Some of you didn’t get the point of what I wrote about Joe Rogan.
In fact some of you seemed to misinterpret it willfully.
I am not a big fan of commanded apologies. The bluechecks have been ordering me to apologize basically since the first Dept. of Pandemia tweet. They didn’t like these much either.
I didn’t apologize for those, and I don’t plan to. I know what I was trying to say: not that the vaccines were poison or causing a Holocaust, but that the propaganda around them was (and is) despicable.
But that doesn’t mean no one should EVER apologize. The most important and holiest day in the Jewish year is Yom Kippur - the Day of Atonement. We speak the words to God, but God doesn’t need our apologies. I’m guessing God’s ego is pretty secure. We are apologizing to each other.
The n-word is out of bounds for white people, okay? I don’t want to hear about how you have black friends and they use it all the time. I don’t want to hear Germans using Holocaust references to make a point, even if I can. Some stuff is only available to the injured party. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this.
But I am not walking away from Rogan.
If he invited me on, I’d go. I can’t see into his heart, but from what I can see his apologies are sincere, and that’s what matters. He’s a comedian who has become the most important journalist in the world because our media outlets have failed so spectacularly. He didn’t ask for that responsibility, and I suspect he is only now understanding the pressure and stakes that go with it. The bluechecks hate him precisely because he is so powerful.
I’m not walking away from Rogan. I’m worried Rogan will feel forced to walk away from me and those of us trying to ask reasonable questions about the vaccines. And that would be a shame. I hope he doesn’t.
Why should Rogan apologize for using a word in a context of a discussion? If he used it against an individual or group of people in a derogatory way, then sure. But just saying a word is not a trigger for an apology in my thinking, if we are to keep a free speech society. But I'm old and think free speech is the corner stop of individual liberty.
I am confused. A few months ago a white woman put on an ape mask and threw eggs at a black man running for public office and that was acceptable behavior but Rogan should apologize for some remark in the past??? I only assume it was ok because there was no outrage from our elites. It is about Liberty and we are in the big fight!!!
Yup, It's simular to,.. The mask for the but not for me.. Only, the way Alex see it ut is based on skin color.. Isn't that the definition of Racist itself? Some can say a word based on thier skin color. Guess Alex thinks racism is OK for some people.. Based on the color of thier skin Of course.
Well, then again.. Isn't Alex Berenson a Democrat after all?
You hit the nail on the head, Chris. What Ales is postulating is racist, pure and simple. To base speech on the basis of skin color is as racist as , no worse, than just using derogatory comments about a persons skin color. Alex Berenson is expounding a racist philosophy of anti-free speech that is determined by a persons skin color. If you are white, you cannot say this. If you are dark skinned, you can say that. The "progressives" are attacking Rogan for past digressions, and they claim past "sins" will always define who you are. No room for changing your mind. You are forever tainted, and must be scorned. Berenson plays right into this philosophy, giving it credence where none is warranted. Joe Rogan took a knee to the "progessives" attacks, but Berenson is pandering to them.
Agreed, I wonder where Alex gets it from? Now He has a 2 strikes against him in in my mind.. First a an unwarranted and noy correct on Dr. Malone.
I think we get Alex B mixed up and think he is a conservative because of his stance on Vaccines.. Correct me if I am wrong Alex, aren't you a Democrat at heart? And if yes, well then it makes sense to me why one word can be banned today.. But only for a certain race..
My question to Alex is.. What is the 2nd word to go?
Don't get me wrong, I have no use for the word.
Isn't it funny how Joe is being attacked but all the other Democrats that have similar sins haven't been canceled.. I could name em but this list it way to long.
Don't forget - this is not news - Rogan's episodes have been all out on youtube for years and Spotify hired him knowing exactly who he is. This is nothing but a hit job and corporate media doesn't even hide that this is just because of his "covid missinformation"
More and more, Berenson’s liberal roots shine through. He still doesn’t understand the concept of freedoms.
If only *some* people can say certain words without repercussions, then there is no freedom of speech.
Why isn’t the Left trying to cancel the NYC mayor for calling white cops “crackers”? It was a way more egregious use of a racial epithet than what Rogan did, because the NYC mayor was actually directing the slur at someone, not just repeating a word.
Not true... full Democratic California liberal since I was a kid, marching with my parents against Viet Nam, and I only jumped ship in 2020. I don't think I'm tainted.
The reason some people are permitted to speak certain words while others aren't is the same reason why some people are permitted to go maskless while others are forced to mask while in the same room (Stacy Abrams, I'm looking your way...)
It's not about justice and it's not about health. It's about submission.
Freedom has limits. Classically, shouting FIRE in a crowded auditorium is incorrect, because it has a high probability of damage.
My parents taught me about this. My schoolteachers expanded on it. Life itself reminds us on occasion. There is nothing wrong in making a mistake, being reminded of it, and fixing that it does not happen again.
Unrestricted freedom to choose words still implies choice, which implies taking into consideration how the audience will feel about the words.
And remember that the epitome of unrestricted freedom is that which enables tumours to grow and kill.
Disclaimer: member of a split society and married into a family not of my birth nation.
you can never know your full audience when you speak on line - the person who made the n word compilation of Rogan became a member of the audience to slander him. it’s a form of large scale redemption for a lowly troll, stoking a fire of division that we know is unjustified.
People get thrown out of this country for racist comments. Oh, except for opposition politicians facing a peasant President, cos that is OK as a target. Anyway, who cares about South America LOL.
The Left’s favorite example of yelling “Fire” in a crowded theater as an already universally accepted “limit on free speech” is a straw man argument. The person who actually yelled fire in a theater tried to use the right to free speech as a defense, but what he did wasn’t really “speech” as much as it was “false reporting an emergency”. There are crimes that are committed utilizing speech, but that doesn’t mean the speech was about “ideas”. You also can’t make a credible threat to kill someone via speech, you can’t say to a bank teller, “this is a robbery”, etc.
When we’re not talking about speech used incidental to committing carefully defined crimes, there should be NO limits on speech. If you are going to accept limits, who do you suggest sets those limits?
So using a word is tantamount to lighting a fire; rather low expectations of the masses. Lets burn a few city blocks because someone used the word which can not be said.
limited oxygen to cells and local acidification lead to tumors - the fire analogy is weak, we have amazing fire defense systems now. somebody yells fire in a theater and i’ll probably start laughing.
i understand your revulsion at those who blather on about their rights, so please understand our revulsion at those who spinelessly and seemingly relatively thoughtlessly relinquish them. it does appear shortsighted. sometimes i think if American as a whole were to stand up to bullying corporate interests and to our lying politicians, it could then be said, as it is now mainly said about white racists, that these people, all of us, are obsessed with their rights, which is kind of what America was/should be about, and which, if we ALL were more obsessed, that would actually do more good in this country than all the race war subterfuge they’ve designed to contain and divide us. If we can stand up arm in arm, even as we say potentially hateful things to each other, then we might have a chance in hell of facing down the real demons of this emergent american hegemony in the world and over us as citizens. even if our day is done as a worthy leader in the world, it feels like the hill that we go down on should be one in which we fight tooth and nail the rising red tide, no? how sad to be told to be so obediently divided at the end…
We are facing similar issues here, except that the enemy are nothing more than the heirs (really) of Francisco Pizarro, and the slogan of "no racialism" has been twisted to protect those from the majority (Amerindian) and minority (Afroamerican) who only get admitted to the dining table by betraying their own.
Standing up arm in arm, and understanding that the unconscious repetition of worn-out epithets is not more than "letting off steam", this looks like something to support and shout for.
It is however a pity that the "real and present" danger of the covid conspiracy plays into the hands of the diabolical deceivers. May that not be so for much longer.
Point well made. I think what many discuss here, certainly me is simply the fact that in our democracy (-ies), in theory, the same laws and rules are supposed to apply consistently. Of course, we know this isn't the case, and hasn't been for a very, very long time. If you think I'm wrong, please do some research on laws forbidding "hate speech" (just how is it defined? who decides?), in many nations to question "The Holocaust" is punishable by prison. In many nations, including the USA, certain "protected classes" enjoy special treatment under the law, yet other laws, including Amendments, say the laws are to apply equally. Just how is this reconciled? Why is it a violation of a black's "civil rights" when a white assaults/kills him, but not the other way round? This, in a nutshell, is what I've complained about elsewhere. Alex claiming that words like "nigger" or "kike" are off limits is bulshit, unless one is claiming that some are more equal than others. Now I certainly am not saying blanket free speech. Certainly "fire" in the theater, or a Neo-Nazi reading "Mein Kampf" aloud in the local synaggue, etc. are restricted. The first because it's an incitement to riot or whatever, the second not because it is "hate speech" (although that is true many places) but more likely, because it would be an unwanted intruder trespassing upon private property. Our rights to speech are circumscribed many ways, but what race/religion/class we belong to should NOT be one of those, but in practice, it is.
Crowded theatre argument is bullshit. The theatre is owned. If the owner says you can yell anything you can. If he says you can't you can vacate the property.
If the owner's policy causes an actual harm, tort is in order.
None of this amounts to ANY generalized authority for govt to infringe free speech.
To be technical no one has a right to free speech per se. You have an absolute right to property you legitimately own. The unalienable property being your body.
So long as your body isn't on someone else's property you have a right to say any damned thing you want.
If it is on someone else's property you can say what they allow you to, or leave and say whatever you want.
DD is apparently not from the US. He has a different view of free speech. As many of our younger generations now do. Hate speech is protected. It is exactly the kind of speech that needs protecting. Who gets to decide otherwise? It is subjective. Alex is forgetting this. And the slippery slope.!
The limits I'm talking about are those we impose on OURSELVES, in consideration of the weaknesses or illusions of others.
One issue common to modern society is worship of the idea of the individual, which as a guidestone has quite a lot of defects, some yet to come home to roost (although some recent military victories might point out the general direction).
What I said about tumours is that they grow because the control mechanism does not operate as planned. The same thing happens in human communities.
Again, it's not about the "word", it's about not being on the right side of the establishment agenda. There are plenty of examples on the LEFT of using the "word" or dressing in "black face" and never having any repercussions. Former President Bill Clinton, Former Senator Byrd, Current Leader Trudeau, etc. The Double Standard is so blatantly obvious. It's NOT ABOUT THE "WORD" . It's the agenda and what side you are on that counts!
As I said in previous Stack....The attacks on Rogan have nothing to nothing to do with the "word". It's about castrating a public person who doesn't follow the Covid Vax Pharma Industrial complex tyranny. The deep State scans the histories of all Public personalities and if needed, "dirt" is brought forward to squash the decent. It's as simple as that...It's not about the "word", never has been.
(I hate calling them elites - I refer to them as elitists; one regarding other people as inferior because they lack power, wealth, or social status; back in the day elites were those very good at something that turned their talents to the good of society) Yeah, social, political, etc. elites. I hadn't gotten the book yet, because the price was still kinda high, but I am inspired to look for it again on your recommendation - thanks!
This is exactly correct. They will use anything against anybody to shut them up because they stand in the way of the GLORIOUS REVOLUTION.....sound familiar?
Ditto: "Some stuff is only available to the injured party." You've made a compelling argument that these folks are out to get Rogan; therefore, they're not complaining about the n-word because they've been "injured"; they're complaining because they know if they raise that particular issue nearly everyone, and especially nearly every white person, will back down. You're playing into their hands (which is something you usually manage to avoid). I think that's why people are pushing back at you on this particular issue. Rogan's apology did nothing other than provide the MSM the boilerplate so that, in every future story, they can say, "Rogan, the comedian-turned-podcaster, apologized for some of the things he said but . . ." I know you worked for The New York Times. 18 of my 31 years as a journalist were spent with The Associated Press. I know how the boilerplate wars are fought, and so should you.
Funny you mention that... my white daughter was threatened by fellow students when asked to read a portion of this out loud in the classroom. She was told that in no way should she pronounce this word out loud. Huh? And same daughter was at a Chris Brown concert and singing along when a pack of girls threatened her and her friends with violence if they didn't stop singing the lyrics. What kind of world have we become?
A black racist named--0bama who's fueled by his hate for white people---and is now looking to settle the score---big time. Have you seen any white people in U.S. TV commercials lately? He's begging for a race war--so he can dismantle the country he hates so much.
Aren't you over the top? Obama could care less about the race war...he has his big Martha's Vineyard house and tons of $$. I see plenty of white folks in TV commercials. C'mon...you can do better than this...
Swell. Poor guy stuck in MA winters on the Vineyard. Hawaii will be good for the winter months. I am sure Blackrock will have plenty of speaking opportunities in the islands to help pay for the Hawaii house...
Yeah I think personally I'd be less concerned about the people saying the 'n-word' and more concerned about the people still treating us like 'n-words.' But that's just me.
Case in point: my Dad could talk racist, on his Virginia farm. But he was aiding a local black family financially and other black people who needed help. I used to wish he would just stop talking like something he really wasn't. But calling him out on it never did any good. I learned to take the good and pray the bad would cease.
I had the same experience with my father-in-law. Could really talk the talk. Yet he took care of many black families for decades. He was a decent man at heart.
And why is The Rock sticking his nose into this? The Rock is now The Snowflake. Jesus all this false-virtue and virtue signalling is nauseating. At least we know this kind of dramatic fainting (with one eye open) is not correlated to the vaccine.
I won't back down or be intimidated by anybody or anything or any word I choose to say. I am so friggin' sick of this cowardly sniveling that goes on I could scream. Get some balls!! Stop groveling and stand up for free speech. Do you think our founding fathers would have behaved like this? How come words like "cracker" and "whitey" and even "Karen" are bandied about? All's fair in love and war. This is war.
The Rock (Pebble) is a coward and he moves which ever way the wind blows. The 'Pebble" along with another action 'hero'--John Cena are people who should be ignored going forward. Shameful.
Well, dark-skinned people’s derogatory words for lighter-skinned people should be 100% off limits as well, even in cultural songs, BUT THEY AREN’T. It’s the double standards that show the real nature of the beast.
Black privilege. I was called an N word lover by my white friends growing up in New England. I'm 69. Do I get any points for that? Of course not. And I should not. Even if slavery could be traced to my ancestry, gues what; I didnt participate and I dont owe anybody any reparations or even any apologies for nothin. White privilege my ass.
