TDS 3.0 Season Five Talk

[Hooper]

Thanks for posting the link to Trevor's commentary on the George Floyd video, Angora. Considering the dark and heavy topic he was discussing, it seems almost trivial for me to ponder this, but I do wonder how long Trevor will stick with The Daily Show.  He is so thoughtful and articulate (and yeah, I know calling a black man articulate can have unsavory connotations, but dammit, Trevor is articulate) that I just don't see late night political/social satire host as the pinnacle of his career.  Anyway, it was 18 minutes* well spent to listen to his commentary.

* more than 18 minutes if I count the times I paused and replayed parts of it

[possibilities]

He's too sincere to only do comedy.

[DanaMB]

It was really powerful to me. He brought up points I hadn’t considered and has me re-evaluating my own reactions to the looting. 

[Victor the Crab]

BOOOO!!! The video isn't available outside the U.S. >:(

[paigow]

Google Trevor Noah George Floyd

Choose link to Facebook - no geo blocking issue

ETA: Cheaper than paying for VPN

Edited May 31, 2020 by paigow

[ABay]

With a VPN you can be from anywhere.

 

[Ailianna]

Does anyone know when he will be back?  This has felt like a week where I really wanted to hear Trevor's take on things (more than a single monologue, though it was great).

[SoMuchTV]

49 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

Does anyone know when he will be back?  This has felt like a week where I really wanted to hear Trevor's take on things (more than a single monologue, though it was great).

He has a podcast ("The Daily Show Ears Edition") that has audio versions of the shows, plus some in-between stuff.  He had a 20-minute "Trevor speaks out" episode a couple days ago, but I'm guessing it was just an audio version of the video folks are talking about above.

[topanga]

On 5/29/2020 at 9:39 PM, angora said:

Wasn't sure whether to put this in the season 5 thread or the Trevor thread, but Trevor posted a long video about the events of the past week on the show's YouTube channel. He ties together the "dominoes" falling into place between the pandemic, the Amy Cooper video, Ahmaud Arbery's murder, and of course, George Floyd's murder and the protests in Minneapolis. I especially love what he has to say about the looting that's been going on.

I'll have to look that up. Is the show on hiatus? Scheduled vacation week? 

[Ailianna]

I'm glad to have Trevor back, although my cable tried to keep me from watching.  The first recording had no sound, and the second cut off after 30 minutes, so I didn't see the second interview.  I really appreciate the thought and introspection that Trevor puts into these topics and his shows covering the crucially important things happening now, both with the pandemic and with the protests and police reform.  His coverage generally is among what I consider the best out there.  I was somewhat disappointed that his coverage of police handling the protests has been so one-sided though.  He entirely ignored the police, including chiefs and line officers alike, who have joined with protesters, marched with them, and in other ways tried to show that they are hearing and even support/agree with the protesters.  The police are no more monolithic than any other group of people, and demonization of any group of people is wrong.  I am entirely opposed to the police brutality we have seen in response to the protests, and am willing to call out police misconduct wherever I see it.  I have even had some of these difficult talks with police officers I know, and it's not easy, though crucial.  I hope that Trevor shows those sides too, as the weeks go on, because hope is in people who are willing to admit past mistakes and try to be better.

[peeayebee]

On the radio yesterday a retired police officer called in to talk about how cops cover for each other, even the good ones for the bad ones, and that the union is a big problem. Like Trevor said, it's just like gangs. 

I didn't think the woman Trevor interviewed was an effective advocate. I didn't think she explained things clearly. 

[Victor the Crab]

Real powerful stuff from Trevor last night. Being off for the entire time this happened, He was ready to let off a huge amount of steam. I can understand where Trevor is coming from in talking about how the police have become a gang only looking out for themselves, what with him being a POC. If the good cops wont stand up and hold the bad ones accountable, then there really no better than the bad ones.

[Ailianna]

Trevor isn't the first person to make the comparison of police to gangs.  I thought that his personal history also gave weight to the observation, based on his memoir.  And he explained it in clear, unemotional terms which I thought made the comparison stronger.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/9/2020 at 2:41 PM, Victor the Crab said:

Being off for the entire time this happened, He was ready to let off a huge amount of steam.

