Who is America? - General Discussion

[Meredith Quill]

Discuss Who Is America Here!

[Porkchop]

It's amazing to watch Sacha Baron Cohen hoodwink those politicians into thinking that Israel has a program to train preschoolers and kindergardners in the use of firearms. And to hear them approve of the program ... because children that young don't know right from wrong yet, so they would make great soldiers. Aaarrgh.

[Guest]

So, I watched the first episode, stunned that anyone would think equipping a four-year old with a weapon was a good idea, and then I realized that all of these morons never even blinked twice about a guy who's sitting next to them in what had to be three inches of heavy make up and never thought to think anything was unusual with that. 

[Duke2801]

The bit about his partner taking a porpoise as her lover killed me. “Well we went to therapy, and we spend 3 months out of the year in Oahu.”

 

The “kinder-guardians” segment.. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Ok I laughed—but it’s some disturbing stuff when you think about it. 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Duke2801

[ganesh]

17 hours ago, Duke2801 said:

The bit about his partner taking a porpoise as her lover killed me. “Well we went to therapy, and we spend 3 months out of the year in Oahu.”

Then he said, "I don't ask anymore". I couldn't get over the wife saying "the mammal" a bunch of times. 

It looked to me like Bernie either knew this was bit from the get go, and figured he'd just talk about his policies. Once Sacha brought out the little chart with the moving 9s around, Bernie seemed to be like, "I don't know where to go with this" and then the segment ended. 

The whole porpoise bit was beyond absurd and probably the funniest segment of the show, mainly because the wife kept shutting the husband down every time he questioned what Sacha was saying. I think at one point during the bathroom bit the husband just blurted out "does she pee on her feet?!"

What got me for the gun segment was actually the congressman who said, "well I'm not going to endorse a policy I know nothing about. No one would do that." So, I'm saying, 'good for you dude' thinking they were going to have some actual sensible people. Then they cut right to all the politicians endorsing the kids having guns. All he basically did was spout out a few buzzwords and they were eating it up. So bizarre. How about the "it's not rape if it's your wife amite" "OH YEAH HA HA HA - you're cutting that right?" Yeesh. 

I can't imagine that the artist wasn't playing along for laughs, or thought that Sacha was totally bonkers and didn't want to upset him. 

What I thought was interesting was he wasn't really trying to hide that the whole thing is just farce. He plays the characters straight up, but he's saying to one of the congressmen about the "anti-tragedy agenda of the left" which is patently ridiculous and should have given anyone pause. 

Which means I can't wait for the Palin segment. If he's playing these characters fairly thin, I can't wait to see her stupidity on full display.

I didn't realize he was going to play a bunch of characters, so I like the variety. I would love some behind the scenes on how he booked the guests. I can't imagine elected officials didn't vet him as part of the interview request. 

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, ganesh said:

I can't imagine that the artist wasn't playing along for laughs, or thought that Sacha was totally bonkers and didn't want to upset him. 

 

Until I read this, I had completely forgotten about that segment on the show—and I think I forgot totally on purpose. I cannot, simply cannot believe that woman sat there and acted like his character (I forget his name) was some sort of artistic genius. Then, when he goes to the bathroom to create more "art" for her and hands it to her and she does nothing but gush over it? Come on. No way. Plus, she didn't even bother to glove up before touching it! If she really believed that he literally pooped out his art, why was she fondling it without protection? 

And now I am going to go back and forget I remembered this segment all over again. 

[ganesh]

He said he got the semen from his cell mate, until his cell mate found out and shoved a chair leg up his ass. You can't not know something is going on. Good for her for playing along. It was a funny bit. She even gave him a pubic hair sample. 

[Porkchop]

There were lots of laughs for me in this show. Plus lots of shock. And I'm laughing again reading the comments. This is one of my favorite places on the internet. Thank you for existing, previously.tv!

[Spartan Girl]

These morons should be ashamed of themselves. But of course they put it all on SBC to cover for the fact that they were willing to support arming toddlers. 

I can't wait to see who else he duped.

[Guest]

Wow. Those people from Kingman, Arizona sure seemed like a nice group of people what with their, "we don't want the black people who live in our town here but we tolerate them." How kind!

This show exhausts me. 

ETA: I really hope I wake up tomorrow to find out that Jason Spencer, that psychotic, racist moron from Georgia has been removed from office. I mean, honest to god, every moment of that whole segment was so horribly offensive. 

[skotnikov]

I'm baffled what kind of agreement people sign that they can't sue and stop Showtime from releasing this?  Because I know not everyone can think critically, or has college/university education and so on, but the level of idiocy  of people incl. those who were/are in the government FFS is truly alarming and shocking. 

