# Cancel Colbert? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 28, 2014, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759 "2014-03-28T13:43:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/41 "2014-03-28T23:36:50Z")
I know Al Capp had the perception hippie activists were humourlessly self-righteous, and this served as the wellspring for his [Hardhat’s Bedtime Story Book](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2829775-the-hardhat-s-bedtime-story-book), but outside of that particular stereotype, I wasn’t aware liberals were ever considered particularly uptight. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/42 "2014-03-29T00:51:59Z")
I for one will be a little disappointed if Colbert doesn’t “apologize”, in an extremely sarcastic and comedic way. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/43 "2014-03-29T01:01:48Z")
This looks much more like desperate self-promotion than activism. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/44 "2014-03-29T01:04:25Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I know Al Capp had the perception hippie activists were humourlessly self-righteous, and this served as the wellspring for his [Hardhat’s Bedtime Story Book](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2829775-the-hardhat-s-bedtime-story-book), but outside of that particular stereotype, I wasn’t aware liberals were ever considered particularly uptight. I don’t think liberals are known, in particular, for that, but largely liberal groups certainly have. Cf. “humorless feminist”. [Also a stereotype of largely liberal Tumblr activists](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m-e4PgiVfM) “Before you learn to love Tumblr, you have to learn to hate!” ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/45 "2014-03-29T01:40:27Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Also a stereotype of largely liberal Tumblr activists “Before you learn to love Tumblr, you have to learn to hate!” I thought Tumblr’s only purpose was so that school kids could view p0rn while on the computers at school. Hmm…you learn something new each day…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/46 "2014-03-29T02:19:34Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > This looks much more like desperate self-promotion than activism. Pretty much, yes. So it’s either sincere and stupid ; or insincere and lame. Well, points for the originality of a lose-lose strategy, at least. Bonus points : going after a) a comedian b) who mocks people for a living and c) isn’t the least bit afraid to gleefully eviscerate the President of the United States _to his goddamn face_. That is not a gameplan that can end well for anyone in any space-time continuum. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/47 "2014-03-29T02:26:31Z")
Yeah, it’s a sad world when the “hardest-hitting” interview a U.S. President can face comes from the likes of Colbert and Stewart. Well, sad in a funny way. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/48 "2014-03-29T02:38:23Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > Pretty much, yes. So it’s either sincere and stupid ; or insincere and lame. Well, points for the originality of a lose-lose strategy, at least. If your goal is attention for its own sake, sincerity is irrelevant. I suppose that’s always been true, but in the social media age this kind of garbage is all over the place. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/49 "2014-03-29T08:50:26Z")
The whole #CancelColbert “movement” is a backlash/revenge by right-wingers in response to the #StopRush meme, which has actually cost Limbaugh and his radio masters serious bucks. He’s had to move to lower-rated radio stations due to steadily declining ad revenue. Otherwise, nobody would be calling for Colbert’s “retirement.” ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/50 "2014-03-29T11:40:16Z")
> [@joebuck20](#): > > Honestly, how seriously outraged can you by a guy who regularly claims to not even knowing he’s white because he doesn’t see race? People tell him he’s white and he believes it because he says things like “I don’t see race.” ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/51 "2014-03-29T12:40:00Z")
> [@Interrobang](#): > > People tell him he’s white and he believes it because he says things like “I don’t see race.” People tell him he’s white and he believes them because the police call him “sir”. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/52 "2014-03-29T13:33:06Z")
I thought he believed them because he could always get a taxi. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/53 "2014-03-29T19:13:15Z")
I refuse to see any movie with Ralph Fiennes in it, after he said all those terrible things about the Jews in _Schindler’s List_. ---
**Author:** ![kstarnes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kstarnes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kstarnes)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/54 "2014-03-29T19:25:03Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > I think this is much ado about nothing, but I’m not Asian and I don’t watch his show. > What do you guys think? > [#cancelcolbert - Explore](https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/cancelcolbert?source=feed_text&story_id=615236521885078) > > [Stephen Colbert mocks Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, now finds himself target of outrage - cleveland.com](http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2014/03/stephen_colbert_mocks_washingt.html) Colbert’s “Chinaman Rickshaw” skit is one of the best \_\_\_\_\_ pieces of comedy (I never laughed so hard!) and truly brilliant but it’s also clear that Colbert is mocking the ‘Chinaman’ while pretending to be satirizing stereotypes of Chinese people. This is the Colbert method, it’s how he gets away with it. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/55 "2014-03-29T19:31:20Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > I refuse to see any movie with Ralph Fiennes in it, after he said all those terrible things about the Jews in _Schindler’s List_. For me it’s Shelley Duvall. She messed up Jack Nicholson something fierce in The Shining. Plus she’s weird. ETA: Olive Oil. ---
**Author:** ![Orr\_G](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ee59a6/32.png) [@Orr\_G](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orr_G)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/56 "2014-03-30T23:05:19Z")
Suey Park talks a bit about #CancelColbert: [in this interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNK-e6nnFGY). I got bored and so didn’t watch quite the whole thing, but I was pretty impressed with the interviewer. I wasn’t very impressed with Park. Groupthink jargon turns me off. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/57 "2014-03-30T23:35:33Z")
> [@Orr\_G](#): > > Suey Park talks a bit about #CancelColbert: [in this interview](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNK-e6nnFGY). > > I got bored and so didn’t watch quite the whole thing, but I was pretty impressed with the interviewer. I wasn’t very impressed with Park. Groupthink jargon turns me off. They both were kind of gross, IMO. The snide self-pitying “OH, I’m a white guy, so I don’t have an opinion” business is really pretty pathetic, whereas her unwillingness from the very beginning of a goddamned interview to explain her perspective to the interview’s audience shows a pretty shallow and non-realistic attitude toward media activism. ---
**Author:** ![Tarwater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@Tarwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarwater)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2014, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/58 "2014-03-30T23:55:48Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > They both were kind of gross, IMO. The snide self-pitying “OH, I’m a white guy, so I don’t have an opinion” business is really pretty pathetic, whereas her unwillingness from the very beginning of a goddamned interview to explain her perspective to the interview’s audience shows a pretty shallow and non-realistic attitude toward media activism. She told him that his opinion is worthless. How is he supposed to respond? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/59 "2014-03-31T12:23:31Z")
Geez that guy should not have simply called her opinion “stupid” at the end. ☹ I think she’s wrong on the #cancelcolbert issue, but he managed to confirm every valid point she _does_ have to make about race relations in one brief interview. She asks a fair question: When we (and by “we” I guess I have to mean white people) make jokes satirizing racism, are we helping people of other races or not? There’s a separate question as to whether we’re obligated to help with our every action. Another related question is: are we actually harming that cause? And finally: Do we (white people) use our reactions to jokes like this as an indicator that we, ourselves, aren’t racist and so don’t need to work too hard on that issue? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759/60 "2014-03-31T12:50:25Z")
These and other questions will be addressed in detail in our upcoming 12-part PBS series, _You Can’t Laugh If I Don’t: Ridding the World of Humor Once and For All._ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cancel-colbert/684759.md?page=4)