It's so weird...the things ya learn by curiosity alone. For instance, I thought 'cracker' meant the whiteness of a 'Saltine'...and did not realize it actually meant a White person 'cracking the whip' over his slaves. The first definition was funny to me...the second one...not so much. :\
Crackers were Florida cowboys. The whips were not associated with whipping slaves but making a threatening sound to move cattle about. Google "cracker cowboys of Florida" if you want to learn about this.
Having grown up in the South during integration - I can gaurantee you that "cracker" is the EXACT equivalent to the "n-word" when used in a comparable situation by a person who is black. Been there - experienced that.
"It has been suggested that white slave foremen in the antebellum South were called "crackers" owing to their practice of "cracking the whip" to drive and punish slaves.[16][17][18] Whips were also cracked over pack animals,[19][20] so "cracker" may have referred to whip-cracking more generally. According to An American Glossary (1912):[21]"
Yeah, but much earlier derogatory use had nothing to do with race, slavery, or whip cracking. It had more of a "poor white trash" connotation:
Benjamin Franklin, in his memoirs (1790), referred to "a race of runnagates and crackers, equally wild and savage as the Indians" who inhabit the "desert[ed] woods and mountains".
a 1766 letter to the Earl of Dartmouth which reads:[12]
I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode.
A 1783 pejorative use of crackers specified men who "descended from convicts that were transported from Great Britain to Virginia at different times, and inherit so much profligacy from their ancestors, that they are the most abandoned set of men on earth".[32]
And the connotations couldn't even have been that bad - after all, they had the "Atlanta Crackers" baseball team from 1901 to 1965.
So basically no more offensive than the "Cleveland Indians" or "Washington Redskins" used to be up until like, last week. But I suppose in 50 years we'll have to pretend that Clevelanders and Washingtonians were foaming-at-the-mouth racists up until the early 21st Century. <eye roll>
It's also worth adding that "white trash" was a term thought up by, of all people, Negro slaves, to deride the most backward uncouth specimens of the supposed master race.
i believe comedy is the way that our more difficult sensitivities can be fleshed out in a democratic society - otherwise someone decides and we are told what words to say and not, or the vampire castle phenomenon we have now compels us into a guilty compliance. we must never take aim at comedy or we are nearing the end. our sense of humor is a charitable reflex to difficulty. to complexity and insult. we NEED it.
EXACTLY. Alex, you should be standing up to the nonsense about "white folks can't ever utter this word, ever, under no circumstances." You accept that?!! I don't know that Joe ever used it in a derogatory way, and if he did that was definitely not cool. But if used as part of a larger discussion, that SHOULD be acceptable. You giving in to the "thou shalt never utter the N word" is you caving to nonsense.
Exactly what I just posted, if it's not an apology to a specific person it doesn't need to happen. And if it does need to happen it needs to be in a private setting not blasted out on Instagram.
I am German and I have used the Holocaust repeatedly to make the point that how the un-vax are being treated is akin to sewing a yellow star on the jacket and shipping them off to a camp ... just like what my German ancestors did many years ago. Do I approve of it? No. It is shameful. But I do not need you telling me what I can and cannot say to make my point. That is censorship all the same. Practice what you preach.
Agreed. I appreciate Alex for his work and tenacity but this was a bit "parental" in my opinion. Alex, perhaps being more proactive within the comments section and engaging commenters more may give you some insight to what they do feel.
"Parental" is exactly how the legacy media sees themselves: not the purveyors of objective news, but the ordained disseminators of how we must think, feel, act, and believe, and the arbiters of who is welcome in polite society and who must be destroyed.
Oh, and who should win elections. They're responsible for a lot of things.
Parental is a very accurate term, but kinda like Mommy Dearest. Even the “meteorologists” ( 🤣 ) are busy telling you to wear a hat. How about I’ll worry about my wardrobe and you just tell me the damn temperature?
Alex strikes me as seeing himself being above needing to respond to comments from his readers. That doesn't mean I don't value what he writes. I just understand that he sees himself on a different plane from the rest of us. Personally, I came for Alex. but have stuck around for the commenters. Y'all are the best thing about this stack.
In fairness to Alex, his Substack is already popular enough it would probably take a team of Alexes to read and respond. Speaking for myself, even to read in depth one or two articles such as this one, is a labor of an hour or more. I doubt Alex could even read all the traffic his site generates, much less respond, in all his waking hours.
I agree about the comments. Despite the occasional off-color rant of supernatural hardware who shall not be named 😃 oftentimes the comments are a richer source of intellectual stimulation than the admittedly highly variable article from the host. I have found this true of many similar low- or no- censorship sites.
Yes... I absolutely agree! When I see three or four of his posts hit my email inbox, I often think how will I get through all of this! I can appreciate how overwhelming it would be from his end to have all of that traffic coming through his various modes of communication while still being able to generate articles for us to read.
I also find the common section extremely useful and often learn more by reading all the comments and accessing the links contained therein. I just wish I had more time in the day to do it all!
Yeah... He seemed to take a beating after the whole Dr. Malone incident and I think maybe feeling backed into a corner he's put his claws out and dug in deep.
Putting ivermectin aside and the Dr Malone debacle, I wish Alex would dive deep into the early treatments and treatments in general because right now people like Alex and his investigative expertise will be very helpful since there's been such a breakdown between doctor/patient communications when it comes to how to treat COVID.
You are spot on with that....re: personal issues. It is nice to just have the facts please! And I think if Alex wants to insert personal situations, he has a wonderful opportunity to be part of the comments by engaging instead of doing entire posts.
He’s generally got his head screwed on correctly but on this particularly crucial issue of Rogan the totally out of context ‘nigger’ censorship he’s utterly shit the bed and soiled his reputation(pun intended) If I were him, given how much emphasis HE rightfully puts on total transparency and zero censorship for ALL humans, I’d be in damage control mode immediately and recant his hideous, hypocritical position!
Well in this thread, I'm certainly putting Alex to the test. Let's see what his limits on my speech are! I admire him overall but I have no qualms about calling him on his shit either.
Maybe it doesn't matter to him at all... maybe he's already had his mind made up. But there were some accusations and dictating in his post on how we should all be. I don't think he would like it if somebody had said "you can't comment on vaccines and their efficacy unless you're from the medical community." In fact I believe people have said that and Alex takes objection to that because he's following the data, and in my opinion he should take objection to that.
My point is is that he rarely engages with commenters in the moment and instead of writing another post with the assumption of how we all reacted or didn't react, maybe take the time and engage and get some answers that way.
Your point about only experts opining on their topics merits a bit of exploration. Certainly there is logic in that. But what's usually left unstated is that experts almost always have conflicts of interest: the need to maintain an image, whether of his employer, profession, associates or even just his own fragile ego, to promote an official narrative, and so on. Frankly, the (often legitimate) fear of losing one's friends, job, career and (in extremis) property, freedom and life, should always be factored in when weighing the truth of an "expert." It's not for nothing that (some) Judges are appointed for life and very hard to influence, that certain commissions are composed of the retired, and so on
Agreed! And I find oftentimes "experts" are rather narrow minded in the area of their expertise and limited in seeing the whole picture. That can be a strength in certain instances, but in talking about an overall and large situation, such as the pandemic with its public health objective, one "expert" leading the charge (i.e. Fauci) ignores so many other areas for a very narrow and quite frankly unattainable goal (zero infections). We are seeing that now play out in the overwhelming and negative impact among the youth, the elderly, and businesses, as well as every day, adults and the COVID fatigue I think that's impacting a majority of the people.
In my opinion, you don't have to have the alphabet soup of credentials behind your name in order to make useful and purposeful and meaningful comments and input, and I also don't think it's a prerequisite to be part of an ethnic or religious group either to comment.
Yes, and his paragraph that starts with "The n-word is off limits..." seems contrary to what this stack is all about.... freedom to comment and talk about all things! I don't think Alex (or anyone) should be saying what words are off limits or who can talk about what.
We need to exercise caution while using some known words that are emotive that some section of the public may find offensive, doing so does not limit our freedom of speech.
Talking about the holocaust I just feel another one may be in the offing if the lethality of these mRNA vaccines are unequivocally confirmed.
Unfortunately Israel may bear the brunt again being the nation that volunteered to be used as a model for the experimental jab and leading the way in the boosting race.
Sorry but who decides what is offensive or not? You? If you do not like what I said, be an adult and tell me why. I am not going to walk around eggshells compromising my thoughts and my beliefs because someone may be offended. I am disabled and people offend me all the time with stupid questions and blatant assumptions. I had to fight my whole life to make a stand about who I am. If someone is offended, they need to speak up. Let's have dialog and not censorship.
Here you go...this is what you had had in mind...wow...what a great quote. Here is all we need to know. If the #1 manual for agitation and protest says politically incorrect language is BS, then its BS!!
"To pander to those who have no stomach for straight language, and insist upon bland, non controversial sauces, is a waste of time... I do not propose to be trapped by tact at the expense of truth." -- Rules for Radicals - Saul Alinsky - 1971
Plenty of Israelis have used comparisons to the Holocaust to describe their feelings about the biofascism that their country has slid into and their horror that such a government should know better.
wow this is so interesting, the way one thing leads to another in culture and through advertising - are we like cattle marked with the brands of the propaganda the commercials plant in us?
I get it with the "macht frei" references. I get it that Rogan's use of the "n-word" is verboten b/c he's a white guy.
OK. White people have ceded the "n-word." White people cannot use the "n-word."
Please let me know if there are any words that are the exclusive vocabulary of white people, Asian people, etc.
Anyone in the public eye who rocks the boat risks his/her entire life dissected.
I just know that I sure as hell wouldn't want my entire life, career, financial stability, etc. judged by something I said in the past. Especially if it was a damned stupid something.
The concept that African Americans are so fragile and unable to cope to the word coming out of the mouth from anyone other than a fellow African American in the context of a conversation (not a direct insult to someone) seems to be an insult to African Americans. So it's up to white people to make sure that word is never ever said because of this? This is how you keep racism (or perceived racism) alive and well. IMHO
It’s not really about that. Sure it applies, but that’s not the point. The laws and social norms we have now that are purportedly there to “protect” minorities from hate also subtly subjugate them. They are constantly victims in the stories and are therefore portrayed as less than. This does in fact keep racism alive for the simple reason that they are never seen as being on the same playing field. They are either vilified or protected, but never just equal.
Actually yes, exactly. Literally saying, you are too poor, too dumb and basically too black to take care of basic things. It's beyond racist disguised as benevolence and protection.
You will note that Whoopie Goldberg is now free and clear. She will stay employed as did Joy "Beautiful Black(face,) Woman" Behar. BF Kimmel and Fito Lays Spokesman BF Fallon. His family gets to keep having lavish holidays. Funny how a letter by a name changes the hue and cry. "R" means cancellation and loss of career. "D" appears to mean "Doesn't matter -
I'm Black and I've been told by my east Asian and Mexican (and Cuban) friends to never use FOB, wetback or border hopper. They sometimes call each other those words, but it's insulting when someone outside of the ethnicity uses it.
It's common sense to me and wasn't that hard to wrap my head around.
What exactly is the point you made here, Sandra? If you followed the few comments I made about this subject, I don't have an issue with Rogan using "the word." His planet of the apes comment was worse. Anyway, my gripe about all this is the visceral reaction agains him apologizing as well as the backlash against Alex for making note of it.
What's hilarious about all this is that while a majorit of the comments are bashing Alex for their stance, what y'all don't realize is that Rogan agrees with him. He's extremely liberal and supports a CRT view of the world.
And my response was a direct answer to Rosie's question. Yes, non-Black "people of color" do have words they'd rather outsiders not use against them.
i don’t think it was an attack. you provided the context for Sandra to make an obvious observation that clarified for me the general issue with cancellation of Joe over past behavior. problem i’m realizing though rn is that maybe we already let that fly with metoo, so i guess we’re gonna keep airing our dirty laundry for a while until we tire of it or think it’s made the difference. we’ve just gotta make sure we know what we’re doing and not incorporate too much of this into our laws and government. we can do all this without canceling our constitution, no? thanks for your perspective. i’m wondering what words i wouldn’t want to be called now… seems like these days it’s more about what I wouldn’t want said about my group in general as opposed to any one word directed at me - when is white going to stop being an okay way to describe someone? i think white, black, etc can be useful but none of them is really ideal…
Just think for a minute. Joe Rogan is a comedian, has been around for 30 years. How hard is it to come up with just about anything you want to on him. Comedians walk the edge. That is there job.
If Joe Rogan was on his podcast and reading out loud a blog post for example, and the word is said in that blog post. Should he not say the word? Or to take it further, what if the blog post is specifically in support of that word only being used to remind people to not use it at all? Does he still have to self-sensor? I'm not trying to agitate, I'm honestly trying to get a beat on your point a little better.
Look upthread at the response to Sandra for my larger point. Usually people say n-word. I do and I'm Black. It's not a word of affection at all but many Black ppl delude themselves to make their jokes and lyrics seem okay.
The mob that's going after Rogan is NOT bashing him for using "the n-word." It's about CONTROLLING THE COVID NARRATIVE.
IT'S ABOUT CONTROLLING THE FREE-FLOW OF INFORMATION about so-called 'vaccines,' and the value of masks, and mandating behavior, and all the other high-handed government overreach that's been imposed on all of us.
If the mob hadn't found Rogan's past use of the "n-word," it would've found something else to use, and try to get Spotify to kick him off its platform.
The 'n-word' is NOT the issue. It's a red herring.
THAT is why we need to STOP FOCUSING on the "n-word."
I didn't see part one of this. I honestly don't give a sh-t about the n-word. I've lived in a world where I've been taught not even to think it much less say it, but then I turn on a Quentin Tarantino film or watch a black film and I'm taken aback to hear it at all, but it seems perfectly acceptable there. I'm more of a "context" kind of gal, so until I know the context, I really couldn't care less what words you use, and in this case, it's just something else to be thrown at Rogan to try to get him off the air because he frightens those in power. Full stop.
The irony here is Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson was defending Rogan until this montage surfaced, and then "The Rock" apologized and crumbled to dust, doing mea culpas until his knees wore out from all the groveling. THEN a compilation surfaced of "The Rock" doing racist Chinese impressions. Maybe the lesson we take from this is we're all insensitive idiots every now and then and that's nothing to "cancel" people over or even expect an apology for, other than "I was an idiot in the past. I should not have done that. I hope I'm wiser now. The end." Because we've all done it and the people with "agreeable" opinions can still do it and it gets brushed off.
