# Can Charlie Daniels be a mean buffoon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2010, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522 "2010-05-24T00:40:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/41 "2010-05-26T12:54:59Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > If done right yes. > > In these cases, you are making FUN of the assholes, not celebrating their assholish behavior. > > Its why Andrew Dice Clay and Beavis and Butthead are funny to some folks who would never act like they do. I guess you haven’s seen the commercial. They’re celebrating CDs behavior and making fun of the musician and diners. Maybe I misunderstood your post. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/42 "2010-05-26T13:15:55Z")
**mangeorge** : Did you ever happen to catch Jason Alexander playing himself on _Curb Your Enthusiasm?_ Or Adam West playing himself on… anything? Did you form any opinions about the real-life personas of those actors? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/43 "2010-05-26T13:21:31Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I guess you haven’s seen the commercial. They’re celebrating CDs behavior and making fun of the musician and diners. > Maybe I misunderstood your post. I’ve seen it. You just dont get it. Do you think CD would actually do that in real life? Maybe he would if he was really drunk or really mad and maybe he really is an asshole, but I suspect thats not the vibe they were going for here. And there is nothing inherently evil about making fun of someone else’s tastes, as long as its in good natured fun and you don’t get your panties in a twist when someone does something similar to you. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/44 "2010-05-26T14:58:47Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Did you ever happen to catch Jason Alexander playing himself on _Curb Your Enthusiasm?_ Or Adam West playing himself on… anything? Or does William Shatner really ride around in a van, scoring travel deals for random people? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/45 "2010-05-26T15:00:05Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I’ve seen it. > > You just dont get it. Do you think CD would actually do that in real life? Maybe he would if he was really drunk or really mad and maybe he really is an asshole, but I suspect thats not the vibe they were going for here. > > And there is nothing inherently evil about making fun of someone else’s tastes, as long as its in good natured fun and you don’t get your panties in a twist when someone does something similar to you. There you go with that “evil” again. Evil? Probably not. I didn’t say evil. Mean, which is what I asked? Sure. Acting like that can easily be called mean. The vibe was “There’s ol’ Charlie, showing those stuffy people how it’s done”. I wonder. What if the commercial were the same, except that Charlie Daniels was playing for the crowd in Gillie’s in Dallas (never been there), and **Farid Farjad** walked in and grabbed his fiddle and played a beautiful violin solo, handed the instrument back to Chuck, and said “_that’s_ how it’s done”, and strutted away. I’m trying to picture the response. ---
**Author:** ![StusBlues](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@StusBlues](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StusBlues)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/46 "2010-05-26T15:07:22Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > There you go with that “evil” again. > Evil? Probably not. I didn’t say evil. Mean, which is what I asked? Sure. Acting like that can easily be called mean. > The vibe was “There’s ol’ Charlie, showing those stuffy people how it’s done”. > I wonder. What if the commercial were the same, except that Charlie Daniels was playing for the crowd in Gillie’s in Dallas (never been there), and **Farid Farjad** walked in and grabbed his fiddle and played a beautiful violin solo, handed the instrument back to Chuck, and said “_that’s_ how it’s done”, and strutted away. > I’m trying to picture the response. Sounds like a cool sequel commercial to me. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/47 "2010-05-26T15:07:48Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > There you go with that “evil” again. > Evil? Probably not. I didn’t say evil. Mean, which is what I asked? Sure. Acting like that can easily be called mean. > The vibe was “There’s ol’ Charlie, showing those stuffy people how it’s done”. Lighten up Frances. WHO do think Geico’s target audience IS? You think its rich people who eat at fancy places with violin players playing “sophisticated music”? :dubious: I could easily come up with a similar reverse ad for an expensive high level of service insurance company that THEIR target audience would likely find just a funny. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/48 "2010-05-26T15:30:30Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > There you go with that “evil” again. > Evil? Probably not. I didn’t say evil. Mean, which is what I asked? Sure. Acting like that can easily be called mean. > The vibe was “There’s ol’ Charlie, showing those stuffy people how it’s done”. > I wonder. What if the commercial were the same, except that Charlie Daniels was playing for the crowd in Gillie’s in Dallas (never been there), and **Farid Farjad** walked in and grabbed his fiddle and played a beautiful violin solo, handed the instrument back to Chuck, and said “_that’s_ how it’s done”, and strutted away. > I’m trying to picture the response. I’m guessing, given it’s a commercial and all, that he’d do whatever the director told him too, then cash his paycheck. Just like everyone in the commercial that you seem to be so riled up about did. