# Rick Sanchez takes on Jon Stewart... and immediately gets fired by CNN **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 1, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791 "2010-10-01T23:43:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/21 "2010-10-02T01:55:02Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Stewart is grasping at straws, and I’m disappointed. > > What did Stewart do? Three weeks ago he called Sanchez a twit. Today Sanchez said some stuff about Stewart and Jews, and got himself fired from CNN. Stewart isn’t responsible for that. Maybe Stewart called up his Jew buddies at CNN and gave the word to fire him. It’s a white liberal establishment conspiracy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/22 "2010-10-02T01:56:45Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > I wonder if he ever did an investigation on why they have volcanoes on Iceland when it’s so cold there… I sent some Euryale ferox water lilies to a guy in Iceland. He grew them in a pool heated by volcanic action. Water iris, with leaves above the water, would freeze. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/23 "2010-10-02T02:00:39Z")
**Smiling bandit** , are you going to provide us with some examples of Stewart’s unfairness or does it simple boil down to him not having your point of view? ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/24 "2010-10-02T02:02:24Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > In fact, Sanchez was making a point about _class_, not race. And he’s right. I’d rather be governed by almost anyone other than someone from Stewart’s class, who tend to be very well educated and know not a damn thing about the world. If Sanchez was talking exclusively about class, why did he mention the fact that he is Latino, bring up an anecdote about a CNN executive comparing him to another Hispanic non-anchor reporter while suggesting that Sanchez was more like that reporter than a “traditional” anchor, and also state that most news anchors are white? And once again, could you demonstrate some evidence to support your opinion (either that Stewart is bigoted or that he doesnt’ know a damn thing about the world) rather than simply give out a second helping of it? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/25 "2010-10-02T02:02:25Z")
> [@Lakai](#): > > **Smiling bandit** , are you going to provide us with some examples of Stewart’s unfairness or does it simple boil down to him not having your point of view? Stewart is an asshole. He is funny, and he goes for people I don’t like, but he’s an asshole. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/26 "2010-10-02T02:15:43Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > He said that Stewart is bigoted, which is is. I dare you to prove it. ETA: Also, > [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > But I do see that what he said was angry, but not particularly incorrect. Seriously? _Seriously?_ The Jews run the media? _Seriously?_ You’re going to defend age-old bigotry? ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/27 "2010-10-02T02:24:50Z")
Well if they don’t, then why did Sanchez get fired, huh? ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/28 "2010-10-02T02:44:44Z")
One time, Jon Stewart made couple of points how in US every politician, a Democrat or a Republican holds pretty much the same opinion on the situation flare up when over 300 Palestinians were killed and scores wounded and displaced. He actually showed the footage of politician’s making one-sided statements where essentially it all boiled down to “Israelis have a right to defend themselves”. So, the average viewer including the show audience perceives this as Mr. Stewart – in a tradition that he aspires to convey as balanced and non-partisan – pointing to an issue and trying to look for answers. And the answer in that episode comes from non other than David “I don’t fact check my guests” Gregory of “Meet the Press”. His succinct answer is quite simple - Israel is “more popular” than Hamas so therefore it does not matter that Israel is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and that scores of Palestinian civilians are being killed. As per Gregory one side is just more popular so any shit said side does, it is viewed in more favorable light than the other. Of course, this utter BS goes on totally unchallenged by Stewart and that’s where it ends as the conversation veers off to some other topics. And there are at least two reasonable challenges to a such a blatant and idiotic “explanation”. First, Stewart could have pointed out that what makes one side “popular” is actions and results that one side does so if Israel kills so much more civilians and displaces even more and continues with illegal settlements and whatnot, eventually, that side should become unpopular or at least, its popularity should decline. And secondly, isn’t the question of bias and popularity an egg and a chicken question - i.e. is the one-sided treatment of the conflict by American politicians and media result of Israel’s greater popularity or, is in fact, Israel’s greater popularity direct result of one-sided treatment of the conflict by the American politicians and media. But, yeah, he’s funny… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/29 "2010-10-02T02:44:57Z")
If Stewart had ever once mocked Sanchez for being Hispanic, he’d have gotten his ass kicked just as hard as Sanchez’s did. There’s a lot of people who don’t like him who would gladly jump on an opening like that. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/30 "2010-10-02T02:52:47Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > I watched Jon Stewart faithfully throughout high school (when he started getting big in 2001 or so) and into college. But the last two years have been…not so good. I find him angrier, taking cheaper and cheaper shots, attacking _anyone_ who disagrees with him. When Maureen Dowd calls out Obama’s BS and Stewart doesn’t, that’s just incredible to me. Because Stewart is supposed to be at the edge, but now I feel he speaks more to the Democratic establishment in place than leading the pack. I was no fan of Sanchez, and he lost his job when started saying what the people who run CNN are like. But Stewart masquerades as a comedian when he’s _really_ a political commentator. He used to make fun of all sorts of things; but the last 2-3 years it’s been politics his whole friggin’ show. He’s like a nonprofit church advocating people vote for certain candidates and agendas while claiming “we’re a religious institution, we mean no harm!” when called out on it. “I’m just a comedian!” You know he wants to be taken seriously. It’s disgusting. Colbert doing “Better Know a District” is doing unique freaking stuff - lots of members of Congress are forbidden from going on his show he’s so good! Stewart sits on his ass and doesn’t even read the books his guests write. He _used_ to read every book, and would comment specifically on various salient points. He’s washed up. > > As for people pointing out Stewart is a “minority” because he’s Jewish - I mean _really_? Maybe in 60’s it was “bad” to be Jewish, but on the coasts in 2010 and for the past 30 some years, it hasn’t been a bad thing. In my very backwards hometown (there are many youtube videos of political rallies in my hometown where people call Obama a Kenyan Muslim) it was _cool_ to be Jewish. And that was something I experienced on two separate college campuses. Jews are the second wealthiest minority in America; I think it’s safe to say they’re not at the bottom of the totem pole. Stewart is grasping at straws, and I’m disappointed. 