Althouse: "Trevor Noah, From Progressive Icon to Villain in 24 Hours."

March 31, 2015

"Trevor Noah, From Progressive Icon to Villain in 24 Hours."

David Weigel looks at the uproar.

85 comments:

Michael K said...: ""I hope we can prove to Noah that we deserve him,"

Hilarious. I can assure you that you do.

What is interesting to me is how Jews are weaving the net that will send them to the Muslim nether regions.

The US is the last safe place.; 3/31/15, 1:04 PM
MayBee said...: I'm starting to hate us.; 3/31/15, 1:04 PM
MayBee said...: Not the real us. The social media/entertainment/politics nexus us.; 3/31/15, 1:05 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: Messi doesn't go down easy, just like jewish chicks.

Have "Jewish chicks" changed that much since I was in college?; 3/31/15, 1:06 PM
damikesc said...: Do any chicks "go down easy" any more?

Am I getting the reference wrong?; 3/31/15, 1:09 PM
Sebastian said...: The Prog reaction to Noah is already more entertaining than several seasons of Stewart.; 3/31/15, 1:11 PM
rhhardin said...: Hands up! Don't shout!; 3/31/15, 1:16 PM
MayBee said...: Also, the fact that real news organizations are covering this is disheartening.; 3/31/15, 1:17 PM
Paco Wové said...: The left eats itself, at an ever-increasing pace.; 3/31/15, 1:18 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: They should have hired Greg Gutfeld - he would have made millions of liberal heads explode.; 3/31/15, 1:19 PM
damikesc said...: Who will be the Robespierre at the end of this?; 3/31/15, 1:19 PM
Steve said...: Fat feminists versus biracial South African. I'm getting some popcorn because this is going to be fun.; 3/31/15, 1:20 PM
Brando said...: Very dangerous to swim in the sea of SJWs--they turn on you quickly when you stray from the orthodoxy. Remember, humor is only funny if it advances a progressive message, depending on who the SJWs decide are oppressors and oppressed.

I sort of feel sorry for Noah--my reaction to his pick was that if he has good writing that's all that matters, as his job will just be execution. His being a foreigner just means he needs a deft touch (so it doesn't seem like an outsider scolding us) but I was open to his promotion.

But it seems now we must all retreat to our own teams, and this poor guy offended Team Blue with tweets (again with the Twitter! How many jobs has it killed?) that seem far more lame than offensive. Once the SJW jackals decide you've crossed the party line, you're in trouble.

They do have a blind spot for black people, so by their own racist rules that might prevent them from finishing him off.; 3/31/15, 1:25 PM
MayBee said...: Can't the guy just try his new comedy job? He's not going to have a position of responsibility. He's a comedian.; 3/31/15, 1:30 PM
Patrick said...: I think he was safe found after Jewish folks. He didn't get in trouble until he went after fat girls.

It might be kind of fun to see what a guy who will put that onto twitter will say on TV.; 3/31/15, 1:31 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: Oh my god, he once had some tweets that reveal racism, sexism, fatism, Jewism, etc, etc.

The Left is a humorless bunch of wannabe Puritans.; 3/31/15, 1:32 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: If the left is going to live by the sword... I recommend the movie Sword Fish with Jamie Lee Curtis.; 3/31/15, 1:34 PM
Fernandinande said...: MayBee said...
I'm starting to hate us.
...
Not the real us. The social media/entertainment/politics nexus us.

Those are "them".; 3/31/15, 1:36 PM
harrogate said...: "The left eats itself, at an ever-increasing pace."

Exactly.; 3/31/15, 1:37 PM
Tibore said...: Comedian makes controversial jokes. Jeez, stop the presses; this must be news.; 3/31/15, 1:41 PM
Tibore said...: Ps. No, I'm not criticizing the Professor here for posting this. My last comment was a shot at the entertainment media. None of his Tweets were an issue until he was picked to host The Daily Show. But now... well, everything changed just because it happened to a show that's important to them.

Such a narcissistic response by that entertainment media.; 3/31/15, 1:44 PM
Todd said...: Paco Wové said...
The left eats itself, at an ever-increasing pace.

