I’m an old white guy, which means I am stuck in the past in many areas (not great computers or on multiple social media platforms or podcasts). This is my polite way of saying, “I know next to nothing about what is called ‘the manosphere’.” I was vaguely aware of Joe Rogan because of the 2024 Election, but I kept thinking, “Who the fuck is this guy?” But I didn’t really pursue a deep dive into Rogan and the manosphere, but all that changed with the Epstein case files cover up by Trump. Suddenly, Trump was getting blowback from some of the manosphere podcasters. And they kept getting mentioned by Tim Miller of The Bulwark. Well, I finally started looking up what other podcasters and YouTubers had to say about the likes of Rogan and Andrew Schulz.
It ain’t pretty to say the least.
Let’s start with what a man who goes by the name of Kahmal has to say about the podcast Flagrant that Andrew Schulz runs. For those who are not aware, Andrew Schulz is supposedly a comedian. And another little factoid is that the guy is worth at least four to five million dollars a year.
Kahmal takes no prisoners with Andrew Schulz, and he is right in doing so.
Kahmal shows the “interview” that Andrew Schulz had with Trump. It’s so god fuckin’ awful. It’s a big ass kissing session. Then, Kahmal shows were Schulz and his bros take CREDIT for helping Trump win the presidency. Later, we have Schulz and his posse backtrack and take no responsibilty for helping Trump in the election.
Finally, we have the “no mea culpa” moments of Schulz. He claims that all the bad things that Trump is doing is “not what I voted for.” To make matters worse, Schulz mocks his fans who give him shit for saying that. Not because they are all Trump lovers. No, several of Schulz’s fans point out that all the information on Trump was readily available publicly (just do a damn Google search). But to make matters worse, Schulz specifically says that he doe not “regret” his support of Trump because Democrats are now asking about the Epstein case files.
Comedians are supposed to be people who have some quick wit and can see things in a funny way. In other words, comedians are supposed to have some smarts. But Schulz who is a millionaire is too damn stupid or lazy to do a simple Google search on Trump. If he doesn’t want to do the research, he has a staff that can gather info for him, but he obviously just wants to go along with flow of all the other manosphere bros.
As George Carlin pointed out, it’s not a comedians job to make the powerful feel good about themselves or the status quo. Carlin argued that comedians are to critique social norms and encourage critical thinking. I saw none of that in the clips from Flagrant.
Instead, we get to see Schulz act like a typical Republican man: “I’m never accountable!”
Then, there are other comedians who are taking on the biggest gorilla in the manosphere: Joe Rogan.
Here is some background from The Daily Show about Joe Rogan:
I knew only that he was some martial artist and he was an anti-vaxxer. That’s bad enough, but he also pushes any number of conspiracy theories. The lastest that he has given credence to is the one that Candace Owens is promoting: Bridgitte Macron, the wife of French President Macron, is actually transgender.
And Rogan is a big name in comedy. In fact, most other comedians don’t want to criticize Rogan, at least according to comedian Dan Soder.
There is a great moment in the video above showing Rogan defending ELON MUSK stating that “Elon is a billionaire, and he has no need to steal anymore money from people.” Soder is like, “Of course billionaires want to steal your money! It’s how they made their money!”
The rest of the video is making fun of the Rogan’s love of hunting, which is always a great way to get on Rogan’s podcast. There is a painful segment of Zuckerberg trying to be a bro on Rogan’s show. And Soder points out all the ass kissing from other comedians when Rogan posts — wait for it — elk meat that he obtained from hunting.
Someone in the comments section of the Soder video states that Rogan is probably not even doing real hunting. It’s from a guy who grew up on a farm, and he posits that Rogan is probably at one of those many farms turned hunting ranges were captive elk are raised and then let loose to be hunted.
Think VP Cheney hunting the “wild” pheasant with that infamous shotgun.
By the way, Rogan is worth about 200 million dollars a year, so yeah, I can see why he loves dear old Elon Musk.
What’s depressing about all this is that it was far worse than I could have ever imagined with these “comedians” in the manosphere. I think Soder is correct about Rogan and maybe several of the other supposed comedians who have gone rightward in their politics. They felt threatened from non-white comedians. And the way Soder states it, Rogan and others think, “No place for white men in comedy!” was all the rage in the teens. Therefore, Rogan and Schulz moved to a place where they didn’t feel threatened or were more comfortable.
And you could make money telling conservative men that there was nothing wrong with them.
I have no idea if that was the real sentiment toward the role of white male comedians at that time. I’m not plugged into that scene, obviously. I do know, however, there are plenty of white men who feel grievance about changing demographics and social mores. Some of them take umbrage of being “woke,” which to me means, “You are getting pissed off that some groups of people don’t like being punch lines in your jokes anymore.”
Translation: Cry me a river you rich, white privileged men.
I’m an old white guy who is suffering from what was once said to my face, “You are experiencing downward economic mobility.” So I could give a shit about your fee fees. In fact, Rogan’s fan base probably wears those famous Trump t-shirts with “Fuck your feelings!”
Anyway, this is the social media landscape, and it’s one that Democrats have to adjust to. The first step is what some Democrats are doing. I’ve seen that some of the more clued in Democrats are trying to get interviews on the manosphere podcasts. If you don’t show up to fight, you have zero chance to ever win elections.
A better thing might be if some of our wealthy donors gave up on the idea of finding a “Joe Rogan of the left.” We don’t need someone that stupid to be pushing our ideas. Instead, there are plenty of other progressive podcasters who could use some support right now (Meidas Touch Podcast for one). And there are others like Bryan Tyler Cohen. My suggestion if for progressives to subscribe to one of the progressive podcasts you like, and if you can afford it, become a member.