Edited July 23, 2018 by skotnikov

[ganesh]

22 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

ETA: I really hope I wake up tomorrow to find out that Jason Spencer, that psychotic, racist moron from Georgia has been removed from office. I mean, honest to god, every moment of that whole segment was so horribly offensive. 

I believe he's already lost the primary so he's a lame duck. 

[Guest]

Yeah, I read that earlier today. But he still holds public office until January and is refusing to resign. He's a disgrace. 

I re-watched the episode tonight and had forgotten all about Ted Koppel—the only sane man who, after three minutes, realized the whole thing was ridiculous and peaced out of the interview with the scooter character. 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

On 7/22/2018 at 10:48 PM, Giant Misfit said:

Wow. Those people from Kingman, Arizona sure seemed like a nice group of people what with their, "we don't want the black people who live in our town here but we tolerate them." How kind!

This show exhausts me. 

Second this.  I tuned in expecting to be amused but it's too sobering to be funny.  The hatred in that AZ public meeting was palpable.

I just saw an article on Slate about the gallery owner and her experience.  She doesn't take herself too seriously and she seems like a good sport.  Good for her.

[Guest]

I found this article from USA Today about the aftermath of the Kingman segment:

Quote

The episode triggered a swift, broadly critical reaction on social media, with users calling the segment "unsurprising," "brutal," "utterly embarrassing" and "more frightening than hilarious."

Others — mostly current and former Kingman residents — argued most people in the city "are nothing like the ones who appeared on the show tonight."

City officials seemed unconvinced those featured on the episode even live in Kingman. 

Yeah, that's kinda stretching it that those people on the segment don't live there, city officials!  

Quote

"We do have a mosque. We do have a robust Latino community. We do welcome tourists from all over the world, especially more and more from Asia fascinated by our Route 66 history."

I don't doubt that the majority of residents there aren't ignorant racists like the ones seen on the show but I'd think twice before ever visiting that place.  

[ganesh]

The n-word rolled off the GA rep's tongue so easily you know that is not the first time he's said it. I mean, come on though. The bit was so outrageous and over the top, you don't stop for a second and process it? 

It seemed me that Koppel caught on as soon as he showed the picture and just rolled with it to see where it was going. 

I actually do hope there's a mix of people like the artist and Koppel, and Bernie, who kind of catch on or roll with the bit for a while. Just having on these marks is going to get old. 

SBC's Mossad character totally looks like Freddy Mercury.

The Cheney bit was a little subdued until the end. 

Edited July 25, 2018 by ganesh

[ganesh]

4 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

The episode triggered a swift, broadly critical reaction on social media, with users calling the segment "unsurprising," "brutal," "utterly embarrassing" and "more frightening than hilarious."

Others — mostly current and former Kingman residents — argued most people in the city "are nothing like the ones who appeared on the show tonight."

City officials seemed unconvinced those featured on the episode even live in Kingman. 

Are they not though? It's only 30,000 people there. Did SBC do years of research and picked the most racist people, or did he just put up flyers and got a fairly random sample of the city? Because if it's the first, then he's being disingenuous and basically invalidating the premise of the show. I'm betting it's not that one. 

So no one piped up and said, "what authority do you have to put this there?"

It's not like he's being overly clever to hoodwink anyone on either episode so far. He's got a picture of a camel in the road! 

4 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

I don't doubt that the majority of residents there aren't ignorant racists like the ones seen on the show but I'd think twice before ever visiting that place.

Oh, I doubt it very much. It's over 80% white. Maybe there isn't a lot of people saying "I'm racist against Muslims", but I would lay very good money down that most would equate islam with terrorism. That guy who was talking the most? It's not like he's keeping it to himself. They're talking about that at the bar. 

I'm surprised they stayed for so long. 

Edited July 25, 2018 by ganesh

[ganesh]

NPR is doing a cool discussion on the show on KCRW right now. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

Are they not though? It's only 30,000 people there. Did SBC do years of research and picked the most racist people, or did he just put up flyers and got a fairly random sample of the city? Because if it's the first, then he's being disingenuous and basically invalidating the premise of the show. I'm betting it's not that one. 

Yeah, I'd love to know how he attracted that crew, too. He said it was a "town hall" meeting—but those things are usually held by the municipal government and there weren't any city officials there and clearly the town wasn't involved in organizing that. An ad in the paper? But, frankly, a few of them struck me as people unlikely to read a paper if they could even read at all. I would expect such a homogeneous crowd like that to have been recruited by focus group coordinators or something. 