3/31/15, 1:18 PM

And it will be spectacular spectacle!; 3/31/15, 1:45 PM
Lis Steinberg said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/31/15, 1:46 PM
Anonymous said...: We will know he is in real trouble when media reports describe him as a "White bi-racial South African."; 3/31/15, 1:46 PM
Lewis Wetzel said...: So they got rid of their fake journalist one-percenter host and replaced him with a fake journalist bigot and anti-semite.
Edgy! Trangressive!
What better place could liberals go to get their fake news?; 3/31/15, 1:46 PM
Lyle said...: Awesome.; 3/31/15, 1:47 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: Some of the tweets are 5 or 6 years old. This is why the internet is so unfair. A joke that might have been OK 5 years ago is no longer OK given the "evolving" progressive group-think perspective. I think comedians are very vulnerable to this trend.; 3/31/15, 1:50 PM
holdfast said...: "In another era, like when Stewart took over TDS, a couple of clunkers about race and gender would have been just that—clunkers. The audience groans, the show moves on. But the show plays a larger role in progressive life and thought than anyone could have expected when Stewart took the job. Just a year ago, Stephen Colbert's show spent days fending off a charge of racism for a joke about Washington Redskins host Dan Snyder that imagined Colbert setting up his own offensively named pro-Asian foundation."

Kudos to Weigel for admitting that TDS is what Proggies do instead of going to church - it's their faith-based fillup, and damn any heretic who strays from the hymnal.; 3/31/15, 1:52 PM
Anonymous said...: Trade him to the BBC for Jeremy Clarkson and a pariah to be named later.; 3/31/15, 1:53 PM
holdfast said...: "Americans love to hear themselves mocked by foreigners," wrote Fisher. "It's a low-stakes way of talking about American problems and weird habits, and there's also a real degree of narcissism to it: people just like hearing about themselves.

Let me fix this.

American Lefties who don't much like America, or even themselves, love to hear themselves mocked by foreigners.; 3/31/15, 1:55 PM
Todd said...: Virgil Hilts said...
Some of the tweets are 5 or 6 years old. This is why the internet is so unfair. A joke that might have been OK 5 years ago is no longer OK given the "evolving" progressive group-think perspective. I think comedians are very vulnerable to this trend.

3/31/15, 1:50 PM

Hey, it was progressives that hoed that row and planted those seeds. Let them now eat what grows.; 3/31/15, 1:56 PM
MayBee said...: Trade him to the BBC for Jeremy Clarkson and a pariah to be named later.

hahahahahaha!; 3/31/15, 1:57 PM
Anonymous said...: damikesc: Who will be the Robespierre at the end of this?

Oh, so many, many worthy candidates.; 3/31/15, 1:58 PM
mccullough said...: A soccer fan. Figures. Messi is smaller than most Jewish chicks, but he's a world class soccer player. What a sport.

Ive never watched Noah before. These jokes are stale and weren't funny 50 years ago. This can't be representative of his talent level.; 3/31/15, 2:00 PM
Thorley Winston said...: Some of the tweets are 5 or 6 years old. This is why the internet is so unfair. A joke that might have been OK 5 years ago is no longer OK given the "evolving" progressive group-think perspective. I think comedians are very vulnerable to this trend.

I think it’s really only a problem for the ones that are so used to being in front of the progressive mob that they don’t realize when they’re no longer leading it and are now being chased by it.

But since the guy is taking a job headlining a show that is infamous for doctoring interview footage to mock anyone foolish enough to go on it, I can’t say I’m going to lose any sleep over him being pilloried by the same mob for things he actually did write.; 3/31/15, 2:03 PM
gerry said...: Paco Wové said...
The left eats itself, at an ever-increasing pace.

I hope it's all low-fat.; 3/31/15, 2:08 PM
MadisonMan said...: The Left giveth, the Left taketh away.

Faster than a....wait, I better not finish that sentence.; 3/31/15, 2:33 PM
Rocketeer said...: The left eats itself, at an ever-increasing pace.

Well if that's the case, the left damned well better be fair trade, locally produced and gluten free!; 3/31/15, 2:38 PM
Big Mike said...: The left eats itself, at an ever-increasing pace.

And all Trevor wants to eat is his waffle.; 3/31/15, 2:54 PM
Curious George said...: He should self identify as a woman, and then "come out of the closet" as gay. Then it'll be all okay.; 3/31/15, 3:02 PM
ken in tx said...: He didn't realize that he was joining a cult, and didn't learn the required catechism.; 3/31/15, 3:05 PM
bleh said...: Before yesterday I had never heard of him. I just watched some of his stand-up on youtube.

Very cheesy and contrived humor. I am surprised, frankly.; 3/31/15, 3:07 PM
Brando said...: "Very cheesy and contrived humor. I am surprised, frankly."

And that is the only thing that should matter--is he funny? (Or for this job, will the writers be good and can he deliver good material?) All this SJW crap about how jokes need to "punch up" and certain things being off limits and such is hogwash. Those aren't rules for humor, they're rules for being in the SJW cult.

