# Robert Deniro vs. Dennis Rodman Who is the better man? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2018, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952 "2018-06-12T10:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/21 "2018-06-12T19:50:42Z")
Rodman is a better rebounder by far. DeNiro is a better actor by far. Trump is a terrible human being by far. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/22 "2018-06-12T20:20:13Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > As to who the better man is, I’ve never met Dennis Rodman or Robert De Niro. Both have admirable points. Rodman’s desire for peace, odd a man though he may be, is commendable. De Niro’s opposition to Donald Trump, profane a man though he might be, is quite correct. Half the population is with De Niro on that. I can find you any number of 16 year olds who would gladly get up in front of an audience and cuss Trump out. And while I’d agree that Trump deserves it, I’d doubt that the 16 year old really had a sufficient understanding of the world to be doing so for the right reasons. And, frankly, I’d say the same thing about De Niro. Half the population wouldn’t make it a personal mission to enter a Communist Dictatorship, famous for throwing people into crippling forced labor camps for minor offenses, as often as possible, even if it was the only way to try and bring peace to the world. While your average 16 year old might say that they’d be willing to do this, most would freak out and back down when the moment actually came. Maybe De Niro would and he simply hasn’t had the opportunity. But I’m not aware of anything that he has done that would lead me to believe that he’d step into that role given the chance. ---
**Author:** ![WillFarnaby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/willfarnaby/32/514_2.png) [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/23 "2018-06-12T20:23:54Z")
They’re both better than Trump, do you feel good about this answer? ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/24 "2018-06-12T21:01:16Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Half the population is with De Niro on that. I can find you any number of 16 year olds who would gladly get up in front of an audience and cuss Trump out. And while I’d agree that Trump deserves it, I’d doubt that the 16 year old really had a sufficient understanding of the world to be doing so for the right reasons. And, frankly, I’d say the same thing about De Niro. > > Half the population wouldn’t make it a personal mission to enter a Communist Dictatorship, famous for throwing people into crippling forced labor camps for minor offenses, as often as possible, even if it was the only way to try and bring peace to the world. While your average 16 year old might say that they’d be willing to do this, most would freak out and back down when the moment actually came. Maybe De Niro would and he simply hasn’t had the opportunity. But I’m not aware of anything that he has done that would lead me to believe that he’d step into that role given the chance. That is because most 16 year olds weren’t personally invited by the premier of North Korea to be wined, dined and used as a political prop. And I would hope that unlike Rodman, most wouldn’t leave with the impression that a dictator who starves his own people, runs massive labor camps in which prisoners are literally worked to death, and arranges the assassination of members of his family with chemical weapons is a close personal friend. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/25 "2018-06-12T21:21:30Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > That is because most 16 year olds weren’t personally invited by the premier of North Korea to be wined, dined and used as a political prop. And I would hope that unlike Rodman, most wouldn’t leave with the impression that a dictator who starves his own people, runs massive labor camps in which prisoners are literally worked to death, and arranges the assassination of members of his family with chemical weapons is a close personal friend. If I was Rodman, I’d say the same thing as him. The alternative is to be barred from the country and have no opportunity to do anything beneficial. True, he might simply be deluded, but I somewhat doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/26 "2018-06-12T21:33:33Z")
I think you might have to ask Madonna to weigh in on who is the better “man”. (Since the OP didn’t define the term for us, I chose to instead.) ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/27 "2018-06-12T21:35:38Z")
On the way to work I was listening to the DJs talk about Rodman’s interview. They speculated it was just a calculated shill for potcoin. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/28 "2018-06-12T22:45:41Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > On the way to work I was listening to the DJs talk about Rodman’s interview. > > They speculated it was just a calculated shill for potcoin. So that’s at least two out of three dishonest shills - Rodman and Trump. Oh wait, deNiro and the vaccines. OK, all three of them are in it only for dishonest purposes, and none of them is worth supporting. Out of the four, Kim is the one with the most intelligence and integrity, though he uses them for the greatest evil. So the whole thing is a hopeless shitshow, and you and I are in far greater danger because of those three than we are from Chinese trade or Mexican immigration. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/29 "2018-06-12T22:52:37Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > President Trump is making a historic meeting with the leader of North Korea. > > Actor [Robert Deniro](https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/11/entertainment/robert-de-niro-trump-tonys/index.html)used his chance to call slam Trump, call him the F- word, and generally puts him down. And the audience at the Tony’s give him a standing ovation! > > Who was being the better man? Just in case you ever return to this thread, rather than merely throwing shit into the pool and running off laughing: > [@](#): > > AUTHOR: Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82) > > QUOTATION: Mr. Emerson visited Thoreau at the jail, and the meeting between the two philosophers must have been interesting and somewhat dramatic. The account of the meeting was told me by Miss Maria Thoreau [Henry Thoreau’s aunt]—“Henry, why are you here?” Waldo, why are you not here? Well, Waldo? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/30 "2018-06-12T23:16:27Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > Rodman is better in this instance. I applaud Rodman’s efforts; however, Trump is a repugnant and vile person, and an incompetent president so DeNiro was justified in what he said, even if I think sinking to Trump’s juvenile level is not particularly helpful. This. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/31 "2018-06-13T00:11:07Z")
