"How Late Night Comedians Hurt America"

originally posted by: LesMisanthrope
I made my argument on the first page.

I'm not sure I agree with your argument about laughter. I think my comment from the first page on it being a response to tragedy is more reflective.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Your post helps to elucidate Hitchens' point.

One could actually write a whole article simply on the Franken-Stewart faction’s attitude toward religion. In their world, the expressions Christian right or Moral Majority are automatic laugh cues, and there is a huge amount of soft-core borscht-belt stuff like this...

You guys like your fat and easy targets.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Guilty as charged. What's your point? Are you expecting the left and right to change their values for each other? It's not going to happen.

a reply to: dfnj2015

I'm not sure I agree with your argument about laughter. I think my comment from the first page on it being a response to tragedy is more reflective.

Laughter is present during the worst atrocities, from murder, rape and racism in antiquity to the present. Laughter has been present at the entertainments of public executions and torture. There is a fine line between satire and abject cruelty.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Guilty as charged. What's your point? Are you expecting the left and right to change their values for each other? It's not going to happen.

No, I'm saying there is nothing brave about mocking Christianity. It's easy. Give me a call when liberals mock Islam.

As a first reaction, reading the tread: I love all your opinions, most of them are quite insightful!
Again, I'm not defending the video, but I think it is a good starter for a discussion. I a little split in my opinion. I want everybody to be able to say anything they want. The law tels us what can and cannot be said. Only a judge can decide wat is within the law and not, nobody else. Far left and far right can say what they want and I will defend their right to do so, unless they break the law, like calling for violence and so on.
At the other hand... In the Netherlands, there was a 'new' politician, who was controversial. His opinions were not liked by the Dutch 'Swamp'. They (= media, comedians, artists and the swamp) demonized him, they framed his words to something bad or even worse. They likend him to Hitler. He (Pim Fortuyn, please research him) was killed just before the election by an extremist. He was almost the new MP. 'They' created an atmosphere where it was O.K. to kill him. Later he was chosen as the 'Greatest Dutchman'... Maybe he wasn't so bad after all?
Words DO matter, but not because of feelings, but because it can give other people reason to kill. That is what I mean with what I said before, when I said that the media has a responsibility.
Also: When media is cherrypicking words, when they are incorrectly framing, when they ignore 'details', when they leave away certain facts... THAT is also FAKE news! Not just a total lie! Like Goebbels said: The best lie is a half truth.

a reply to: LesMisanthrope

Here's your call. Most liberals recognize the three major religions all worship the SAME God. And they are fighting and killing each other just because each group uses a different spelling.

The the Monty Python skit I posted applies to Allah as well.

RE: Laughter is present during the worst atrocities

That's the best time! Just because people on the left are morally reprehensible doesn't mean you don't have to like us!

Q: Did you know that Christa McAuliffe was blue eyed?
A: One blew left and one blew right.

Q: What were Christa McAuliffe's last words?
A: "What's this button do?"

Q: What were Christa McAuliffe's last words to her husband?
A: "You feed the kids - I'll feed the fish."

Q: What was the Shuttle's last transmission?
A: "I said BUD LITE!"

Q: What does NASA stand for?
A1: Need Another Seven Astronauts
A2: Need Another Shuttle Also
A3: Chicken Kiev [Ed: Punchline to another joke.]

Q: Did you know why there was only one black crew member on Challenger?
A: They didn't know it was going to blow up.

Q: Did you know that NASA has a new space drink?
A: Ocean Spray - It was their second choice because they couldn't
get 7-UP.

Q: When the next shuttle launches into space, what will the senior
controller say?
A: "72, 73, 74 BOOM! - Just kidding guys!"

Q: What do Playtex tampon users and Christa McAuliffe have in common?
A: They both should have stayed on the pad.

Q: What does a sea lion, the space shuttle and Tylenol have in common?
A: They're all looking for a tight seal.

Q: How many people will fit in a Florida Volkswagen?
A: Four in the seats and seven in the ashtray.

Q: On future shuttle missions, why will one of the astronauts have to
be a naval officer?
A: So when they decide to use it as an experimental submarine, they'll
have a rated officer onboard.

Q: What do Christa McAuliffe and Donna Rice have in common.
A: They both went down on the challenger.

Q: Did you hear that they are sending up another teacher on the next
shuttle mission?
A: She's going to be a substitute.

Q: Where does Christa McAuliffe take vacation?
A: All over Florida!

There's some truth to what is said in the video. It happens on both ends of the spectrum, in different forms maybe, comedians or very creative people just tend to be liberal by nature, so that perspective is dominant. Trump also happens to be easy to parody - I don't think anyone can deny that - and he says some strange things. It's a perfect storm.

I've always thought there's something unsavory about using comedy as a political weapon. But you can't be silencing people, that would be much worse. And often a really funny and clever joke just happens to be embarrassing for someone; comedy isn't politically correct. The comedy industry is politically correct, but so is every other institution ever, only according to different biases.

Yes, those shows do contribute to a polarized society. Maybe it'd be better if they made comedy shows where Noam Chomsky has a debate it with Jordan Peterson, or something like that, but guess what? Average people wouldn't watch that. They don't want politics (read: politics of the other side) in their entertainment. Commercial television has to get ratings, they have to appeal to broad categories. Public service comedy is even worse; they have to appeal to everyone!

The critique in OP's video is valid. I just can't think of any good solution to the problem. Be the change you want to see, I guess. And to be fair; everything he accuses the comedians of doing is done by all sorts of alternative media pundits, all the time. They just often aren't that funny. And the established late night shows do deserve more scrutiny, just because they are on top in that world.

originally posted by: Cutepants
There's some truth to what is said in the video.

