5 ms·

Relevant John Oliver segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

by jabo 12y ago

venomsnake 12y ago
Just entered to comment how much impact a spotlight from a single comedian could have. We should call it the cosby effect.
- glibgil 12y ago
  I don't think Bill Cosby ever convinced anyone to pull their sagging pants up and besides, he might be a rapist.
  - anon4 12y ago
    John Oliver also might be a rapist, or maybe a murderer, or both. The allegations against Cosby didn't come out until much later in his career, compared to Oliver today. Also, even if he hasn't raped anyone yet, that doesn't mean he doesn't want to and that he won't do it in the future, which would retroactively make him a rapist -- once you've committed a rape, it applies to everything you've done in the past and everything you'll do in the future. What I'm saying is, if you want to discount everything Cosby has done based on a rape allegation, you ought to keep in mind, that the potential for it exists for Oliver too. The only conclusion that springs to mind, if you discount the possibility of Oliver being a rapist, is that you're subconsciously racist. Even if you're unaware of it, you're thinking something like "Oliver is a nice white man, so he'll never rape anyone, but that nigger definitely drugged and raped those women".
    - mg1982 12y ago
      Thread: New Mexico outlaws civil asset forfeiture Comment: "Oliver is a nice white man, so he'll never rape anyone, but that nigger definitely drugged and raped those women" Me: Wow - that degenerated quickly. Also, if I saw that quote in isolation it would take me about a million years to guess the thread it came from.
  - venomsnake 12y ago
    It was needed one comic to not shut up about Cosby being rapist for the whole issue to cause his downfall. That is why it is the Cosby effect. The same as Streisand effect is named after Barbara.
    - NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago
      Do you have any evidence that he's a rapist? I know he hasn't been convicted, so I would hope you at least have something more than an unfounded accusation.
      - pessimizer 12y ago
        There's been an update since the joke: Over a dozen women have openly accused Bill Cosby of being a rapist. I know it has been widely reported, so I would hope that you aren't reducing the statements of those women to "an unfounded accusation."
        venomsnake 12y ago
        It is a classical case of he said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said ... don't we hate when it happens like that.
        NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago
        Actually, that's the technical definition of "unfounded accusation". I don't have to reduce, that's what it is.
      - glibgil 12y ago
        Sorry, I only have dozens of unfounded accusations that say he might be a rapist. Do I need something more substantial to say that he might be?
      - venomsnake 12y ago
        20+ women, all telling eerily similar stories spanning across 4 decades ... it is enough to extinguish reasonable doubt for me.
- tanderson92 12y ago
  It has happened with major pieces of legislation a few times at least; another high-profile comedian well-acknowledged to have turned the tide of public discourse is Jon Stewart. His work on the daily show single-handedly ensured that the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was passed a few years back.
  - mg1982 12y ago
    Single-handedly is a bit much (and kind of an insult to every one else involved in passing the Zadroga Act). Stewart would be among the first people to tell you that, i think.
    - tanderson92 12y ago
      It's more true in this case than anything Jon Oliver may have done (who indeed tapped into a wider, already-existing movement to end civil as was mentioned elsewhere on this thread). The Zadroga Act was severely at risk of not getting passed; it was dangerously close to the end of the congressional session and the Republicans had filibustered it. Following Stewart's focus on the bill several notable republicans came out in harsh criticism of the filibuster. To quote Robert Gibbs after the fact: "[he was] still holding out hope for passage with Stewart's help." Add to that the general acknowledgement that he was instrumental, I don't think it's a stretch. Certainly not an insult, I'm only talking about final passage of the bill, when the Republicans had it hopelessly filibustered at the end of a session. As for what Stewart would say, I guess he would say that his show follows one about muppets because he wants to make sure people don't mistake his comedy for general political activism. But it's a mistake to conclude from that that he doesn't have significant weight when he chooses to get involved. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-lauds-jon-stewart-for-pushing-passage-of-9-11-health-bill/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-lauds-jon-stewart-fo...
      - benihana 12y ago
        >his show follows one about muppets because he wants to make sure people don't mistake his comedy for general political activism. That always bothered the shit out of me. He refused to accept responsibility for the influence of his message as he made fun of Fox News and right wing politicians for doing the same thing every night. He used the "I come on after puppets making crank phone calls" as an excuse to not have journalistic integrity. He was often accused of being one sided and basically a funny talking head for progressive politics and his answer was always "this is a comedy show. We should be mad at shows where people actually get their news"
- fit2rule 12y ago
  I think you're attributing cause where none exists. The writers for these shows know what bills are up before the legislature and they time their broadcast accordingly, in order to perpetuate the notion of their participation in the zeitgeist. While I don't doubt that Oliver brought attention to the issue - it was more than likely in the pipeline for months before hand, which is why his writers put it on the 'current issues' stack.