Both Rodman and Trump have been completely taken in - starstruck that they get to visit the great Kim. Both of them are imagining they can go in and negotiate with him, or manipulate him to change his mind, or whatever, but in reality all they’re doing is going along with Kim’s plan. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/32 "2018-06-13T01:11:26Z")
I do not see a debate here. I see a number of personal opinions, a few of them supported with anecdotes, but nothing like an actual debate. There is not even a notice in the OP indicating what the word “better” means in the context of the post. While I hate to inflict this nonsense on IMHO, that is where this thread is now headed. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/33 "2018-06-13T01:13:55Z")
It was not even a “kitten on the keys”; the cat is sixteen years old. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/34 "2018-06-13T01:28:11Z")
DeNiro is an anti-vaxxer, and therefore a danger to children. And while I agree with his sentiments about President Trump, I think there is a more appropriate way to address them. Dennis Rodman has risked worse than death to help maintain a dialog between the US and North Korea. (And yes, the NK concentration camps are far worse.) He has had to keep his mission on the down low, and nobody from the State Department has spoken up to defend him when he was viciously attacked on social media for going over there. But without his continued efforts to maintain the discussion and a positive relationship, very few and possibly none of the Americans who have been returned from jeopardy there could have been saved. It was Dennis who kept the lines of communication open so that others could do the diplomacy. I am seriously disgusted to see people cutting him down for being emotional about this. He has earned our gratitude. I wouldn’t set foot in NK for any reason other than a direct threat to the Celtling. And you describe this as being “wined and dined by a dictator”. Your ignorance is showing. He was sitting under the sword of Damocles every single moment he was there, and he knew it. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/35 "2018-06-13T01:56:33Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I do not see a debate here. > > I see a number of personal opinions, a few of them supported with anecdotes, but nothing like an actual debate. There is not even a notice in the OP indicating what the word “better” means in the context of the post. > > While I hate to inflict this nonsense on IMHO, that is where this thread is now headed. > > [/Moderating] 52oderating? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/36 "2018-06-13T01:58:53Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I am seriously disgusted to see people cutting him down for being emotional about this. He has earned our gratitude. I wouldn’t set foot in NK for any reason other than a direct threat to the Celtling. And you describe this as being “wined and dined by a dictator”. Your ignorance is showing. He was sitting under the sword of Damocles every single moment he was there, and he knew it. I mean, we won’t _really_ know until he writes his autobiography, but I think it’s reasonable to assume that an African American man is going to notice when he’s in a country where slavery is still legal and practiced. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/37 "2018-06-13T02:52:07Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > If I was Rodman, I’d say the same thing as him. The alternative is to be barred from the country and have no opportunity to do anything beneficial. How do you threaten somebody by barring them from North Korea? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/38 "2018-06-13T05:21:23Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > 52oderating? No one 51oderates anymore. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/39 "2018-06-13T07:25:00Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Dennis Rodman has risked worse than death to help maintain a dialog between the US and North Korea. (And yes, the NK concentration camps are far worse.) He has had to keep his mission on the down low, and nobody from the State Department has spoken up to defend him when he was viciously attacked on social media for going over there. . Puh-leeeeese. Rodman didn’t go to N Korea on his lonesome risking being thrown in the Gulag or just outright being murdered. Hell, murder can happen anywhere and probably more likely statistically in a major US city. Rodman went to N Korea to entertain the Chairman, and that he did. But it wasn’t life threatening unless he tried to bone Kim’s wife, girlfriend, sister or brother. And I’m happy to give Rodman his due. Nasty as I wanna be lives by his own code, and he played a civilian diplomacy role. Perhaps more of a celebrity air time role rather than a more serious diplomacy role, I would accept he at least tried to do good and probably had a positive accomplishment. Someone have a linky for De Niro’s speech unedited and without commentary? Unbleeped would be better. while De Niro’s views on autism are completely whacky and it could be really hurting kids that need help, I don’t think that has much to do with whether his assessment of Trump is correct. These are two separate issues, and while I think he is a whackjob on the former, I also think he was pretty spot on for the latter. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2018, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952/40 "2018-06-13T12:01:40Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > I get Trump in Rodman mixed up. How do people tell the difference? Rodman is black, Trump is Day-Glo orange. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-deniro-vs-dennis-rodman-who-is-the-better-man/815952.md?page=3)