As a change of pace, I decided to smash Ben Shapiro! Destroy Ben Shapiro! Obliterate Ben Shapiro! I was going to use one of those lines for the title, since he loves using the “Be Shapiro Destroys” line so much, but I thought better of it. Even though I barely use YouTube, I figured such titles would now be a violation of their rules. From what I gather, you are no longer permitted to say disparaging things about their people or anyone favored by their people, so I went with the simple title.
In all seriousness, I have been going to school on Shapiro over the last month or so, in order to come to a better understanding of his act. I realized while watching him attack Nick Fuentes that I did not understand the appeal of Shapiro. Since he has come to my attention, he has struck me as a very weird little guy. He often sounds like he is on helium and his rat-a-tat-tat speaking style is jarring. Yet, he has a big audience and can draw a big crowd to his speeches, so I’m missing something.
Part of his appeal, of course, is simply that he has wealthy backers. The music industry has been creating stars for generations, because they decide who gets on the big platforms and who is promoted to the market. Every generation has boy bands, because the music industry creates them for each generation. In this regard, Shapiro is like a boy band. Wealthy donors decided he was going to be a star. As a result, he gets promoted to normie whites as the voice of his generation.
Another part of his success is he does not try very hard to be unique. Read his earlier books and it is just stripped down, boiler plate conservative rhetoric. There is little effort to gussy it up with his own style. It’s like the generic version of the stuff Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity used to sell in the 2000’s. Maybe another way to state it is his style is the bum wine of civic nationalism. There’s no pretending about the point of the product and the reason the user is consuming it.
My main take-away from doing a deep dive into the mind of Ben Shapiro is that he is less of a grifter than I expected. He really believes this stuff. He is a Jewish nationalist, a Zionist, in the truest sense of the term. It’s not just the civic nationalist support of Israel that is common with right-wing grifters. He is really and truly committed to his people and the land of Israel. I would not be surprised that after making enough money, he picks up the family and moves to Israel one day.
The other thing I was surprised to see is his narrowness. He is a smart guy and he has been exposed to the finest education available in America. Yet, that has not broadened his outlook or given him any perspective on his own life. Reading Ben Shapiro, you get the sense that he views learning as a means to an end. Knowledge is about its utility in advancing what he sees as his interests. In terms of philosophical outlook, Shapiro is the same guy he was when he was in high school.
That is, of course, the down side of extreme ethnocentrism. His loyalty to his people is so intense, he lacks the ability to see himself and them objectively. His lack of self-awareness is breathtaking at times. That’s how he makes points on behalf of Israel, for example, regarding ethno-nationalism, without noticing how they would apply to the rest of the world. His focus on his main interests is so intense, the rest of the world is just a hazy set of images that never come into clear view for him.
All of that said, his latest book is worth reading, mostly because it provides an insight into the people that decorate the stages of Conservative Inc. For dissidents, these people are often just two-dimensional objects to scorn. For the fans, they are a mirror that claps, while telling them everything will be okay. Reading his book, I came away with a better understanding of the man. I also came to fuller understanding of why I disagree with him and why he and I are on opposing sides.
This week I have the usual variety of items in the now standard format. Spreaker has the full show. I am up on Google Play now, so the Android commies can take me along when out disrespecting the country. I am on iTunes, which means the Apple Nazis can listen to me on their Hitler phones. The anarchists can catch me on iHeart Radio. YouTube also has the full podcast. Of course, there is a download link below.
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This Week’s Show
Contents
- 00:00: Opening
- 05:00: Judeo-Christianity
- 15:00: Athens and Jerusalem
- 25:00: You Don’t Get A Say
- 35:00: Ben’s Feelings
- 45:00: The Lack Of Self-Awareness
- 55:00: Closing
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