Post APNzIXO8bS6x0VDQki by lavahot@qoto.org
(DIR) More posts by lavahot@qoto.org
(DIR) Post #9zRtrQGEC5T7jNfvxA by freemo@qoto.org
2020-09-23T11:33:23Z
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I used to really like Ben, but man at some point he drank that fucking kool aid
(DIR) Post #9zS3l4M3j4Otax0o9Q by flamingkeys@fosstodon.org
2020-09-23T13:24:18Z
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@freemo whenever was he any good?
(DIR) Post #9zS4EoWn8OerCEDPtI by freemo@qoto.org
2020-09-23T13:29:50Z
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@flamingkeys he was never perfect. In the past he usually had two categories of views "My religion tells me I am wrong so I am against it but I feel you should be free to do it legally"... and "That should be illegal and here is a well reasoned explanation of why.I never liked the former as I dont feel creating personal morals based on "a book told me so" is sound ethical reasoning, so I disliked his personal decision there. But at least he reasoned that it shouldn't be enforced on others and as such still agreed with his legal conclusion in those cases.As for the latter, his reasoning was almost always pretty sound in that regard and I could support a lot of what he used to say.Most of my issues in the past with him were narrow and came where those two points had some gray area or overlap. For example he would be rather vocal in his feelings that being trans is a mental disorder, and while he could be right in that, or maybe not (I dont generally view it that way but its a tough argument to make), what crossed me is when he would treat people who were trans as being delusional, which is a big step up from sympathy and wanting to see them get help, thats just being hurtful and not productive. So I never liked that aspect.But when we talk about the views he used to have on the law and what is politically acceptable, he used to be spot on. But lately he hasnt been as strong in that regard and his other more troubling qualities have seem to be the greater problem now.
(DIR) Post #9zS4r5HbHvVAAIMIAS by flamingkeys@fosstodon.org
2020-09-23T13:36:41Z
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@freemo His latest podcast on Joe Rogan was revealing of him too. He didnt have any great counters to a majority of Joe's arguements in that segment (who btw is not a genius in any way). Made me think he never actually was that great with his "arguements", he still unable to decide what his actual domain is.
(DIR) Post #9zS5E9VXkKKrvdscQy by freemo@qoto.org
2020-09-23T13:40:45Z
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@flamingkeys I think what happened is either as an intentional tactic to gain more popularity, or as a consequence of his own change in character, he just went too far right.It used to be a lot of his arguments were strongly right leaning, but very freely contradicted strictly right thinking. He seemed to have the underlying mentality that extreme right thinking was moronic, but extreme left thinking was worse. So he was a moderate right, and as such he had enough play in his arguments to let logic dominate, albeit with some bias, and thus was capable of making very solid arguments.Since then however he has turned full on right, he is extreme right now. As a matter of course he will mock anything even hinting at liberal ideology and support almost all right ideology even when it is clearly contrary to logic. This has caused him to loose his one big strength and that is logical argument, which has been replaced with mostly just mocking and mud slinging without much intellectual content left in his arguments.
(DIR) Post #9zS6B3vi81DniMD5FI by flamingkeys@fosstodon.org
2020-09-23T13:51:05Z
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@freemo May be because I have started reading more or I have grown as a human being but I find him an insufferable idiot now. I think there is a reason he goes around college campuses to debate college doofuses who are on average 10 years junior to him and are still learning. The mud slinging "liberal DESTROYED" type of rhetoric is never going to convert anyone for long term. It might be entertaing at first.
(DIR) Post #9zS6WpLD38Acq5VzmK by freemo@qoto.org
2020-09-23T13:55:19Z
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@flamingkeys Well we are talking about who is now vs who he was then. I too find him an insufferable human **now** but found many of his arguments sound in the past. Even now that I dislike him if i review some of his past arguments they still make a lot of sense whereby the ones he makes now are just lacking any real criticality.It very well could be you are experiencing a similar effect, judging him on his behavior in the present and having that overshadow how he might have reasoned about things in the past.
(DIR) Post #9zS7LPH3j2CslLgxhA by flamingkeys@fosstodon.org
2020-09-23T14:02:03Z
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@freemo I think I changed my views about him drastically when I read/heard his views on the israel and palestine issue. Dude was borderline psychopath calling arabs all kinda of filth and being seriously racist (and i dont use that word liberally). Not like it affects his arguements on any other issue but I think that he should really stick to his area of expertise which is clearly NOT international politics.
(DIR) Post #9zS7VX7BQdSByZtwUS by freemo@qoto.org
2020-09-23T14:05:57Z
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@flamingkeys I think thats a pretty good example of one of the many aspects of his personality I also object to. Sadly that has been there since before he went extreme right, but it was at least more muted before.I never liked everything about the dude but at least before I could say he made many sound, compelling arguments I could agree with, even if he held a lot of opinions I disliked.. But now I cant even say he makes good arguments at all anymore.
(DIR) Post #APNzIXO8bS6x0VDQki by lavahot@qoto.org
2022-11-08T06:50:28Z
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@freemo the dude's always been a fake intellectual. He's a clown and has been *for years*!