And doesn't Dick Cheney have Secret Service protection? Again, I have to go back to the ridiculous make up on SBC's character and wonder, how could anyone look at him and not think something was totally not up? Wouldn't the SS have to vet anyone coming in to talk to him?

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

 

The n-word rolled off the GA rep's tongue so easily you know that is not the first time he's said it. I mean, come on though. The bit was so outrageous and over the top, you don't stop for a second and process it? 

 

 

Yup, of course it's not the first time he's said it. He's a moron and that's why he probably has no critical thinking skills that would have given him pause about the whole exercise—not only the n-word shouting but the ass-baring part of the exercise which he did with absolutely no hesitation. And as of today, he's still gainfully employed. 

[ganesh]

42 minutes ago, Giant Misfit said:

I would expect such a homogeneous crowd like that to have been recruited by focus group coordinators or something. 

Didn't they show flyers at the beginning? 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, ganesh said:

Didn't they show flyers at the beginning? 

Oh, dang! Maybe! I missed it if they did. I'll have to go back and take another look. 

ETA: Jason Spencer has resigned. Too bad, so sad for you, asshole. Maybe he can spend the rest of his life fighting terrorists by shoving his naked ass into them. 

[ganesh]

They could have posted on craigslist or something too. I think SBC has to be as random as possible for a piece like that if he's going to play it honest with the viewers. 

 

4 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

ETA: Jason Spencer has resigned.

Quote

“Sacha Baron Cohen and his associates took advantage of my paralyzing fear that my family would be attacked,” said Spencer, who added that he was told the techniques would deter “what I believed was an inevitable attack.” 

If your fear is so paralyzing that you feel shouting the n-word at the top of your lungs while being filmed is absolutely necessary, I would suggest you are suffering from severe psychosis and should be 5150-ed or whatever GA has for that. 

Or, dude, you're a just a terrible racist and not that smart and got played mad. 

Quote

But he also had financial incentive to stay. If he had remained in office through January, he would have logged eight years of service and become eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health insurance for life.

Hahahahaha. Dumbass. 

I forgot to add last night that I did get a huge laugh out of the audience reaction when he said "and the Clinton foundation."

This show certainly has given me a lot to talk about!

Edited July 25, 2018 by ganesh

[Princess Sparkle]

I'm enjoying this much more than I was anticipating. I forgot how much I missed seeing SBC do what he's best at.

I noticed in the most recent ep, Nathan Fielder was one of the directors and I found myself trying to decide which section I thought he directed. When I was watching the Cheney interview, there were some parts where I thought "Wow, this reminds me of Nathan for You", and then to see him as a director in the end, it started to make sense - but I have no idea if that part was his or not.

[glitterpussy]

5 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

I'm enjoying this much more than I was anticipating. I forgot how much I missed seeing SBC do what he's best at.

I noticed in the most recent ep, Nathan Fielder was one of the directors and I found myself trying to decide which section I thought he directed. When I was watching the Cheney interview, there were some parts where I thought "Wow, this reminds me of Nathan for You", and then to see him as a director in the end, it started to make sense - but I have no idea if that part was his or not.

It was the Jason Spencer one, I believe.

[Tom Holmberg]

This show's more sad than funny (it would be funnier, I suppose, if I didn't actually live here).

[Prairie Fire]

Good gracious, the Kingman segment. On one hand, I'd have sympathized with any community (like my own) that doesn't have a strong tie to the Muslim world objecting to a mosque that big. But on the other hand, you get the feeling the people in that room would have objected just as hard to something much smaller, like one Muslim immigrant moving to Kingman. So screw them.

[Princess Sparkle]

17 hours ago, glitterpussy said:

It was the Jason Spencer one, I believe.

That also makes a lot of sense - thanks!

[ganesh]

14 hours ago, Prairie Fire said:

But on the other hand, you get the feeling the people in that room would have objected just as hard to something much smaller, like one Muslim immigrant moving to Kingman. So screw them.

Maybe not. They did say they tolerate the black person that lives there. 

[Guest]

The whole segment with the goons who were going to get rid of "illegals" by luring them into a quinceañera with the promises of "Free Drugs!" and "Free Pussy!" right there—ON A BILLBOARD outside of the venue. My god. And the one goon who wore the party dress? I fell out when the cop found the fake vagina underneath of it. I sure would love to know how SBC talked the cops out of arresting all of them.

[teddysmom]

The Roy Moore segment - that was straight out of "Gay Witch Hunt" episode of The Office.  Jim tells Dwight you can order "gaydar" from Sharper Image. It's a metal detector and he was switching it on and off. 

