[UPDATE: Well, apparently, fsmdude has finally removed his videos, but not because YouTube required him to do so (which is a sad fact). He says that he did so because he was afraid someone might find his address and threaten physical violence. It's sad it came to that, but what's even more sad is the YouTube would not listen to all of the many flaggings that we Catholics did on his videos.]
In my email today, I received a report about a user on YouTube, under the name/channel "fsmdude," who has posted many videos showing the blatant desecration of the Holy Eucharist (whether or not the hosts he is using are consecrated, it is a patently hateful thing to do). He has posted these videos (now more than 40, doing such things to the Host as throwing it off a mountain, shooting it with a nail gun, boiling it, etc.), and many Catholics (myself included) have flagged them and complained to YouTube, but they are not being removed.
The problem here is that YouTube, in it's rules and regulations, stipulates that videos that are meant to offend or are racist/hate videos, will be removed. I find it surprising that many videos which make fun of or portray Muslims in a bad light are removed, while YouTube is seemingly ignoring the plea of thousands of Catholics to remove the sickening videos of fsmdude.
The email I received contained a plan of action (which doesn't take much of your time, but is worth doing) for helping the cause to get these disgusting and offensive videos removed from YouTube. I have added a couple things I did as well:
- Go to fsmdude's YouTube channel, and open his videos, then click the 'Flag' button and choose the "Hateful or Abusive Content" option. Then click the "Poor" one-star rating. While this gives his videos more views (which this guy is probably after), it also shows YouTube that people don't like them.
- Call YouTube (owned by Google) at [UPDATED – phone number correction] 650-253-0000 (press '0' to get the operator). Politely but firmly tell the person answering the phone that you are upset about the desecration videos posted by the user "fsmdude." Ask them to remove the videos and never allow videos of such a nature again.
- Send a fax to YouTube (owned by Google) at 650-253-0001, stating the same thing you said when you called.
- Let your friends and family know about this action plan, and pray that these videos are removed.
From the email:
God is sovereign and in control, but we are called to do our part. If you happen to watch any of these videos, remember that Christ clothed himself with the sins of humanity (every sin). He who knew no sin, became sin for us. Clothed with the sin of humanity he still did not turn or hide his face from the Father. He never doubted the mercy of God, nor should we. He nailed that temptation to the cross when he said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."
We cannot stand by and watch injustices such as this occur. We must be moved by our love for the Church and for Christ to do what is right and stand up in the face of lies and injustice—especially when these attacks are against the root of our faith!