Yes.  Evidenced by his reaction to the argument that if we take down the confederate statues, how will we learn history?  "Read a book, motherfucker."

[peeayebee]

That was really interesting. The panel was very informative and enlightening. I liked the story about Natalie Portman and her desire to deal with her conflicting feelings by getting educated. Defunding, I can understand. That makes sense to me. It's hard to imagine abolishing the police. A whole new world.

[Ailianna]

I am genuinely asking, because I have watched and read a bunch of things from people who want to abolish the police, and I still don't have any idea what their answer is to the question of who will respond to/investigate crimes if there are no police.  Trevor asked the question, and was basically told that since the police can't prevent murder, they aren't any good at solving crime anyway.  Trevor made a bit of a joke about people investigating their own crimes, but the question is a good one, and I haven't seen anyone answer it.  It's always a deflection of some kind.  And I don't even mean just murders or rapes (which are always referenced).  What about domestic violence?  Bar fights?  DWIs? Theft?  A lot of crimes which affect a lot of people, and which no one has managed to say (anywhere I have found) how the abolish police folks plan to deal with those issues, which are part of human nature, and frankly, are universal among all the races and socio-economic classes.  If anyone has seen something where this question is seriously addressed, I would really appreciate being directed toward it.

[paigow]

Abolishing the police will be like a never ending Purge. Kill or be killed without even a code for duelling. Then private mercenaries -e.g. Seven Samurai- pop up to protect those who can afford them. So de facto armies with zero constraints will replace police.

[peeayebee]

I may be wrong, but I think the idea is to abolish the police and start from scratch. I think the jobs that police do now would be dissected and divvied out to other people, like social workers, for instance, who would get more funding. Once the various duties are analyzed and reassigned, what's left would be handled by a new police department. 

[paigow]

1 hour ago, peeayebee said:

I may be wrong, but I think the idea is to abolish the police and start from scratch. I think the jobs that police do now would be dissected and divvied out to other people, like social workers, for instance, who would get more funding. Once the various duties are analyzed and reassigned, what's left would be handled by a new police department. 

Robocop. Judge Dredd. Anyone killed by them definitely deserved it. 

[possibilities]

They gave places to go to read the details. It's been done in other places successfully, and it's not a call for anarchy.

[peeayebee]

I hate to say it, but I FFd thru much of the Biden interview. I will vote for him even if he fell into a coma, but I don't find him a very compelling speaker.

[Ailianna]

You really should go back to it.  He made a number of good points, and maybe Trevor brought out the good in him, but he was not Obama level compelling, but still a good interview.  Also, the bit where Trevor suggests himself as running mate was good.

[StatisticalOutlier]

12 minutes ago, Ailianna said:

Also, the bit where Trevor suggests himself as running mate was good.

I, too, skipped it, but this almost makes me want to go back and watch it.  Almost.

 

12 hours ago, possibilities said:

They gave places to go to read the details.

It no doubt has to be with my being old, but I'm with Trevor in his frustration that there's not a central place for information.  This model may work for young people, but it's leaving out a whole lot of possible allies.

 

[Victor the Crab]

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

I hate to say it, but I FFd thru much of the Biden interview. I will vote for him even if he fell into a coma, but I don't find him a very compelling speaker.

Considering he's spent a lifetime overcoming a stuttering problem, I'd say he speaks compellingly. Besides, I could care less how a person speaks, I care if they can do the job. And Biden seems ready for that.

[Victor the Crab]

As a proud Canadian, I would like to give my response to TDS's suggestion that our country invade the United States. Be careful what you wish for! If we take over your country, we will send all of you into re education camps where we'll force you to watch hockey and make it your national pastime over baseball. Plus, we will remake football into our version with three downs, 110 yard fields, and twelve men on the field per side. And, we'll replace all of your Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kremes with Tim Hortons, who BTW is who we worship, thanks for asking Roy.