So it's time to stop weaponizing language and just focus on ideas.
you cannot 'cancel' someone (which is personal hatred externalized) without hating yourself! Cancelling someone shows that you still have a serious self hatred issue inside. Now I'm not talking about walking away from someone in your life who disrespects or harms your ministry Jesus told more than one person to "get behind me satan". That is exactly the response Rogan should have here. They're trying to damage his "ministry", his God given gift, because they see that he is successful and they aren't! Pure jealousy and hatred of hearing the truth. Go live your own life and leave others alone if you don't like them.
I use the 'N'-word a lot, esp. when driving near others who are doing a malicious job of it.
My ire is directed at, I'm guessing, 99% of drivers who are WHITE.
Someone once said that 'Swearing is the laxative that purges the soul'. The 'N'-word is the most powerful invective I can dredge up to keep my blood pressure in check.
I actually think poor white trash is worse than that-which-can’t-be-said. And it doesn’t matter what color you are when I’m muttering poor white trash under my breath.
I'm retired and too old to be a limp-wristed ninny. I say what I want. I have a home library with plenty of mainstream books that use the 'N'-word, Samuel Clements among them. I'm wise enough to not get my @ss kicked.
I've said the n-word to students in the context of teaching about Mark Twain. Joe didn't call anyone an N word, if he was referencing it, I think that's ok.
This will bite your butt really hard at some point. Assuming you are not Black. Oh, hey, I choose as a White to capitalize Black. Yet many other people have literal rules to write only "white" - all lowercase. Just who then is designating someone unworthy by virtue of race? OMG how the worm has turned.
It really couldn't be more obvious. Im sick of everything being so.obvious when most people dont have a clue. I once thought it was gift now i feel like its a curse
😔 I have the same conversations with family members near daily. We are incredulous, then try to intellectualize things, then feel overwhelmed, rinse, repeat.
Prayers, exercise, and cute animal videos help greatly!
Yeah the idea that suddenly people 'discovered' these quotes is laughable. Attacking Rogan's covid views didn't work, so they switch tactics. Sort of like how when impeachment theater failed, the corona panic started.
Never complain. Never explain. The attack on Rogan was totally coordinated, funded, and orchestrated by a Marxist media group tied to a left wing SuperPac that gets money from Soros and other members of the party of Davos. This should be obvious to everyone. Rogan should never have apologized until he took the time to figure out what is really going on. Because if they can take him down, they can take down anyone. I’m not saying he was mistaken to ultimately offer an apology. But it should have been done in the context of the reality of a coordinated and funded attack.
Hahaha, you're a real piece of work. No one wants to hear about your hand-wringing moralism about words. We didn't misinterpret anything, we just didn't like it. I forgave you for Dr. Malone, and I was willing to hear you out further about Joe Rogan. Instead you double-down, so I'm done. Unsubscribed.
With Alex I see a pattern of doubling down when there are a thousand comments correcting him. Ego problem I guess. Still right a lot of the time but can't be trusted. In this case, it was all out of context. Rogan should never have apologized.
Test for racism: If you’re not equally offended when Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Lebron & every black entertainer uses the word then just look in the mirror: you’re it.
Why is Howard Stern aloud to be on the air? He literally wore black face and said the N word every other word in segments in the 90's. Oh that is right he is pro vaccine.
WINS. My own Racist as F... Litmus Test for Television Ads: "Does the commercial still get made if the character(s) are anything but WHITE?" This is fun to play. Your head will explode into birthday party confetti.
First I am a person who looks forward to your well thought out takes daily. However, as a black man I find your take ridiculous. Anyone can use a word in context. If you use words to defame another person that is something entirely different. But to apologize for the use of a word not directed at a black person is not an issue for me or for many of the black people close to me. As Black folks we don't own the word, maybe we own the hurt, but the word if properly used still belongs to everyone.
You’re acting like an idiot and as a journalist buried the lead, and you took the bait. The story is that this is a political hit job, and yet you spent many words virtue signaling how distasteful Joe’s words are.
Joe Rogan is free to say whatever he wants; nothing is “off limits” to anyone. That’s the whole idea of the marketplace of ideas and free speech. You’re entitled to say whatever you want, though you’re not entitled to the reaction you want. And if it ends up making everyone ignore you, then you reap what you sow.
Finally somebody brought up the WHY JOE ROGAN thought! To me, that is the lead here. Rogan is powerful and whoever takes him down gets his power. He is the victim of a SuperPac comprised of 3 brothers who operate within the entertainment industry and manage social media and strategies for the super rich and ultra leftists. It’s an election year, and adding “we got Rogan cancelled” to the credentials sure doesn’t hurt the bottom line. It also reminds the world that the snowflake mentality goes after anyone who threatens the narrative regardless of their political status. Rogan isn’t afraid to go off the rails. Let’s hope he stays that way.
And this thread on use of words? Remember, he who controls the language controls the behavior.
"The n-word is out of bounds for white people, okay? I don’t want to hear about how you have black friends and they use it all the time. I don’t want to hear Germans using Holocaust references to make a point, even if I can. Some stuff is only available to the injured party. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this."
Nope. Don't care. You are wrong in principle: you do not get to define, in a public setting or in a private setting of one's own that one shares voluntarily with others, what one can or cannot say. Your manner of thinking is a vector for weaponization of language. Correct yourself.
He was referring to the word. He wasn't using it as a slur. You can even tell from the limited context if you listen carefully. But I have a feeling you don't care.
Some of us? Come on, appears damn near all of us disagreed with your attempt at distancing yourself and self gratification of your wokeness around a comedian saying something that you find offensive and insensitive that at the time was a joke. Given the comments, why not just say “Damn I got that wrong folks, my bad!”
Or acknowledge that maybe not everybody feels the same way which is totally fine as it's a free country for open opinions, which is what Alex in part is pushing.
In the context of a Marxist, totalitarian movement to crush all opposition, any reference to Yom Kippur or moral behavior required by God is particularly misplaced. I'm afraid you showed your true colors, Alex. You should have stood for freedom. Instead, you chose to throw him under the bus.
I remember when the thought police came after Tucker Carlson for a few things he said ten years ago. Tucker refused to apologize for what he said and is still standing strong with the highest rated political talk show on TV. He even said in an opening monologue that you should NEVER apologize to the MOB who want to cancel you.
It's easy to say, but if I ever find myself in that often-quoted Solzhenitsyn passage, I do not intend to cower in my "lair," rather I plan to be a man (perhaps the only one?) waiting patiently in the shadows with whatever weapons are at hand.
100% agree but he seems like a really genuine guy that wholeheartedly is upset that people are offended even if they’re not and just using it to hurt him. He seems to nice to understand what’s really happening.
I listened and I totally didn’t think he apologized per se…he owned what he said but also explained the context. I’m very sensitive to offensive talk/thoughts and I’ve never once thought of Rogan as being racist in the least. I was hoping some of Joe’s minority friends would come out and support him…but everyone is afraid to be canceled apparently. It’s such a bully world we live in…everyone is sensitive and enough people don’t have “Fuck me” money. Meaning I can say or do anything I want and if people stop listening that’s fuck me money. Joe’s fan base will follow him…if Spotify terminates him I guess I’ll leave Spotify. Big deal. I left Facebook in 2020 for deleting some of my comments and apparently I wasn’t alone. As I write this I realize I’m part of the “anti cancel” culture as evidenced by my canceling. 🙃
That's a great attitude, NurseLaura. While I'm not a big name in media, no matter what my ego says, I'm retired which is a version of "Fuck You Money" after all, even if not nine figures. 🤑 I too quit Facebook and most other social(ist) media years ago due to actual or perceived censorship. I haven't (yet) left here (or been booted) but the relationship is "at will" I believe is the legal term. Even as individuals, we have the power to "cancel" relationships that are not in our interests.
Rogan should move on from this by steering into it. He should have the talking heads of the establishment on. He should invite them to his platform to explain WHY! the establishment is right and the independent thinkers are wrong. He should invite representatives from each side on to speak to each other. The establishment will not accept that invitation because they know they can’t speak for 3 hours at a time in an environment they cannot script and control. I hope he figures that out and does not shy away from this.
So, would it be bad for a black guy to make a joke about seeing Deliverance in West Virginia? I'm so confused about all of these rules about what can be said and not said.
Yes, it's still great to call people "hill billies". I bought a sign at a Meijer's store that reads "PARKING FOR HILLBILLIES ONLY". I did it to hang on my garage because a guy on the next street, a Pollock, loved to make insulting remarks about "hillbillies". That's how I handled it.
Your condescending tone towards your readers and subscribers (and in general I might add, although that's more of a personal view) will definitely not help get your points across.
"Some stuff is only available to the injured party. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this." - Really? Interesting way to censor. Why can't you believe we talk about this...I thought the whole point was talking about...well, everything.
The n word? Don’t be a cuck. Alex you may need to read the room and stop clutching your pearls. Not only is your audience done with medical tyranny, but they may also be done with the white guilt narrative.
I don’t think it’s about his audience at this point. This is about creating a ‘firestorm’ to justify his removal. The n-word is the pretext the real reason is he is a huge wrench in the works of TPTB.
He’s a wrench in the works of TPTB only as long as he’s willing to stand up to them. If he mistakenly tries to mollify the mob by “doing better” as he has promised them, he’ll end up like Drudge. Irrelevant.
“He’s a comedian who has become the most important journalist in the world”
This is the problem. I have listened to Rogan many times. Never once have I done so because he’s a so-called journalist. I listen because he’s extremely curious, authentic and very entertaining. I know we are not allowed to have fun any more, but the left’s goal is to suck all the joy out of life. He says he regrets what he said. That’s more than enough for me.
I listen to Joe - sometimes... because of the guests he has and the fact that he lets them present their ideas... not without challenge, but with reality.
The problem is that word is used in everyday use by some of the population, and is sold to the public. I find it odd that a select group of people can say and use the word to make money for themselves, but when a person that isn't a part of that group sings the same lyrics and is alienated and chastised.
If the word is a no-go, it shouldn't be allowed to make a profit from. I don't condone the use of the word in any realm.
Did anyone see the Mayor of NYC calling white people "crackers"? Of course that is "DIFFERENT" though.
Look into the group that brought forth the Rogan clip, very interesting money games there.
No, I think you're missing the point. "The n-word is out of bounds for white people, okay?" Bull.
That's how these wars are lost, by ceding ground to irrational people.
The n-word is out of bounds for anyone if it's being employed as a slur or an insult. Otherwise, it's just another word. That should be the starting premise. Period.
Alex, You gained a large portion of your audience (myself included) from your appearances on Rogan. You must realize that he is being vilified specifically because he has offered his platform to you and others who speak out against the establishment narrative. The timing of the attack on him proves that. As such, he deserves nothing less than your gratitude and full support while he defends that same platform from the corporate funded woke mob. Expecting him to make a second apology after he's already caved and apologized is more like kicking him when he's already on the ground out of your own fear of the people who put him there making you next. For those reasons, the first post was off putting. Part 2 didn't improve the situation as you asserted that anyone who disagreed with your sentiment, either were too dim-witted to understand it, or were willfully misinterpreting it. Perhaps reassess your own take, and read the room before you lose your audience due to your having insulted them. Rogan apologizes again only after Hunter & Joe Biden both make their apologies for using the n-word on numerous occasions.
Rogan's use of the world was all based on repeating, quoting already spoken statements and lyrics verbatim. There is not a single instance, that I'm aware of, where he used the world as an actual slur.
Alex is on a major virtue signaling campaign here, hoping to work his way back into the good graces of his past circles of "friends" after they all realize how right he was about COVID and the vaccines. Being kicked out of the club has obviously been a difficult ordeal for him and I suppose you have to allow a man his dreams of reconciliation no matter how completely anti-rational and actually racist (the socially accepted kind) the positions he must assume to do so are.
I don't think he's full left wing in his views. I think he holds views on both sides, but the problem is he is unprincipled in his thinking, which means it's more or less arbitrary which side he'll end up on from one topic to another.
Alex does not respect the "bluecheck circle": he ridicules and taunts them. None of them could do what he's done with this substack account. They regurgitate the corporate narrative, whereas Alex prefers actual thought, investigation and analysis. His takedowns of Molly Jong-fast, Apoorva Mandavilli, and Derek Thompson (who dubbed him "The Pandemic's Wrongest Man") are delightful to read and, I suspect, were delightful to write.
Intent and context when using any potentially offensive language should be part of the audience’s evaluation. Additionally being offended is completely subjective and variable. No one has the right not to be offended. Everyone has the God given right of free speech.
So now we have a protected class of people who dictate the rules of what we can say in any context in spite of the fact they use the same verbiage among themselves? Talk about censorship! Someone please explain the justification for this to me. I’m open to be informed.
The concept of unutterable words is bizarre to me, and it is especially appalling in the way it is selectively wielded as a tool of destruction by rank hypocrites with respect to this word. It has been pushed beyond workable limits, to the point a white person can't safely utter the word even if asked to read the entire dictionary out loud. (I remember a dust-up years ago where a professor or politician used the word niggardly properly and was fired because some hypersensitive ignoramus took offense, even though that word is etymologically different than and has no relationship to the dreaded N word, other than an unfortunate similarity in phonetic pronunciation).
Its such a horrific and unspeakable word that we are all dancing around it and won't even type it. That is lunacy. And we act squeamishly, not because we find it so incomprehensibly morally repugnant to say the word in all situations and all contexts (although virtue signalers dutifully rank it among the most grievous, heinous things possible), but because we know it is a political third-rail that is indefensible. There is nothing sane about this issue.
Ya you still don't get it. He shouldn't have to apologize now. Especially since the video was doctored to take everything out of context. You have one foot in and one foot out of establishment journalism. The media/state is truly the enemy of the people and we need actual strong alternative voices. You had the potential to be one of those voice but by going against Rogan and Robert Malone it is clear you don't have the gumption to go all in.
Exactly. The only reason “Kike “is at a bounce for everybody is because the people offended by it ,rightfully so ,refuse to give it any kind of imprimatur of acceptability. Black people want to use the word in just about every sentence and then act all crazed and hurt when they hear it come out of a white man’s mouth is completely unacceptable. if they want to live in that segregated a society then let’s return to Jim Crow back and bring back separate but equal , otherwise this whole idea of language by race is absurd.
