11-06-2022, 09:46 PM
(11-06-2022, 06:24 PM)GMDino Wrote: Oh, no. He's not a conservative...Rogan's gimmick is act like a moron who doesn't understand anything and ask questions without questioning what he is being told. It works because he is a mid-level moron.
Unfortunately too many people take that information as truth because Joe Rogan said it. Then when he comes out and says "Hey, don't listen to me. I'm a moron." they think he's just being funny. Because how could he get that show and all those listeners if he was a moron? Afterall they agree with what he has to say. And THEY aren't morons!
I don't feel like the show itself was ever conceived with the idea in mind of being a political touchstone. It took quite a while to move into that realm in a way that anyone would take note of on a national level.
I've always believed that he walks a dodgy line with his more political guests. His viewpoint is that of a comic that thinks people should be able to say whatever they want within the art form of comic writing. A whole lot of people will agree with that.
The danger that arises is that the alt-right and authoritarian nationalist crowd have figured out how to manipulate that stance in their favor. They will say some racist or homophobic or generally authoritarian shit, but package the trope in humor rather than aggressive invective. They are getting an inch and taking a mile. IMO that approach has been key in the degradation of faith in democratic norms. It's both genius and evil.
Rogan's role in that particular strategy is his intent to be inclusive with opinions and lassiez-faire stance toward what's acceptable in humor. It's a bit of a Trojan horse, and he's been a bit of a dupe with it all.
I def don't get the impression that he wants to shape the country's political landscape, nor did he ever think he was remotely capable of it. Unfortunately we have a population that's massively impressionable when it comes to celebrity influence and pseudo experts. They do not think their own thoughts. Their thoughts are the ones that influencers place in their heads masquerading as their own. Zero critical thinking.
That's how a guy like Joe gets where he is now, for better or for worse.
