• congressbaseballfan [she/her]
    ·
    edit-2
    4 years ago

    I like to hate on John Oliver’s lib takes as much as the next person, but god damn this puts how much worse all of these other ghouls are in perspective

    • Saint [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I honestly don't understand the hate for him on this site.

      • thethirdgracchi [he/him, they/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        I think a lot of it is expecting him to be something he's not. Oliver is still a mouthpiece for capital, he still dunks on China, North Korea, etc, but he gets people maybe 60% of the way there in terms of conceptualizing what the major problems are with our societal system and some potential solutions. He's an important piece in the pipeline, and deserves critical (emphasis on critical) support. He at least recognizes that a lot of the problems are deeper than "orange man bad" or "political gridlock." They're not going to let anybody further left than him have any sort of major television talkshow thing, and pretending otherwise is disingenuous.

        • CommCat [none/use name]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 years ago

          if you constantly attack the enemies of Empire, but highlight domestic problems, it's not a pipeline to leftism, it's a pipeline to Soc Dem Imperialists. American leftists need to realize that nations getting bombed and starved by its Empire is far greater than free college and healthcare.

          • thethirdgracchi [he/him, they/them]
            ·
            4 years ago

            That's actually a good point, can't argue with that. The collapse of the United States is more important for global wellbeing than universal healthcare in the US or whatever. I know John Oliver does at least talk about the military industrial complex though.

          • hogposting [he/him,comrade/them]
            ·
            4 years ago

            You're right that people America is bombing and starving should take precedence over Americans getting free college, but absent a cataclysmic nuclear war, the only way to shut down the imperial machine is from the inside. That's going to require some form of mass political movement. I don't think it's possible to build one of those around dismantling empire (something that goes far beyond opposition to a particular war, or opposition to the scale of military spending).

            I do think it's possible to build a mass movement around education and healthcare, and I think that movement can be a stepping stone to an anti-imperial movement.

      • SerLava [he/him]
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        I don't hate him, but he does quite a lot of lib takes. He's good on a lot of things, but can be intensely wrong. I think overall he's a positive honestly.

  • happybadger [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Late night television is the white crack epidemic. Multiple generations of liberals have been ruined by laughing along with a white guy telling them the top news story of the day. It ruined their political projects to the point that their opposition to the Iraq War and Bush years and protofascism culminated in the Rally for Sanity.

    Take a stroll in Central Park, Jimster.

    • SerLava [he/him]
      ·
      edit-2
      4 years ago

      It ruined their political projects to the point that their opposition to the Iraq War and Bush years and protofascism culminated in the Rally for Sanity.

      Sadly this weak, mealy mouthed, self-important bullshit was coming from literally the only mainstream voice that didn't gurgle George Bush's balls while attempting to form the words "support the troops"

      I don't think Late Night Talking White Guys turned Iraq War opposition into milquetoast nothingness, I think they turned earnest bloodlust into milquetoast nothingness.

      • happybadger [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        That's where it becomes so toxic. It's presented by spectacle as the most accessible opposition voice. It's even given a little bit of leeway to criticise atomised elements of power. However, it's as real as the female orgasm and only serves to recuperate whatever radical energy someone has built up over the course of the day into voting for the democrat. It's a daily "I see you, I hear you, you're valid" ritual from the mouth of the beast.

  • Wrecker [they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    This just in- high paid host of network television is a mouthpiece for capital. But first! We're going to our news team LIVE and ON THE SCENE to answer the question- is water wet?

  • shiteyes [ze/hir]
    ·
    4 years ago

    It's kind of like watching the creatures in Doom fight

  • spez_hole [he/him,they/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    just thinking about the amount of mass depravity required for this guy to host a popular tv show :deeper-sadness: