882 Comments

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.

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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.

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--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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

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?:??

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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.

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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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

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.

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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But the mayor of NYC called his colleagues crackers? Oh ok that’s fine he’s not white.

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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.

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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!”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

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.

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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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

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.

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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.

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Joe Rogan made a semi-fatal mistake: He apologized. Never, EVER apologize to the blue check folks interested more in power than truth.

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“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.

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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.

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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.

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Apologize to the mob invites destruction. Never apologize!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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"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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

Joe Biden has used the N word and also has actually spread medical mis-information. So, what gives? Hunter too.

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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.

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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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

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

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Speech is either free, or it isn't. Words are not violence. Some words are not more equal than others. Grow up.

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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.

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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.

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James O'Keefe, America's bravest journalist, is right.

Stop apologizing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIn7JI2zErw

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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.

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Feb 7, 2022·edited Feb 7, 2022

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!!!!!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Rumble just offered Rogan $100 million over 4 years.

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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.

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