The Left (Democrats, “News” Media) Always in a Flutter at Words
The fool is in a flutter at every word.
Heraclitus, Ancient Greek Philosopher, Ephesus, 6th Century B.C.
A comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, known for “roasting” people, made a distasteful joke or “roast” that he should not have made, at a Trump rally a few days ago, namely, analogizing Puerto Rico to a “floating pile of garbage.” Naturally, what’s left of the Democrat Party and their “news” media propagandists immediately went into a flutter in a crass attempt to sway the Puerto Rican vote in the upcoming election, that is, an attempt to construct an Appeal to Emotion fallacy to influence the upcoming election. An Appeal to Emotion fallacy “includes appeals to fear, envy, hatred, pity, pride, and more. … [They] are a common and effective argument tactic but they’re ultimately flawed [and] dishonest”.
First, a brief lesson in the English language for “journalists”, children, communists and Democrats.
A joke is figurative language based on metaphor, analogy and stretching the ordinary meaning of words, rather than literal language. If someone jokingly calls Hillary “Her Majesty,” s/he is not literally saying that Hillary is royalty. Indeed, the point of the joke may be the exact opposite.
Roasting is a kind of being “(snarky) without being mean-spirited in poking fun at someone, teasing, ruthlessly ridiculing, trash talking”. Often, before the fight, boxers and MMA fighters roast each other mercilessly, saying they are going to rip their eyes out or eat their children, but after the fight they hug, kiss and grope each other so much one has to wonder if they are going home together that evening. That is, the pre-fight “roasting” is not literal language … and everybody knows it (at least when they are not electioneering).
This is why, in his Critique of Judgment, the 18th-19th century German philosopher Immanuel Kant says of jokes that the purpose is to “induce a certain cheerful tone … [e.g.,] that there may be a lot of loose talk at a feast and nobody wants to be held responsible for what [they say] because the whole point is the entertainment of the moment, not any material for future meditation or quotation” (§ 44).
Since Hinchcliffe is a comedian know for “roasting” people it is clear that the remark was a joke, specifically, a kind of roasting “meant to induce a cheerful tone … without being mean-spirited”.
MSNBC’s Joyless Reid, in her daily Democrat Party campaign commercial disguised as a “news” show, and apparently not noticing that Donald Trump is not even the one that said it, says, “Ya messed up Donald.” Joyless, having an affirmative action Harvard B.A. may not understand what joking and roasting are, but she can still distinguish between different human beings, … or maybe not?
Joyless also reposts this comment by Politico, which masquerades as a “fact checker”:
Trump has a serious Puerto Rico problem in must-win Pennsylvania. … The timing couldn’t be worse for Trump. A week before Election Day, some think these voters’ dismay could give Harris a new opening to win the state’s Latino voters, particularly some of the nearly half million Pennsylvanians of Puerto Rican descent.
Politico, which, as an alleged “fact checker,” should develop some understanding to the way the English language actually functions, also does not appear to grasp that Trump did not make the remark. Nor do they appear to grasp that the remark was part of a joke, a “roasting,” made by a comedian, and, therefore, figurative rather than literal language.
PBS, which is supposed to be a non-partisan taxpayer funded news show, also incorrectly, not, apparently knowing the difference between literal and figurative language, says that a comedian at Trump rally “called” Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”. Actually no. PBS may need some more taxpayer money to learn the difference between a joke and literal language. Maybe another 10 million bucks will do it.
The BBC, from the country where the English language started, and where, apparently, it goes to die, also says, incorrectly, that the comedian “called” Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”. Reuters, which used to be known as a “news” agency in the misty past, also incorrectly says that a Trump supporter “called” Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” The Los Angeles Times repeats the same incorrect claim that the comedian “called” Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage”. None of these alleged “journalistic” outfits appear to grasp what jokes, roasts and figurative language are.
Interestingly, Le Monde of France, a country that does not much like the English language, actually, in the headline of the article, describes Hinchcliffe’s remark more correctly when it reports that he made a “’floating island of garbage’ remark” at the rally. Unlike PBS, Reuters, the LA Times, the BBC and other Democrat Party propagandists, Le Monde’s description is closer to accurate. Hinchcliffe did make a “floating island of garbage” “remark” at the rally. The next question, for a real “journalist” should be, what kind of remark? And the answer is, a joking remark, a roasting remark, not a literal remark. Perhaps we need to go to France to learn the English language now?
With all the problems in our country, the inflation that prevents poor people from putting a sandwich and an apple in their kid’s lunch box (and may, heaven forbid, even force some of the $50 million Hollywood elites to order one less case of Dom Perignon for their next “Free Mumia” cop-killer party), the open southern border that let more than 13,000 killers of women and little girls (like 12-year-old child Jocelyn Nungaray and 37 year old Rachel Morin) into the country, all the wars around the globe that have exploded under Biden-Harris administration incompetence, the influx of killer drugs like Fentanyl into the country (estimated deaths in 2013: Fentanyl, 74,702, psychostimulants like Methamphetamine, 36,251, Cocaine, 29, 918, natural/semi-synthetic, 10,171), etc. If there’s anyone left who can still count, they can verify that is about 150,000 Americans dead from drugs in 2023 alone. The numbers are similar in 2022. Still counting in 2024.
Unfortunately, the Left’s fascination with playing word-games to get their people elected does nothing to solve those problems and even distracts from solving them. It does nothing to help get poor people, including poor Latinos, get jobs, nothing to protect poor women and little girls from being murdered by the Biden-Harris illegal aliens, nothing to prevent poor people’s children, including the children of poor Latinos, from dying from deadly drugs, nothing to prevent the outbreak of new conflicts and wars around the globe because of the Biden-Harris administration’s misguided befuddled policies. What the Left’s obsession with word-games shows is that they not about solving problems, especially those of poor people. Since their main voting base, apart from 500-million-dollar Hollywood celebrities, is poor miserable people, they need to produce as many of them as possible. Hence the Biden-Harris open southern border. That’s not to help Americans. It’s to help themselves. And it is very hard to see the poor’s problems from the Messiah’s seven bedrooms eight-and-a-half baths multiple stone fireplaces massive carbon-footprint on 29.3 acres in his Venezuelan-free white neighbourhood in Martha’s Vineyard. The Left is about feeling aggrieved, and getting elected because of being aggrieved. Hence, getting into a flutter about words is the natural and inevitable outcome of their career plans.
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Spending time criticizing a stupid comedian as though that could or should be the basis for rejecting a candidate for a job with momentous historical significance shows how desperate and small-minded the Democommies can be. Blaming Trump for every tasteless remark or faux pas anyone on his team or even for occasional mis-speaking himself is a form of intellectual blight. 60 years ago I had an argument with a fellow grad student about a point made by Immanuel Kant. I told him that my point was explicitly affirmed by Kant on page 60 of the Critique of Pure Reason. When we turned to that passage, the statement I affirmed was there was indeed there. But my friend still would not admit I had proven my point. Now that was an example of blockheaded stubbornness. What some Trump-supporting comedian said about Puerto Ricans whether tasteless and offensive or not is no reason to call Trump voters garbage as Biden did or for anyone not to vote for President Trump. Anyone who would not vote for Trump based on an offending joke at Trump’s rally is also a blockhead.