Any Black person that uses that word (not as a derogatory word) and has a problem with a white person using it in the same manner is the exact definition of what a racist is. In other words, its a trap! Hypocrisy
Put a finer point on this, please: The n-word should be out of bounds for EVERYONE. Know any other word supposedly adopted for “empowerment” by the target of the insult? Do progressive Jews refer to each other as “my Kike!” or women en masse empowering themselves by referring to each other with affection as “cunt sister!” No. EVERYONE needs to stamp out these insults together as a people. We the People. Humanity.
Haha. Again it’s all about context! It’s not just letters formed into a word…it’s the meaning behind the word. And I’m totally fine if I’m acting like a bitch and you call me one! I own it. People need thicker skin!!! Uggggg.
At the end of the day, the apologies are BS and I'm tired of this celebrity or that public figure reading an apology script for something that was said under a different context (or even regardless of why) 5, 10, or 20 years ago. Especially people who are comics - you cannot censor comedy if you want people to be honest, particularly those who are "equal opportunity offenders'. Either laugh or move along. The self righteousness has to go.
Folks, I don't agree with Alex or Rogan on everything and that's ok. And I sure don't expect them to agree with me all the time either. Hell my wife doesn't agree with me 30% (+?) of the time. Free speech needs MORE people to support it and we need many more AB and JR voices! Move on from the N-word debate and on to the important one - free speech for everyone.
Alex falling for the media's bait, as if people actually cared about that word. The media *says* people care, but as far as i can see they (the media) only says so when it's convenient to whatever story they're trying to spin.
The reality is nobody said anything about those clips before because nobody gives a shit about it, he's not a racist and everyone knows and understands it, he shouldn't have to apologize because everyone understands the context behind it, and Alex coming down all outrage and snowflakey about it is a bit disappointing
Puhleeeeeeze…. It’s an unmitigated disaster that Berenson himself has chosen to kow-tow to the radical Left agenda especially considering HE’S their enemy just as much as Rogan!
Alex should be the one profusely apologizing for this utter diarrhea he’s barfing at Rogan!
Definitely, when i saw the subject line "On Joe Rogan" i don't know what i was expecting, but i was surprised for sure when i started reading and realized what was actually happening -namely Alex pretending he doesn't understand what's really going on.
Problem is he's throwing Joe under the bus (for no reason) as if Joe had done the same to him after taking heat for hosting him on his show. Again, disappointing to say the least
Let's get real, folks. People are DYING from the vaccines and we're arguing over a word!! Can't you see that the entire Joe "exposure" thing about a word was deliberately designed to discredit anyone who has talked to him? "They" are desperate to shut down dialogue. Please don't fall for it.
I disagree with you on "the n-word is out of bounds for white people". You are simply stating this as a given with no argument to back it up. This is an appeal to societal convention and authority with no substance. It is the same as when a person says "wear a mask" as a complete non-sequitur with no data or knowledge apart from "the experts said so". There is, to my ears, an implied "shut up, don't question it, you're a bad person if you question it" at the end of this kind of statement that is antithetical to reasoned discourse and is the exact problem you've been dealing with for the last two years.
I don't think that it is remotely sensible for a modern society to permit people of certain skin tones to say certain words and not others. It's such an obviously absurd notion when phrased that way, but people associate some terrible acts in history with words and try to construct convoluted narratives to support this discrimination. The word has power because of society's obsessions with it, not the inherent history itself. It does not help anyone heal, it is not you atoning, it is not remotely useful to perform this moral grandstanding. I'd like to see us move on from this.
I respect you and your work Mr. Berenson and don't mean this to come off as an attack. It's just something that I feel strongly about, and I wonder whether you've really examined your views on the topic through a critical lens. If so, and this is your conclusion, so be it, we can agree to disagree. I understand my viewpoint is a minority one, but I happen to think it's the much more principled one. It is not to be confused with support for deliberately insulting, offending, or harming people; to me, this is strictly a question of whether societal convention should systematically assign differing verbal privileges to people based on skin color, race, and/or ethnicity. I believe that is fundamentally wrong no matter the history.
Alex, I don't think it's necessary to make a point, at least not with that many words, about something he said years ago. I'd leave it at "perhaps, like all of us, he made mistakes years ago." As you rightly point out, he's being attacked over this for other reasons. He needs our support.
I have not listened to the podcast in which Joe Rogan used the n word. I did read that he said that he only used because he was repeating a statement someone else made. In my mind, that’s totally different than a white person just arbitrarily throwing the word out to insult a race of people (btw I am African-American). In his trial Jussie Smollet took umbrage at the prosecutor reading his text verbatim in which he used the n-word. African-American rappers seem to have an issue with whites singing the lyrics to their music in which they use the so-called forbidden word. Give me a break — if you’re going to attack anyone for using the n word then go after who originally said it not the person reporting on what you said. And yes Alex if the word is so offensive it’s not out of bounds to ask blacks to stop using it. It’s as silly as a parent who uses profanity in front of their kids to tell them not to. You model the behavior you want people to emulate.
This is much ado about nothing by a bunch of immature liberals who portend to speak for blacks and want to always tell us what we should or shouldn’t be offended by. The truth of the matter is most blacks could give a 2 wooden nickels about Joe Rogan. Most have never listened to him and a good percentage have likely never heard of him.
I did listen to the excerpt of him talking about the Planet of the Apes as it relates to black people. And there is nothing offensive about his story to any mature individual. He’s talking about he expected one reaction when watching this movie in an all black movie theater and it being a really enjoyable experience. He’s a comedian so he may used words that were a bit off, but, there’s nothing racist about that story. NOTHING!!!!!
I understand your point, but if a racial slur is harmful then no one should use it regardless of their skin color or victim status. Anything else is hypocrisy.
White collar liberals and blacks should never use the term redneck! Blacks should never use the term cracker. The leftist elites including Alex cannot see the hypocrisy of their speech.
The current mayor of NYC Eric Adams called "white people" crackers in 2017. Yes, he apologized. He was caught on video. He had no choice. "White people" don't go around calling each other "crackers", so there can be no confusion about Adams' intention.
Really, the term "white people" reveals a profound ignorance of European history. So many Americans of European ancestry are the descendants of "white people" trying to escape violence and/or discrimination by other "white people".
My ancestors all came from Ireland in the late 1800s. They were not welcome, even if their labor was needed. They were called names. They were discriminated against. They were compared to monkeys and apes. And, of course, there were and are endless comments about the Irish and drinking. Even to this day, I hear cracks about the Irish. If there was a group of "white people" who qualified for victim status, it would be the Irish. But, apparently, "white people" are all the same. It's absurd.
Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass what people call me.
You did the popular, woke distancing dance. Now you're trying to hammer into heads why you did. You should have stopped when you placed yourself behind the 8 ball & apologize to your audience for a petty & stupid piece. Maybe, if you gain momentum again in the eyes of your woke peers, Bash Rogan, Part 1 & Part 2 will manage to resurface & be the mile markers in your life when you said some of the stupidest, pettiest things in your life. Whent a much shorter, more successful, much more popular guy than you, gave you 9 hours + over 3 invitations to come inside his man cave, handing you the bull horn to share your thoughts to millions of listeners. Joe Rogan's true mistake, was not asking you to hang out afterwards. You should stop trying to defend yourself Alex, you had me with Part 1 & it was no Godfather worthy of a sequel. Please stop now.
Alex, you have been blessing to all of us when it comes to your fight for truth and journalism integrity on COVID. But you're definitely a "dick" when it comes to your allies in this fight: Dr Malone, Dr McCullough, RFK Jr, and now Joe Rogan. Stick to what you know best. Showcases bad character. It's not working your favour.
The problem is, Alex, that the ones demanding their pound of flesh, will NEVER be satisfied. It doesn't matter what Rogan says or the earnestness with which he says it. They don't want an apology, they want him disappeared.
Why should Rogan apologize for using a word in a context of a discussion? If he used it against an individual or group of people in a derogatory way, then sure. But just saying a word is not a trigger for an apology in my thinking, if we are to keep a free speech society. But I'm old and think free speech is the corner stop of individual liberty.
I am confused. A few months ago a white woman put on an ape mask and threw eggs at a black man running for public office and that was acceptable behavior but Rogan should apologize for some remark in the past??? I only assume it was ok because there was no outrage from our elites. It is about Liberty and we are in the big fight!!!
That was okay because Larry Elder was the black face of white supremacy, you know.
👍🏾
Not completely true - it's because Larry Elder was a republican and the woman was a leftist. And rules are different for left and right.
Not sure if you didn't get the sarcasm or if I'm not getting the sarcasm, but yes. :)
Sarcasm hard to pull off in text :)
It's (D)ifferent.
https://guttermouth.substack.com
If I were there I would have ripped that stupid mask off her face and I am ashamed of the men present who did not do the same.
According to Alex, she had the "right" because she was black....
Yup, It's simular to,.. The mask for the but not for me.. Only, the way Alex see it ut is based on skin color.. Isn't that the definition of Racist itself? Some can say a word based on thier skin color. Guess Alex thinks racism is OK for some people.. Based on the color of thier skin Of course.
Well, then again.. Isn't Alex Berenson a Democrat after all?
You hit the nail on the head, Chris. What Ales is postulating is racist, pure and simple. To base speech on the basis of skin color is as racist as , no worse, than just using derogatory comments about a persons skin color. Alex Berenson is expounding a racist philosophy of anti-free speech that is determined by a persons skin color. If you are white, you cannot say this. If you are dark skinned, you can say that. The "progressives" are attacking Rogan for past digressions, and they claim past "sins" will always define who you are. No room for changing your mind. You are forever tainted, and must be scorned. Berenson plays right into this philosophy, giving it credence where none is warranted. Joe Rogan took a knee to the "progessives" attacks, but Berenson is pandering to them.
Agreed, I wonder where Alex gets it from? Now He has a 2 strikes against him in in my mind.. First a an unwarranted and noy correct on Dr. Malone.
I think we get Alex B mixed up and think he is a conservative because of his stance on Vaccines.. Correct me if I am wrong Alex, aren't you a Democrat at heart? And if yes, well then it makes sense to me why one word can be banned today.. But only for a certain race..
My question to Alex is.. What is the 2nd word to go?
Don't get me wrong, I have no use for the word.
Isn't it funny how Joe is being attacked but all the other Democrats that have similar sins haven't been canceled.. I could name em but this list it way to long.
#hypocrisy
you can take the man out of the Times but you can't take the Times out of the man?
Haha! Are you responding to me? Hate to ruin it for you and Chris but she was white! 😂😂
She was white her arms were showing!!
💯 she was not trying to hide it!!
Nope
Don't forget - this is not news - Rogan's episodes have been all out on youtube for years and Spotify hired him knowing exactly who he is. This is nothing but a hit job and corporate media doesn't even hide that this is just because of his "covid missinformation"
🤥
Snowflakes gonna snowflake
And melt when the temp even approaches 32 degrees, they can't even handle ANY heat.
More and more, Berenson’s liberal roots shine through. He still doesn’t understand the concept of freedoms.
If only *some* people can say certain words without repercussions, then there is no freedom of speech.
Why isn’t the Left trying to cancel the NYC mayor for calling white cops “crackers”? It was a way more egregious use of a racial epithet than what Rogan did, because the NYC mayor was actually directing the slur at someone, not just repeating a word.
Once you've been tainted by liberalism--there's no real cure.
Liberalism is a Mental Illness According to Doctor Savage. I tend to concur.
I also concur as a Doctor and a Psychologist 😂
I also concur as a carpenter. And my boss is Jewish btw
I'm not sure this is true, but I laugh nonetheless at the sentiment you expressed.
I am more and more surprised that Berenson was able to step up and speak truth about all things Corona madness.
Controlled opposition though not perfect explains much of Alex's writing.
Not true... full Democratic California liberal since I was a kid, marching with my parents against Viet Nam, and I only jumped ship in 2020. I don't think I'm tainted.
The reason some people are permitted to speak certain words while others aren't is the same reason why some people are permitted to go maskless while others are forced to mask while in the same room (Stacy Abrams, I'm looking your way...)
It's not about justice and it's not about health. It's about submission.
"Submission? That's going to be a problem."
The only place I want to see any sub mission is in the Navy.
The dual system of justice ought to end. But we must demand it. Too many people go along.
Freedom has limits. Classically, shouting FIRE in a crowded auditorium is incorrect, because it has a high probability of damage.
My parents taught me about this. My schoolteachers expanded on it. Life itself reminds us on occasion. There is nothing wrong in making a mistake, being reminded of it, and fixing that it does not happen again.
Unrestricted freedom to choose words still implies choice, which implies taking into consideration how the audience will feel about the words.
And remember that the epitome of unrestricted freedom is that which enables tumours to grow and kill.
Disclaimer: member of a split society and married into a family not of my birth nation.
Thanks.
Bull hockey!!! I don't care who you chose to hook up with. You don't tell me what I can say!
All I said was that to the best of my knowledge it's not much use saying something without considering your audience.
Most performers figure that out before becoming earners.
you can never know your full audience when you speak on line - the person who made the n word compilation of Rogan became a member of the audience to slander him. it’s a form of large scale redemption for a lowly troll, stoking a fire of division that we know is unjustified.
People get thrown out of this country for racist comments. Oh, except for opposition politicians facing a peasant President, cos that is OK as a target. Anyway, who cares about South America LOL.
it was a Democratic PAC that did it, patriot takes, associated with MeidasTouch.
I'm not in show biz.
everyone who posts on the internet is performing. Applause optional.
The Left’s favorite example of yelling “Fire” in a crowded theater as an already universally accepted “limit on free speech” is a straw man argument. The person who actually yelled fire in a theater tried to use the right to free speech as a defense, but what he did wasn’t really “speech” as much as it was “false reporting an emergency”. There are crimes that are committed utilizing speech, but that doesn’t mean the speech was about “ideas”. You also can’t make a credible threat to kill someone via speech, you can’t say to a bank teller, “this is a robbery”, etc.
When we’re not talking about speech used incidental to committing carefully defined crimes, there should be NO limits on speech. If you are going to accept limits, who do you suggest sets those limits?
That’s a whole lot of text to tell us you don’t believe in free speech.
Everything has its price, be it a free lunch or free speech.
