I love this piece, Noah! Was a little taken aback by the headline (thinking, whaaaa—Beyoncé is nothing like that jerk Joe Rogan!), but thoroughly enjoyed your take. It’s good to be reminded that progressives (and our cousins, the Dems) already have an amazing culture that we need to celebrate more — a culture of openness, compassion, and justice for the marginalized and Othered. Thank you!
I really appreciate the focus on arts funding and culture more broadly. The thing about Rogan (or Swift or Beyonce...) is they aren't political idealogues with an agenda beyond creating something and generating revenue. Trying to create an equivalent just for partisan gain will backfire. Fund the things people like that generally aligns with your ideas and let it happen organicly. It's not like John Oliver and the Daily Show, etc. don't exist, they just aren't likely to capture or change the toxic manosphere nonsense out there. For that, there needs to be strong social pressures that signal how truly bad that is ( and how good and rewarding it is to be kind and caring)
I more or less agree with Anthony Israel-Davis that "a Joe Rogan of the Left" is a COSMICALLY stupid idea—moreover, it's one that the Democratic Party has shot down or co-opted to bad effect every time it dares to lift its head up even a little. Remember when Rachel Maddow was a smart, funny, unabashedly Leftist radio show host on the struggling (because "rich libburuls" can't be arsed to finance radio, television, or podcast networks like Billionaire Nazis can!) Air America radio network? I loved her show so much I once did a (not very well-done) mashup of her with David Tennant's Tenth Doctor on DOCTOR WHO. That was before she went on MSNBC and sold out by being a Shill for $Hillary Rodham Clinton, who couldn't even fucking beat her hand-picked fucking *jibroni* Donald Trump!
While I do believe we need something like Air America to come back, offering well-financed and smart radio (or audio podcasts) shows that don't have to be afraid of losing sponsorship because, Oh! BP doesn't LIKE that Keith Olbermann is talking about how their biggest oil spill ever happened due to Not Enough Regulation, or Oh! How DARE Lawrence O'Donnell talk about how much of a cowardly simp "Good German" Jeff Bezos is!? I agree that The Democrat Party Pet Podcast Netwurz, and the attempt to push Gavin Newsom as Joe Rogan's DNC-approved "liberal" alternative, is doomed to failure. Bernie Sanders or AOC MAY be a good counter to the likes of Joe Rogan—but the Democratic Party hates THEM more than they hate Trump, because Trump is doing their rich donor dirty work for them!
Great piece Noah! I completely agree with your take here. Fuck Joe Rogan! And that model. It makes sense that bros gravitate to a message that centers and tells them they are the most important voice in any given room. We are not going to steal his audience, who like being the most important, with a message of inclusion. Your idea of the weekly papers is pretty genius because it is inclusive. The weekly paper in my town, Eugene, Oregon, recently bounced back from an embezzlement that very nearly shuttered it. Community support has kept it alive. Once a community has a print space like that, its loss is pretty devastating.
Also, I don’t see a left wing propaganda machine being successful.
"After every election loss, Democrats bemoan the dominance of right-wing media and the outsized influence which the right has on culture. Meanwhile, Republican media is largely devoted to endless whining about the dominance of left-wing media and the outsized influence the left has on culture."
They cannot recognize that their own personal and structural flaws, on both sides, are far more at fault for these things than any real or imagined opponent.
::Trump’s attack on arts funding demonstrates that Republicans understand that the arts are a nexus that is often inimical to them—and it also underlines the extent to which Democrats have failed to advance real, aggressive arts funding as a priority, or even an agenda item.::
Because honestly? Democrats are none too fond of the arts themselves, especially when it's not "acceptable" art! Their idea of "arts funding" is throwing the Corporation for Public Broadcast $25 (or whatever it is these days) to get a PBS tote bag, and maybe buy Ken Burns documentaries on DVD (or "buy" them on downloadable media)...which is cool, because Ken Burns gives awesome documentary! But Ken Burns is also a "safe" choice that NeoLiberals like Schmuck Schumer and Notorious P-Lousy can sit down and watch, comfortable and unchallenged, feeling benevolent towards Jackie Robinson finally breaking the color bar in baseball.
But toss Li'l Nas X, Sam Smith and Kim Petras, or even Megan Thee Stallion into that mix? Schumer and Pelosi will backpedal on The Arts so FAST they'll succeed in breaking Speed of Light! They don't want to support The Arts, they want to CONTROL it, and make it nice and acceptable to a world where THE WEST WING really happened, rather than being Aaron Sorkin's outdated fantasy of Kennedy-Era Liberal Consensus.
Gods, I hate Quisling Democrats like them so fucking much...!
Megan Thee Stallion literally appeared with Harris? Ds have not been eager to censor pop music or what have you in a while, and often seem quite comfortable appearing with performers who include somewhat controversial content.
I knew I liked Kamala Harris more than I do most "mainstream" Democrats, who are a bunch of smug Old Hillary NeoLib hypocrites.
I can completely see Schumer and Pelosi noping right out of supporting Li'l Nas X or Smith (who are gay men) and Petras (who's a transwoman), because that's the kind of people they are. I know Pelosi was sorta-kinda pro-gay rights at some point, but she's old and richer than sin now so she doesn't HAVE to be nice to gays any more!