1. Stewart constantly criticizes Obama. If you actually watch the show, you should know that. 2. Stewart has never said being Jewish makes him a victim or tried to claim “minority” staus, so when you accuse him of “grasping at straws,” you’ll have to explain what the hell you’re talking about. He was not even part of the conversation about his own Jewishness that got Sanchez fired. That happened on a radio show that Stewart had nothing to do with. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/31 "2010-10-02T02:56:07Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > …what makes one side “popular” is actions and results Can you provide a cite that this is necessarily the case? ---
**Author:** ![Camus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ba8739/32.png) [@Camus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Camus)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/32 "2010-10-02T02:58:44Z")
> [@newcomer](#): > > But, yeah, he’s funny… :rolleyes: What particular point are you trying to make here, especially since the offending view you’re describing apparently belonged to David Gregory and not Stewart? Are you trying to say, in keeping with the salient points of this thread, that Stewart is bigoted against Israel? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/33 "2010-10-02T03:00:52Z")
So I’ll never again hear Sanchez’s pronunciation of “excetera,” or his occasional pronunciation of his own name as “Shanchez” (or is that Cuban?). And oh yeah . . . the impossibility of Icelandic volcanoes. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/34 "2010-10-02T03:04:46Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > An honest person who has the facts behind him can kick the jester’s ass any day of the week. Complete bullshit. One of Alinsky’s _Rules for Radicals_: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/35 "2010-10-02T03:06:33Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > > [@Bosstone](#): > > > > An honest person who has the facts behind him can kick the jester’s ass any day of the week. > > Complete bullshit. One of Alinsky’s _Rules for Radicals_: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.” Well, I guess I’ll just defer to someone I’ve never heard of, then. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/36 "2010-10-02T03:15:31Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > > [@newcomer](#): > > > > …what makes one side “popular” is actions and results > > Can you provide a cite that this is necessarily the case? Hamas is less “popular” than Fatah. No? ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/37 "2010-10-02T03:19:46Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > > [@newcomer](#): > > > > But, yeah, he’s funny… :rolleyes: > > What particular point are you trying to make here, especially since the offending view you’re describing apparently belonged to David Gregory and not Stewart? Are you trying to say, in keeping with the salient points of this thread, that Stewart is bigoted against Israel? Point is that he let Gregory’s point stay unchallenged or subject to his usual “wit” as Gregory’s “explanation” is utterly moronic BS. Absence of a challenge or satire, in his show, means agreement with what was said. However, if **you** also think that one-sided treatment is due to Israel’s popularity then point is lost. ---
**Author:** ![Lakai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lakai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lakai)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/38 "2010-10-02T03:21:09Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > > [@Bosstone](#): > > > > An honest person who has the facts behind him can kick the jester’s ass any day of the week. > > Complete bullshit. One of Alinsky’s _Rules for Radicals_: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon. It is almost impossible to counteract ridicule. Also it infuriates the opposition, which then reacts to your advantage.” Not true. Comedy that doesn’t ring true just isn’t funny. Remember that Fox once tried to make a conservative comedy show. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/39 "2010-10-02T03:30:01Z")
The irony here, or one of them, is that Rick Sanchez is the whitest Latino in history. He looks like a Henry Smith. In my mind he’s a big dumb white guy. And it’s bizarre for him to be claiming institutional racism when he has his own daily, 2 hour long show on CNN. He strikes me as a guy who’s insecure about his relative lack of intelligence and competence, and to compensate has overreacted to the sort of criticism that anyone in his position should expect. That’s pure speculation, of course. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791/40 "2010-10-02T03:33:26Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Jon Stewart frequently engages people he disagrees significantly with, and does so respectfully…_if they’re civil and honest._ > …Show you’re the better man, and he’ll immediately engage you on that level. This. If you’re willing to engage him in a serious manner, he’ll hear you out. For example he regularly has Bill O’Reilly on his show (in fact he had him on this week). Yeah, he still makes fun of the guy and calls him out on his BS quite often. And whenever they talk, they’ll still much more often than not agree to disagree. But because Bill O is one of the few Fox News personalities who has the balls to appear on his show and explain himself in a reasonable manner (or at least reasonable for O’Reilly), Stewart treats him with respect whenever he comes on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rick-sanchez-takes-on-jon-stewart-and-immediately-gets-fired-by-cnn/555791.md?page=3)