Tuesday, October 2, 2012

#354: Ben Shapiro


Benjamin Aaron Shapiro is a new poster boy for the denialist Taliban right. He is a political commentator and author, among other things of “Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America's Youth in 2004,” in which he accused professors of being “totalitarian” because they promote “absolute sexual freedom” (including, according to Shapiro, pedophilia and statutory rape), and “indoctrination”, since they don’t generally focus exclusively on the Bible as the source of all truth. His subsequent books all deal with how the media and entertainment industry are in a liberal conspiracy to promote reckless sexual freedom and environmentalism, for instance exemplified by how Sesame Street indoctrinates children with left-wing propaganda. He has a particular hatred for Hollywood. You see, according to how Shapiro views the world, many Hollywood stars feel guilty about their prosperity since they are closet Marxist, so … well, who knows.

For instance, it is obvious that Obama is a militant atheist; according to Shapiro via Twitter: “Unreal that Obama doesn’t mention God in Thanksgiving message. Militant atheist. To whom does he think we are giving thanks?” How can you argue with evidence like this? He sure does not like Obama, as evidenced by this one. Of course, Shapiro once argued that we should prosecute anyone who criticizes the president and lock up anyone who disagreed with any war waged by the US, but that applies, obviously, only to critics of George W. Bush and his efforts. Obama is different. Obama is in a conspiracy with Iran to … well, it is not entirely clear.

Shapiro’s views on religion aren’t very much more coherent. According to Shapiro (this is best quoted in its entirety): “Human equality must spring from a Creator, because the presence of a soul is all that makes man human and equal. Biology suggests inherent inequality – who would call Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stephen Hawking equal in any way? Biology suggests the sort of Hegelian social Darwinism embraced by totalitarian dictators, not the principles of equality articulated by the Founding Fathers.”

Diagnosis: A dense, raging ball of persecution complex and confirmation bias, Shapiro seems to have gained some traction among the Taliban right, and must be considered moderately dangerous.

11 comments:

  1. On Twitter, he's arguing that Colin Powell only endorsed Obama because he's black.

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  2. "who would call Arnold Schwarzenegger and Stephen Hawking equal in any way?"

    True, really, though not in the way he'd like. You ask both those guys to explain solar flares, you'll see which one of 'em is vastly superior.

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  3. Ben Shapiro tries to argue that liberals are morally deficient human beings because they disagree with him.

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  4. Shapriro's one of the new alt-right wing darlings.
    I've seen some amusing clips of Shapiro debunking college social-justice warriors and feminists.
    Shapiro is quick, smart and sharp-witted, even if I don't agree with all his conservative ideas.
    As long as the Political Correctness atmosphere dominates US colleges, Shapiro (like Milo Yiannapolis) will always have a job as a professional nay-sayer.

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  5. This is interesting. I have found ad hominem.com! Look, I don't worship the man by any means, nor am I conservative. However, so many of these allegations are misconstrued. Shapiro does not advocate for the bible to be taught in schools; he wants the government to be out of schooling curriculum entirely. you have sated some of his claims, and without arguing them, arrived at the conclusion that he is:

    "A dense, raging ball of persecution complex and confirmation bias, Shapiro seems to have gained some traction among the Taliban right, and must be considered moderately dangerous."

    If you want to make these allegations, admit that they have no basis, or else argue them.

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    Replies
    1. He thinks the college tuition and English majors are apart of the homosexual agenda. He, like you, have ZERO ground to stand on.

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  6. Only thing I have on Shapiro is that he's a raging transphobe and once threatened to deck Zoey Tur during an appearance on Dr. Drew's show on HLN.

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    1. It was Zoey Tur who threatened to deck Shapiro.

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  7. He also advocated genocide against Palestinians

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