Christ Is King

 

Jesus Pantocrator Chora, Istanbul

Daily Wire seems to be losing the PR war over their parting of ways with Candace Owens. But I believe their position is being misrepresented. People are upset because they supposedly called the statement “Christ is King” antisemitic. Christians are naturally offended by this.

But Jeremy Boreing did not say this. This is a straw man. He said that the statement ”Christ is king”  was “weaponized” to be antisemitic, not that it was antisemitic in itself. I agree with him that it is at best obnoxious, and weaponizing the statement, to say it to a Jew in the course of an unrelated argument. As a Christian, I think he has a good case that it is an example of taking the Lord’s name in vain.

Others are saying this shows Daily Wire will not tolerate any criticism of Israel. This is the fallacy of overgeneralization, or drawing a conclusion from insufficient evidence. One cannot know this from a specific instance, One needs to consider and address Candace Owens’ actual statements and actual criticisms of Israel.

What were they? First, she sent out a tweet on November 3 saying “No government ever has the right to commit a genocide, ever. There is no justification for a genocide.”

Given the date, she was apparently accusing the Israeli government of genocide almost at the beginning of their response to the Hamas terrorist attack. Their ground invasion had begun only on October 27, seven days earlier. While the case that Israelis are using excessive force may have grown since, this was an almost immediate reaction to the Israelis’ invasion of Gaza. Notably, the Hamas raid that killed 1,200 Israelis and seized hostages was not officially a “government” attack, but done by “Hamas militants” (Wikipedia). So Owens was condemning the Israelis, not Hamas. The implication was that Israel had no right to retaliate, or indeed to defend its citizens.

I can understand any supporter of Israel considering such a position immoral and beyond what they could stomach being associated with.

Owens soon thereafter objected to Israeli apartheid on the basis that there was a recognized “Muslim quarter” in Old Jerusalem. “These are the Muslim quarters, this is where the Muslims are allowed to live.” This is no more true than that the Italians in New York are forced to live in Little Italy; yet I believe she has never retracted the comment. I suspect this is what Ben Shapiro was referring to when he spoke of her “faux sophistication.”

It very much looks to me as though Candace Owens is an antisemite. She is prejudiced against Israel, and by extension probably against Jews. Challenged by Ben Shapiro for her views on Israel, she responded “one cannot serve both God and money.” This seems to me to be a veiled endorsement of the racist stereotype that Jews are only interested in money, and unscrupulously so. 

And, given the disingenuity of the case made by her supporters, I believe they too are primarily motivated by antisemitism as well; and by envy of The Daily Wire’s success. Envy also being the inevitable root of all antisemitism. They want an excuse to go after Jews and the Daily Wire, and Owens has thrown them some red meat.

It is disgraceful. I spontaneously use the same words Ben Shapiro used.

Owens Out

 

There is now a feud going on between Candace Owens and the Daily Wire. They recently “parted ways.” And the matter has split the entire right wing. 

My own take is that Daily Wire is consistently right in this dispute, and Owens is consistently wrong—that is, on her veiled antisemitism and her criticism of Israel in Gaza. Moreover, in the current context of rising antisemitism everywhere, Owens’s comments are dangerous.

I think what is really going on is that Candace Owens loves a fight, and fighting has always been, after all, good for her ratings. It is her established MO. She has waded unprovoked into big public spats with Steven Crowder, Cardi B, Megyn Kelly.

She has been trying to provoke Boring and Shapiro. Tweeting “Christ is King” to a Jew in the middle of an unrelated argument may not be antisemitic, but it is deliberately provocative.

We want people like Owens around. Every now and then, we need a cat belled, or someone to notice the Emperor is naked. 

On the other hand, while courage is the essential virtue, it does not ensure the presence of other virtues. Courage was Hitler’s one great virtue. Because he had this virtue, he was not the worst of men; but because he had this virtue, he did the worst of harm.

Were I the Daily Wire, I believe I too would have “parted ways” with Candace Owens. Not that I want to silence her; and the Daily Wire is certainly not silencing her by doing so. They are probably giving her free publicity. But I would not want to be associated with her; for I cannot see her principles.

Daily Wire's New Full-Length Comedy May Change the World

 

There have been no good comedies coming out of Hollywood for years. All superheroes and 3D animations.

As a result, Daily Wire has announced the release of their own new full-length comedy, “Lady Ballers.” Mocking “transgender” participation in women’s sports, and full of cameos by right-wing figures—they say because no conventional Hollywood actors would take the roles.

At the same time, as many enough have noticed, old TV comedy staples like Saturday Night Live or Steven Colbert or the Daily Show are no longer funny. They seem to have abandoned laughs altogether.

Why?

Because comedy works by revealing truths you are not supposed to notice or say. That’s the punch in a punch line—the “reversal of expectations.” It cannot be predictable, or it is not funny. It must be something that is both true, and unexpected.

When society as a whole, or the audience, or those financing a show, have guilty secrets they do not want exposed, comedy becomes too dangerous to their conscience to enjoy or allow. What if someone should hear the beating heart below the floorboards? What if someone should notice it, and say something without thinking?

This is why narcissists never have a sense of humour. This is why those living with narcissists always have the feeling of “walking on eggshells,” having to guard what they say. This fear of saying the wrong thing prevents the spontaneity required for artistic expression, and especially for comedy, which most needs spontaneity.

And this is why European courts used to employ a court jester—to tell the king the truth, to keep it all honest and prevent hubris or delusional thinking.

The decline of comedy, and art generally, is the surest sing our culture is in trouble. 

Hollywood films have become unspontaneous and uncreative; new ideas of any kind have come to look dangerous to the powers that be. Safer to recycle old “brands” and “franchises,” swapping races and genders as an excuse for a remake, as a safe and unthreatening novelty.

While making sure they are not “triggering” to the narcissists; deleting anything that might challenge their delusions.

So too with pop music. Pop performers are no longer selected for talent, or for any unique quality. They are selected as safely compliant, visually appealing vehicles; and every song sounds more or less the same. Deficiencies can be fixed in the studio. Soma.

And yet, we are now also seeing the signs of rebirth; and it started with comedy. Many comedians have now come out as “far right,” choosing their art over politics and personal safety: Dave Rubin, Greg Gutfeld, Steven Crowder, Roseanne Barr, John Cleese, Ricky Gervais, Joe Rogan, Dave Chappelle, Norm Macdonald, on and on; a list that seems to grow every week. And we are seeing the traditional role of the court jester being reasserted, in the face of furious censorship, over the Internet.

Daily Wire and Angel Studios have now begun turning out new TV shows and films at a surprising clip, and audiences are eating them up. At least some significant portion of the population is not depraved. When these films and shows start outgrossing Hollywood, we will know the future is won.

Now this full-length comedy, “Lady Ballers.” This may be the most devastating blow yet to woke narcissism. There is nothing a narcissist hates more than being laughed at.

On the Off Chance You Haven't Seen It

 

Apparently that was a real flamethrower, courtesy of Elon Musk.

The new world is coming together.