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/49 "2010-05-26T15:49:10Z")
I’m sorry, but judging anyone on what they did in a commercial is ridiculous (whether they’re playing themselves or not). BTW, I’ve always wondered if that commercial was realistic from a sound perspective. Would a fiddler be able to grab a violin that’s tuned for classical music and just start playing fiddle music? Or would the violin have to be re-tuned? Sorry for asking here, but I didn’t think this question warranted its own thread ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/50 "2010-05-26T16:01:17Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I’m guessing, given it’s a commercial and all, that he’d do whatever the director told him too, then cash his paycheck. Just like everyone in the commercial that you seem to be so riled up about did. I’m far from riled up. I asked a question, and now I’m trying to answer questions prompted by that question. Actually, I asked two questions. I really need to look at his site to see if he actually is a nutcase. I’ll be back. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/51 "2010-05-26T16:16:47Z")
> [@Chessic\_Sense](#): > > Or does William Shatner really ride around in a van, scoring travel deals for random people? I forgot Shatner, that crazed kidnapper. ---
**Author:** ![arseNal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@arseNal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/arseNal)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/52 "2010-05-26T16:30:47Z")
I don’t know, I think **mangeorge** has a point. Would CD have agreed to do the commercial if they asked him to play the part of the violinist playing classical music? And then some other dude came in and snatched it away from him to show him how it’s done? Somehow I don’t think so. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/53 "2010-05-26T16:36:38Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > So do you also believe, based on their commercials, that Geico really is racist against cavemen. I, for one, truly enjoy the Geico caveman commercials. 😃 That said, I don’t see Geico, or CD, as mocking the diners or restaurant musician. The behavior depicted in the commercial would certainly be inappropriate IRL, but CD is good-natured about it. He’s not a mean buffoon, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/54 "2010-05-26T17:38:32Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > I’m sorry, but judging anyone on what they did in a commercial is ridiculous (whether they’re playing themselves or not). > > BTW, I’ve always wondered if that commercial was realistic from a sound perspective. Would a fiddler be able to grab a violin that’s tuned for classical music and just start playing fiddle music? Or would the violin have to be re-tuned? Sorry for asking here, but I didn’t think this question warranted its own thread There’s no difference in tuning between fiddling and classical violin music. The main difference is that a fiddler would have his bowstrings tightened up a lot more. A fiddler _could_ just grab any old violin and start playing, only he probably wouldn’t be able to play as loud as he normally could. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/55 "2010-05-26T17:53:58Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I, for one, truly enjoy the Geico caveman commercials. 😃 I love the cavemen. I feel like they could be people I know. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/56 "2010-05-26T18:18:58Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I, for one, truly enjoy the Geico caveman commercials. 😃 > > That said, I don’t see Geico, or CD, as mocking the diners or restaurant musician. The behavior depicted in the commercial would certainly be inappropriate IRL, but CD is good-natured about it. He’s not a mean buffoon, anyway. Calling the guy “son” in that situation, for a southerner, can be mocking. So can Charlie’s swagger as he walks away. I grew up in Bakersfield, so I do share some familiarity with folks from the south, which _does_ include Oklahoma and Texas. 😉 I read some of CDs, uh, postings. Thank somebody’s higher power for the First Ammendment. Which I do. Even in silly commercials. Anyway, I tire. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/57 "2010-05-26T18:45:01Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > There you go with that “evil” again. > Evil? Probably not. I didn’t say evil. Mean, which is what I asked? Sure. Acting like that can easily be called mean. > The vibe was “There’s ol’ Charlie, showing those stuffy people how it’s done”. > I wonder. What if the commercial were the same, except that Charlie Daniels was playing for the crowd in Gillie’s in Dallas (never been there), and **Farid Farjad** walked in and grabbed his fiddle and played a beautiful violin solo, handed the instrument back to Chuck, and said “_that’s_ how it’s done”, and strutted away. > I’m trying to picture the response. Charlie would probably put his arm around Farjad’s shoulders and buy him a beer. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/58 "2010-05-26T18:49:19Z")
C’mon, Mangeorge, that commercial is clearly a joke. It’s perfectly valid to dislike him for his political views, but fiction is fiction. D’you think Larry David really stole a golf club from a coffin? Or that David Duchovny flashed his package at a talk show host? Or that Christian Slater endorsed exploding printers? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/59 "2010-05-26T19:02:07Z")
You mean Elmer Fudd has no difficulty pronouncing his _R’s_? ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522/60 "2010-05-26T19:30:47Z")
I think the commercial is hilarious, especially grabbing the breadstick on the way out. But I also think CD looks like he’s got sky high blood pressure, on the verge of stroking out high…Or maybe it’s only an alcohol flush. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-charlie-daniels-be-a-mean-buffoon/540522.md?page=4)