I love this piece, Noah! Was a little taken aback by the headline (thinking, whaaaa—Beyoncé is nothing like that jerk Joe Rogan!), but thoroughly enjoyed your take. It’s good to be reminded that progressives (and our cousins, the Dems) already have an amazing culture that we need to celebrate more — a culture of openness, compassion, and justice for the marginalized and Othered. Thank you!
Thanks!
I really appreciate the focus on arts funding and culture more broadly. The thing about Rogan (or Swift or Beyonce...) is they aren't political idealogues with an agenda beyond creating something and generating revenue. Trying to create an equivalent just for partisan gain will backfire. Fund the things people like that generally aligns with your ideas and let it happen organicly. It's not like John Oliver and the Daily Show, etc. don't exist, they just aren't likely to capture or change the toxic manosphere nonsense out there. For that, there needs to be strong social pressures that signal how truly bad that is ( and how good and rewarding it is to be kind and caring)
I more or less agree with Anthony Israel-Davis that "a Joe Rogan of the Left" is a COSMICALLY stupid idea—moreover, it's one that the Democratic Party has shot down or co-opted to bad effect every time it dares to lift its head up even a little. Remember when Rachel Maddow was a smart, funny, unabashedly Leftist radio show host on the struggling (because "rich libburuls" can't be arsed to finance radio, television, or podcast networks like Billionaire Nazis can!) Air America radio network? I loved her show so much I once did a (not very well-done) mashup of her with David Tennant's Tenth Doctor on DOCTOR WHO. That was before she went on MSNBC and sold out by being a Shill for $Hillary Rodham Clinton, who couldn't even fucking beat her hand-picked fucking *jibroni* Donald Trump!
While I do believe we need something like Air America to come back, offering well-financed and smart radio (or audio podcasts) shows that don't have to be afraid of losing sponsorship because, Oh! BP doesn't LIKE that Keith Olbermann is talking about how their biggest oil spill ever happened due to Not Enough Regulation, or Oh! How DARE Lawrence O'Donnell talk about how much of a cowardly simp "Good German" Jeff Bezos is!? I agree that The Democrat Party Pet Podcast Netwurz, and the attempt to push Gavin Newsom as Joe Rogan's DNC-approved "liberal" alternative, is doomed to failure. Bernie Sanders or AOC MAY be a good counter to the likes of Joe Rogan—but the Democratic Party hates THEM more than they hate Trump, because Trump is doing their rich donor dirty work for them!
Great piece Noah! I completely agree with your take here. Fuck Joe Rogan! And that model. It makes sense that bros gravitate to a message that centers and tells them they are the most important voice in any given room. We are not going to steal his audience, who like being the most important, with a message of inclusion. Your idea of the weekly papers is pretty genius because it is inclusive. The weekly paper in my town, Eugene, Oregon, recently bounced back from an embezzlement that very nearly shuttered it. Community support has kept it alive. Once a community has a print space like that, its loss is pretty devastating.
Also, I don’t see a left wing propaganda machine being successful.
"After every election loss, Democrats bemoan the dominance of right-wing media and the outsized influence which the right has on culture. Meanwhile, Republican media is largely devoted to endless whining about the dominance of left-wing media and the outsized influence the left has on culture."
They cannot recognize that their own personal and structural flaws, on both sides, are far more at fault for these things than any real or imagined opponent.
::Trump’s attack on arts funding demonstrates that Republicans understand that the arts are a nexus that is often inimical to them—and it also underlines the extent to which Democrats have failed to advance real, aggressive arts funding as a priority, or even an agenda item.::
Because honestly? Democrats are none too fond of the arts themselves, especially when it's not "acceptable" art! Their idea of "arts funding" is throwing the Corporation for Public Broadcast $25 (or whatever it is these days) to get a PBS tote bag, and maybe buy Ken Burns documentaries on DVD (or "buy" them on downloadable media)...which is cool, because Ken Burns gives awesome documentary! But Ken Burns is also a "safe" choice that NeoLiberals like Schmuck Schumer and Notorious P-Lousy can sit down and watch, comfortable and unchallenged, feeling benevolent towards Jackie Robinson finally breaking the color bar in baseball.
But toss Li'l Nas X, Sam Smith and Kim Petras, or even Megan Thee Stallion into that mix? Schumer and Pelosi will backpedal on The Arts so FAST they'll succeed in breaking Speed of Light! They don't want to support The Arts, they want to CONTROL it, and make it nice and acceptable to a world where THE WEST WING really happened, rather than being Aaron Sorkin's outdated fantasy of Kennedy-Era Liberal Consensus.
Gods, I hate Quisling Democrats like them so fucking much...!
Megan Thee Stallion literally appeared with Harris? Ds have not been eager to censor pop music or what have you in a while, and often seem quite comfortable appearing with performers who include somewhat controversial content.
I knew I liked Kamala Harris more than I do most "mainstream" Democrats, who are a bunch of smug Old Hillary NeoLib hypocrites.
I can completely see Schumer and Pelosi noping right out of supporting Li'l Nas X or Smith (who are gay men) and Petras (who's a transwoman), because that's the kind of people they are. I know Pelosi was sorta-kinda pro-gay rights at some point, but she's old and richer than sin now so she doesn't HAVE to be nice to gays any more!
And I STILL hate them both so much...!