Politics on the show
startrekismylife
Posts: 4
I found this show by stumbling onto the Spider-Man & Marvel spotlight episodes somehow. I drive a lot for my job, so i listen to a LOT of radio. I started from episode #1 and I'm almost on #100. I enjoy the show quite a bit most of the time, but every once in a while there's something that really bothers me...
PLEASE don't talk about politics on this show. We all know there is extreme hatred for republicans from at least one of you from the few times where you have gone on a rant about Bush (keep in mind i'm listening to stuff from back in 2005-ish) and various other topics.
Here's the problem: When you talk about politics or go on a rant about a specific political party, you risk alienating 50% of your audience. Hell, you might as well just go on a rant about Marvel or DC, it would have a similar effect: People that feel alienated stop listening to your show.
I realize that i have a whole lot more episodes to go through before i catch up, so this post isn't going to effect anything that is already recorded, so i'm going to try to stick with you guys and catch all the way up. We'll see how things go around the 2008 election season, hopefully i can get through all of that without having to quit listening because i really love the show.
If anyone knows any episode numbers off the top of their head in which someone goes on a political rant, please let me know so i can skip them.
And please don't think i'm an unpleasant person based solely on this post. I'm a pretty active member of another comic book related forum and i may expand to post on this one as well as long as the atmosphere is friendly :)
PLEASE don't talk about politics on this show. We all know there is extreme hatred for republicans from at least one of you from the few times where you have gone on a rant about Bush (keep in mind i'm listening to stuff from back in 2005-ish) and various other topics.
Here's the problem: When you talk about politics or go on a rant about a specific political party, you risk alienating 50% of your audience. Hell, you might as well just go on a rant about Marvel or DC, it would have a similar effect: People that feel alienated stop listening to your show.
I realize that i have a whole lot more episodes to go through before i catch up, so this post isn't going to effect anything that is already recorded, so i'm going to try to stick with you guys and catch all the way up. We'll see how things go around the 2008 election season, hopefully i can get through all of that without having to quit listening because i really love the show.
If anyone knows any episode numbers off the top of their head in which someone goes on a political rant, please let me know so i can skip them.
And please don't think i'm an unpleasant person based solely on this post. I'm a pretty active member of another comic book related forum and i may expand to post on this one as well as long as the atmosphere is friendly :)
Comments
I don't think there has been much political talk lately, so as you get caught up I'm sure you will be fine.
However, one of the decisions we made early on about the show, was that we would talk about whatever we wanted to. Our model for a successful radio show has always been The Howard Stern Show. He always bucked the established system by talking about whatever he wanted and never worried about his audience. As a result, he has the most successful radio show of all time, while conventional wisdom would lead you to believe he should have failed miserably.
So while the show is about comics, not politics, we may talk about it from time to time. I'm very anti-Bush and not shy about it. I think Obama is doing a great job and I tremble at the thought of a Romney-Ryan government, but I haven't spoken of it on the show.
When it's appropriate, we bash both Marvel and DC (as well as any indie companies we feel deserve it). I've bashed pot smokers, people who don't wear seat belts, and all kinds of other groups of people. I go on rants, that's what I do. I'm very honest. That's why people either love me or hate me. I'm fine with that. But at least I don't bullshit. I would hate myself if I did.
So I appreciate your request, and I assure you that we don't make a habit of talking politics. But most of us lean to the Democrat side of the equation and we aren't afraid to say it. It's part of who we are.
Hopefully you will continue to listen and get a better feel for the flavor of the show. 99% of what we talk about is comics, it's the other 1% that allows you to learn about our personalities and come to know us as individuals.
Thanks,
Bryan
It's not even really about what was said whenever politics creep up, it's about the disgust in your voice as you say it (although i don't think it was you that made the comments that really got to me). Just that inflection makes the comment inflammatory. Just imagine if someone was to make a comment about another person's religion with that sort of disgust/hatred in their voice, it would certainly turn them off and they would probably avoid listening to whoever made the comment.
