Jon Stewart should know better.
He oversees a faux news show on Comedy Central based on real headlines. He’s been a cultural observer for the past two decades. Journalists fawn over every third monologue he shares on “The Daily Show.”
Yet his head remains in the sand. Or, more ominously, he knows the truth and doesn’t want his audience to learn it.
Which is worse?
How else to describe Stewart’s recent rant on Comedy Central regarding Cancel Culture?
Jon Stewart on Harrison Butker, conservatives crying “cancel culture,” and how Trump is the true promoter of cancel culture, emphasis on “cult.” pic.twitter.com/n5FXJxgUNG
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) May 21, 2024
“Because the idea that there is an all-pervasive, all-powerful threat to free speech called ‘cancel culture’ has become a central tenet of modern conservatism. They celebrate their being silenced at conferences. They celebrate their being silenced on podcasts and streaming outlets. They celebrate their being silenced with over 700 book titles about ‘being canceled’. Why are there so many of these f***ing books?”
Is he denying that conservatives are being canceled across the culture? Is he OK with some censorship, as long as we still can share select thoughts?
Shouldn’t a political satirist be better at debating?
Plus, he’s a comedian who requires free speech to ply his trade. Doesn’t he realize censorship’s ramifications for himself and the nation?
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Next, he flat-out lies to his small cable audience.
“We are not censored or silenced. We are surrounded by and inundated by more speech than has ever existed in the history of communication.”
That’s a cocktail of bull and spin. Yes, we have more ways to share speech than at any time in human history. Some of that speech is routinely canceled for dubious reasons, at best.
And consider the consequences.
Does Censorship Have a Death Count?
Think Hunter Biden’s laptop and its potential impact on the 2020 presidential election for one. The other? The censored views tied to COVID-19. This is life and death, folks.
Let’s put Stewart’s Cancel Culture misdirection aside for another day. Focus on Stewart’s claim that our speech remains free.
Wanna bet?
Candace Owens’ film censored at a university screening
Eli Steele’s “What Killed Michael Brown?” censored by Amazon
Ryan Long’s comedy censored by Big Tech
Jewish artists censored for being Jewish
Riley Gaines silenced, forced to hide for three-plus hours, fearing for her life
Lesbian comic canceled by LGBTQ+ group
Indie comic book artists censored by Kickstarter
Celebrated documentary “Jihad Rehab” canceled by film festivals
Mumford & Sons musician forced to quit band for praising anti-Antifa tome
Persian-American comic canceled by university at last minute
The last two items matter the most.
The Biden administration’s active attempts to silence speech
And, of course, the voluminous, damning Twitter Files.
This is a very partial list. It took this reporter roughly ten minutes to compile it. Give someone a half hour, and you’d quadruple the examples.
Could Stewart not know some of this? Or, does he know and look away? His fellow liberals aren’t being silenced, after all.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
The Mark Twain Prize winner not only doesn’t care about free speech, he’s peddling the worst Fake News.
In 2004, Stewart famously scolded the hosts of CNN’s “Crossfire,” saying the show was “hurting America.” What would you call a political satirist covering for censorship in America?
The post Jon Stewart Denies We’re Being Silenced. Here’s the Proof appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.