[Mumbles]

5 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

The whole segment with the goons who were going to get rid of "illegals" by luring them into a quinceañera with the promises of "Free Drugs!" and "Free Pussy!" right there—ON A BILLBOARD outside of the venue. My god. And the one goon who wore the party dress? I fell out when the cop found the fake vagina underneath of it. I sure would love to know how SBC talked the cops out of arresting all of them.

I like this show but as this piece was playing itself out I began to doubt that this wasn't a stunt and those guys weren't in on it. I noticed that there were three guys listed as actors in the credits but those credits didn't look legit. There are websites and Facebook pages for those insane-sounding organizations they were associated with (e.g. "The 9/12 Project") but again, maybe they were set up for the show? Maybe I'm optimistically naive but those guys were so dumb and awful I am hoping they don't really exist. Still, I enjoyed the bit for what it was. But I prefer when he goes after famous or public  people. The Roy Moore segment, for example.

[InsertWordHere]

There was a third guy in the quinceanera segment, who SBC said he chose not to use because of body type. I’m guessing he actually figured out this was a scam or that even if it was real, it would result in the police being called. Either way, it looked odd that he was in the “training” section and not there for the actual “sting” operation.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Mumbles said:

There are websites and Facebook pages for those insane-sounding organizations they were associated with (e.g. "The 9/12 Project") but again, maybe they were set up for the show?

Yeah, that 9/12 Project is a legit (I use the term loosely) organization. It was a big Glenn Beck project back in the Glenn Beck heyday. So while it sounds insane, sadly, it's been around for awhile -- I want to say like 2009, maybe? 2010? 

 

1 hour ago, InsertWordHere said:

There was a third guy in the quinceanera segment, who SBC said he chose not to use because of body type. I’m guessing he actually figured out this was a scam or that even if it was real, it would result in the police being called.

Could be the latter but I think I heard SBC say though that they couldn't use him because he couldn't pass for a teenage girl because of his body type and wouldn't attract the "illegals" well. Not that the other clown could pass but he wasn't as physically cumbersome. 

[teddysmom]

I don't understand how anyone doesn't figure out this is a prank within 5 minutes.  It's horrifying that people are so gullible.  

[Guest]

I don't even know why SBC bothers with the prosthetics on this show—these people seem too stupid to live let alone be able to recognize him from any film he's ever been in because they've surely never seen it. 

[Princess Sparkle]

I think dogs were probably the only creatures who could hear some of the sounds I made laughing at this episode. It was such an easy joke, but the incessant beeping whenever that device went off near Roy Moore killed me.

And that final segment where those guys were calmly trying to explain why they were dressed the way they were, when they had a sign out front that said "Free pussy"? I died.

The character that's not working for me as well is the hyper-liberal doctor character he's doing (can't remember the name of that one). When he's exposing a racist town like he did last week, it works. When he just seems to be testing how patient people can be - like with the couple the first week and the two men this week - it's not funny to me.

[Duke2801]

8 hours ago, Princess Sparkle said:

I think dogs were probably the only creatures who could hear some of the sounds I made laughing at this episode. It was such an easy joke, but the incessant beeping whenever that device went off near Roy Moore killed me.

And that final segment where those guys were calmly trying to explain why they were dressed the way they were, when they had a sign out front that said "Free pussy"? I died.

The character that's not working for me as well is the hyper-liberal doctor character he's doing (can't remember the name of that one). When he's exposing a racist town like he did last week, it works. When he just seems to be testing how patient people can be - like with the couple the first week and the two men this week - it's not funny to me.

I actually find that character hilarious. Maybe I just like him because it seems to be poking fun at all the SJWs on social media. 

I loved his rap battle, too. 

[ganesh]

On 7/30/2018 at 4:36 AM, Giant Misfit said:

I sure would love to know how SBC talked the cops out of arresting all of them.

I thought they might have been in on the gag because it was just so over the top. I'm having a hard time buying that those guys were that dumb. 

I thought the rap battle was hilarious but I figured they all had to be in on it. Not that the lyrics were planned, but I don't see how he gets let in there otherwise. 

The Moore segment was funny because Moore started going on about being married for 30 years and SBC kept beeping until he stormed off. 

[link417]

“Alabama has always been a place of equality.” LMAO, not even a blink or a flinch from Roy Moore! “That’s our heritage.”

In a way, I can see where Dr. N’Degeochello (sp?) was Healing the Divide between Bone Crusher and dude from SC — they were united in their WTF-ness throughout that whole interview. 

I was a bit distracted by the wall art in that scene: Behind them, one of the decorative squares was askew until at some point it just fell off the wall entirely. 

“Make my birthday!” had to be a scripted line, right??

