I know he's a shitlord, but just how much of a shitlord is he in an interview? Are we talking "frothing at the mouth Fox News host/Alex Jones" or "holier-than-though asshole"?
i havent watched it, and i wont because i love myself, but it's sargon of akkad with his trademark ill thought out "classical liberalism" and tilting at strawmen so
sargon of akkad is kinda different from most of those types because of this weird proprietary blend of reactionary social attitudes, internet libertarianism and socialism that really doesnt feel well thought out at all
like, he seems to not really understand how various things he says just dont mesh with one another, he says he's a "classical liberal" but then he says "a system that breeds billionaires shouldnt exist"
naming yourself sargon of akkad and then talking about politics is just bizarre
hi, i'm nebuchadnezzar ii. you may remember me from your religious texts, which still curse my name over two thousand years after my death. today, i'd like to talk about secretary kerry's recent comments on the camp david accords
I glanced through the video, and yes, yes it's them discussing "social justice" stuff in music and musical spaces (one sliver I listened to was about free spaces in musical discussion).
I am curious because it's such a deeply strange setup—Fantano does like to mess with a certain segment of the Tumblr crowd but the majority of his views are the polar opposite of this guy's—but I really don't want to give this person views.
So apparently he seems friendly with a couple of these guys and has shown up on their podcasts but I honestly still can't figure out how this became a thing. Maybe it's like James Carville and his wife? I honestly don't get it.
I do know that he shares their dislike for Anita Sarkeesian, but I feel like his dislike is "you're making a living off pointing at a problem while doing nothing to support and cultivate available alternatives," while theirs is... something else entirely.
naming yourself sargon of akkad and then talking about politics is just bizarre
hi, i'm nebuchadnezzar ii. you may remember me from your religious texts, which still curse my name over two thousand years after my death. today, i'd like to talk about secretary kerry's recent comments on the camp david accords
This is my last stick of gum
I'm going to cut it up so everybody else gets some
Except for Ashurbanipal, who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-daroan
Youtubers in general just do not know how to edit. Recording everything live to tape is a great way to bore people, especially if your video has a topic.
I think naming yourself after something old gives you a small amount of inherited gravitas inherently.
It's the Napoleon Dynamite principle, except the people who made that movie were smart enough to know that you can only name your main character Napoleon if he's the complete opposite of Bonaparte.
See, the vibe I'm getting from Sargon of Akkad is not that of an awful, mean-spirited reactionary, but a well-intentioned but really privileged guy who buys into a handful of really dubious ideas ideas about how society works or should work in and amongst otherwise reasonable views and just fundamentally misunderstands how his opponents see the world and think about it.
On the other hand, while I do feel like Fantano holds some views of his own that I really disagree with, he sees more of the big picture and, at one point, straight up schools this guy on why affirmative action exists, which is kind of great.
See, the vibe I'm getting from Sargon of Akkad is not that of an awful, mean-spirited reactionary, but a well-intentioned but really privileged guy who buys into a handful of really dubious ideas ideas about how society works or should work in and amongst otherwise reasonable views and just fundamentally misunderstands how his opponents see the world and think about it.
this actually seems to apply to quite a bit of GamerGate, from what I've heard. As soon as they realise what they're railing against is an actual person and not an Internet meme, they're like "Oh. Oh my God."
He actually has distanced himself from GG itself. To his (small) credit, and for that very reason.
Still doesn't understand why identity politics exist or how they work, though. Kinda like a lot of moderate Republicans. And the thing is, he's not stupid and he shows intellectual curiosity and some empathy. But his social politics are just so deeply misinformed and wildly off-base. Like, you can't use the pragmatism card and idealise reality like that at the same time.
I'm listening to the podcast now, and I think I pretty much agree with Sredni.
I'd like to add that the disconnect probably comes in part because he is British. I've noticed how, generally, when a person seems to appear reasonable yet spouts off political views that are kinda crazy, it tends to be because they're European and consequently don't really understand how U.S. politics works.
