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rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#250476: Jul 27th 2018 at 9:32:23 AM

This has been going on for several pages and I have to wonder... what does this have to do with US Politics past Cernovich happening to be alt-right?

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
AngelusNox Warder of the damned from The guard of the gates of oblivion Since: Dec, 2014 Relationship Status: Married to the job
Warder of the damned
#250477: Jul 27th 2018 at 9:33:50 AM

Wait, that is what is getting people pissed off? Shitty comments and Family Guy tier jokes?

Meanwhile for a Alt-Righter or right winger to get fired he needs to be caught on tape yelling NIGGER NIGGER NIGGER or Kill all Jews.

Seriously?

Inter arma enim silent leges
Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#250479: Jul 27th 2018 at 9:38:38 AM

[up][up][up]Well.. that's the entire point. It's a manufactroversy pushed by the alt-right.

But this discussion may be better suited somewhere else.

[up][up]Yes seriously.

Edited by Fourthspartan56 on Jul 27th 2018 at 12:42:39 PM

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#250480: Jul 27th 2018 at 9:50:55 AM

[up][up][up] Well, the question is what you need to do to get fired by Disney...the answer is: Be a potential danger to their brand. That's why Roseanne got the boot over a racist joke, that is why Gunn got the boot, that's why they are working on getting rid of Lassiter, and that's why this one ABC pundit (I forget the name) is still working for Disney and in no danger to get fired, because the accusations against him were completely manufactured instead of exaggerated.

BlueNinja0 The Mod with the Migraine from Taking a left at Albuquerque Since: Dec, 2010 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Mod with the Migraine
#250481: Jul 27th 2018 at 9:54:39 AM

Speaking of alt-right racism caught on tape, S. B. Cohen fired on the city of Kingman, AZ on his show, and the city is hitting right back frantically denying it ever happened.

    Full Article Text 
Emphasis mine.
The city of Kingman, Arizona, is the latest target of Sacha Baron Cohen’s satirical show Who Is America?, and local officials are scrambling to respond to the comedian’s portrayal of Kingman residents as racist.

In a segment that aired on Sunday, Cohen poses as a member of a development firm presenting plans for a multimillion dollar project in Kingman to a focus group of residents. When Cohen reveals the project would be the world’s largest mosque outside the Middle East, the locals are not pleased, and they vehemently criticize Cohen’s increasingly outlandish ideas. One participant says that he associates the word mosque with terrorism and later states that “we don’t even want [Muslims] in our town.” Another man asserts outright that he is “racist towards Muslims.” Someone else implies that even black people are unwelcome in Kingman.

Once Kingman’s leaders saw how the show depicted the city, they quickly tried to do some damage control. Mayor Monica Gates condemned the show’s portrayal, saying that it was misleading and did not reflect the city she knows. Gates also questioned whether the focus group participants were actually members of the community. “I didn’t recognize a soul in that video,” she told the Washington Post.

On Tuesday, the city posted a statement on Facebook, claiming that Cohen “baited” the focus group participants into making bigoted statements and further alleging that many of the people in the segment do not actually live in Kingman. The statement initially tries to downplay the significance of the Who Is America? segment, pointing to the show’s “very low ratings” and noting that other American cities have their fair share of intolerant residents.

However, the statement then pivots to announce that the city will double down on its diversity and inclusion efforts in response to the segment:

It might be easy to laugh off what took place Sunday night … [b]ut shrugging this off is not going to be us. We’re going to use this opportunity to keep moving our community forward with the help of many community stakeholders including the Kingman Interfaith Council. And while we’ve been making progress the comments in the show, fairly or unfairly, show that we still have more work to do.

The statement lists plans to introduce a resolution in support of National Hispanic Heritage Month, invite a prominent black pastor to Kingman to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and coordinate with Kingman’s Interfaith Council to develop the city’s first-ever Diversity Commission. These initial steps are promising, though it remains to be seen what will happen once the public outcry over the segment wanes.

Could Cohen have imagined that a town would attempt to reckon with the deep-seated racism and xenophobia exposed by his show? If so, Who Is America? might be good for much more than a few laughs.