Humor is subjective of course, but whether you're making enough people laugh is quite measurable.; 3/31/15, 3:10 PM
Matt Sablan said...: I believe in comedy one should punch up, but that's just because there's nowhere for me to punch down.; 3/31/15, 3:21 PM
traditionalguy said...: Jew jokes are the very best ridicule among the college kids who have anti-semitism training in every classroom today

I bet no one has seen Exodus and its Academy Award song played in the last 40 years?; 3/31/15, 3:28 PM
Anonymous said...: He is safe. He's black. He is the right race and has the correct ideology.

This is why MSNBC sucks and this is why the daily show will now suck. The left has jumped the shark. Back when white racism was the thing, tv sucked and sports teams sucked, because you got in due to your race and your connections having the correct pedigree.

Now the left is doing that. Hold the correct views, have the right parents and spew filth at the right people and you're in. No talent required.; 3/31/15, 3:29 PM
traditionalguy said...: But Eric, this man is Swiss. Not that Switzerland is all that funny a place.; 3/31/15, 3:33 PM
readering said...: Have to wonder why any public person uses twitter (except the ones who use it through a staff of writers).

At the same time, I also shake my head when I hear of public people who don't use email.; 3/31/15, 3:34 PM
Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of New York said...: I watched an old Eddie Murphy performance on Netflix. Man that guy seemed so funny at the time. I think that one wrong comment from him and he is the next Bill Cosby.; 3/31/15, 3:37 PM
William said...: "The left eats. Itself at an ever increasing pace." Not quite true. They eat their tail as in that image of eternity. That's why the left has been around since the Jacobins. They can feed off their own shit and thus live forever.; 3/31/15, 3:39 PM
CWJ said...: traditionalguy,

Believe me. Switzerland is not a funny place. Funny odd perhaps, but funny ha ha no way.

I've visited Switzerland to ski about a half dozen times. Not only are they a generally humorless bunch, but they they are the only people I've met so far that treat you and indeed even look at you like you've got their money in your pocket.; 3/31/15, 3:53 PM
jacksonjay said...: Messi is smaller than most Jewish chicks, but he's a world class soccer player. What a sport.

Jose Altuve is smaller than Messi. Led the majors last year in batting, .341! What a sport. Dumbass!; 3/31/15, 3:55 PM
jacksonjay said...: Messi is smaller than most Jewish chicks, but he's a world class soccer player. What a sport.

Darren Sproles is the same size as Messi. He plays football. What a sport!

According to Wikipedia:

"Sproles is the first player in NFL history with 2,200+ all purpose yards in 4 different seasons (2008-2011)."; 3/31/15, 4:02 PM
SteveR said...: If you use something called "twitter" and you do something called a "tweet" and it doesn't give you pause, you probably shouldn't expect not to pay a price for the idiocy that you have displayed.; 3/31/15, 4:06 PM
jacksonjay said...: Messi is smaller than most Jewish chicks, but he's a world class soccer player. What a sport.

Spud Webb is the same size as Messi. Webb played 12 seasons in the NBA, scoring more than 8000 points. Webb won the 1986 Slam Dunk contest at the All-Star Game. Basketball! What a sport!; 3/31/15, 4:06 PM
Marty Keller said...: damikesc's Robespierre comment takes the thread, but Rocketeer's "the left damned well better be fair trade, locally produced and gluten free!" is a close second.; 3/31/15, 4:19 PM
mccullough said...: Spud Webb was never the best player. If you think Messi is half the athlete LeBron James is you must be a soccer fan. The best athletes in the world don't play soccer. Soccer is a Eurotrash sport.; 3/31/15, 4:24 PM
buwaya said...: I wonder if the proper response would be to just tell the critics to go stuff themselves.

I may be mistaken, but it seems to me the audience slice they are trying to keep, though left wing, aren't constrained by language punctilio.; 3/31/15, 4:41 PM
John henry said...: Murder Rate US South 5.3/100,000 (2013) http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/murder-rates-nationally-and-state#MRreg

Murder rate South Africa 37.3/100,000 (2011) Wikipedia Thats down from 66/100m in the 90s.

Yeah. I can understand why he would feel so much safer in South Africs.

Asshole.

I would say that I intend to watch him less than Stewart. Since I havn't ever, as far as I recall, watched an entire Daily Show, that will be impossible.

FOAL Trevor

John Henry; 3/31/15, 5:12 PM
jacksonjay said...: I think you're insecure about size. Messi dominates a sport where most of the player are bigger, just like Jose Altuve. That's the point!