(Of course, you can get that disconnect if you have sufficient privilege as an American as well, as David Brooks and his ilk demonstrate, but that's another topic.)
As a rule, I have no respect for anyone who has "distanced" themselves from GamerGate without any real condemnation.
Likewise even if I disagree with Anita Sarkeesian given her position in internet discourse I pretty much instantly lose some amount of respect for people who publicly criticize her without putting forth sufficient effort to make sure that gators can't weaponize their criticisms.
like you know that little grey icon with three dots and you hover over it and it gives you the option to flag or say you aren't interested
uh
no????
when was this added????
forever ago? if you hover your cursor over the thumbnail or title of a video it causes this little thing to appear that generally gives you those two options
But yeah, it was way less awful than I thought it would be, but it's still kind of like if Fantano had talked to, like, a really affable Republican about how social issues relate to music culture. I was never angry per se, but I shook and quizzically tilted my head a lot in bemusement. Like, dude does not get how feminism or institutional racism works at all, to an almost comical degree, and on some level he seems to recognise that he's missing something, but he never takes a long, hard look at that part of his ideology because he's so sheltered and theory-obsessed. I can imagine that if he'd lived in the bad part of town, he'd be a Marxist.
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i mean, i found anthony fanbamaramo like low-key annoying but i thought he was an ok dude
but anyone who would talk with sargon of akkad for over 2 hours
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
hi, i'm nebuchadnezzar ii. you may remember me from your religious texts, which still curse my name over two thousand years after my death. today, i'd like to talk about secretary kerry's recent comments on the camp david accords
I'm gonna go in on Incognito view on Chrome if I watch this. I recommend that you do the same if possible, Sredni.
That said, I'm still not sure whether I'll actually take the plunge or not.
I do know that he shares their dislike for Anita Sarkeesian, but I feel like his dislike is "you're making a living off pointing at a problem while doing nothing to support and cultivate available alternatives," while theirs is... something else entirely.
It's not just reacto atheists, there was an antinatalist dude who would do this too.
This is my last stick of gum
I'm going to cut it up so everybody else gets some
Except for Ashurbanipal, who says my haircut makes me look like a Mohenjo-daroan
Hey, Ashurbanipal I'm a Mesopotamian
Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal, and Gilgamesh
On the other hand, while I do feel like Fantano holds some views of his own that I really disagree with, he sees more of the big picture and, at one point, straight up schools this guy on why affirmative action exists, which is kind of great.
Maybe on Sunday I'll be able to do so...
*RCA Victor Dog head-tilt*
Still doesn't understand why identity politics exist or how they work, though. Kinda like a lot of moderate Republicans. And the thing is, he's not stupid and he shows intellectual curiosity and some empathy. But his social politics are just so deeply misinformed and wildly off-base. Like, you can't use the pragmatism card and idealise reality like that at the same time.
I'd like to add that the disconnect probably comes in part because he is British. I've noticed how, generally, when a person seems to appear reasonable yet spouts off political views that are kinda crazy, it tends to be because they're European and consequently don't really understand how U.S. politics works.
(Of course, you can get that disconnect if you have sufficient privilege as an American as well, as David Brooks and his ilk demonstrate, but that's another topic.)
Likewise even if I disagree with Anita Sarkeesian given her position in internet discourse I pretty much instantly lose some amount of respect for people who publicly criticize her without putting forth sufficient effort to make sure that gators can't weaponize their criticisms.
and it does not give me the option to say I don't want to see it
that doesn't show up for this video, and only this video
Google wants me to suffer
MY LIFE HAS IMPROVED
But yeah, it was way less awful than I thought it would be, but it's still kind of like if Fantano had talked to, like, a really affable Republican about how social issues relate to music culture. I was never angry per se, but I shook and quizzically tilted my head a lot in bemusement. Like, dude does not get how feminism or institutional racism works at all, to an almost comical degree, and on some level he seems to recognise that he's missing something, but he never takes a long, hard look at that part of his ideology because he's so sheltered and theory-obsessed. I can imagine that if he'd lived in the bad part of town, he'd be a Marxist.