Edited by BlueNinja0 on Jul 27th 2018 at 9:55:41 AM

That’s the epitome of privilege right there, not considering armed nazis a threat to your life. - Silasw
PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#250482: Jul 27th 2018 at 9:59:04 AM

Good. Lord knows AZ needs a kick in the pants, and I live there.

fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#250483: Jul 27th 2018 at 10:08:56 AM

Does SBC's new show have a page yet?

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#250485: Jul 27th 2018 at 11:25:08 AM

They cut tariffs in general. Until Congress slashes Trump's authority to invoke national security to erect new tariffs without their approval, and reverses the ones he's put into place already, its all hot air.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#250486: Jul 27th 2018 at 11:34:03 AM

Wow. I wonder if Trump will veto that only to face an override.

Anyway, my district went 55-45, so pretty light blue. Anchorage in general is divided between blue and red by Tudor Road, south of which is mostly red country and north of which is blue.

Oddly, Alaska doesn't seem as divided along urban-rural lines as some of America.

TheWanderer Student of Story from Somewhere in New England (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Wishfully thinking
Student of Story
#250487: Jul 27th 2018 at 11:44:52 AM

I'm sorry; did you just say you think Roman Polanski is innocent?

Pretty sure this is a reference to Cernovich trying to pull this same get someone whose politics I disagree with fired because of something they said on social media thing.

Sam Seder, a host on MSNBC, said something obviously satirical criticizing the way Hollywood was falling over themselves to excuse Polanski, (iirc it was something along the lines of “Gee, if my underage daughter is ever sexually abused, I hope it’s by a talented director, because that makes everything ok!”) as well as more straightforward criticisms. The alt-Reich Twitter trolls only talked about the satirical comment, pretended to take it seriously, then tried to get Seder fired. It almost worked, Seder was suspended and on the edge of losing his job before cooler heads (not to mention the frantic lobbying of Seder and the fans) prevailed.

It’s part of why I said earlier that while keeping a clean house is good, making sure action is really justified is better. I don’t really give a single damn about Gunn, the Guardians movies were pretty good and it sucks for assholes like Cernovich or Anglin to get away with what they are trying to do, but it’s nothing to me.

What does matter is that these tactics have been used on a much nastier and larger scale to attempt to screw over people and organizations we definitely need in the world and working to make it a better place. We should recognize the manipulation for what it is, and not be so eager to stay ahead of ginned up outrage that we fall into “Ready, fire, aim!” when it inevitably is used again, probably without even a shred of truth, ala the Planned Parenthood video, the Acorn video, the Shirley Sherrod speech, etc.

| Wandering, but not lost. | If people bring so much courage to this world...◊ |
MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Ahr river
#250488: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:09:05 PM

I read the offensive jokes Gunn made and frankly, I wish all jokes were only as offensive as that. My life would be a lot easier.

—shrug— I'm a fan of consistency. If you make jokes ten years ago and stop doing it, I'll give the benefit of the doubt up until you relapse. And let's face it, pedophilia is often a rhetorical device used by the alt-right. When you look into techniques used by Scientology and the like, the first thing they do is find ways to link you to pedophilia or a moment of anger, in order to defame you.

The problem with big no-nos in moral society, is that alt-right types will latch onto them because of how well they work to horrify people.

Read my stories!
Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#250489: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:24:17 PM

[up] Of course if someone is trying to discredit you, pedophilia is one of the routes they're going to search for, because it's pretty effective and morally indefensible, just look at Roy Moore, was that something brought up by the alt-right in his case?

Life is unfair...
MrAHR Ahr river from ಠ_ಠ Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: A cockroach, nothing can kill it.
Ahr river
#250490: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:28:06 PM

...I never said that, and in fact implied the opposite so... no?

All I said was, because it's such a big bad thing, it can be coopted by cults and con artists and other people looking to dupe society.

Edited by MrAHR on Jul 27th 2018 at 3:30:15 PM

Read my stories!
PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#250491: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:29:19 PM

Honestly, the Gunn jokes in question are bad, but I've seen worse. Much worse. Hell, years ago as a stupid naive teenager I've SAID worse.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#250492: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:32:03 PM

[up][up][up]

Just to point out, what Moore was accused of was Ephebophilia, which is different from pedophilia.

