rudyharrelson

joined 2 years ago
[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't think I'm being "stubbornly naive about the system" by thinking it's okay for people to engage in nuanced discource. You and I will not agree on this, and I am not interested in further engaging with someone whose hardline rhetoric has gone so far as to demonize valid criticism.

There's nothing Biden could do to lose my vote in this election, but I'm not going to pretend he's a perfect candidate. And anyone who thinks we need to treat him as such is deluded. Democrats and progressives (like me) knew he wasn't a perfect candidate in 2020, but they knew he could garner enough support to beat Trump, and he did. Will he do it again? No idea, but I'm not interested in silencing valid criticisms now any more than I was in 2020, because the game hasn't changed since then. You think January 6 changed anything? Ask any given Republican if January 6 changed which party they'll be voting for. There's your answer.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

True, he wasn't retired during that time. I was wrong. He just wasn't the frontman sitting behind the desk each night.

If you think I'm part of "the problem" because I do not identify as a campaign staffer and do not assign that role to others during an election cycle, or that valid criticisms of candidates are off the table during the election cycle, then we can end the discussion here. As far as I'm concerned, you're part of the problem because you assume, ultimately, that any nuanced discussion is invalid because Americans are too stupid or ignorant for that kind of discussion to ever be anything more than ammunition for the opposition, which I know isn't the case. Have a good one!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I believe we fundamentally disagree about what Stewart's job is. He spoke his mind in public for years, retired for several years, and now is back to speaking his mind in public again.

Can we at least agree that Stewart's mind has many things in it, and choosing to turn a specific one into a TV show is a conscious decision?

Sure? But that hasn't exactly been the fundamental issue you seem to be taking with his actions, is it? First you said:

Yeah, well, welcome to why you don't talk shit about your candidate during a campaign. Your nuanced point is going to get flattened down to "even his allies are criticising him". Weirdly, this exact quote dismantles his entire monologue there.

To which I replied that it isn't fair to say Stewart can't criticize his preferred candidate just because talking heads will spin it whichever way benefits them. Then you said:

But that doesn't change the fact that any statement right now is a campaign statement. People think they can ignore politics for years and then act all surprised when they're told to postpone "valid criticism". Nah.

To which I replied that Stewart's audience isn't on the fence and the conservative talking heads' audience isn't either. Then you said:

I'm worried about people reading the article above reminding them that even Stewart thinks Biden is too old. Is that what he said? It doesn't matter, it's something you can say out loud now. And repeat endlessly in campaign rallies and propaganda disguised as news.

To which I replied that your core issue seems to be with disinformation, not Stewart himself. Then you said:

It's not a problem of disinformation. [...] Stewart chooses what to talk about. Focus is message.

To which I replied that TDS has always talked about the current news cycle and attempted to inject sanity into the discussion, which is absolutely true; I won't argue this point with you.

So yeah, Stewart made a conscious choice to talk about... the topic that everyone is currently talking about. And he didn't treat his preferred candidate with kid gloves. And pundits will use it as ammunition. If Stewart had been silent about this completely valid criticism of Biden, pundits would have just used someone else's out-of-context quote, or just made something up entirely.

It appears we will not agree on this issue, which is fine. Just giving my perspective on why Stewart isn't obligated to silence himself when he's not being in any way unreasonable. He's a comedian and a commentator, not a campaign staffer.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (7 children)

The Daily Show has always talked about the current news cycle, specifically to try to inject some sanity into the discussion because people are going to talk about whatever the current hype is regardless of whether or not The Daily Show ignores it or not.

And Stewart absolutely is speaking his mind. He's telling his audience what he thinks about the current thing being talked about. Which is that Biden and Trump are both the oldest candidates to ever run for office, and questions about their faculties are valid from their voters.

Do you think next week Stewart will still be talking about Biden and Trump's age? Doubtful. He'll likely be talking about some different topic that has been making the rounds in the news cycle, like aid for Ukraine or the Isreal/Gaza conflict, etc. He could've covered those topics last week, but that would've just been ignoring the elephant in the room regarding the fact that many voters are unhappy with geriatric candidates. So he addressed it. That's speaking his mind.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (9 children)

It seems to me that your issue is with disinformation, which isn't Stewart's fault. You seem to be blaming him for the fact that people will take him out of context or misrepresent what he said. I don't fault him for that when he's being fair with his criticisms. Sure, he could completely avoid ever criticizing Biden at all to avoid getting taken out of context, but I do not fault him at all for not participating in the insanity by refusing flatly to ever criticize his preferred candidate. You seem to dislike that he has chosen to speak freely even though he knows disinformation campaigns will use his statements as ammunition, but I certainly don't. I appreciate his candor and I don't fault him for speaking his mind even though bad actors will be waiting in the wings to corrupt his positions.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Welp, guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I don't think Stewart needs to campaign for Biden. We know Stewart is rooting for Biden to beat Trump. I'd rather he be a voice of reason than a campaign staffer. I doubt anyone watching Stewart's show is now going, "Hmm, maybe I'll stay home or vote for Trump instead cause Biden is too old."

Stewart's primary audience is already rooting for Biden. The audience of conservative talking heads spinning Stewart's reasonable criticisms already weren't gonna vote for Biden. Ultimately, I think Stewart has just introduced much needed earnest discussion into what is going to be an insane and vitriolic election year.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

I regret selling mine when I was 17 cause I wanted to buy a paintball gun and gear. At the time, it was a great call cause I didn't play any N64 games at the time, and I got to have a blast playing paintball with my friends.

But man I wish I'd sold something else back then so I could still have my original N64 and games. Still got the ol' NES and Sega Genesis at least.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Perhaps OP is looking for a local organization to pick up trash with. Some people like working in groups for a common good.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago

After a little searching, I found a couple of resources you might find handy:

https://indivisible.org/groups - find activist groups near you
https://givingcompass.org/nonprofits - browse nonprofit social justice groups you can join
https://www.globalgiving.org/ - browse global crises that need funding
https://www.astartingpoint.com/ - tangentially related, this organization focuses on discussion of contentious ongoing issues

[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (16 children)

I don't think it's fair to say Stewart shouldn't critique Biden during a campaign just because dishonest talking heads will spin it to their advantage. Someone has to be willing to give an earnest and nuanced take that doesn't ignore valid criticisms of their own side. That's having integrity. And we need more of it, not less.

If Stewart had ignored all the criticisms of Biden during the show, the talking heads would have just spun some other show's takes like they always do. They're gonna do it regardless of how honest Stewart is cause that's their job.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

OP definitely didn't "do the homework" for the kid based on the description of events. You are wildly exaggerating if you are suggesting typing the essay that the kid dictated is tantamount to doing the homework for them.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

OP already made it a learning moment. He told his kid it was his fault and he'd take responsibility for it. The kid also learned her parent has humility and has her back when things go wrong.

Sure, you can go the other route and have her re-write it, but I don't think that would've been as good a learning experience for the kid. "Life sucks sometimes kiddo. Sometimes you do nothing wrong and still get saddled with extra work and strife." The kid's 13. Give em a break, Red Forman.

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