And that's just the beginning!!! >:D

[paigow]

2 hours ago, Victor the Crab said:

As a proud Canadian, I would like to give my response to TDS's suggestion that our country invade the United States. Be careful what you wish for! If we take over your country,

Metric System - but keep using Quarter Pounder; Mandatory non smoking casinos 

[Shermie]

Nah, we Canadians don't want to invade the US. Typically, one country invades another because there's something the invader wants. We don't want anything the US has. We don't want your crazy high Covid rates, your deep division, your lack of universal health care or maternity leave or decent minimum wage, and we especially don't want your grotesque leader.

All the good stuff you have, we have too. Mountains, beaches, cities, farms, actors, musicians, and most of the best comedians. And we have poutine. Nuf said.

Well, we will take Trevor Noah but he's not American anyway.

[possibilities]

On 6/11/2020 at 1:50 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

I, too, skipped it, but this almost makes me want to go back and watch it.  Almost.

 

It no doubt has to be with my being old, but I'm with Trevor in his frustration that there's not a central place for information.  This model may work for young people, but it's leaving out a whole lot of possible allies.

 

They gave two sources. If you don't want to read two sources, read one. Being an ally means doing something, but I'm not sure how hard it really is to do what's being asked. There are lists out there of things people can do, at all levels of effort, large and small. I feel like there's been a lot of spoonfeeding going on, on TDS and elsewhere. Questions answered, names of organizations to support, links to more info for those who want more info.

Can you say what would make it easier for you to participate? Black Lives Matter itself has a website, it's been around for years. If you need one leader, they're certainly an option. They've been saying what they want done and why for a long time.

I guess I'm confused about what you mean by just wanting one leader. When there was someone like MLK, he was assassinated. A decentralized leadership is more democratic and also more strategic.

[topanga]

21 hours ago, paigow said:

Metric System - but keep using Quarter Pounder; Mandatory non smoking casinos 

We won’t have to call it a Royale wit’ Cheese? 
 

I was awestruck during Trevor’s headlines segment when he temporarily forgot the word, “Sardines.” He could’ve re-recorded the whole,thing, but he didn’t. And I love him all the more for it. Such a real, vulnerable, human moment. 
 

Spike Lee annoys me sometimes, but I enjoy almost all of his films, and this new one looks really good. 

Edited June 13, 2020 by topanga

[Florinaldo]

I had to give another listen to the panel of "Defund the police" advocates just because they did not make much sense the first time around. If anything, their arguments were even sillier the second time. I think that the sophistic "Police do not prevent murder and therefore are useless" is representative of the quality of their analysis of the situation. Their alternative seems to replace it all with social workers and other psychobabbling professionals, chanting around vibrating crystals attuned to the Big Rainbow of the Universe while unicorns dance around the group. Good luck preventing murders with that approach.

Police departments are certainly in need of reform, with regards to their practices, policies and attitudes. But the solutions put forward by those people seem impractical and unrealistic.

A point excellentlly made by Joe Biden the next night. I thought that was one of his best interviews in recent memory; if he can keep this up, the campaign should be quite an interesting study in contrasts, i.e. substance vs bluster. JB is not a great orator like BO, but that is probably a good thing; the former President was very good at launching into the stratosphere lofty ideals and proposals, but he often fell short when the time came to implement them. JB comes across as a pragmatic and fact-driven guy, which means he might get things done.

On 6/12/2020 at 6:01 AM, Victor the Crab said:

If we take over your country, we will send all of you into re education camps where we'll force you to watch hockey and make it your national pastime over baseball.

Rest assured there are no such things. Many Canadians, myself included, are dismayed by the level of public attention and public resources devoted to hockey, baseball or football to name only a few examples, and  manage to live perfectly well while not having any interest in those or any other professional sports.

Except darts and curling of course.  😉

Anyways, since the image many Canadians have of the US is a country where most people are toting their guns openly on the streets and in political ads, and even use gunpowder instead of talcum for their babies, there is zero chance we would be inclined to take you over. Breathe easy...

Edited June 15, 2020 by Florinaldo

[StatisticalOutlier]

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I feel like there's been a lot of spoonfeeding going on, on TDS and elsewhere. Questions answered, names of organizations to support, links to more info for those who want more info.

With all due respect, questions weren't answered in this instance of the spoonfeeding on TDS.  Trevor asked if he's going to have to solve his own crimes, and he didn't get an answer from any of the five people who were assembled, never mind each of them.