There is a Socialist theft in that ‘lunch box’. There is a Nation’s ‘Blood Treasure’ in ‘our’ Free Speech’.
So using a word is tantamount to lighting a fire; rather low expectations of the masses. Lets burn a few city blocks because someone used the word which can not be said.
Uhhh. That’s been done. Seems most everyone is on with it. At least on the left...
Bit of a binary argument there LOL, even babes in arms figure that after learning to make words.
What if the theater is on fire? What if you THINK the theater is on fire but it's not?
"On Fire" is not a political opinion.
limited oxygen to cells and local acidification lead to tumors - the fire analogy is weak, we have amazing fire defense systems now. somebody yells fire in a theater and i’ll probably start laughing.
I have the right to offend you--you have the right to try to stop me from offending you. Go ahead.
If your self-esteem is so fragile that it depends on "right to offend" then your survival depends on the goodwill of those around you.
i understand your revulsion at those who blather on about their rights, so please understand our revulsion at those who spinelessly and seemingly relatively thoughtlessly relinquish them. it does appear shortsighted. sometimes i think if American as a whole were to stand up to bullying corporate interests and to our lying politicians, it could then be said, as it is now mainly said about white racists, that these people, all of us, are obsessed with their rights, which is kind of what America was/should be about, and which, if we ALL were more obsessed, that would actually do more good in this country than all the race war subterfuge they’ve designed to contain and divide us. If we can stand up arm in arm, even as we say potentially hateful things to each other, then we might have a chance in hell of facing down the real demons of this emergent american hegemony in the world and over us as citizens. even if our day is done as a worthy leader in the world, it feels like the hill that we go down on should be one in which we fight tooth and nail the rising red tide, no? how sad to be told to be so obediently divided at the end…
Thanks for that sensitive and nuanced response.
We are facing similar issues here, except that the enemy are nothing more than the heirs (really) of Francisco Pizarro, and the slogan of "no racialism" has been twisted to protect those from the majority (Amerindian) and minority (Afroamerican) who only get admitted to the dining table by betraying their own.
Standing up arm in arm, and understanding that the unconscious repetition of worn-out epithets is not more than "letting off steam", this looks like something to support and shout for.
It is however a pity that the "real and present" danger of the covid conspiracy plays into the hands of the diabolical deceivers. May that not be so for much longer.
If your self-esteem is so fragile that a word offends you....
Point well made. I think what many discuss here, certainly me is simply the fact that in our democracy (-ies), in theory, the same laws and rules are supposed to apply consistently. Of course, we know this isn't the case, and hasn't been for a very, very long time. If you think I'm wrong, please do some research on laws forbidding "hate speech" (just how is it defined? who decides?), in many nations to question "The Holocaust" is punishable by prison. In many nations, including the USA, certain "protected classes" enjoy special treatment under the law, yet other laws, including Amendments, say the laws are to apply equally. Just how is this reconciled? Why is it a violation of a black's "civil rights" when a white assaults/kills him, but not the other way round? This, in a nutshell, is what I've complained about elsewhere. Alex claiming that words like "nigger" or "kike" are off limits is bulshit, unless one is claiming that some are more equal than others. Now I certainly am not saying blanket free speech. Certainly "fire" in the theater, or a Neo-Nazi reading "Mein Kampf" aloud in the local synaggue, etc. are restricted. The first because it's an incitement to riot or whatever, the second not because it is "hate speech" (although that is true many places) but more likely, because it would be an unwanted intruder trespassing upon private property. Our rights to speech are circumscribed many ways, but what race/religion/class we belong to should NOT be one of those, but in practice, it is.
Crowded theatre argument is bullshit. The theatre is owned. If the owner says you can yell anything you can. If he says you can't you can vacate the property.
If the owner's policy causes an actual harm, tort is in order.
None of this amounts to ANY generalized authority for govt to infringe free speech.
To be technical no one has a right to free speech per se. You have an absolute right to property you legitimately own. The unalienable property being your body.
So long as your body isn't on someone else's property you have a right to say any damned thing you want.
If it is on someone else's property you can say what they allow you to, or leave and say whatever you want.
And here we have someone who would seek to place limits on the freedoms of others comparing those he disagrees with to tumors.
Did you ever stop to consider you might be one of the baddies?
DD is apparently not from the US. He has a different view of free speech. As many of our younger generations now do. Hate speech is protected. It is exactly the kind of speech that needs protecting. Who gets to decide otherwise? It is subjective. Alex is forgetting this. And the slippery slope.!
The limits I'm talking about are those we impose on OURSELVES, in consideration of the weaknesses or illusions of others.
One issue common to modern society is worship of the idea of the individual, which as a guidestone has quite a lot of defects, some yet to come home to roost (although some recent military victories might point out the general direction).
What I said about tumours is that they grow because the control mechanism does not operate as planned. The same thing happens in human communities.
Actually not completely correct about the fire in a crowded auditorium either.
Again, it's not about the "word", it's about not being on the right side of the establishment agenda. There are plenty of examples on the LEFT of using the "word" or dressing in "black face" and never having any repercussions. Former President Bill Clinton, Former Senator Byrd, Current Leader Trudeau, etc. The Double Standard is so blatantly obvious. It's NOT ABOUT THE "WORD" . It's the agenda and what side you are on that counts!
As I said in previous Stack....The attacks on Rogan have nothing to nothing to do with the "word". It's about castrating a public person who doesn't follow the Covid Vax Pharma Industrial complex tyranny. The deep State scans the histories of all Public personalities and if needed, "dirt" is brought forward to squash the decent. It's as simple as that...It's not about the "word", never has been.
Don Jr wrote a book about this very thing: "Liberal Privilege"
Great book! I’d say it was more like Elite Privilege
(I hate calling them elites - I refer to them as elitists; one regarding other people as inferior because they lack power, wealth, or social status; back in the day elites were those very good at something that turned their talents to the good of society) Yeah, social, political, etc. elites. I hadn't gotten the book yet, because the price was still kinda high, but I am inspired to look for it again on your recommendation - thanks!
I got the ebook btw as it was cheaper and I believe I got it on Apple Books.
Yes, elitist is a better word thanks for correcting me!
This is exactly correct. They will use anything against anybody to shut them up because they stand in the way of the GLORIOUS REVOLUTION.....sound familiar?
May I call you Dr ?? You are so right !
Remember Smollett didn't want his own words read in the court. This attack on speech has to end.
That says it better than anyone could.
Ditto: "Some stuff is only available to the injured party." You've made a compelling argument that these folks are out to get Rogan; therefore, they're not complaining about the n-word because they've been "injured"; they're complaining because they know if they raise that particular issue nearly everyone, and especially nearly every white person, will back down. You're playing into their hands (which is something you usually manage to avoid). I think that's why people are pushing back at you on this particular issue. Rogan's apology did nothing other than provide the MSM the boilerplate so that, in every future story, they can say, "Rogan, the comedian-turned-podcaster, apologized for some of the things he said but . . ." I know you worked for The New York Times. 18 of my 31 years as a journalist were spent with The Associated Press. I know how the boilerplate wars are fought, and so should you.
It's no worse than reading "Huckleberry Finn" out loud.
Funny you mention that... my white daughter was threatened by fellow students when asked to read a portion of this out loud in the classroom. She was told that in no way should she pronounce this word out loud. Huh? And same daughter was at a Chris Brown concert and singing along when a pack of girls threatened her and her friends with violence if they didn't stop singing the lyrics. What kind of world have we become?
A black racist named--0bama who's fueled by his hate for white people---and is now looking to settle the score---big time. Have you seen any white people in U.S. TV commercials lately? He's begging for a race war--so he can dismantle the country he hates so much.
He really did start this Day one , Year 1 and Year 2 and now the third term !
That has nothing to do with Obummer. That's the globohomo establishment cancer that has infected everything.
Aren't you over the top? Obama could care less about the race war...he has his big Martha's Vineyard house and tons of $$. I see plenty of white folks in TV commercials. C'mon...you can do better than this...
You left our his multimillion dollar mansion now being built in Hawaii.
Swell. Poor guy stuck in MA winters on the Vineyard. Hawaii will be good for the winter months. I am sure Blackrock will have plenty of speaking opportunities in the islands to help pay for the Hawaii house...
Are they still allowing people to read that? I thought it was banned.... haha
Only behind closed doors and by candlelight.
Here in 2022, those of us who are White have a decidedly unique status - or place.
No we don't. My place is everywhere. Come and stop me.
Yeah I think personally I'd be less concerned about the people saying the 'n-word' and more concerned about the people still treating us like 'n-words.' But that's just me.
Case in point: my Dad could talk racist, on his Virginia farm. But he was aiding a local black family financially and other black people who needed help. I used to wish he would just stop talking like something he really wasn't. But calling him out on it never did any good. I learned to take the good and pray the bad would cease.
I had the same experience with my father-in-law. Could really talk the talk. Yet he took care of many black families for decades. He was a decent man at heart.
💪🏾
And why is The Rock sticking his nose into this? The Rock is now The Snowflake. Jesus all this false-virtue and virtue signalling is nauseating. At least we know this kind of dramatic fainting (with one eye open) is not correlated to the vaccine.
I won't back down or be intimidated by anybody or anything or any word I choose to say. I am so friggin' sick of this cowardly sniveling that goes on I could scream. Get some balls!! Stop groveling and stand up for free speech. Do you think our founding fathers would have behaved like this? How come words like "cracker" and "whitey" and even "Karen" are bandied about? All's fair in love and war. This is war.
The Rock (Pebble) is a coward and he moves which ever way the wind blows. The 'Pebble" along with another action 'hero'--John Cena are people who should be ignored going forward. Shameful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0WirP6vv8k
Damn. The Pebble is better than Snowflake.
Well, dark-skinned people’s derogatory words for lighter-skinned people should be 100% off limits as well, even in cultural songs, BUT THEY AREN’T. It’s the double standards that show the real nature of the beast.
Black privilege. I was called an N word lover by my white friends growing up in New England. I'm 69. Do I get any points for that? Of course not. And I should not. Even if slavery could be traced to my ancestry, gues what; I didnt participate and I dont owe anybody any reparations or even any apologies for nothin. White privilege my ass.
It's so weird...the things ya learn by curiosity alone. For instance, I thought 'cracker' meant the whiteness of a 'Saltine'...and did not realize it actually meant a White person 'cracking the whip' over his slaves. The first definition was funny to me...the second one...not so much. :\
Crackers were Florida cowboys. The whips were not associated with whipping slaves but making a threatening sound to move cattle about. Google "cracker cowboys of Florida" if you want to learn about this.
That is what they were in Lois Lenski's book.
The young protagonist of this book is proud of her cracker heritage: https://www.amazon.com/Strawberry-Girl-Anniversary-Trophy-Newbery/dp/0064405850
The etiology of the term is disputed.
Who told you that. Cracker is derogatory because it means some poor ignorant white farmer.
Having grown up in the South during integration - I can gaurantee you that "cracker" is the EXACT equivalent to the "n-word" when used in a comparable situation by a person who is black. Been there - experienced that.
I wasn't told but I read it numerous places, but Wikipedia [I know...major eyeroll from me too haha]:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cracker_(term)
"It has been suggested that white slave foremen in the antebellum South were called "crackers" owing to their practice of "cracking the whip" to drive and punish slaves.[16][17][18] Whips were also cracked over pack animals,[19][20] so "cracker" may have referred to whip-cracking more generally. According to An American Glossary (1912):[21]"
Yeah, but much earlier derogatory use had nothing to do with race, slavery, or whip cracking. It had more of a "poor white trash" connotation:
Benjamin Franklin, in his memoirs (1790), referred to "a race of runnagates and crackers, equally wild and savage as the Indians" who inhabit the "desert[ed] woods and mountains".
a 1766 letter to the Earl of Dartmouth which reads:[12]
I should explain to your Lordship what is meant by Crackers; a name they have got from being great boasters; they are a lawless set of rascalls on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, who often change their places of abode.
A 1783 pejorative use of crackers specified men who "descended from convicts that were transported from Great Britain to Virginia at different times, and inherit so much profligacy from their ancestors, that they are the most abandoned set of men on earth".[32]
And the connotations couldn't even have been that bad - after all, they had the "Atlanta Crackers" baseball team from 1901 to 1965.
So basically no more offensive than the "Cleveland Indians" or "Washington Redskins" used to be up until like, last week. But I suppose in 50 years we'll have to pretend that Clevelanders and Washingtonians were foaming-at-the-mouth racists up until the early 21st Century. <eye roll>
It's also worth adding that "white trash" was a term thought up by, of all people, Negro slaves, to deride the most backward uncouth specimens of the supposed master race.
Thank you so much for educating us. Rednecks, Hillbillies, outcasts. What about the Melungeons?
Ya done schooled me!
consuelo, check out connotation vs denotation. i think you both could be right and here’s how.
👶🏾👶🏻
That is true - NYC mayor - "crackas"
What about Dave Chappelle, playing a white person in a comedy skit, and using the n word? Should he apologize and to whom?
i believe comedy is the way that our more difficult sensitivities can be fleshed out in a democratic society - otherwise someone decides and we are told what words to say and not, or the vampire castle phenomenon we have now compels us into a guilty compliance. we must never take aim at comedy or we are nearing the end. our sense of humor is a charitable reflex to difficulty. to complexity and insult. we NEED it.
Because the adults left the room, ages ago.
Brandon said that word during Congressional hearing.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/02/leftists-continue-attacking-joe-rogan-now-racist-standard-joe-biden-big-league-racist/
🤫
EXACTLY. Alex, you should be standing up to the nonsense about "white folks can't ever utter this word, ever, under no circumstances." You accept that?!! I don't know that Joe ever used it in a derogatory way, and if he did that was definitely not cool. But if used as part of a larger discussion, that SHOULD be acceptable. You giving in to the "thou shalt never utter the N word" is you caving to nonsense.
Exactly what I just posted, if it's not an apology to a specific person it doesn't need to happen. And if it does need to happen it needs to be in a private setting not blasted out on Instagram.
Amazon literally profits off of selling songs with the N word in them.
I'm certain Spotify does, too. When are they going to remove that content?
Never. They don’t want N word music to go away. I’m sure it paid for the drapes in Bezo’s new mega Yacht.
