I still can't for the life of me figure out why anyone gives a shit about what Joe Rogan says. We need to stop giving monumentally stupid people such large platforms.
He's popular because of long-format, uncensored interviews with interesting people in en era of heavy media manipulation and short form propaganda. It's not that hard to understand why he has a large audience. The amount of push back from people complaining about him "platforming" people they disagree with further adds to the appeal. People want free expression and exchange of ideas, not censorial hall monitors with holier-than-thou attitudes who think they know better than you.
The problem is meathead Joe Rogan lets his guests tell cool stories about their experiences to gain an audience, then proceeds to express the stupidest fucking thoughts imaginable to all those people from the gaping anus that serves as his mouth.
He's the first person to say not to listen to him. I don't have an issue with people expressing their opinions even if they're as mean as this; usually folks are nicer about it when it's in person and not online.
Sure that's fair. There is a lot of bullshit from a lot of places these days. You've gotta be able to filter it for yourself. You don't have to agree with every position someone has on every single political issue.
That’s exactly what I use to do. I’ve never agreed with all his opinions. But it went from “we just have different perspectives” to “I can’t tolerate this nonsense, willful ignorance, etc, etc.”
He really changed. He went from a lunkhead you could assume had his heart in the right place, even if he said dumb ignorant shit, to someone who’s spreading toxic ideologies that “other” people and sow broad and deep distrust in our institutions. — It’s beyond musing about conspiracy theories and talking about “they.” Now it’s active agenda laden conspiracy proselytization.
Whether or not you or I care what he has to say doesn't change that he has a huge audience of people who do care and if we just tune him out instead of rebutting his crazy shit he'll go completely unchecked.
There's an argument to be made that just engaging his bullshit gives it weight. Something about arguing with a pig just gets you pulled into the mud and the pig likes it or somesuch. (I know, I butchered that saying).
I honestly prefer the angle of "Oh, you listen to Joe Rogan. Then clearly your opinion is of no consequence and I want nothing with you".
"Oh this person did one thing that isn't permanent and they could possibly have their viewpoints changed if they were around people like me who disagree with them? Nah I'm going to tell them that because they listen to a podcast of a guy I hate that I think everything about them is wrong and then I will never speak to them again."
The only way to stop the young men and women from getting sucked down there pipeline into the alt right dude bro bullshit is to fucking talk to them like they are humans that can make mistakes. When you write them off entirely instantly without even a second thought you are robbing everyone involved of the potential for personal growth and understanding.
Ironically, Marc Andreessen was on the JRE podcast and brought up that the new "woke" stuff essentially functions as a cult or neo-religion without a concept of forgiveness.