Posted on 06/13/2009 8:41:31 AM PDT by Nomad577
Stay on topic, stay on message, stay on target. We win, they lose.
The double-standard must die.
we buy into the liberal premise that people deserve to lose their livelihood for expressing disagreement with the conventional wisdom of the crybaby
Pedophilia and NAMBLA should be shouted from the rooftops!
I'm done.
>> Your position requires a belief that all ideas or positions on issues or actions are in and of themselves equal in terms of right and wrong.
Absolute nonsense. My position is that all speakers are equal in their right to espouse their ideas. That our position is true and correct does not give us the right to bludgeon those who are not.
The left thinks they are just as right as you and I know we are. They are wrong. But, under your theory, they can use the opinion that they hold ultimate “truth” as a justification for silencing you, harassing you, or getting you fired because you are “wrong”.
Conservatism is fundamentally about individual liberty. If we use our status as right to silence those who are wrong, we have fallen prey to a fundamentally liberal premise — that the wrong have no right to express their ideas. That position is anti-liberty and anti-conservative.
SnakeDoc
>> The right to free speech does not include the right to be immune from its effects. The government is enjoined from administering “punishment” for speaking out, but the people are not.
Constitutionally speaking, you are correct. I simply do not believe that David Letterman should be forced to surrender his livelihood because of a tasteless joke (any more than I believe that people should be fired for minor comments that have now been deemed “workplace harassment”).
We have the right to not watch — a right which I will employ. But, I will not demand his head on a platter for this.
I question the level of sensitivity that seems to have infected conservatism. We have taken a page from the liberal playbook that we should’ve left alone. Being a whiner is not appealing, and is not conservative. Let them be the ones who get their panties in a bunch over the words of a goofy comedian.
Liberal oversensitivity is not one of their more appealing characteristics. Why would I want to emulate? Sticks and stones, ladies and gentlemen ...
SnakeDoc
>> You don’t understand the purpose of letting off steam. It is not only to be expected as part of human nature, but also a healthy thing. You do it yourself. Everyone does it.
“Letting off steam” is a poor euphemism for throwing a hissy-fit. It is a lack of self-control, and its kind-of pathetic. It has only been deemed “healthy” by a generation who spend too much time on introspection, and whose level of self-control is ridiculously low.
I expect as much from liberals. I expect better from our side.
SnakeDoc
Keno was balanced and fairy.
You’re still missing the point of my initial post. The question was basically why Leno’s “joke” didn’t get the outcry that Letterman’s “joke” did. All I did was outline the differences, however slight, between the two.
I’m not excusing either of them.
There is a significant distinction between turning off the TV, and demanding that he be fired.
SnakeDoc
>> Tell that to Don Imus.
The man was railroaded.
>> I agree with your premise, but the only group that actually enjoys free speech is liberals. What they say is free, what we say is hate.
According to them, yes. According to many on this board, exactly the opposite is true. Both are wrong.
>> And while it’s important not to surrender our principles, it’s equally important not to surrender the battlefield.
Fight the good fight. This is not the battlefield, this is a distraction. There is a definite distinction between fighting for what you believe, and getting bent out of shape by every tasteless joke from a two-bit comedian. Letterman simply does not merit this much attention from the right.
SnakeDoc
SnakeDoc
The latter is simply not justified.
SnakeDoc
>> Pedophilia and NAMBLA should be shouted from the rooftops!
Why?
Making a horribly tasteless statutory rape joke is absolutely NOT pedophilia. To liken the two dilutes the activity of true pedophiles.
And NAMBLA is a disgusting homosexual pedophiles group, and is thus completely inapplicable to a male comedian that tells a tasteless joke about an underage female. Not only is Letterman not a pedophile — but the target of the joke was a girl (thus making the “Man-Boy Love Association” a ridiculous nonsequitur).
SnakeDoc
Whether he is “washed up” or a “waste of bandwidth” is not the issue — and is frankly irrelevant to this particular discussion. His dismissal is not a justifiable reaction to this tasteless joke.
If CBS deems him “washed up”, then they will be justified in removing him. I’ve seen little indication that this is the case.
SnakeDoc
When he loses many of his sponsors, He will definitely be washed up. The networks will be more than happy to cut him lose for younger, fresher talent. It’s time for Letterman to retire.
Is there any indication whatsoever that sponsors are bailing? They knew what they were getting with Letterman. He’s in the business of tasteless humor. This incident was hardly unprecedented.
And, honestly, I’m not sure many of his regular viewers care either. He wasn’t particularly popular among the right before this incident ... so his viewership likely won’t fall. In fact, with the additional publicity, I’d bet his viewership gets a boost.
SnakeDoc
We’ll have to agree to disagree. Either you are finished with Letterman, or you’re not. I’m done with him, and I think a lot of other people are too. I’ll be watching Conan from now on.
We aren’t debating personal preference. I don’t watch Letterman. I’ve long preferred the Tonight Show. Conan is far funnier than Letterman.
But, you’re distracting from the real issue. The question is not “which late show do you prefer?”, “are you going to watch Letterman?”, “do you think he’s washed up?”, or other such nonsense.
The question is does he deserve to be fired based on this obnoxious joke alone (i.e. assuming his audience is the same, his employers don’t consider him “washed up”, etc.)?
The answer should be “no”.
SnakeDoc
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