I am German and I have used the Holocaust repeatedly to make the point that how the un-vax are being treated is akin to sewing a yellow star on the jacket and shipping them off to a camp ... just like what my German ancestors did many years ago. Do I approve of it? No. It is shameful. But I do not need you telling me what I can and cannot say to make my point. That is censorship all the same. Practice what you preach.
Agreed. I appreciate Alex for his work and tenacity but this was a bit "parental" in my opinion. Alex, perhaps being more proactive within the comments section and engaging commenters more may give you some insight to what they do feel.
"Parental" is exactly how the legacy media sees themselves: not the purveyors of objective news, but the ordained disseminators of how we must think, feel, act, and believe, and the arbiters of who is welcome in polite society and who must be destroyed.
Oh, and who should win elections. They're responsible for a lot of things.
Just not reporting the news.
Parental is a very accurate term, but kinda like Mommy Dearest. Even the “meteorologists” ( 🤣 ) are busy telling you to wear a hat. How about I’ll worry about my wardrobe and you just tell me the damn temperature?
Hahaha 😂😂 exactly! Everyone needs to stay in their lane and "allow" people to make decisions for themselves. And talk about it too!!😉
Exactly! And if you question them or ask why, their answer would probably be "because I said so..."
Alex strikes me as seeing himself being above needing to respond to comments from his readers. That doesn't mean I don't value what he writes. I just understand that he sees himself on a different plane from the rest of us. Personally, I came for Alex. but have stuck around for the commenters. Y'all are the best thing about this stack.
In fairness to Alex, his Substack is already popular enough it would probably take a team of Alexes to read and respond. Speaking for myself, even to read in depth one or two articles such as this one, is a labor of an hour or more. I doubt Alex could even read all the traffic his site generates, much less respond, in all his waking hours.
I agree about the comments. Despite the occasional off-color rant of supernatural hardware who shall not be named 😃 oftentimes the comments are a richer source of intellectual stimulation than the admittedly highly variable article from the host. I have found this true of many similar low- or no- censorship sites.
Yes... I absolutely agree! When I see three or four of his posts hit my email inbox, I often think how will I get through all of this! I can appreciate how overwhelming it would be from his end to have all of that traffic coming through his various modes of communication while still being able to generate articles for us to read.
I also find the common section extremely useful and often learn more by reading all the comments and accessing the links contained therein. I just wish I had more time in the day to do it all!
Yeah... He seemed to take a beating after the whole Dr. Malone incident and I think maybe feeling backed into a corner he's put his claws out and dug in deep.
Putting ivermectin aside and the Dr Malone debacle, I wish Alex would dive deep into the early treatments and treatments in general because right now people like Alex and his investigative expertise will be very helpful since there's been such a breakdown between doctor/patient communications when it comes to how to treat COVID.
Ha... totally agree! I love the comments and quite frankly have learned a lot from reading them!
My people too!
"Who ain't?" ... Amen to that!!!
OMG, yes, the beer-with-Joe quip was a pretty low point in the evolution of this stack. But here we still are. United with one another. #thanksAlex
You are spot on with that....re: personal issues. It is nice to just have the facts please! And I think if Alex wants to insert personal situations, he has a wonderful opportunity to be part of the comments by engaging instead of doing entire posts.
Why should it matter to him how you (they) feel? He wants to start a conversation. Not about feelings, but about critical thinking and open discourse.
"I can’t believe we’re even talking about this." doesn't sound like "wanting to start a conversation"
He’s generally got his head screwed on correctly but on this particularly crucial issue of Rogan the totally out of context ‘nigger’ censorship he’s utterly shit the bed and soiled his reputation(pun intended) If I were him, given how much emphasis HE rightfully puts on total transparency and zero censorship for ALL humans, I’d be in damage control mode immediately and recant his hideous, hypocritical position!
Well in this thread, I'm certainly putting Alex to the test. Let's see what his limits on my speech are! I admire him overall but I have no qualms about calling him on his shit either.
Berenson gonna Berenson! He’s way too busy reading and writing about news I presume. Which is probably for the best.
Exactly
Maybe it doesn't matter to him at all... maybe he's already had his mind made up. But there were some accusations and dictating in his post on how we should all be. I don't think he would like it if somebody had said "you can't comment on vaccines and their efficacy unless you're from the medical community." In fact I believe people have said that and Alex takes objection to that because he's following the data, and in my opinion he should take objection to that.
My point is is that he rarely engages with commenters in the moment and instead of writing another post with the assumption of how we all reacted or didn't react, maybe take the time and engage and get some answers that way.
Your point about only experts opining on their topics merits a bit of exploration. Certainly there is logic in that. But what's usually left unstated is that experts almost always have conflicts of interest: the need to maintain an image, whether of his employer, profession, associates or even just his own fragile ego, to promote an official narrative, and so on. Frankly, the (often legitimate) fear of losing one's friends, job, career and (in extremis) property, freedom and life, should always be factored in when weighing the truth of an "expert." It's not for nothing that (some) Judges are appointed for life and very hard to influence, that certain commissions are composed of the retired, and so on
Agreed! And I find oftentimes "experts" are rather narrow minded in the area of their expertise and limited in seeing the whole picture. That can be a strength in certain instances, but in talking about an overall and large situation, such as the pandemic with its public health objective, one "expert" leading the charge (i.e. Fauci) ignores so many other areas for a very narrow and quite frankly unattainable goal (zero infections). We are seeing that now play out in the overwhelming and negative impact among the youth, the elderly, and businesses, as well as every day, adults and the COVID fatigue I think that's impacting a majority of the people.
In my opinion, you don't have to have the alphabet soup of credentials behind your name in order to make useful and purposeful and meaningful comments and input, and I also don't think it's a prerequisite to be part of an ethnic or religious group either to comment.
I think social media has corrupted a lot of things!
Yes, I agree....quite an assumption!
Yes, and his paragraph that starts with "The n-word is off limits..." seems contrary to what this stack is all about.... freedom to comment and talk about all things! I don't think Alex (or anyone) should be saying what words are off limits or who can talk about what.
Self-hating Jew, I believe is the correct terminology.
^^ This ^^
Exactly! Berenson, you have become the very same gutless, whiny little Lib turd you always profess not to be! Shame on you!
We need to exercise caution while using some known words that are emotive that some section of the public may find offensive, doing so does not limit our freedom of speech.
Talking about the holocaust I just feel another one may be in the offing if the lethality of these mRNA vaccines are unequivocally confirmed.
Unfortunately Israel may bear the brunt again being the nation that volunteered to be used as a model for the experimental jab and leading the way in the boosting race.
Follow me on https://victorazodoh.substack.com for insightful analysis on issues that matter.
Sorry but who decides what is offensive or not? You? If you do not like what I said, be an adult and tell me why. I am not going to walk around eggshells compromising my thoughts and my beliefs because someone may be offended. I am disabled and people offend me all the time with stupid questions and blatant assumptions. I had to fight my whole life to make a stand about who I am. If someone is offended, they need to speak up. Let's have dialog and not censorship.
Who decides? "We" apparently. Victor is speaking on all our behalves. "We" must exercise caution, you see.
"I choose to not be trapped by tact at the expense of the truth."
-- Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals (~1971) [from memory; may be imperfect]
Here you go...this is what you had had in mind...wow...what a great quote. Here is all we need to know. If the #1 manual for agitation and protest says politically incorrect language is BS, then its BS!!
"To pander to those who have no stomach for straight language, and insist upon bland, non controversial sauces, is a waste of time... I do not propose to be trapped by tact at the expense of truth." -- Rules for Radicals - Saul Alinsky - 1971
Plenty of Israelis have used comparisons to the Holocaust to describe their feelings about the biofascism that their country has slid into and their horror that such a government should know better.
--The n-word is out of bounds for white people, okay? --
Not OK, and saying one artificial division of humanity can do something another artificial division of humanity can't is literally racist.
So get back Honky cat.
Lol given the new NYC mayor was caught on video calling white NYPD officers ‘crackers!’ Can I still post this with that word spelled out?
Sure can here!!!
Foods like Ritz and Saltines better watch out and start brainstorming now about what else they can call those things "those things".
How black do you have to be to use it? Are we back to the one drop rule?
While we're at it, can somebody please explain to me how this commercial isn't completely racist?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTxpiFYKqYg
"I'm African-American and people around me aren't" isn't a handicap. It's the 'diversity' that supposedly gives you your strength, remember?
wow this is so interesting, the way one thing leads to another in culture and through advertising - are we like cattle marked with the brands of the propaganda the commercials plant in us?
When will white NFL and NBA players be allowed to utter similar statements?
🎶 So get back Honky cat 🎶
But, I quit those days and my redneck ways...
I get it, Alex.
I get it with the "macht frei" references. I get it that Rogan's use of the "n-word" is verboten b/c he's a white guy.
OK. White people have ceded the "n-word." White people cannot use the "n-word."
Please let me know if there are any words that are the exclusive vocabulary of white people, Asian people, etc.
Anyone in the public eye who rocks the boat risks his/her entire life dissected.
I just know that I sure as hell wouldn't want my entire life, career, financial stability, etc. judged by something I said in the past. Especially if it was a damned stupid something.
Rogan apologized--rightly or wrongly.
Can we move on now?
"Please let me know if there are any words that are the exclusive vocabulary of white people..."
There are several, the woke tracks them.
Work Ethic, Integrity, Sacrifice, Delayed Gratification, Composure, Leadership, Ownership, Patriotism.... It's a long list...
:-p
I think I heard the punctuality is racist.
Also correct spelling. And 1 + 1 = 2.
Math is both hard and raaacist.
Highways are racist, ask buttijjeeuugghjjj.
I've never in my life seen a black person canceled for using any of those words 🤷♀️
And I hope they never will. I'm happy to share :-)
The concept that African Americans are so fragile and unable to cope to the word coming out of the mouth from anyone other than a fellow African American in the context of a conversation (not a direct insult to someone) seems to be an insult to African Americans. So it's up to white people to make sure that word is never ever said because of this? This is how you keep racism (or perceived racism) alive and well. IMHO
Seems to me that the First Amendment applies.
But what do I know?
It’s not really about that. Sure it applies, but that’s not the point. The laws and social norms we have now that are purportedly there to “protect” minorities from hate also subtly subjugate them. They are constantly victims in the stories and are therefore portrayed as less than. This does in fact keep racism alive for the simple reason that they are never seen as being on the same playing field. They are either vilified or protected, but never just equal.
I believe that Dennis Prager refers to this as the "Infantilization of Black People".
Yes, like being incapable of obtaining a photo ID.
Actually yes, exactly. Literally saying, you are too poor, too dumb and basically too black to take care of basic things. It's beyond racist disguised as benevolence and protection.
Perfectly put.
You will note that Whoopie Goldberg is now free and clear. She will stay employed as did Joy "Beautiful Black(face,) Woman" Behar. BF Kimmel and Fito Lays Spokesman BF Fallon. His family gets to keep having lavish holidays. Funny how a letter by a name changes the hue and cry. "R" means cancellation and loss of career. "D" appears to mean "Doesn't matter -
all good."
Did you know that Whoopi’s real name is Karen? Hilarious.
You forgot to mention Howard Stern. OMG so many black face episodes. But no one says a word about him
I'm Black and I've been told by my east Asian and Mexican (and Cuban) friends to never use FOB, wetback or border hopper. They sometimes call each other those words, but it's insulting when someone outside of the ethnicity uses it.
It's common sense to me and wasn't that hard to wrap my head around.
And you just used them. It’s not polite to use them to their face, but in the context of sane discussion you used them. Exactly.
What exactly is the point you made here, Sandra? If you followed the few comments I made about this subject, I don't have an issue with Rogan using "the word." His planet of the apes comment was worse. Anyway, my gripe about all this is the visceral reaction agains him apologizing as well as the backlash against Alex for making note of it.
What's hilarious about all this is that while a majorit of the comments are bashing Alex for their stance, what y'all don't realize is that Rogan agrees with him. He's extremely liberal and supports a CRT view of the world.
And my response was a direct answer to Rosie's question. Yes, non-Black "people of color" do have words they'd rather outsiders not use against them.
i don’t think it was an attack. you provided the context for Sandra to make an obvious observation that clarified for me the general issue with cancellation of Joe over past behavior. problem i’m realizing though rn is that maybe we already let that fly with metoo, so i guess we’re gonna keep airing our dirty laundry for a while until we tire of it or think it’s made the difference. we’ve just gotta make sure we know what we’re doing and not incorporate too much of this into our laws and government. we can do all this without canceling our constitution, no? thanks for your perspective. i’m wondering what words i wouldn’t want to be called now… seems like these days it’s more about what I wouldn’t want said about my group in general as opposed to any one word directed at me - when is white going to stop being an okay way to describe someone? i think white, black, etc can be useful but none of them is really ideal…
I agree: It's common sense to respect people.
Just think for a minute. Joe Rogan is a comedian, has been around for 30 years. How hard is it to come up with just about anything you want to on him. Comedians walk the edge. That is there job.
If Joe Rogan was on his podcast and reading out loud a blog post for example, and the word is said in that blog post. Should he not say the word? Or to take it further, what if the blog post is specifically in support of that word only being used to remind people to not use it at all? Does he still have to self-sensor? I'm not trying to agitate, I'm honestly trying to get a beat on your point a little better.
Look upthread at the response to Sandra for my larger point. Usually people say n-word. I do and I'm Black. It's not a word of affection at all but many Black ppl delude themselves to make their jokes and lyrics seem okay.
So what if it’s insulting? Free speech is more important than your or anyone’s hurt feelings.
Well said!
The mob that's going after Rogan is NOT bashing him for using "the n-word." It's about CONTROLLING THE COVID NARRATIVE.
IT'S ABOUT CONTROLLING THE FREE-FLOW OF INFORMATION about so-called 'vaccines,' and the value of masks, and mandating behavior, and all the other high-handed government overreach that's been imposed on all of us.
If the mob hadn't found Rogan's past use of the "n-word," it would've found something else to use, and try to get Spotify to kick him off its platform.
The 'n-word' is NOT the issue. It's a red herring.
THAT is why we need to STOP FOCUSING on the "n-word."
NOW? Can we move on NOW?
I didn't see part one of this. I honestly don't give a sh-t about the n-word. I've lived in a world where I've been taught not even to think it much less say it, but then I turn on a Quentin Tarantino film or watch a black film and I'm taken aback to hear it at all, but it seems perfectly acceptable there. I'm more of a "context" kind of gal, so until I know the context, I really couldn't care less what words you use, and in this case, it's just something else to be thrown at Rogan to try to get him off the air because he frightens those in power. Full stop.
