Look Who's Not Talking Or You Don't Say!

LOOK WHO’S NOT TALKING or YOU DON’T SAY!

By Mike Tomano

February 8, 2022

The snowstorm last week found me spending two evenings in a hotel, a mile away from the radio station. Inclement weather makes travel treacherous and, residing in a rural area, practically impossible. The amount of wildlife I encounter driving through the farmland and woods surrounding my home presents enough of a challenge year-round. Add a blizzard and black-ice and it’s a white-knuckle Hell-Ride.

Holed up in my room, I caught a couple episodes of South Park. I haven’t seen the program for years, but always admired creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s fearless humor and social satire. South Park, now its twenty-fifth year, has seemingly escaped censorship. Maybe because it’s a cartoon. Could be that Stone & Parker and Comedy Central don’t give a shit and ignore backlash. The show has been targeted by the conservative Parents Television Council, Action for Children’s Television, and several Christian watchdog groups, but those groups don’t really hold any power. In the Arena of Cancellation, conservative groups are weak. The only sword feared by performers and entertainment companies is wielded by the designated “woke.” The Jesus crowd and Conservative pundits go back to their respective bake-sales and day jobs, while the foaming-at-the-mouth “wokesters” continue their crusade in darkened dorm rooms, mother’s basements, and political offices, awaiting their Dark Lord’s command, setting sights on the next victim who dares utter a word in contrast to Big Brother’s Narrative. Come to think of it, the clips I’ve seen of Family Guy dance on the same sort of satirical edge. I guess the takeaway is if you want to be politically incorrect, go animation.

In wake of The Neil Young / Joe Rogan event, Whoopi Goldberg was next to be put under the Free Speech microscope for opining The Holocaust not racial. She is serving a suspension for her comments, after reaffirming her stance in an interview with the insufferably smug and tragically unfunny Stephen Colbert. Whoopi, to her credit, stated she did not want to issue a “fake apology.”

In this reporter’s humble opinion, The View is repulsive. Cackling morons yelling over each other, spewing vitriol, hatred and blind partisan allegiance does not cut the mustard. Although, the YouTube videos of times Whoopi cut the cheese on camera bring me great joy. If only she stood up and ripped a nostril-hair-singing ass-blast in Joy Behar’s face, or whipped out her Bic to ignite a blue flame setting Meghan McCain’s ‘do afire; said videos would loop on a Plasma tv in the foyer of my home.

A compilation video of Rogan using the “n-word” has surfaced as the battle to silence him rages on, edited and ready to go. Seems the War of The Woke has moved on from Chappelle’s trans comments.

The real reason for the attack is Rogan has a huge audience and speaks free of the accepted narrative. The orgy of snakes that slither in their own self-loathing and excrement have targeted him. He, and Spotify, can weather the storm until the next victim’s head is placed in the guillotine, or cave-in. Spotify has already removed numerous episodes deemed troublesome. Rogan has shown vulnerability by issuing an apology video pertaining to his use of the racial slur. Both bad moves. Shrews, though blind, are vicious when they taste blood.

Richard Pryor would be canceled today. His work would be considered sexist and homophobic, to say the least. Unless he became a rapper, a genre that eludes scrutiny.

Like Rogan, George Carlin uttered the “n-word” in performance. And, like Rogan, Carlin did so to make a point, not in malice. Blazing Saddles? South Park? Mark Twain? John Lennon?

Howard Stern, once the most controversial performer in American entertainment, has voiced regret for his past shows, which included racial slurs, objectifying and degrading women and exploiting the vulnerable. Howard claims to have evolved. He might have apologized for his transgressions, but they formed the foundation of his empire. If not for the scatological, racist, and prurient content of his past, today’s Howard Stern, a tedious, repetitive bore droning for hours on Covid and wishing death on the unvaccinated would hardly register a blip on the broadcasting radar. Admittedly, his interviews are noteworthy, but what passes for his show today is nowhere near as engaging or provocative as his terrestrial radio days. I turned off Howard many times during his heyday when I found it offensive or, more appropriately, not entertaining. Other times, I sat in my car transfixed by the show’s bristling creativity.

If intent and context are to be dismissed, and any utterance of an offensive word is subject to persecution, the guilty list is endless. Of course, this wave of cancelation eschews objective reasoning, its sole concern is to silence those outside the inner circle of acceptance, the dissenters who challenge narrative and dare to question any propaganda from The Far Left. Lest we forget, as we allow history to repeat itself at a rapid pace, it was a bipartisanship collaboration of Al Gore and James Baker’s wives Tipper and Susan who spearheaded the PMRC in the mid-80s, calling for content they deemed questionable or offensive to be labeled.

Intent and context mean nothing when the goal is to destroy someone. Words are spun, headlines are printed, lies are told. It’s all good in the Kingdom of Cancelers.

Feigned concern over racial slurs only occurs when it serves a political agenda. When the perpetrators are on the “acceptable” side, their “crimes” are ignored. It is this selective outrage that is truly racist. The particular racial slur in question tops them all, rather than simply degrading, it is tied to an evil history of slavery. That doesn’t, however, remove the subjectivity of its use. Joe Biden uttered it in reference to others using it. And, our President’s claim, "if you have a problem figuring out whether you're for me or Trump, then you ain't black,” is the type of comment that would destroy any conservative’s career.

