I recently saw a clip of an interview of Ben Shapiro by BBC interviewer Andrew Neil. It took a while for me to get around to it, because, whenever my dog hears Shapiro talk, she howls in pain… like when she hears an harmonica. It’s distressing but because Ben Shapiro is so slight, it might keep strays from wandering into the studio and gobbling him up.
If you don’t know Ben Shapiro, he’s a far right-winger who has built a following on going to colleges and humiliating hand-chosen left-wingers. He doesn’t debate people who actually know what they are talking about, which makes things a lot easier. He is one of the new faces of the Republican party, now that Ann Coulter has finished the process of having herself surgically turned into a horse…
The topic was “Civility in American Politics”, which should be a short discussion indeed. Shapiro, who looks like the weird kid who owns an insect “kill-jar” but doesn’t actually collect insects, complains that there isn’t enough civility in politics. How could Andrew Neil, a lowly BBC interviewer, find a source acceptable to Ben Shapiro?
He tried quoting Ben Shapiro to Ben Shapiro. That was fallacious, of course, because the Ben Shapiro he quoted was the YOUNG Ben Shapiro… composed of completely different molecules for the most part and at least an inch shorter. Turns out, Shapiro wasn’t very civil before he changed his life’s philosophy to one of interpersonal harmony.
The man who said, “The left no longer makes arguments about policies’ effectiveness. Their only argument is character assassination.”, then decided to called his interviewer a “left-winger”, something you should never do during a debate; and, not during an interview if your interviewer is a well-known right-winger. He started answering Neil’s questions with other questions. He complained that the interviewer wasn’t allowing himself to be interviewed, much like I complained when my doctor wouldn’t let me give him a retaliatory prostate exam. And, then he walked out of the interview.
This was a severely flawed tactic because, when Ben Shapiro walks away from you, you feel the same sense of relief when the kid holding the Book of Mormon decides that he’s not going to change your mind and steps off of your front porch. Andrew Neil who, throughout the interview, had been about as dynamic as a plate of raw pork, said, “Thanks for showing us civility in politics”. (I swear, when that man dies, no one will know about it for weeks, even if he’s been on the air)
As for Shapiro, he grabbed the bull by the horns and posted a list of really stupid things that he’s said in the past. And, like grabbing a bull by any part of his anatomy, it was a supremely bad idea. At the bottom of his list was another list of things he said that weren’t stupid.. among these was that Jews who voted for Obama were Jews in name only. Is that ironic, considering his base support comes from a bunch of Christians who want to put children in cages, separated from their parents forever? It all depends on whether you use the dictionary definition of “ironic” or the Alanis Morissette definition…
Potatoes and the Promise of More Potatoes 
I have no idea what that was about but the picture of the horse was cute 😊
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Now I need to watch that video. I don’t think I’ll make it through the cringefest
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I think Shapiro forgot he was not being broadcast in the United States where such antics are expected…
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The interview was fun, except I dont like the voice either.
‘broadcasting in America is so polarized that on one program you only have the left, and another when you just have the right’ is that true? So who watched leftist TV, the rightwing? and vice versa
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It really depends on why you are watching…
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I’m not to into politics, but still loved the little quips. Like the horse, grabbing a bull and irony
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I don’t write about politics too much because I consider it too easy to make fun of. But, I saw the exchange between the two and was intrigued…
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Sadly, real news is dead in America. I remember the days you could turn on the television and actually find news. Now all you get is right wing hatred and propaganda or 24 hours of left wing pundits spewing their opinions.
I have a mind! Just give me the facts and I’ll decide for myself.
Of course with today’s fake news and alternate facts that’s getting harder and harder to do. Truth is not the truth…
Bowling Green Massacre anyone?
😳
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Goodnight, Chet… Goodnight, David… and goodnight from NBC News…
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They’re rolling in their graves.
I’m as left wing and liberal as they come but am so sick of show after show of some one else’s opinions. Just the facts Ma’am!
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If the debate centers around a law or a bill, I simply find the document on line and read it… That’s what the internet was supposed to be for…
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And so few people do any research. It’s easier to let someone else tell them what to think…
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Shapiro, the master debater, got frustrated and walked out. I was interested in seeing the rest of the debate.
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I was interested in when he was going to start debating. I don’t think we’ve had real debates on television since Firing Line…
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Oh, I’ve never seen Firing Line, but it sounds serious.
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And, deadly dull…
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I have learned more about American politics since January 2016 than I ever cared to know 😔 And funny, how the rancour and divisiveness seeped across the border (and the ocean) to poison so many other countries. Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where no one feels like they have to takes sides?
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It might be nice… It might not be. I’d rather not give my opinion on that….
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😊
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