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Joe Rogan Fits in Perfectly With America's Toxic Political Establishment
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Joe Rogan Fits in Perfectly With America's Toxic Political Establishment

Rogan is hardly an outlier or outsider in a system where racism, capitalism, and blatant propaganda rule.

Peter Daou
Feb 6
15
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Joe Rogan Fits in Perfectly With America's Toxic Political Establishment
www.directleft.com
Photo by Tom Szczerbowski via Getty Images

Joe Rogan is the son of a police officer and an immensely popular podcaster whose audience exceeds virtually any other media figure in the United States. His “regular Joe just trying to figure shit out” approach appeals to millions of listeners across the country.

Rogan also has a history of making racist comments. For example:

Powerful. Powerful combination, genetic-wise, right? You get the body of the black man and then you get the mind of the white man all together in some strange combination. That doesn't, by the way, mean that black people don't have brains. It's a different brain, don't get me wrong.

Twitter avatar for @cultofdusty1Dusty Smith @cultofdusty1
Someone sent me this clip of Joe talking how a "black body and white brain" are a "powerful combination" and that black people have "different brains".

February 14th 2019

229 Retweets465 Likes

Or this:

So … we're going to go see Planet of the Apes. So I look on the iphone app, and it says okay take me to this one. And the guy goes, "okay." I go, "Is that in a good neighborhood?" He's like "Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah." Guy barely speaks English. He takes us there, we get out and we're giggling, "oooh we're going to see Planet of the Apes." We walk into Planet of the Apes. We walked into Africa, dude. We walked in the door and there was no white people. There was no white people. Planet of the Apes didn't take place in Africa. That was a racist thing for me to say. You see what I'm saying?

Twitter avatar for @ziyatongEarthling @ziyatong
Here’s Joe Rogan comparing being with Black people to being in Planet of the Apes. Blatant racism. I don’t know how people on here keep defending him.

January 29th 2022

62 Retweets233 Likes

Rogan is also slammed by his critics for platforming rightwing views, conspiracies, and disinformation.

Twitter avatar for @MikeSingtonMike Sington @MikeSington
Joe Rogan’s podcast is “a bastion of toxic masculinity, that leads listeners farther down right-wing rabbit holes. Completely unfounded conspiracy theories without any fact-checking.”
thedailybeast.com/joe-rogan-is-m…

January 14th 2022

10 Retweets42 Likes

Rogan has been called a menace to public health.

Doctors, healthcare workers, and scientists from around the world warned streaming company Spotify that its most listened-to podcast, "The Joe Rogan Experience," is endangering millions of people by giving a platform to guests who spread misinformation about Covid-19—without the company making an effort to correct false statements.

After an uproar over Rogan’s frequent use of the N-word, and an exodus of artists from Spotify, Rogan issued an apology.

So is Rogan an outlier, a rogue voice, an independent thinker? Not exactly. Rogan’s mindset fits in perfectly with America’s political establishment.

Twitter avatar for @BreeNewsomeWe Can Build A Better World 🕊 @BreeNewsome
Nothing is a distraction. Rogan getting paid $100M by Spotify to spew racism while recording artists are paid virtually nothing is connected to the absence of Black coaches in the NFL is related to the state increasing funding for murderous, racist police. It’s a unified system.

February 6th 2022

1,102 Retweets6,300 Likes

Consider these comments from Mitch McConnell and Joe Biden, which are more recent than Rogan’s:

"Poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.” — Joe Biden, 2019

"African American voters are voting in just as high a percentage as Americans." — Mitch McConnell, 2022

And then consider Biden praising McConnell (whose party is a haven for white supremacists): “You’re a man of word and a man of honor. Thank you for being my friend.”

Twitter avatar for @DirectLeftDirect Left @DirectLeft
Joe Biden Praises Mitch McConnell As 'A Man of Honor'
Joe Biden Praises Mitch McConnell As ‘A Man of Honor’The Democratic leadership’s outward anti-GOP stance is a charade. The reality is that both ruling parties serve mutual capitalist interests.directleft.com

February 3rd 2022

5 Likes

How about the matter of racist policing? Both ruling parties are intent on militarizing the police:

Twitter avatar for @SiggonKristov🇯🇲 Co-operative Textile Mill ☭ @SiggonKristov
How does Biden compare to Trump on police and military spending? Well... Funding for police recruitment/hiring has more than doubled, and military spending continues to go up. (Credit: @stephensemler)
Image
Image

January 29th 2022

89 Retweets154 Likes
Twitter avatar for @Jonathan_UfiThe duopoly must be destroyed. @Jonathan_Ufi
Yesterday Biden said police need more funding. People who argued they would push Biden left look more foolish by the day.

February 4th 2022

2 Retweets4 Likes
Twitter avatar for @left_voiceLeft Voice @left_voice
The cop convicted of murdering Laquan McDonald is being released today after fewer years in prison than millions of people convicted of relatively minor crimes. Democrats in office have provided mostly false promises and dishonest excuses.
Killer Cop Jason Van Dyke Goes Free as Biden Increases Police Funding - Left VoiceThe cop convicted of murdering Laquan McDonald is being released today after fewer years in prison than millions of people convicted of relatively minor crimes. Democrats in office have provided mostly false promises and dishonest excuses.leftvoice.org

February 4th 2022

4 Retweets12 Likes

Now let’s switch gears and discuss COVID-19 misinformation. Rogan is justifiably criticized for minimizing the virus and spreading conspiracies. But the political establishment has its own Rogan, planted firmly at the NY Times. David Leonhardt reaches an audience of 5 million readers, including Joe Biden.

As I wrote recently, Dr. Cecilia Tomori, Director of Global Public Health and Community Health at Johns Hopkins, took Leonhardt to task:

It's amazing that someone who has consistently minimized the impacts of COVID and has expressed little concern for those dying or suffering, or becoming disabled from COVID continues to have the opportunity to claim authority about this topic. To argue that we should just get on with life because boosted individuals (like himself) face relatively low personal risk of death from the virus misses so much. The entire framing is wrong. Infectious diseases are inherently about social interaction. And people do not exist as islands - they live in families, communities and interact with others. These interactions involve vaccinated (1, 2, or 3 doses) and unvaccinated people.

And speaking of misinformation and endangering public health, let’s look at what both ruling parties have said and done about COVID-19:

  • Lied about the how quickly the pandemic would end, multiple times.

  • Lied about whether masks are necessary, multiple times.

  • Lied about the virus being “mild” against the warnings of experts.

  • Forced workers to return to work with little help or protection.

  • Forces teachers and students into schools with little help or protection.

  • Bailed out the billionaire class while sending crumbs to the people.

  • Sacrificed vulnerable citizens by prioritizing capitalism over human lives.

Joe Rogan’s reach is massive, and his racist comments are repulsive and condemnable. But selective outrage at Rogan doesn’t solve the deeper problem: Our entire political establishment is rotten to its core. Until we address the root causes, nothing meaningful will change.


UPDATED 2/6/22
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Joe Rogan Fits in Perfectly With America's Toxic Political Establishment
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