And yes, you guys do bash Marvel and DC every once in a while, but the difference is that you don't have that hatred in your voice, you're just disappointed when they do something you don't like and you air your grievance with them.
Honestly, i'm probably a lot like you. People tell me i'm too honest a lot of the time and i end up unintentionally pushing people away because i don't really think about how they will take a particular comment until after someone else points it out later to me. (I may be doing this right now lol) But, i'm not running a podcast where i'm trying to draw in listeners. If i were, i probably would go out of my way to avoid making comments that would polarize the audience like political or religious views tend to do.
Anyway, i'm not trying to tell you how to run your show. I just thought i would bring it up so that you guys would be aware of this issue in the future and may take my opinion into consideration before commenting on the state of politics one way or the other. I'm sure that i'm not alone on this, even if nobody wants to back me up. Most people are just a little more passive than i am haha.
I really do enjoy the show and once i catch up i'll probably enter a contest or two (if you still do them) and be an active participant where applicable (if you still do such things now that you're so well established and might not have time)
See you around!
And truth be told I don't belong to either major political party so I'm neither offended nor emboldened by such conversations.
*I'm using "you" here in the general sense and not necessarily to @startrekismylife
And I'm not even gonna go down the road of religion. Anyone who knows me can guess what would happen there ;)
So I won't be censoring myself. I'll say what I want to whenever I want. That's the beauty of having your own show. I don't do it to spite the listeners or anything like that. If I lose a few in the process, oh well, that's the trade off for my behavior. I'm aware of that. But on the other side, the listeners who stay are there because they appreciate our honesty and enthusiasm.
Ultimately I think you will find (if you keep listening) that almost everything we talk about is comics.
If you disagree with what we say about comics, then please let us know and let's have a discussion. That's the stuff that makes great forum posts!
Bry
I also find it ironic(hypocritical?) when the left, who see themselves as tolerant, are the ones cursing out people over their politics.
That being said I'm a big fan of the show and love the great discussions about comics over the years.
However, I think we can all agree the Lex Luthor was the worst president in our lifetime.
Read a comic & enjoy.
Matthew
I'm still not happy. I've only spoken to that senior employee two or three times since and for very short periods of time.
I'll have normal conversations with an uncle who is racist. He's a blood relative. But I don't want to talk with this guy. It's hard to say that I hate him, or Romney or Bush, though.
P.S. Don't take me too seriously. I'm honestly a nuanced person who believes that anyone who can get excited about either political party doesn't read widely enough.
Stupid, yes...racist no.
Why didn't you ask them what they meant instead of knee-jerk got my fweewings hurt and storm out the office like a baby throwing their binky out of their buggy?
See you there.
So when I hear a very partisan person, even if they are an atheist they just sound like any run-of-the-mill religious fanatic to me. What is saddest of all is when they are so convinced that they are right that they assume everyone who doesn't agree with them is a villain or an idiot. This is why I prefer not to hear any political ranting on the show.
The first, I enjoy working with and talking about issues. We do it in a way where we are both trying to see each other's viewpoint. I have learned a lot about people I disagree with, and he is a thoughtful person who knows a lot about root causes and likes to talk history.
The second is someone I thank the inventor of headphones for. She hates everyone of the other political party and knows nothing about what they think of believe. She bitches about criminals and has so many DUIs she isn't allowed to drive and has to wear a alcohol detecting ankle bracelet. She hates "welfare grabbers" but is on food stamps, state medical assistance and other forms of help (because we are paid pretty damn poorly). She will blurt out racist statements and then laughs and says "But I'm not racist...)
The last one is a very sheltered religious woman who tells me every so often that I will burn in hell because I'm an atheist and a liberal. That's the extent of our conversations and I just say "You probably don't want to tell someone that at a job."
Over the last 20 years, I have noticed that politics has become something that people could discuss calmly to a conversation that makes sports rivalries seem like slight disagreements. Sadly, this benefits media companies and the parties themselves, but harms us as a culture, a society and a country. I'd love to have a place where people could discuss their differences in such a way that we could all find common ground, but I don't think it's currently possible.