Relevant John Oliver segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

by jabo 12y ago

Relevant John Oliver segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kEpZWGgJks

Just entered to comment how much impact a spotlight from a single comedian could have. We should call it the cosby effect.

glibgil 12y ago
I don't think Bill Cosby ever convinced anyone to pull their sagging pants up and besides, he might be a rapist.
- anon4 12y ago
  John Oliver also might be a rapist, or maybe a murderer, or both. The allegations against Cosby didn't come out until much later in his career, compared to Oliver today. Also, even if he hasn't raped anyone yet, that doesn't mean he doesn't want to and that he won't do it in the future, which would retroactively make him a rapist -- once you've committed a rape, it applies to everything you've done in the past and everything you'll do in the future. What I'm saying is, if you want to discount everything Cosby has done based on a rape allegation, you ought to keep in mind, that the potential for it exists for Oliver too. The only conclusion that springs to mind, if you discount the possibility of Oliver being a rapist, is that you're subconsciously racist. Even if you're unaware of it, you're thinking something like "Oliver is a nice white man, so he'll never rape anyone, but that nigger definitely drugged and raped those women".
  - mg1982 12y ago
    Thread: New Mexico outlaws civil asset forfeiture Comment: "Oliver is a nice white man, so he'll never rape anyone, but that nigger definitely drugged and raped those women" Me: Wow - that degenerated quickly. Also, if I saw that quote in isolation it would take me about a million years to guess the thread it came from.
- venomsnake 12y ago
  It was needed one comic to not shut up about Cosby being rapist for the whole issue to cause his downfall. That is why it is the Cosby effect. The same as Streisand effect is named after Barbara.
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago
    Do you have any evidence that he's a rapist? I know he hasn't been convicted, so I would hope you at least have something more than an unfounded accusation.
    - pessimizer 12y ago
      There's been an update since the joke: Over a dozen women have openly accused Bill Cosby of being a rapist. I know it has been widely reported, so I would hope that you aren't reducing the statements of those women to "an unfounded accusation."
      - venomsnake 12y ago
        It is a classical case of he said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said, she said ... don't we hate when it happens like that.
      - NoMoreNicksLeft 12y ago
        Actually, that's the technical definition of "unfounded accusation". I don't have to reduce, that's what it is.
    - glibgil 12y ago
      Sorry, I only have dozens of unfounded accusations that say he might be a rapist. Do I need something more substantial to say that he might be?
    - venomsnake 12y ago
      20+ women, all telling eerily similar stories spanning across 4 decades ... it is enough to extinguish reasonable doubt for me.
tanderson92 12y ago
It has happened with major pieces of legislation a few times at least; another high-profile comedian well-acknowledged to have turned the tide of public discourse is Jon Stewart. His work on the daily show single-handedly ensured that the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was passed a few years back.
- mg1982 12y ago
  Single-handedly is a bit much (and kind of an insult to every one else involved in passing the Zadroga Act). Stewart would be among the first people to tell you that, i think.
  - tanderson92 12y ago
    It's more true in this case than anything Jon Oliver may have done (who indeed tapped into a wider, already-existing movement to end civil as was mentioned elsewhere on this thread). The Zadroga Act was severely at risk of not getting passed; it was dangerously close to the end of the congressional session and the Republicans had filibustered it. Following Stewart's focus on the bill several notable republicans came out in harsh criticism of the filibuster. To quote Robert Gibbs after the fact: "[he was] still holding out hope for passage with Stewart's help." Add to that the general acknowledgement that he was instrumental, I don't think it's a stretch. Certainly not an insult, I'm only talking about final passage of the bill, when the Republicans had it hopelessly filibustered at the end of a session. As for what Stewart would say, I guess he would say that his show follows one about muppets because he wants to make sure people don't mistake his comedy for general political activism. But it's a mistake to conclude from that that he doesn't have significant weight when he chooses to get involved. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-lauds-jon-stewart-for-pushing-passage-of-9-11-health-bill/ http://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-house-lauds-jon-stewart-fo...
    - benihana 12y ago
      >his show follows one about muppets because he wants to make sure people don't mistake his comedy for general political activism. That always bothered the shit out of me. He refused to accept responsibility for the influence of his message as he made fun of Fox News and right wing politicians for doing the same thing every night. He used the "I come on after puppets making crank phone calls" as an excuse to not have journalistic integrity. He was often accused of being one sided and basically a funny talking head for progressive politics and his answer was always "this is a comedy show. We should be mad at shows where people actually get their news"
fit2rule 12y ago
I think you're attributing cause where none exists. The writers for these shows know what bills are up before the legislature and they time their broadcast accordingly, in order to perpetuate the notion of their participation in the zeitgeist. While I don't doubt that Oliver brought attention to the issue - it was more than likely in the pipeline for months before hand, which is why his writers put it on the 'current issues' stack.