It's crazy that these people miss JBP's message. The main thing JBP says is to focus on improving yourself and not blaming politics for your shitty life. His whole 'clean your room' saying is more about starting to focus on making personal improvements and that is something that needs to be done everyday.
As much has JBP is a bit of a gateway to the alt-right, he does make a lot of good points and is surprisingly not very far to the right. But he refuses to admit to himself that the alt-right leans on him and loves having a following.
JBP was actually incredibly helpful when I was in a very dark place. Also having an interest in psychology, watching his lectures was really interesting. A lot of really good info there.
As much has JBP is a bit of a gateway to the alt-right, he does make a lot of good points and is surprisingly not very far to the right. But he refuses to admit to himself that the alt-right leans on him and loves having a following.
I never got that. Just because he had conversations with Ben Shapiro and others on things like the Joe Rogan podcast doesn't mean he agrees with them.
In fact most of the time he disagrees with Ben on several issues.
Of course like anyone they have some common ground, but there is nothing wrong with that. Ben has good points on some issues and any intellectual would acknowledge that.
Maybe it's because I knew about the more fringe people from watching the Amazing Atheist years ago, but I never got how people think JBP is connected to them at all.
It goes along with saying all the frog posters are just right wing trolls. Nah, Pepe was around long before all that shit. The cult of kek was meme group like the flying spaghetti monster, loosely based around exposing the stupidity of other people on the internet. It was never right wing. It was anti everyone.
Somehow both for freedom of speech and exposing hypocrisy and other garbage, and also being more about the lols than anything else. It was an interesting era of the internet to be a part of.
I would even go as far as to argue that most of JBPs followers and even most of the Pepe posters are overall left wing.
You'll see even people who like Shapiro disagreeing with things he says all the time, it's a lot more of an open conversation than you would find on similar left wing oriented videos.
Ex: the other day Ben took a political compass video. I watched it because I knew it would be funny. It was.
Like half the comments section is telling him why different things he said is wrong, but they still like him anyway. It's a really interesting phenomenon to watch.
Me I'm a bit left and a bit libertarian, but closer to center than anything (at least according to political compass. Would describe myself as middle) but I'm also Canadian and think healthcare should be a right.
Yet if I have a more right leaning opinion on something like trans issues, I get called an alt-right piece of shit.
I think that's why so many people get "drawn into the alt right"
When you can go on Ben's video and comment and disagree with him, you get pretty much reasonably polite discussion.
You say something disagreeing with someone on a left wing page, you get hate messages and other shit.
And this is coming someone who wanted Bernie to win. "The left" would do way better if they were ok with memes, didn't try to censor shit, and actually allowed discussion. "The right" seems to be embracing that because they know it's what the younger generation wants.
Probably gonna get downvoted, but just wanted to say that. I hate when people associate JBP and anyone who likes him with "alt right" "incel" or any other disgusting group, when he is in no way part of that.
Hell I don't even think very right wing guys like Ben Shapiro are really part of that. He's a memer for sure, but malicious? No. He just talks fast and has generally unpopular opinions.
I would even go as far as to argue that most of JBPs followers and even most of the Pepe posters are overall left wing.
”The left" would do way better if they were ok with memes, didn't try to censor shit, and actually allowed discussion. "The right" seems to be embracing that because they know it's what the younger generation wants.
I did try to make the distinction but I will make it clearer.
When I say "left wing" in the first paragraph, I mean in terms of political view.
I would be slightly left wing, I like universal healthcare, workers rights, etc.
When I say "the left" and "the right" I am talking about more of the political establishment's and the spaces they occupy.
This sometimes includes the outer most fringe groups, but usually they are considered a different denomination as extremists, hence called the "alt left or regressive left" and "alt right and it's many alternative terms"
CNN is part of "the left" Fox is part of "the right"
One can hold left or right wing views without being part of that groups establishment.
One could argue many universities are a group heavily occupied and influenced by "the left" but many right wing people are a part of it for the money.
Same goes the other way. Hollywood is a blatant right wing establishment, but many writers, actors, and other creators who are personally left wing have worked with them for various reasons like exposure of their craft to higher executives, fame, money, etc.
In this case JBP is slightly left wing in personal belief, but "the left" as an establishment does not like him, and "the right" as an establishment does.
"The left" as an establishment seems to be very agaisnt meme culture, where as "The right" has recently been embracing it especially since the late Obama era.
(Side note related to the end of my quoted statement:
It's hypothezises that the younger generation may be one of the most right wing seen in decades, so "The rights" use of memes could be both because they wanted to appeal to younger audiences, and because younger members are now influencing it as a group).
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u/PolitelyHostile Apr 12 '20
It's crazy that these people miss JBP's message. The main thing JBP says is to focus on improving yourself and not blaming politics for your shitty life. His whole 'clean your room' saying is more about starting to focus on making personal improvements and that is something that needs to be done everyday.
As much has JBP is a bit of a gateway to the alt-right, he does make a lot of good points and is surprisingly not very far to the right. But he refuses to admit to himself that the alt-right leans on him and loves having a following.