike to expand on his take that "all cops are racist". Mike denies that he ever said this, at which point Destiny cites a quote taken directly from Mike's conversation with MindWaves in which he stated "Police officers are racist, just by virtue of being a police officer you are partaking in a racist system." Mike then walks back his statement, hesitantly, and agrees with Destiny that "not all cops are racist".

The conversation continues, and eventually Destiny points out that Mike's chat seems to think that "every single cop is participatory in a horrendous criminal justice system, that is necessarily racist, and that all of them should quit." Destiny then points out to Mike that this seems contradictory with his previously stated position all cops are not racist. Destiny then describes a hypothetical of a non-racist cop who works in a non-racist precinct, and asks Mike if that individual should quit. Mike does not answer the hypothetical initially, and instead attempts to critique it as unrealistic. When Mike does eventually answer the hypothetical he states that the officer should quit the force, even if it would be to the detriment to his wife and children.

Mike then makes the point that if a black motorist broke down in any 100% white precinct/one with no historical racism in the United States, that they would almost definitely experience some form of racism. Destiny points out that this position is contradictory to his earlier claim that not all cops are racist. Again, Mike does not directly answer the question(if all cops are racist), and instead begins to explain "the talk" black parents give to their children regarding police officers. Destiny cuts Mike off, and points out that Mike's responses have been tepid/lukewarm compared to the responses he is seeing in Mike's own chat. Mike once again does not respond directly to the question, and instead goes on the recite Martin Luther King's "riot's are the language of the unheard" quote.

Destiny tells Mike that "almost every single answer you've given me has been contradictory to what you said in the MindWaves conversation."At this point, Destiny and Mike run through the list of timestamped notes Destiny had made from the MindWaves/Mike conversation, and even go on to discuss a few hot button issues at the time including the N-Word drama, and Bolivia. Destiny's preparation of timestamped links to pin Mike down on, coupled with Mike's general slipperiness and tendency to contradict himself in the topics that followed, solidified his appearance as a "dishonest fucking snake" in the eyes of Destiny and the broader DGG community.

Notable weaselly instances from Mike in the conversation include:

• "If someone critiques you (MindWaves) for being sexist, it doesn't mean that you have to take it personally." Mike goes on to claim he never called MindWaves sexist. Destiny then pulls a timestamped link to Mike's conversation with MindWaves, in which MindWaves asks "Am I Sexist?" and Mike states "Well if you look at your body of work, there's a gender balance problem..." Mike maintained this was not an accusation of sexism. It is worthwhile to note that Mike was only defending this position in an attempt to stan Badbunny, because MindWaves refused to invite her onto his podcast due to her abrasive behavior.

• When Destiny brought up the point that the best way to apply pressure to China was through multilateral trade agreements. Mike was skeptical of the efficacy of this tactic, implied that allowing China to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) was a mistake (despite the fact that in order to bring WTO suits against China, they need to be a member of the organization), and then pivoted to some point about "Neoliberals thought opening markets to China 10 years ago would lead to social and political freedom..." Destiny noticed this pivot in real time, and questioned what any of those statements had to do with multilateral trade agreements.

• Framed the N-Word Debate as a normal conversation that devolved into "a bunch of white people yelling about how it's okay to use the n-word in private", when it was in fact Destiny getting ambushed by two black people who were very excited to have that particular conversation.

• Claimed that fascism doesn't work because it "always ends up in ruins, and makes a lot of enemies", to which Destiny replied: "That's strange; you could apply that same definition to a lot of socialist countries." Shortly afterwards, Mike claimed that Destiny stated "Ultimately, you're saying that socialism never works, as if that's an argument against the platform I'm arguing for..."

• Claimed that the 9 million people that die every year under capitalism is the same as some of the famines that occurred under the USSR.. He then claimed this was not tankie propaganda.

Eighth Appearance

Mike's Eighth conversationwith Destiny occurred on March 10th, 2020. This was the last direct conversation Destiny and Mike had on stream with one another.

Mike Today

Modern day Mike(left) at twitch con with Keffals

Today, Mike has become a mere shadow(both in personality and appearance) of whatever little man there initially was when he first interacted with Destiny. From a fiery-eyed individual with an undeniable passion for politics to a hollow, soulless man, scrounging for what scraps he can take from the online left.

Mike has traded in his passion for debate and engaging discussions to becoming a dedicated Hasanabi waiting room. Instead of debating individuals and participating in twitch panels that would revive the dying politics/debate space on the platform, Mike emulates the same lazy stream style of Hasan(consisting of reacting to CNN/Fox, banning "libs" in his chat, and eating). He will include Hasan in his stream title to bait in viewers, react to the same hot button topics that he may have seen on Hasan's stream or anticipates him reacting to, and then end his stream once Hasan goes online. Mike's stream schedule depends entirely upon when Hasan is offline, to the point where Mike had even streamed for extended hours during a "no-stream protest" Hasan had participated in..

Many have called modern day Mike a parasite or leech, as his channel exists solely to catch lost viewers from Hasan's channel. However, there has been some debate in the DGG world over whether that word adequately defines Mike's current arrangements. For something to truly be considered a parasite, it would require the organism to have some degree of impact on the well-being of it's host. Considering the rather sedentary and isolated streaming styles that both Hasan and Mike have adopted,the fact that Mike is deathly afraid of disagreeing with any of Hasan's talking points, and that Hasan has rarely allowed Mike onto his stream, it has been argued that Mike's relationship with Hasan is best comparable to Commensalism(aka the relationship a remora shares with a shark, or a bird with a tree). This is a relationship that persists purely to Mike's own benefit with no impact, positive or negative, to Hasan.

Perhaps the one saving grace despite all of modern day Mike's misgivings, is the fact that he eventually came to the realization of what a toxic individual Badbunny is. Something which a younger, much thinner Mike, would have benefited from realizing.

External Links

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