I think Messi is a different kind of athlete and equal to LeBron. But, I have watched Messi and LeBron, so maybe I have a different perspective. The best athletes in the world play every sport. Is LeBron a better athlete than Floyd Mayweather or Ronda Rousey or Serena Williams or Tiger? I'm not sure that LeBron is a better "athlete" than Kobe, Westbrook or Steph Curry!

You do know that some people have a very negative opinion about basketball and basketball players, right? Some would call them bigots.; 3/31/15, 5:17 PM
CatherineM said...: How was #cancelcolbert successful? He wasn't canceled and I don't think they apologized. I guess it was successful in bringing Suey Park enough attention to get paid. I think that's what it's really about.; 3/31/15, 5:28 PM
Beach Brutus said...: "I think you're insecure about size. Messi dominates a sport where most of the player are bigger, just like Jose Altuve. That's the point!"

But he's playing a non-contact sport where everything basically happens on the ground. Size, or lack of it, would not seem to matter as much as for Spud Webb playing a sport where the goal is 10 feet off the ground and his opponents were 2-2 1/2 feet taller than he.; 3/31/15, 5:29 PM
bleh said...: I think you're insecure about size. Messi dominates a sport where most of the player are bigger, just like Jose Altuve. That's the point!

I think Messi is a different kind of athlete and equal to LeBron. But, I have watched Messi and LeBron, so maybe I have a different perspective. The best athletes in the world play every sport. Is LeBron a better athlete than Floyd Mayweather or Ronda Rousey or Serena Williams or Tiger? I'm not sure that LeBron is a better "athlete" than Kobe, Westbrook or Steph Curry!

You do know that some people have a very negative opinion about basketball and basketball players, right? Some would call them bigots.

Ah, the sports equivalent of cultural relativism. Do you really think all sports have an equal emphasis on athleticism? That's obviously untrue.

For the record I am not anti-soccer, and I do think soccer players are tremendous endurance athletes. But golf? Are you kidding me? Sure, Tiger lifts weights and probably devotes a ludicrous amount of time and energy to proper training and nutrition.

Compared to real sports, golf's athleticism and physical fitness thresholds are quite low. A professional golfer definitely doesn't have to be the guy who grew up running the fastest, jumping the highest, lifting the most weight, etc.; 3/31/15, 5:29 PM
Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/31/15, 5:33 PM
mccullough said...: I like Altuve but he doesn't dominate baseball. there are very few position players in baseball history who excelled in all facets of the game and no one since Barry Bonds from 1990 to 1998. Some others have come close and some, like Cabrera, excel at hitting.

Messi is a good athlete but soccer just doesn't require the athletic ability of basketball. Yes LeBron is a better athlete than all those others you named. If LeBron James played soccer from the age Messi started he would have been the greatest soccer player ever. He
would be so much better than the next best player that he would die of boredom. He is bigger, quicker, faster, stronger, and has better vision than Messi or Ronaldo or any other soccer player.

Messi dominates because soccer is a European sport played by Europe and its ex colonies. America overthrew England, and created its own sports that require more skill, ability, and talent.; 3/31/15, 5:33 PM
themightypuck said...: Is this a #__gate or a #___ghazi?; 3/31/15, 6:00 PM
jacksonjay said...: Big fan of LeBron, not a big fan of Europe. Got it! Personally, I can't project LeBron onto a soccer field. You presume a lot of thing that are unknowable. Neon Deion and Bo Jackson are the only recent examples of athletes who successfully crossed over to another sport. Could LeBron be an All-Star in two pro leagues?
LeBron is a helluva basketball player and extremely athletic, no doubt, but....?

Was Barry an "athete" or a juicer? Makes me think of Lance Armstrong?

Are triathletes the best athletes in the world? Could Lebron dominate triathlons?; 3/31/15, 6:00 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: I saw Noah do some stand-up at the Apollo (on tv, not live). The dude was funny and talented -- much more so than that smug, smirking, Stewart fellow.

I hope Noah actually transforms and improves the show.; 3/31/15, 6:04 PM
lemondog said...: Murder rate South Africa 37.3/100,000 (2011) Wikipedia Thats down from 66/100m in the 90s.

Yeah. I can understand why he would feel so much safer in South Africs.

Asshole.

Watched the video and found nothing funny or even vaguely humorous, however from a personal standpoint this:

Trevor Noah's hell at home; 3/31/15, 6:06 PM
Mark Caplan said...: Where is the insult in saying Jewish women guard their virtue? I don't think "chicks" gets you in trouble anymore since we now have chick flicks and Chico's and er uh ... Chick-fil-A.; 3/31/15, 6:14 PM
mccullough said...: Barry Bonds didn't juice until after the 1998 season. He was a complete player, but was pissed that guys like Sosa and McGwire were getting the attention by hitting so many homers on the juice, especially since they were such mediocre players. So Bonds juiced and then proceeded to shatter home run records and embarrass the game. Juiced Bonds was the greatest hitter ever, better than even Ruth. Now baseball is back to the point where all around players like McCutcheon and Trout are considered the best players again.