In more pertinent news, Trump tweeted (because of course he fucking did) that he had no knowledge of the Trump Tower meeting before it took place.

.....I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary’s lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!

I think it's safe to say that at this point, Cohen will continue singing like a canary as the bridge with Trump is fully burned.

Edited by ironballs16 on Jul 27th 2018 at 12:34:01 PM

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
Swanpride Since: Jun, 2013
#250493: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:41:36 PM

Look, in most other jobs I would agree that James Gunn didn't need to get fired over it. If you work for an accounting firm nobody will really care if you made those jokes or not. But parents tend to care, and they don't want to get their children getting in contact with that sh.. So if you work in a day care or for a studio known for its family friendly franchises and you employer decides to ride it out: Good for you, you got lucky. But you getting fired for this shit is just as understandable, no matter WHO accused you.

It might be naive, but I don't want to use the tactics of the alt-right. If they continue to play the man instead of the ball, I'll be happy to show them the red card as often as possible, even if those wins are few and far between. But I don't want to do what they do. Because then you don't have a match anymore, but a disgusting display in which both participants look bad and in the end, someone breaks his back and then the host team goes down in a humiliating defeat in the next round…

sorry, got carried away with the Metapher a little bit…..

Anyway, the Got G franchise will survive this, James Gunn will survive this, the MCU will survive this, and if there will be more hit jobs in the future, well, they will only succeed if there is something to find in the first place. Meanwhile Roseanne is still without job and without the revenue from her show.

Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#250494: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:41:43 PM

Yikes. At this rate, Trump will have badmouthed all his lawyers and all the people who worked in his presidential campaign by 2020. Hopefully this makes Cohen a bit more receptive to telling some of the more unsavory stories about his boss.

Life is unfair...
PhysicalStamina i'm tired, my friend (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
i'm tired, my friend
#250495: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:42:07 PM

[up][up][up]Diddling minors is diddling minors.

Edited by PhysicalStamina on Jul 27th 2018 at 3:41:56 PM

i'm tired, my friend
sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#250496: Jul 27th 2018 at 12:47:08 PM

Just to point out, what Moore was accused of was Ephebophilia, which is different from pedophilia.
Yeah, all things considered this is a Distinction Without a Difference.

ironballs16 Since: Jul, 2009 Relationship Status: Owner of a lonely heart
#250497: Jul 27th 2018 at 1:06:42 PM

[up]

Eh, not entirely, as depending on where you live, it might be considered a consensual relationship with the teen, but never with a prepubescent kid (at least in modern times). Hawaii infamously pegged it at 14 until 2001, which is part of why it's considered a felony to transport a minor across State lines to exploit that loophole.

Back to the article, though, as this particular part jumped out at me - emphasis added.

Donald Trump Jr.'s attorney Alan Futerfas issued a statement Thursday saying Trump Jr. "has been professional and responsible throughout the Mueller and Congressional investigations. We are very confident of the accuracy and reliability of the information that has been provided by Mr. Trump, Jr., and on his behalf."

Trump Jr. testified before Congress about the meeting, which was also attended by then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump Jr. told Senate investigators his father "wasn't aware of it."

Trump Jr. did, however, make phone calls to someone with a blocked number at the time he was setting up the meeting. The older Trump used a blocked number, according to the accounts of other witnesses. Trump Jr. told Congress he didn't remember with whom he spoke.

If Mueller's investigators or others could establish that Trump Jr. had been speaking with his father at the time he was organizing the Trump Tower meeting with the Russian delegation, that might bolster whatever statement Cohen was willing to make to the Justice Department.

Edited by ironballs16 on Jul 27th 2018 at 1:10:36 AM

"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"
fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#250498: Jul 27th 2018 at 1:15:35 PM

Yeah, no. It's a stupid distinction and I wish people weren't obsessing over Insistent Terminology.

Fourthspartan56 from Georgia, US Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
#250499: Jul 27th 2018 at 1:16:32 PM

[up]Seconded.

It was sexual predation and that's more or less all that matters.

"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji Yang
fruitpork Since: Oct, 2010
#250500: Jul 27th 2018 at 1:20:02 PM

Side note, why do we even have the page for it on this site to begin with? It seems redundant.


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