The irony here is Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson was defending Rogan until this montage surfaced, and then "The Rock" apologized and crumbled to dust, doing mea culpas until his knees wore out from all the groveling. THEN a compilation surfaced of "The Rock" doing racist Chinese impressions. Maybe the lesson we take from this is we're all insensitive idiots every now and then and that's nothing to "cancel" people over or even expect an apology for, other than "I was an idiot in the past. I should not have done that. I hope I'm wiser now. The end." Because we've all done it and the people with "agreeable" opinions can still do it and it gets brushed off.
So it's time to stop weaponizing language and just focus on ideas.
you cannot 'cancel' someone (which is personal hatred externalized) without hating yourself! Cancelling someone shows that you still have a serious self hatred issue inside. Now I'm not talking about walking away from someone in your life who disrespects or harms your ministry Jesus told more than one person to "get behind me satan". That is exactly the response Rogan should have here. They're trying to damage his "ministry", his God given gift, because they see that he is successful and they aren't! Pure jealousy and hatred of hearing the truth. Go live your own life and leave others alone if you don't like them.
I use the 'N'-word a lot, esp. when driving near others who are doing a malicious job of it.
My ire is directed at, I'm guessing, 99% of drivers who are WHITE.
Someone once said that 'Swearing is the laxative that purges the soul'. The 'N'-word is the most powerful invective I can dredge up to keep my blood pressure in check.
I actually think poor white trash is worse than that-which-can’t-be-said. And it doesn’t matter what color you are when I’m muttering poor white trash under my breath.
Be careful. If you are the wrong race this habit may pop out in public. You can easily lose your job.
I'm retired and too old to be a limp-wristed ninny. I say what I want. I have a home library with plenty of mainstream books that use the 'N'-word, Samuel Clements among them. I'm wise enough to not get my @ss kicked.
I've said the n-word to students in the context of teaching about Mark Twain. Joe didn't call anyone an N word, if he was referencing it, I think that's ok.
It is OK. It's like demanding the word be removed from the dictionary.
Only the white dictionary apparently
Academics have been "canceled" doing similar, during an overseas study program if I remember. Can't remember details, but recall it from news feeds.
This will bite your butt really hard at some point. Assuming you are not Black. Oh, hey, I choose as a White to capitalize Black. Yet many other people have literal rules to write only "white" - all lowercase. Just who then is designating someone unworthy by virtue of race? OMG how the worm has turned.
Alex what? Isn't the point that they are destroying him now because he went after the establishment, isn't that REALLY the whole point here?:??
You are correct! And Rogan attracts an audience that TPTB expected to be easily led into their future.
His show has made millions of young people question their narrative. That’s why they are destroying him, not the n-word.
It really couldn't be more obvious. Im sick of everything being so.obvious when most people dont have a clue. I once thought it was gift now i feel like its a curse
It’s kinda discouraging isn’t it?
Terribly to be honest. Everyday i wake up read stuff and have a pit in my stomach
😔 I have the same conversations with family members near daily. We are incredulous, then try to intellectualize things, then feel overwhelmed, rinse, repeat.
Prayers, exercise, and cute animal videos help greatly!
Once you see it, you can't unsee it. And as an added bonus if you try to explain it to people who haven't seen it yet you sound like a raving lunatic.
Yeah the idea that suddenly people 'discovered' these quotes is laughable. Attacking Rogan's covid views didn't work, so they switch tactics. Sort of like how when impeachment theater failed, the corona panic started.
Good point
Never complain. Never explain. The attack on Rogan was totally coordinated, funded, and orchestrated by a Marxist media group tied to a left wing SuperPac that gets money from Soros and other members of the party of Davos. This should be obvious to everyone. Rogan should never have apologized until he took the time to figure out what is really going on. Because if they can take him down, they can take down anyone. I’m not saying he was mistaken to ultimately offer an apology. But it should have been done in the context of the reality of a coordinated and funded attack.
Yup ^^^
Yup. Attacks organized by Democrat Super PAC according to this researcher.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1490141884546576384.html
Hahaha, you're a real piece of work. No one wants to hear about your hand-wringing moralism about words. We didn't misinterpret anything, we just didn't like it. I forgave you for Dr. Malone, and I was willing to hear you out further about Joe Rogan. Instead you double-down, so I'm done. Unsubscribed.
With Alex I see a pattern of doubling down when there are a thousand comments correcting him. Ego problem I guess. Still right a lot of the time but can't be trusted. In this case, it was all out of context. Rogan should never have apologized.
Disagree about Dr. Malone. Alex's slur of him on national TV was completely out of bounds.
Then you agree with Mark about Dr. Malone. As do I.
Well... bye.
Test for racism: If you’re not equally offended when Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, Lebron & every black entertainer uses the word then just look in the mirror: you’re it.
Why is Howard Stern aloud to be on the air? He literally wore black face and said the N word every other word in segments in the 90's. Oh that is right he is pro vaccine.
He even sang a song about O.J. Simpson being a stupid "word that must not be uttered". Howard Stern is a kvetching old babushka now.
Because Howard is pro Vaccine . <-- period
WINS. My own Racist as F... Litmus Test for Television Ads: "Does the commercial still get made if the character(s) are anything but WHITE?" This is fun to play. Your head will explode into birthday party confetti.
Or a female
I am offended by them, so...I don't watch them. I do not, however, ask that they be destroyed by the world, I leave that to the demonic left.
First I am a person who looks forward to your well thought out takes daily. However, as a black man I find your take ridiculous. Anyone can use a word in context. If you use words to defame another person that is something entirely different. But to apologize for the use of a word not directed at a black person is not an issue for me or for many of the black people close to me. As Black folks we don't own the word, maybe we own the hurt, but the word if properly used still belongs to everyone.
"We own the hurt"..How clearly you put it.
Great point. If only we could get the Social Justice white kids to understand that!
Yup,
You should never offense of something someone says of course unless you think you should
You’re acting like an idiot and as a journalist buried the lead, and you took the bait. The story is that this is a political hit job, and yet you spent many words virtue signaling how distasteful Joe’s words are.
Joe Rogan is free to say whatever he wants; nothing is “off limits” to anyone. That’s the whole idea of the marketplace of ideas and free speech. You’re entitled to say whatever you want, though you’re not entitled to the reaction you want. And if it ends up making everyone ignore you, then you reap what you sow.
Finally somebody brought up the WHY JOE ROGAN thought! To me, that is the lead here. Rogan is powerful and whoever takes him down gets his power. He is the victim of a SuperPac comprised of 3 brothers who operate within the entertainment industry and manage social media and strategies for the super rich and ultra leftists. It’s an election year, and adding “we got Rogan cancelled” to the credentials sure doesn’t hurt the bottom line. It also reminds the world that the snowflake mentality goes after anyone who threatens the narrative regardless of their political status. Rogan isn’t afraid to go off the rails. Let’s hope he stays that way.
And this thread on use of words? Remember, he who controls the language controls the behavior.
"The n-word is out of bounds for white people, okay? I don’t want to hear about how you have black friends and they use it all the time. I don’t want to hear Germans using Holocaust references to make a point, even if I can. Some stuff is only available to the injured party. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this."
Nope. Don't care. You are wrong in principle: you do not get to define, in a public setting or in a private setting of one's own that one shares voluntarily with others, what one can or cannot say. Your manner of thinking is a vector for weaponization of language. Correct yourself.
But the mayor of NYC called his colleagues crackers? Oh ok that’s fine he’s not white.
He was referring to the word. He wasn't using it as a slur. You can even tell from the limited context if you listen carefully. But I have a feeling you don't care.
Some of us? Come on, appears damn near all of us disagreed with your attempt at distancing yourself and self gratification of your wokeness around a comedian saying something that you find offensive and insensitive that at the time was a joke. Given the comments, why not just say “Damn I got that wrong folks, my bad!”
Or acknowledge that maybe not everybody feels the same way which is totally fine as it's a free country for open opinions, which is what Alex in part is pushing.
Perhaps he is, But I’d argue doesn’t take 500 words and two posts to make that point!
Agree 💯%!
In the context of a Marxist, totalitarian movement to crush all opposition, any reference to Yom Kippur or moral behavior required by God is particularly misplaced. I'm afraid you showed your true colors, Alex. You should have stood for freedom. Instead, you chose to throw him under the bus.
Sorry, you NEVER apologize to the mob.
Those comments date back years. It’s only an issue now because of the voice he’s given us on Covid.
Their “offense” is not sincere. Do not apologize and give them power.
I remember when the thought police came after Tucker Carlson for a few things he said ten years ago. Tucker refused to apologize for what he said and is still standing strong with the highest rated political talk show on TV. He even said in an opening monologue that you should NEVER apologize to the MOB who want to cancel you.
Tucker rocks (in my opinion)!!
Why qualify? TUCKER ROCKS!!
Here here!!!!
Never apologize. Then they know you're a weakling and they crush you.
It's easy to say, but if I ever find myself in that often-quoted Solzhenitsyn passage, I do not intend to cower in my "lair," rather I plan to be a man (perhaps the only one?) waiting patiently in the shadows with whatever weapons are at hand.
As soon as you apologize, the mob will label you as a 'self-admitted x' and push even harder.
100% agree but he seems like a really genuine guy that wholeheartedly is upset that people are offended even if they’re not and just using it to hurt him. He seems to nice to understand what’s really happening.
Sad to say, he’ll understand it soon enough.
Agree. We all have some skeletons and that's what they are...bones of past mis-steps.
Problem: some people amass an "ossuary." 💀
For sure!
I listened and I totally didn’t think he apologized per se…he owned what he said but also explained the context. I’m very sensitive to offensive talk/thoughts and I’ve never once thought of Rogan as being racist in the least. I was hoping some of Joe’s minority friends would come out and support him…but everyone is afraid to be canceled apparently. It’s such a bully world we live in…everyone is sensitive and enough people don’t have “Fuck me” money. Meaning I can say or do anything I want and if people stop listening that’s fuck me money. Joe’s fan base will follow him…if Spotify terminates him I guess I’ll leave Spotify. Big deal. I left Facebook in 2020 for deleting some of my comments and apparently I wasn’t alone. As I write this I realize I’m part of the “anti cancel” culture as evidenced by my canceling. 🙃
That's a great attitude, NurseLaura. While I'm not a big name in media, no matter what my ego says, I'm retired which is a version of "Fuck You Money" after all, even if not nine figures. 🤑 I too quit Facebook and most other social(ist) media years ago due to actual or perceived censorship. I haven't (yet) left here (or been booted) but the relationship is "at will" I believe is the legal term. Even as individuals, we have the power to "cancel" relationships that are not in our interests.
Rogan should move on from this by steering into it. He should have the talking heads of the establishment on. He should invite them to his platform to explain WHY! the establishment is right and the independent thinkers are wrong. He should invite representatives from each side on to speak to each other. The establishment will not accept that invitation because they know they can’t speak for 3 hours at a time in an environment they cannot script and control. I hope he figures that out and does not shy away from this.
If ‘they’ won’t talk to Steve Kirsch for a million dollars are they gonna go on Rogan? And as you said have to speak extemporaneously? Haha.
This is the best comment here!
So, would it be bad for a black guy to make a joke about seeing Deliverance in West Virginia? I'm so confused about all of these rules about what can be said and not said.
Yeah, we need a list of rules!!!
But don’t print it on real paper, in a real book, because the list will change so often the book will be obsolete 60 times an hour !
You mean how they changed the definitions of vaccine because of the failed vax and racism because of Whoopi going off script?
Remember when it was suggested that little white girls dressing up like Moana for Halloween was cultural appropriation?
Deliverance was set in northwest Georgia - near the GA/SC/NC border on the Chattooga river. Do not insult the people of West Virginia :-)
"Now let's you just drop them pants." 🤠
The Hee Haw show should be destroyed by law. It insulted and ridiculed Appalachian people.
Hee Haw had only two good features, and Goldie Hawn had both of them. 😍
Yes, it's still great to call people "hill billies". I bought a sign at a Meijer's store that reads "PARKING FOR HILLBILLIES ONLY". I did it to hang on my garage because a guy on the next street, a Pollock, loved to make insulting remarks about "hillbillies". That's how I handled it.
Your condescending tone towards your readers and subscribers (and in general I might add, although that's more of a personal view) will definitely not help get your points across.
"Some stuff is only available to the injured party. I can’t believe we’re even talking about this." - Really? Interesting way to censor. Why can't you believe we talk about this...I thought the whole point was talking about...well, everything.
The n word? Don’t be a cuck. Alex you may need to read the room and stop clutching your pearls. Not only is your audience done with medical tyranny, but they may also be done with the white guilt narrative.
I've always been done with the white guilt narrative. I've never owned any slaves. I'm not guilty.
I do not think that Joe Rogan will loose a big chunk of his audience just because of n-word. But he will loose all of it if he bends over backwards.
I don’t think it’s about his audience at this point. This is about creating a ‘firestorm’ to justify his removal. The n-word is the pretext the real reason is he is a huge wrench in the works of TPTB.
He’s a wrench in the works of TPTB only as long as he’s willing to stand up to them. If he mistakenly tries to mollify the mob by “doing better” as he has promised them, he’ll end up like Drudge. Irrelevant.
This is where we see what he is made of. It’s impossible for me to judge too harshly since I don’t have a platform and a career to lose.
But, yes, backing down doesn’t make things better, it’s blood in the water.
Joe Rogan made a semi-fatal mistake: He apologized. Never, EVER apologize to the blue check folks interested more in power than truth.
Agreed. As someone said in the Part I comments, the correct response is not to grovel, rather a hearty "Go fuck yourself" or equivalent. 🙂
“He’s a comedian who has become the most important journalist in the world”
This is the problem. I have listened to Rogan many times. Never once have I done so because he’s a so-called journalist. I listen because he’s extremely curious, authentic and very entertaining. I know we are not allowed to have fun any more, but the left’s goal is to suck all the joy out of life. He says he regrets what he said. That’s more than enough for me.
I listen to Joe - sometimes... because of the guests he has and the fact that he lets them present their ideas... not without challenge, but with reality.
The problem is that word is used in everyday use by some of the population, and is sold to the public. I find it odd that a select group of people can say and use the word to make money for themselves, but when a person that isn't a part of that group sings the same lyrics and is alienated and chastised.