So, it’s not about race, it’s about political affiliation. A chosen group of very vocal, very active lunatics are controlling public discourse and worse, deciding who gets pummeled and who is granted clemency. Censorship, like any erosion of freedom, is incremental. When the movement to dissolve a personal right begins, it utilizes emotionally provocative instances to garner support. We are not only witnessing the regulation of content, but reshaping of reality.

As rogue journalist Caitlin Johnstone stated perfectly in a recent Tweet: “It’s not about Joe Rogan. It’s not about Covid misinformation. It’s not about QAnon, Russian trolls, domestic extremists or election security. It’s about ruling power structures needing to normalize and expand the regulation of online speech to protect consent for the status quo.”

Some of us cannot fathom silencing freedom of expression. Some of us are fine with disagreeing with another’s views. Some of us are fine with finding something offensive.

We live in a country of hotdog-eating contests, where contestants scarf down dozens of encased lips, dicks and assholes for cash and prizes, while millions of children go to bed hungry. I find that offensive.

Gas stations now offer gambling, where the despondent can flush their government checks down poker machine toilets, while their unbathed children standby and watch, hoping to get a can of soda and potato chips for breakfast. I find that offensive.

We have a justice system that refuses to end early parole and implement mandatory sentencing for violent offenders, while inner-city children continue to be murdered by recidivist scum. I find that offensive.

Big Pharma offends me. Healthcare is the only service we receive that doesn’t provide a cost before purchase. Depending on your plan, or lack thereof, you can pay nothing...or lose your home.

As for judges who parole the criminally insane and the politicians who shed crocodile tears in the wake of innocent bloodshed, I will continue to fight you and your evil ways. I will voice my outrage in the wilderness of chaos you've created. One can only hope your eternal comeuppance involves fire ant enemas.

If you support a right, you must support the loftiest and lowest forms of it being exercised, from Joe Rogan to Whoopi Goldberg, Catcher in The Rye to Hustler magazine, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to The View.

The Woke Movement’s goal transcends politics. Bill Maher, a die-hard Lefty, has been in their crosshairs numerous times for calling out the hypocrisy and idiocy of his chosen party, as well as criticizing horrific human rights violations under Islamic theocracy.

Anti-Semitism is a most subjective issue. It’s called out when it comes from Steve Bannon, dismissed when uttered by Linda Sarsour or Ilhan Omar. Farrakhan? Untouchable. Similarly, racism is an issue that only applies to those who are not on The Left, as any black conservatives are labeled white supremacists, albeit, predominantly by white liberals. Racism is only an issue when it benefits The Left. So, it’s not really about racism, it’s about political affiliation.

You who look to suppress free speech, on your own terms, with your own jurisdiction over who is punished and who is paroled, enjoy your wokeness. Keep repeating what you’ve been told. Keep calling for censorship. Continue your crusade of destroying careers. Espouse your love of big government and Socialism. Feverishly fill the void in your soul. You now have somewhere to belong without burden of self-reliance or reflection. You are part of an elite force that has the power to rid the world of those who dare speak their minds. You can destroy livelihoods at a whim. How powerful you are! Just remember, when it’s your turn to be canceled, you’re on your own.

Eventually, WokeMania will eat itself alive. Change in a societal mindset is born of discourse and idea exchange, not censorship and prosecution. Peruse your history books. (Quick, before they’re banned!) When there’s no one left to cancel, they will start canceling each other. It’s already begun.

We know it’s not what Joe Rogan says that has come under fire. It’s the size of his audience and the presentation of alternative opinions that threaten the establishment.

Suppression of language leads to legislation of thought. Know it. As Benjamin Franklin (pretty sure he’s been canceled) succinctly stated: “Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing freeness of speech.” Counterculture comic Tom Smothers, who valiantly challenged television network censors in the tumultuous ‘60s, said, “The only valid censorship of ideas is the right of people not to listen.”

Censorship is not partisan. It destroyed Lenny Bruce, whose commitment to slaughtering sacred cow hypocrisy stirred up enough controversy to find him hassled and harassed by authorities until he was a shell of his former self; his performances, once brilliant satire and biting commentary, reduced to recitation of legal transcripts in a final cry for help.

Whether questioning war or medical mandates, the power of the people, all the people¸ stems from the ability to express dissent. Anyone who believes otherwise is not only on the wrong side of history, but the wrong side of humanity.

I will champion freedom of speech and defend it in all forms, whether it’s Whoopi, Rogan, The Black Panthers, or The Ku Klux Klan. Whether I agree with what’s being said is irrelevant and left solely to my discernment. A government that seeks to protect you from yourself is the enemy. The line, of course, is incitement of violence. A grey area? One could argue Kathy Griffin’s photo with a decapitated Trump head or town parades with lynched Obama effigies are not-so-thinly veiled suggestions of violence.

Intent and context. Discussion and discernment. Those factors are essential with receipt of any information and opinion formation. Objectivity is inherent in any balanced thinking person. If something offends you, avoid it. Understand why you find it offensive. If your comfort zone is challenged, weigh it out. You might change your view.

Throughout history, censorship has never been a path to tolerance, it has only been the door to tyranny.

Speak for yourself. Think for yourself. Never give in. Never give up.

Peace,