Trevor's much better at eliciting information than I am.  If he can't get an answer, even with access to five experts, what chance do the rest of us have?

 

Quote

Black Lives Matter itself has a website, it's been around for years. If you need one leader, they're certainly an option. They've been saying what they want done and why for a long time.

I didn't see anything on their website about what defund the police means, which is the question Trevor and many other people have.

But there's a petition to defund the police--surely it states what it means, since they expect people to sign their names to it.  Nope.  It says "We call for a national defunding of police," with no explanation of what that actually means in the petition or even anywhere else on the site.  I'm not going to sign that.  Of course, I also don't ever forward anything I haven't thoroughly read myself, and vetted.  I'm sure that makes me a bad citizen.

And for the record, I haven't just sat on my ass wanting everything to be spoon-fed to me.  I know that Camden, NJ, blew up its police department, and I looked into what they actually did.  It doesn't look like anything like what the Defund the Police movement is calling for (acknowledging that this is based only on my assumptions of what the Defund the Police movement is calling for, of course). 

 

11 hours ago, possibilities said:

I guess I'm confused about what you mean by just wanting one leader. When there was someone like MLK, he was assassinated. A decentralized leadership is more democratic and also more strategic.

I didn't say I wanted one leader.  I said I wanted a central place for information.  I would think that Black Lives Matter would be it, and you actually recommended it.  But it doesn't shed light on the issues people are asking about, and it doesn't even serve as a clearinghouse for sources that do.

And as for what they're doing being more strategic, I was just pointing out that this strategy isn't going to work for everyone.  Obviously they think this strategy will benefit them more than it harms them, and if it leaves some of us behind, then that's just the price. 

At least I find comfort in knowing that Trevor is on my side on that one.  He got there from a different place, but he acknowledges that it has value.

 

5 hours ago, topanga said:

I was awestruck during Trevor’s headlines segment when he temporarily forgot the word, “Sardines.” He could’ve re-recorded the whole,thing, but he didn’t. And I love him all the more for it. Such a real, vulnerable, human moment. 

I loved it, but I'm not convinced it was a truly real, vulnerable, human moment. 

Edited June 13, 2020 by StatisticalOutlier

[paigow]

[possibilities]

We're not supposed to talk about politics at PTR, and I'm worried we're getting a little outside of the parameters of what was actually said on the show. I don't want us to get the thread shut down.

I had thought that the woman from Mpls did explain in detail what "Defund the Police" meant, as in what happens if you call 911, and no you won't be asked to solve your own crimes, and a bunch of other stuff that I thought needed explaining, but without going back to watch it again, I can't verify for sure that it was this show I saw her do it on. So maybe she did and maybe she didn't, but all I can say is that I thought she did.

If anyone does have questions that weren't answered, I've found it really easy to get my own questions answered, just by putting "What does 'Defund the Police' mean?" into a websearch. Lots of articles come up. I know it would be easier if there was just one definitive source, but of the articles I read, most of them say the same thing, so my read is that it's just the same info being widely disseminated, so not really all that confusing once you wade in.

I'm very interested in this stuff, so I'm glad Trevor is talking about it and showcasing different perspectives. I think it's a complicated issue and the more I look into it, the clearer it gets. Some things that seemed stupid to me in the past started to look very sensible to me after I looked at the data, and at things that had been tried already in different places, what worked, what didn't, etc.

I think some problems can be solved with a simple, single answer and other things just can't. So that does make it harder to understand, especially at first. But I think it's important enough to be worth investigating, and I think that's what Trevor has been doing. I really appreciate his nuanced approach, and I think the show has gotten much more satisfying since he's started being willing to just be serious sometimes, instead of needing to always be joking.

[SoMuchTV]

I know this is a little shallow (or nerdy-shallow), but I was watching the Josh Gad interview and noticed Trevor's books were gone!  I was concerned!  Then they changed the camera angle and I realized they had just been showing a different part of the bookshelf for a while.  Also one of his books is titled (something like) "How Not to Kill Your Houseplant".

[possibilities]

I keep trying to read the book titles, but they're too small for my eyes.