If the word is a no-go, it shouldn't be allowed to make a profit from. I don't condone the use of the word in any realm.
Did anyone see the Mayor of NYC calling white people "crackers"? Of course that is "DIFFERENT" though.
Look into the group that brought forth the Rogan clip, very interesting money games there.
No, I think you're missing the point. "The n-word is out of bounds for white people, okay?" Bull.
That's how these wars are lost, by ceding ground to irrational people.
The n-word is out of bounds for anyone if it's being employed as a slur or an insult. Otherwise, it's just another word. That should be the starting premise. Period.
Apologize to the mob invites destruction. Never apologize!
Alex, You gained a large portion of your audience (myself included) from your appearances on Rogan. You must realize that he is being vilified specifically because he has offered his platform to you and others who speak out against the establishment narrative. The timing of the attack on him proves that. As such, he deserves nothing less than your gratitude and full support while he defends that same platform from the corporate funded woke mob. Expecting him to make a second apology after he's already caved and apologized is more like kicking him when he's already on the ground out of your own fear of the people who put him there making you next. For those reasons, the first post was off putting. Part 2 didn't improve the situation as you asserted that anyone who disagreed with your sentiment, either were too dim-witted to understand it, or were willfully misinterpreting it. Perhaps reassess your own take, and read the room before you lose your audience due to your having insulted them. Rogan apologizes again only after Hunter & Joe Biden both make their apologies for using the n-word on numerous occasions.
I reject language barriers based on race, creed or ethnicity. It is, at its base, racist in itself.
I'm not saying that Rogan's use of the word was polite, but if you don't want to hear it or can't ignore it, then tune out.
We MUST adhere to universal freedom of speech, or we will lose it.
Rogan's use of the world was all based on repeating, quoting already spoken statements and lyrics verbatim. There is not a single instance, that I'm aware of, where he used the world as an actual slur.
Alex is on a major virtue signaling campaign here, hoping to work his way back into the good graces of his past circles of "friends" after they all realize how right he was about COVID and the vaccines. Being kicked out of the club has obviously been a difficult ordeal for him and I suppose you have to allow a man his dreams of reconciliation no matter how completely anti-rational and actually racist (the socially accepted kind) the positions he must assume to do so are.
Spot f-ing on with respect to how badly Alex wants to be back in the blue check circle.
But, also realize that other than Corona related stuff he's still fully left wing in his views.
I don't think he's full left wing in his views. I think he holds views on both sides, but the problem is he is unprincipled in his thinking, which means it's more or less arbitrary which side he'll end up on from one topic to another.
Alex does not respect the "bluecheck circle": he ridicules and taunts them. None of them could do what he's done with this substack account. They regurgitate the corporate narrative, whereas Alex prefers actual thought, investigation and analysis. His takedowns of Molly Jong-fast, Apoorva Mandavilli, and Derek Thompson (who dubbed him "The Pandemic's Wrongest Man") are delightful to read and, I suspect, were delightful to write.
Intent and context when using any potentially offensive language should be part of the audience’s evaluation. Additionally being offended is completely subjective and variable. No one has the right not to be offended. Everyone has the God given right of free speech.
So now we have a protected class of people who dictate the rules of what we can say in any context in spite of the fact they use the same verbiage among themselves? Talk about censorship! Someone please explain the justification for this to me. I’m open to be informed.
The concept of unutterable words is bizarre to me, and it is especially appalling in the way it is selectively wielded as a tool of destruction by rank hypocrites with respect to this word. It has been pushed beyond workable limits, to the point a white person can't safely utter the word even if asked to read the entire dictionary out loud. (I remember a dust-up years ago where a professor or politician used the word niggardly properly and was fired because some hypersensitive ignoramus took offense, even though that word is etymologically different than and has no relationship to the dreaded N word, other than an unfortunate similarity in phonetic pronunciation).
Its such a horrific and unspeakable word that we are all dancing around it and won't even type it. That is lunacy. And we act squeamishly, not because we find it so incomprehensibly morally repugnant to say the word in all situations and all contexts (although virtue signalers dutifully rank it among the most grievous, heinous things possible), but because we know it is a political third-rail that is indefensible. There is nothing sane about this issue.
thank you
A longer and stronger version of what I've said about this. Very well said. Bonus points for the candor of "lunacy" and "nothing sane about this".
Ya you still don't get it. He shouldn't have to apologize now. Especially since the video was doctored to take everything out of context. You have one foot in and one foot out of establishment journalism. The media/state is truly the enemy of the people and we need actual strong alternative voices. You had the potential to be one of those voice but by going against Rogan and Robert Malone it is clear you don't have the gumption to go all in.
"The n-word is out of bounds for white people, okay?"
Vaccine misinformation is out of bounds for discussion, OK?
That slope, it sure is slippery.
It also begs the question: are Black people really offended by Joe Rogan ? Or just white progressive liberal leftists?
By and large? You already know the answer to your question.
Exactly. The only reason “Kike “is at a bounce for everybody is because the people offended by it ,rightfully so ,refuse to give it any kind of imprimatur of acceptability. Black people want to use the word in just about every sentence and then act all crazed and hurt when they hear it come out of a white man’s mouth is completely unacceptable. if they want to live in that segregated a society then let’s return to Jim Crow back and bring back separate but equal , otherwise this whole idea of language by race is absurd.
Yup, what he is saying is the definition of racism.. Only people of color can do this and not that.
I was just about to write the same thing.
Yup,
Any Black person that uses that word (not as a derogatory word) and has a problem with a white person using it in the same manner is the exact definition of what a racist is. In other words, its a trap! Hypocrisy
Joe Biden has used the N word and also has actually spread medical mis-information. So, what gives? Hunter too.
And Joe was big buddies with Senator Grand dragon Byrd.
Enlighten me. What medical mis-information did Mr. Rogan spread?
Alleged. Sorry.
I must have been caffeine-depleted this morning. I thought you were referring to Rogan. As they say, My bad.
Exactly...please enlighten us?
So MANY times too!
Put a finer point on this, please: The n-word should be out of bounds for EVERYONE. Know any other word supposedly adopted for “empowerment” by the target of the insult? Do progressive Jews refer to each other as “my Kike!” or women en masse empowering themselves by referring to each other with affection as “cunt sister!” No. EVERYONE needs to stamp out these insults together as a people. We the People. Humanity.
What was that whole p***y hat thing? Women wearing the pink hats and vaginas? I thought that was demeaning.
Up next, only women can call one another bitches.
Haha. Again it’s all about context! It’s not just letters formed into a word…it’s the meaning behind the word. And I’m totally fine if I’m acting like a bitch and you call me one! I own it. People need thicker skin!!! Uggggg.
Bad bitch…
At the end of the day, the apologies are BS and I'm tired of this celebrity or that public figure reading an apology script for something that was said under a different context (or even regardless of why) 5, 10, or 20 years ago. Especially people who are comics - you cannot censor comedy if you want people to be honest, particularly those who are "equal opportunity offenders'. Either laugh or move along. The self righteousness has to go.
Folks, I don't agree with Alex or Rogan on everything and that's ok. And I sure don't expect them to agree with me all the time either. Hell my wife doesn't agree with me 30% (+?) of the time. Free speech needs MORE people to support it and we need many more AB and JR voices! Move on from the N-word debate and on to the important one - free speech for everyone.
Alex falling for the media's bait, as if people actually cared about that word. The media *says* people care, but as far as i can see they (the media) only says so when it's convenient to whatever story they're trying to spin.
The reality is nobody said anything about those clips before because nobody gives a shit about it, he's not a racist and everyone knows and understands it, he shouldn't have to apologize because everyone understands the context behind it, and Alex coming down all outrage and snowflakey about it is a bit disappointing
Edit: typo/missing words
“A bit disappointing”?
Puhleeeeeeze…. It’s an unmitigated disaster that Berenson himself has chosen to kow-tow to the radical Left agenda especially considering HE’S their enemy just as much as Rogan!
Alex should be the one profusely apologizing for this utter diarrhea he’s barfing at Rogan!
Definitely, when i saw the subject line "On Joe Rogan" i don't know what i was expecting, but i was surprised for sure when i started reading and realized what was actually happening -namely Alex pretending he doesn't understand what's really going on.
Problem is he's throwing Joe under the bus (for no reason) as if Joe had done the same to him after taking heat for hosting him on his show. Again, disappointing to say the least
Exactly
🙏🏻
Speech is either free, or it isn't. Words are not violence. Some words are not more equal than others. Grow up.
Let's get real, folks. People are DYING from the vaccines and we're arguing over a word!! Can't you see that the entire Joe "exposure" thing about a word was deliberately designed to discredit anyone who has talked to him? "They" are desperate to shut down dialogue. Please don't fall for it.
I agree. This is how divide and conquer works. That’s the plan.
I disagree with you on "the n-word is out of bounds for white people". You are simply stating this as a given with no argument to back it up. This is an appeal to societal convention and authority with no substance. It is the same as when a person says "wear a mask" as a complete non-sequitur with no data or knowledge apart from "the experts said so". There is, to my ears, an implied "shut up, don't question it, you're a bad person if you question it" at the end of this kind of statement that is antithetical to reasoned discourse and is the exact problem you've been dealing with for the last two years.
I don't think that it is remotely sensible for a modern society to permit people of certain skin tones to say certain words and not others. It's such an obviously absurd notion when phrased that way, but people associate some terrible acts in history with words and try to construct convoluted narratives to support this discrimination. The word has power because of society's obsessions with it, not the inherent history itself. It does not help anyone heal, it is not you atoning, it is not remotely useful to perform this moral grandstanding. I'd like to see us move on from this.
I respect you and your work Mr. Berenson and don't mean this to come off as an attack. It's just something that I feel strongly about, and I wonder whether you've really examined your views on the topic through a critical lens. If so, and this is your conclusion, so be it, we can agree to disagree. I understand my viewpoint is a minority one, but I happen to think it's the much more principled one. It is not to be confused with support for deliberately insulting, offending, or harming people; to me, this is strictly a question of whether societal convention should systematically assign differing verbal privileges to people based on skin color, race, and/or ethnicity. I believe that is fundamentally wrong no matter the history.
James O'Keefe, America's bravest journalist, is right.
Stop apologizing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIn7JI2zErw
I came here to post this. Thank you. 👏🏻
Alex, I don't think it's necessary to make a point, at least not with that many words, about something he said years ago. I'd leave it at "perhaps, like all of us, he made mistakes years ago." As you rightly point out, he's being attacked over this for other reasons. He needs our support.
I have not listened to the podcast in which Joe Rogan used the n word. I did read that he said that he only used because he was repeating a statement someone else made. In my mind, that’s totally different than a white person just arbitrarily throwing the word out to insult a race of people (btw I am African-American). In his trial Jussie Smollet took umbrage at the prosecutor reading his text verbatim in which he used the n-word. African-American rappers seem to have an issue with whites singing the lyrics to their music in which they use the so-called forbidden word. Give me a break — if you’re going to attack anyone for using the n word then go after who originally said it not the person reporting on what you said. And yes Alex if the word is so offensive it’s not out of bounds to ask blacks to stop using it. It’s as silly as a parent who uses profanity in front of their kids to tell them not to. You model the behavior you want people to emulate.
This is much ado about nothing by a bunch of immature liberals who portend to speak for blacks and want to always tell us what we should or shouldn’t be offended by. The truth of the matter is most blacks could give a 2 wooden nickels about Joe Rogan. Most have never listened to him and a good percentage have likely never heard of him.
I did listen to the excerpt of him talking about the Planet of the Apes as it relates to black people. And there is nothing offensive about his story to any mature individual. He’s talking about he expected one reaction when watching this movie in an all black movie theater and it being a really enjoyable experience. He’s a comedian so he may used words that were a bit off, but, there’s nothing racist about that story. NOTHING!!!!!
I understand your point, but if a racial slur is harmful then no one should use it regardless of their skin color or victim status. Anything else is hypocrisy.
White collar liberals and blacks should never use the term redneck! Blacks should never use the term cracker. The leftist elites including Alex cannot see the hypocrisy of their speech.
The current mayor of NYC Eric Adams called "white people" crackers in 2017. Yes, he apologized. He was caught on video. He had no choice. "White people" don't go around calling each other "crackers", so there can be no confusion about Adams' intention.
Really, the term "white people" reveals a profound ignorance of European history. So many Americans of European ancestry are the descendants of "white people" trying to escape violence and/or discrimination by other "white people".
My ancestors all came from Ireland in the late 1800s. They were not welcome, even if their labor was needed. They were called names. They were discriminated against. They were compared to monkeys and apes. And, of course, there were and are endless comments about the Irish and drinking. Even to this day, I hear cracks about the Irish. If there was a group of "white people" who qualified for victim status, it would be the Irish. But, apparently, "white people" are all the same. It's absurd.
Honestly, I don't give a rat's ass what people call me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgCQtoLcaKI
I remember when the Poles were the butt of every joke. But they would laugh along with the rest of us, even supplying some great Polish Jokes.
You did the popular, woke distancing dance. Now you're trying to hammer into heads why you did. You should have stopped when you placed yourself behind the 8 ball & apologize to your audience for a petty & stupid piece. Maybe, if you gain momentum again in the eyes of your woke peers, Bash Rogan, Part 1 & Part 2 will manage to resurface & be the mile markers in your life when you said some of the stupidest, pettiest things in your life. Whent a much shorter, more successful, much more popular guy than you, gave you 9 hours + over 3 invitations to come inside his man cave, handing you the bull horn to share your thoughts to millions of listeners. Joe Rogan's true mistake, was not asking you to hang out afterwards. You should stop trying to defend yourself Alex, you had me with Part 1 & it was no Godfather worthy of a sequel. Please stop now.
Alex, you have been blessing to all of us when it comes to your fight for truth and journalism integrity on COVID. But you're definitely a "dick" when it comes to your allies in this fight: Dr Malone, Dr McCullough, RFK Jr, and now Joe Rogan. Stick to what you know best. Showcases bad character. It's not working your favour.
Rumble just offered Rogan $100 million over 4 years.
Hope he takes it.
The problem is, Alex, that the ones demanding their pound of flesh, will NEVER be satisfied. It doesn't matter what Rogan says or the earnestness with which he says it. They don't want an apology, they want him disappeared.