LeBron could have played in the NFL. He was an all-state receiver who had NFL scouts drooling. Given the success of guys like Jimmy Graham and Tony Gonzalez in the NFL, it's reasonable to think LeBron would have been an all-pro tight end.

As for soccer, he would be bored. It would be a waste of his athleticism.; 3/31/15, 6:25 PM
mccullough said...: Bonds was a better athlete than Messi as well, even before the juice. But Messi's very athletic for a soccer player.; 3/31/15, 6:33 PM
ganderson said...: Best athletes in organized team sports are in the NHL; 3/31/15, 6:56 PM
JamesB.BKK said...: Stewart has routinely claimed that he does not have real responsibility because he is just a comic, all while he complained about the excesses of others that make talking shows. He must have known his viewers did not see it that way.

Also, I'm pretty sure you can't use chicks in reference to girls, whether fat or Jewish or otherwise, since May 1970 or thereabouts. Deal-killer.; 3/31/15, 7:00 PM
rcocean said...: I think Messi is a greater athlete than some 7 footer NBA player who couldn't make 60% of their free throws. Or some 300 lbs NFL lineman who falls on people.; 3/31/15, 7:23 PM
rcocean said...: Anyone can replace Stewart. Just make a funny face, smirk, tell a joke against Fox News, Republicans, or Christians and the trained seals in his audience will explode with laughter.; 3/31/15, 7:24 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: Who do comedians think they are making fun of people that way?; 3/31/15, 8:30 PM
Whitey Sepulchre said...: You misspelled Wiggle.; 3/31/15, 8:35 PM
Laslo Spatula said...: "Who do comedians think they are making fun of people that way?"

That is why Robin Williams killed himself.

I am Laslo.; 3/31/15, 9:31 PM
Douglas B. Levene said...: Watching the progressive left turn on Noah has been very entertaining. It's like watching two scorpions in a bottle.; 3/31/15, 9:41 PM
Douglas B. Levene said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/31/15, 9:41 PM
richard mcenroe said...: When he makes his comments about America he is just parroting what his white employers tell him.

Trevor Noah knows about as much about America as I know about Soweto.; 3/31/15, 9:55 PM
mccullough said...: rcocean,

Messi is certainly a better athlete than some in the NBA and the NFL. By he's not a better athlete than LeBron or McCutcheon or Trout or hundreds of over in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Not even close. It's why soccer is so boring. You watch the best athletes in the world in these other sports and then watching soccer is like watching high school kids. It's fun but you really notice the difference in athletic ability.; 3/31/15, 10:29 PM
Birches said...: I think Messi is a greater athlete than some 7 footer NBA player who couldn't make 60% of their free throws.

That is not LeBron. Sometimes I tire of all the LeBron worship, but the guy is a freak of nature. He's good at his job and you cannot just hackaShaq to get him out of the game.; 3/31/15, 11:01 PM
Anonymous said...: I'm confused. Does anyone actually understand his jokes?

"Messi gets the ball and the real players try foul him, but Messi doesn't go down easy, just like jewish chicks."
Saying someone is not easy, is not a put down. vulgar maybe but saying someone is easy should be the put down. No matter their religion or race or whatever.

"Originally when men proposed they went down on one knee so if the woman said no they were in the perfect uppercut position."
This is vulgar and tacky and is a put down to men by stating that their frail ego can't handle a no and that they must resort to violence. If anything it is a sad observation of some men, obviously the ones he is exposed to.

"Almost bumped a Jewish kid crossing the road. He didn't look b4 crossing but I still would have felt so bad in my German car!"
He isn't saying he wants to hit a Jewish kid with a German car. He is saying it is ironic and worse than a normal accident. Once again tacky and tasteless not anti-semitic.

The fat joke was insulting as well as tacky because it was implying that they couldn't attract men without alcohol. I'm not sure why he excluded fat men, i suppose they would be in the same boat. But the truth is there are people who prefer other people of all sizes and shapes. There are also men that judge people based on their appearance and women that judge men based on their wallet.

His jokes are crude and childish, it amounts to junior high humor and says more about the people that found it funny than anything else.

Is this the type of comedy I would watch, no. If he were to do stupid, mindless jokes like these on TV, I would skip it. Lets hope he has better writers than he had in the past and has grown up a bit.; 4/1/15, 10:41 AM