 

[hula-la]

On 6/12/2020 at 7:40 PM, Shermie said:

Nah, we Canadians don't want to invade the US. Typically, one country invades another because there's something the invader wants. We don't want anything the US has. We don't want your crazy high Covid rates, your deep division, your lack of universal health care or maternity leave or decent minimum wage, and we especially don't want your grotesque leader.

All the good stuff you have, we have too. Mountains, beaches, cities, farms, actors, musicians, and most of the best comedians. And we have poutine. Nuf said.

Well, we will take Trevor Noah but he's not American anyway.

Though, I wouldn’t mind having Target back (ok, they did a crappy job when they were here the first time, but I’d give them a second chance). I don’t miss Target enough to invade, but enough to send an angry letter or tweet. 

[Shermie]

Quote

Their alternative seems to replace it all with social workers and other psychobabbling professionals, chanting around vibrating crystals attuned to the Big Rainbow of the Universe while unicorns dance around the group.

That's a pretty shitty description of social service work.

I agree that simply abolishing the police is a bad idea, but it's not like social work is hearts and flowers gobbledygook. It's an effective alternative in many instances.

[Florinaldo]

1 hour ago, Shermie said:

That's a pretty shitty description of social service work.

I was not taking aim at social service in principle, but at their proposal to replace police work with people who are not trained for that kind of work as a magical solution to instantly correct all problems of crime. Social work is not designed to fight crime, pursue long and complex investigations or to catch criminals. But listening to those people, they sounded like Dr Phil to the power of Dr Oz in their naive and simplistic view of how things function and can change. Nothing is as simple as they made it to be, either police work or social work.

And there's room for improvement in both fields.

[Lantern7]

After the fallout from the 2016 election, I said that I wouldn’t have blamed Trevor for tossing the keys to his office to Desi and Roy before walking away. And now, a after seeing tonight’s first segment, I wouldn’t blame him from walking off now. He probably sees himself as important in speaking truth to power, and I‘m in agreement with but there’s gotta be a limit to how much he can take.

[peeayebee]

I don't think his anger was any different from millions of other people. 

[angora]

Trevor's words on Rayshard Brooks were so powerful. I always appreciate that, in killings where the victim did or may have broken the law, he doesn't brush that aside or downplay it. He allows it to be, as he said, messy and imperfect while staying laser-focused on the fact that those crimes or suspected crimes in no way justify that person being killed by the police.

On a happier note, I love the clear respect and admiration that so many Black guests on the show express for Trevor and the work he does. It warmed my heart the other day when Spike Lee opened his interview by praising Trevor's recent coverage, mentioning that he already said this off-camera but wanted it said on the show as well.

[ABay]

I've wanted to live in Canada since the 1970s. At this stage, an invasion is my only hope.

[paigow]

16 hours ago, ABay said:

I've wanted to live in Canada since the 1970s. At this stage, an invasion is my only hope.

Alternatively, you could organize a campaign in your home state to secede from the USA and apply for provincial status. Your "new confederate" flag would also be NASCAR compliant...

[Gothish520]

On 6/12/2020 at 6:01 AM, Victor the Crab said:

As a proud Canadian, I would like to give my response to TDS's suggestion that our country invade the United States. Be careful what you wish for! If we take over your country, we will send all of you into re education camps where we'll force you to watch hockey and make it your national pastime over baseball. Plus, we will remake football into our version with three downs, 110 yard fields, and twelve men on the field per side. And, we'll replace all of your Dunkin' Donuts and Krispy Kremes with Tim Hortons, who BTW is who we worship, thanks for asking Roy.

And that's just the beginning!!! >:D

Totally worth it just to get rid of that swill that Dunkin Donuts tries to pass off as coffee!

[StatisticalOutlier]

I'm liking this version better than the one with an audience.  I loved the bit about the cops pulling Bubba Wallace over for circling the neighborhood, and the flashing lights made it perfect.  That wouldn't work in the studio.  I think the ones where he plays two people work uniquely well in this format (the argument between him and the white person in a movie theater, for example).

At first it was weird not having audience laughter, but now that I've gotten used hearing only him, I prefer it. 

But I rather hate the Skype interviews.  Maybe they can do the whole show in his apartment, and have him do the opening segments the same as now, and have people come over to be interviewed. 

