Joe Rogan Cancels the Cancelers

Ever listen to the director's commentary for Fight Club? Fincher talks about how they had to have Tyler Durden say, "Did you know that you can make nitroglycerin out of orange juice and gasoline?" because while the book may have given the accurate formula, if they put it in the movie and some asshole actually made nitroglycerin and blew some shit up, they could expect to be sued. Or remember when CBS planned to put a Beavis and Butthead segment on Letterman's show, but then backed out when a woman falsely claimed that her kid was inspired to commit arson by Beavis saying, "Fire! Fire!" all the time?

Now, I think we can both agree that a movie isn't serious journalism, and neither is Beavis and Butthead, but if you're putting out content that has the potential to impact people (such as advising people to skip the COVID vaccine and opt for ivermectin), then you have a responsibility to make a reasonable effort to not spread bad shit.

The last time he was on Jones said that he apologized for his statements on Sandy Hook. I don't remember exactly what he said, but they didn't discuss it for very long because Jones was on thin ice with that one and Rogan wasn't about to let him spout a bunch of nonsense.

I’ll assume that you’re asking honestly, but it’s moments like these where I have to roll my eyes because it’s clear that critics don’t actually listen to the show much. Although Rogan does make excuses for Jones in terms of Jones’ mental health, the misinformation surrounding Sandy Hook has been 100% disavowed on JRE.

You're also missing who said that. Here's a hint: It wasn't @Fisherman's Worf. If Rogan was just a "dude having fun and not really thinking about his podcast," he wouldn't pay attention to his popularity and market power. He does.

Apologized? Afuckingpoligized?!!? Are you fucking kidding me? When your kid is gunned down and some asshole makes up shit so he can profit, then tell me a fucking apology is good enough.

Alex Jones can burn in hell.

And if Joe Rogan had him on his show, well, then, that’s enough for me. Joe Rogan can burn in hell too.

Calm down, chief, I didn't say shit about Sandy Hook.

Fair enough, if those are your values. But I would cite your two examples, especially the second, as unreasonably excessive censorship.

Furthermore, the fact that legacy media tries to nanny everyone and treat them like children who need to be shielded from potentially dangerous ideas, is precisely what has created the pent-up demand for alternative media that is far less doctrinaire, reverent, and “responsible.” Danger is part of the human experience, and people are going to get their fix one way or another.*

*Which is a large theme in Fight Club, so it’s ironic you bring it up.

You are praising a man who is profiting by providing a platform for a man who profited from the brutal deaths of children. Yes, you are an accomplice

Sorry if I screwed up the quotes. I am operating on my phone this morning.

Jones' apology, as I recall, wasn't really much of one. But I can't see why, unless Jones was going to do a full mea culpa and admit that he made the whole thing up, you'd want to have him on. Seriously. If you had a wildly successful podcast, TV show, or radio program, would you have Bill Cosby on after he got convicted of rape if he wasn't going to admit to the fact that he was a serial rapist? Okay, I can see how some folks (and I'm not trying to throw Rogan on this pile by any stretch of the imagination) would have Cosby on so that they could get publicity by luring Cosby on by promising to talk about his new stand up show, then blindside him with talk of the rape allegations and try to get him to confess to being a rapist. I don't think that you or Rogan would.

So why have Jones on? If you're not going to try to get him to confess to making shit up about Sandy Hook, why have him on? Because I don't give a shit about the other things that Jones might have to say, what his claims about Sandy Hook have done have caused real pain and suffering to people who are completely innocent. And it really doesn't matter to me if Jones intended folks to harass the parents of the kids who died at Sandy Hook, that was the result. Jones didn't even back down from his allegations until the families started suing him. That makes him human garbage in my book. So why sully your show with human garbage? The only reason I can think of is because it'll drive listeners/viewers to your show. Am I wrong?

So I rewatched the Sandy Hook part of the podcast with Alex Jones. They spend about fifteen minutes talking about it. Rogan straight up asks him if he denied Sandy Hook happened, he says yes, Rogan follows up with asking him if he still believed that, Jones says no. They then go into a few details as to why Jones believed it was fake, then the conversation moves on to another topic.

Alex Jones is hugely popular among many of Joe Rogan's viewers and they are friends in real life and he promised to have him on a second time. Rogan says this upfront as soon as the podcast begins.

Jesus fucking Christ.

And? Since 2000 it's been shown that Mel Gibson's made a number of homophobic, racist, and sexist comments. Do I need to watch every movie he's been in to form an opinion about him, or is the fact that he told an ex-girlfriend of his, "You look like a fucking bitch in heat, and if you get raped by a pack of niggers it'll be your fault." enough for me to say that I don't want to see anything he's been in?

Because that was more than enough (I'd quit watching his stuff after his homophobic comments came out, but then it got worse) for me. YMMV. And, honestly, I don't care if Gibson makes a sincere apology for what he's said and done and spends the rest of his life trying to make amends for it, I ain't gonna pay any attention to him, or give any money to him. That's kinda my right, don't you think?

Well, that settles it. I don’t need to know anything more of Joe Rogan to know he’s a piece of shit.

No one is contesting your rights. But you’re continuously trying to infer larger principles and realities based on irrelevant or incomplete data. That’s cherry-picking. Mel Gibson making those comments doesn’t stop The Patriot from being an entertaining movie, and frankly I don’t care what his social views are.

No idea who Richard Linklater is/was nor what Waking Life and Scanner Darkly is. But, thanks for the heads up in case I come across either in the future.

I guess some people can't separate the entertainment and the individual.

Ad hominem used to be a logical fallacy, and now it’s become a Prime Directive for woke lefties.

Who was he in Dazed and Confused?

I don’t recall. But I don’t think so. I’m not into stupid humor.

And you wonder why you get piled on here.

Capitalism being evil is another point brought up by Fight Club that lots of people miss out on.

As for "excessive censorship," well, that's kinda funny. You remember back in 2002 when there was a rash of mailbox bombings? Everybody was paranoid that it was Al Qaeda, and it turned out to be a white kid from MN? On a message board I was a member of at the time someone pointed out that the locations of the bombings looked like a smiley face. The bomber was apparently inspired by Fight Club. Do I blame the folks behind the movie for that? Nope. But it illustrates the point that no matter how careful one might be, there can still be unintended consequences from their actions. Would dude have made better bombs if a more accurate formula was given in the movie? I don't know. But I'd say anybody who tried to sue the producers over dude's actions should go pound sand as they took reasonable precautions.

What would you describe Mel Gibson as?

White supremacy.
He had on Stefan Molyneux back when he was dog whistling instead of regular whistling.