I apologize. I have a little pet peeve about the word "truth". There is nothing in the video that is "truth". Everything in the video was "opinion". Opinions are not right, wrong, or lies. Opinions are never facts although many people in this country believe their own opinions ARE facts.

The problem with the video is the only way what is said in the video is "truth" is if you accept certain axioms as being facts. And that's kind of the whole point. People on the left, our comedians, and our humor, are different because we do not share the same axioms as being facts.

I respect your opinion. But I certainly do not agree with ANYTHING said in that video as being truth or a fact.

a reply to: Goedhardt

Actually the framing covers the full spectrum and each side finds the most outlandish coverage hey can find to highlight.

The media is not one institution.. it's thousands all in constant competition.

Some how the Fox News types just fooled everyone into lumping everyone not conservative enough into the "left" basket.

Pretty sure these shows are driven by ratings. If conservatives were interested in their inane, brain cell destroying banter the jokes would be the other way around.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
Late night comedy is ruining our country, but let's not talk about the divisive news outlets started in the 90's by conservative interests that have led to the polarized politics we see today.

Yes, because in a perfect world we would have all of our information fed to us from a single universally trusted source. We could use North Korea as a template! Funny, what I consider a different opinion you consider "divisive news".

a reply to: underpass61

News that interjects its opinion as news isn't news. If you can filter out a good chunk of the content of your "news" as opinion then you aren't taking in news. You are taking in what someone is telling you to think. Conservative media is built around telling you what to think. It wasn't until recently that liberal media went down a similar path with outlets like HuffPo.

But if you think that conservative media isn't divisive then I damn sure hope you don't agree with the OP, because comedians have been making fun of politicians on late night for half a century now.

a reply to: angeldoll

The fact that low-info people actually believe the bs you just spewed and continually regurgitate it is proof that the mainstream propagandists have been very successful in brainwashing the low-iq portion of the population.

Thanks for the evidence.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

There's the rub. The left acts like all conservatives are too dumb or uneducated to discern opinion from fact. We've heard it time and again from the MSM and daily here on ATS. It's that superiority complex that is driving the division.

I have absolutely no issues with late-night comedians. They can jabber all night long, they're not swaying my beliefs nor probably anyone else's. If the joke was funny I'm sure I'd laugh, I don't care who the target is. They're just playing to their base for ratings, and their base is eating it up.

a reply to: dfnj2015

Here's your call. Most liberals recognize the three major religions all worship the SAME God. And they are fighting and killing each other just because each group uses a different spelling.

But you don't criticize them all, you leave one out, and that's my point about choosing fat and easy targets. It lacks balls.

Yeah, we should totally get rid of them and replace them with only govt approved programming.
/sarcasm

Ironically, this is the argument that many other countries use to suppress free speech and the free press. Journalists get locked up for reporting on unapproved things, for giving a voice to opposition groups, and/or for criticizing officials/royalty, etc (called "lese majesty"). Ethiopia's arrested journalists under terrorism laws for giving voice to opposition groups while a lot of the ongoing Saudi/GCC vs Qatar crisis is centered around Al-Jazeera's programming (there's a lot more to it than just Al-Jazeera, but their shutdown was one of the conditions for a peace agreement) .

originally posted by: enlightenedservant
Yeah, we should totally get rid of them and replace them with only govt approved programming.
/sarcasm

Ironically, this is the argument that many other countries use to suppress free speech and the free press. Journalists get locked up for reporting on unapproved things, for giving a voice to opposition groups, and/or for criticizing officials/royalty, etc (called "lese majesty"). Ethiopia's arrested journalists under terrorism laws for giving voice to opposition groups while a lot of the ongoing Saudi/GCC vs Qatar crisis is centered around Al-Jazeera's programming (there's a lot more to it than just Al-Jazeera, but their shutdown was one of the conditions for a peace agreement) .

No one made such an argument, so I'm not sure why you're arguing against it.

originally posted by: Deny Arrogance
a reply to: angeldoll

The fact that low-info people actually believe the bs you just spewed and continually regurgitate it is proof that the mainstream propagandists have been very successful in brainwashing the low-iq portion of the population.

Thanks for the evidence.

Lol! Now, that's got to be satire!

originally posted by: underpass61
a reply to: Krazysh0t

There's the rub. The left acts like all conservatives are too dumb or uneducated to discern opinion from fact. We've heard it time and again from the MSM and daily here on ATS. It's that superiority complex that is driving the division.

Psh. Both sides do that. Hell you are doing it in this post. "the left acts like ..." Yeah. EXACT. SAME. THING.

I have absolutely no issues with late-night comedians. They can jabber all night long, they're not swaying my beliefs nor probably anyone else's. If the joke was funny I'm sure I'd laugh, I don't care who the target is. They're just playing to their base for ratings, and their base is eating it up.

Exactly my point. This OP is nonsense. Late night comedy has done its thing for a while now. You either like it or don't, but it isn't changing lives.

originally posted by: enlightenedservant
Yeah, we should totally get rid of them and replace them with only govt approved programming.
/sarcasm

Ironically, this is the argument that many other countries use to suppress free speech and the free press. Journalists get locked up for reporting on unapproved things, for giving a voice to opposition groups, and/or for criticizing officials/royalty, etc (called "lese majesty"). Ethiopia's arrested journalists under terrorism laws for giving voice to opposition groups while a lot of the ongoing Saudi/GCC vs Qatar crisis is centered around Al-Jazeera's programming (there's a lot more to it than just Al-Jazeera, but their shutdown was one of the conditions for a peace agreement) .

Excellent point.