[angora]

37 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I'm liking this version better than the one with an audience.  I loved the bit about the cops pulling Bubba Wallace over for circling the neighborhood, and the flashing lights made it perfect.  That wouldn't work in the studio.  I think the ones where he plays two people work uniquely well in this format (the argument between him and the white person in a movie theater, for example).

I loved those bits too. In the former, I also loved Trevor's comments about the noose in Bubba Wallace's stall exposing the lie of "the Confederate flag is about southern heritage, it has nothing to do with racism!" The latter was just hilarious - I cracked up at Trevor saying he nudges the white person next to him to make sure they're not dead.

Trevor making up middle names for Trump is one of my favorite recurring bits. I laughed so hard at "Donald Juneteenth Trump."

Is there some way to take everyone who sneers at the thought of athletes talking about race/politics and make them sit down and watch that Malcolm Jenkins interview? He was on fire!

[paigow]

On 6/18/2020 at 12:49 PM, Gothish520 said:

Totally worth it just to get rid of that swill that Dunkin Donuts tries to pass off as coffee!

I have not been to a U.S. McDonalds for several years, but the coffee at Canadian locations is far superior to Tim Hortons... 

[topanga]

On 6/23/2020 at 2:03 PM, StatisticalOutlier said:

But I rather hate the Skype interviews.  Maybe they can do the whole show in his apartment, and have him do the opening segments the same as now, and have people come over to be interviewed. 

I agree. Trevor is still great as an interviewer, but there’s something about the delay in the conversation that makes it less enjoyable. But, hey, we’re in a pandemic, so I’m not being judgy. 

What I hate is when Trevor says, “Welcome to the Daily Socially Distancing Show,” and the guest laughs like “Aww, that’s cute.” Have they never bothered to watch an episode? Even worse, they don’t name of the fucking show they’re appearing on?

[Ana170]

Quote

I was not taking aim at social service in principle, but at their proposal to replace police work with people who are not trained for that kind of work as a magical solution to instantly correct all problems of crime. Social work is not designed to fight crime, pursue long and complex investigations or to catch criminals. But listening to those people, they sounded like Dr Phil to the power of Dr Oz in their naive and simplistic view of how things function and can change. Nothing is as simple as they made it to be, either police work or social work.

And there's room for improvement in both fields.

You're missing the point here.  The government has, for decades, been reducing funding for other social programs.  This has put tremendous strain on the police.  They're handling problems they're not equipped to deal with.  For example, funding for mental health facilities was under attack at both the federal and state levels for years. As a result, homelessness skyrocketed as those people had nowhere to go.  Now when there's a problem, we call the police.  The only people police are as likely to kill as black people are the mentally ill because they don't know what they're doing.  Likewise we've got police in schools arresting 5 year olds for throwing temper tantrums.  We've got them harassing teenagers on the street who act out because they've nothing to do.  Imagine taking money going to buying police departments military tanks instead went towards after school programs to keep teens safe and off the streets. How about offering more job training or better public transportation so people can get jobs?  There's a million things we can do to make things safer that don't involve the police.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 6/13/2020 at 2:46 PM, possibilities said:

I had thought that the woman from Mpls did explain in detail what "Defund the Police" meant, as in what happens if you call 911, and no you won't be asked to solve your own crimes, and a bunch of other stuff that I thought needed explaining, but without going back to watch it again, I can't verify for sure that it was this show I saw her do it on. So maybe she did and maybe she didn't, but all I can say is that I thought she did.

Well, I didn't hear it, and I asked Mr. Outlier if he heard it and he said he didn't.  Several of us did hear and remember the "Police don't prevent murder so what good are they?" line.  And we still weren't clear on what "defund the police" meant after watching the show. 

So I'm pretty confident it wasn't on this show where she explained it in detail, along with a bunch of other stuff that needed explaining. 

 

2 hours ago, Ana170 said:

There's a million things we can do to make things safer that don't involve the police.

No doubt, and I'm pretty sure @Florinaldo, whose post you replied to, would agree with you about the role of police and social workers, and didn't miss any point.

Edited June 25, 2020 by StatisticalOutlier