[ganesh]

2 hours ago, link417 said:

In a way, I can see where Dr. N’Degeochello (sp?) was Healing the Divide between Bone Crusher and dude from SC — they were united in their WTF-ness throughout that whole interview. 

Ah, yeah. That makes sense now. I didn't really know what SBC was going for in that bit. I knew they both would be weirded out by Dr. N saying he had gay sex. I mean, the guy moved his chair away. Now that I think about it, is kind of interesting, because SBC told the GA guy last week that you can 'catch gay'. 

[Guest]

Again this show makes me wonder how thirsty these political types are to accept basically any request for a interview to get themselves some exposure. Last night's example was Joe Arpaio who consented to an interview with someone named "OMG[something]OMG" only to find himself admitting he'd take a blowjob from Donald Trump. I'm less surprised by that obvious admission than I was that the man clearly has no staff to vet interview requests. 

I also had to remind myself throughout that segment that it was SBC behind that wall of make up and not Dana Carvey. 

[ganesh]

On 8/6/2018 at 6:56 AM, Giant Misfit said:

Last night's example was Joe Arpaio who consented to an interview with someone named "OMG[something]OMG" only to find himself admitting he'd take a blowjob from Donald Trump.

I'd really be interested in behind the scenes how they book the guests. It's not like 'Joe, NBC called and requested a 4 minute spot. Chuck Todd is going to do the interview.' Not much to vet there because the guy is on tv all the time, and NBC can't afford a defamation lawsuit. 

But how do you agree to whatever SBC was doing in that bit? Although, isn't he running for senator? Maybe he figures he wants the PR. That doesn't explain everyone else though. Does Cohen have to make up fake profiles and credentials? I did read an article that SBC does an incredible amount of research, so maybe he knows just what to say. 

The guy from Utah was having none of that interview. I don't know why he didn't cut it short. 

[LibertarianSlut]

20 hours ago, ganesh said:

I'd really be interested in behind the scenes how they book the guests. It's not like 'Joe, NBC called and requested a 4 minute spot. Chuck Todd is going to do the interview.' Not much to vet there because the guy is on tv all the time, and NBC can't afford a defamation lawsuit. 

But how do you agree to whatever SBC was doing in that bit? Although, isn't he running for senator? Maybe he figures he wants the PR. That doesn't explain everyone else though. Does Cohen have to make up fake profiles and credentials? I did read an article that SBC does an incredible amount of research, so maybe he knows just what to say. 

The guy from Utah was having none of that interview. I don't know why he didn't cut it short. 

I'm not sure I get the reference to the defamation lawsuit. A full legal defense to defamation is truth. I don't see how talk of defamation could arise in the context on any lawsuit vis a vis this show. The interviewees could claim they were defrauded into doing the interview, but I'm sure the releases they sign are airtight, so that takes care of that. 

 

The people who made asses of themselves should just cop to it, and publicly say, basically "I played myself, damn." There is absolutely no excuse these people can give. Conversely, the people who weren't tricked, such as Bernie Sanders, Dick Cheney, and that guy from Utah should get some credit for keeping their wits about them in a coercive environment.

[ganesh]

From the context of my post, I'm just saying if NBC called and asked you to do an interview with Chuck Todd, you can be reasonably sure that you're not getting pranked and NBC news probably has some legal ethical standard they have to keep. 

Versus, hey come on a kids site to talk about guns and don't look it up even a little. It's not like SBC isn't really hiding anything. 

[DollEyes]

On 7/25/2018 at 7:04 AM, Giant Misfit said:

Oh, dang! Maybe! I missed it if they did. I'll have to go back and take another look. 

ETA: Jason Spencer has resigned. Too bad, so sad for you, asshole. Maybe he can spend the rest of his life fighting terrorists by shoving his naked ass into them. 

Jason Spencer showed his dumb, racist ass, in every way. To paraphrase the old saying, "Sometimes it's better to be silent & thought a fool, than to drop your drawers & remove all doubt."

Edited August 12, 2018 by DollEyes

[link417]

“I don’t hate Jews. I am not an anti-Yosemite.” ?

The Rap Genius guy . . . BARF.

Is it possible to die of second-hand embarrassment? Am I going to be okay?

[WearyTraveler]

On 8/8/2018 at 4:30 AM, ganesh said:

I'd really be interested in behind the scenes how they book the guests. It's not like 'Joe, NBC called and requested a 4 minute spot. Chuck Todd is going to do the interview.' Not much to vet there because the guy is on tv all the time, and NBC can't afford a defamation lawsuit. 

I read somewhere that he set up the background with tons of time in advance.  Like the you tube guy had videos dating back for months and the "news" webpages had been set up way, way in advance with comments and followers and other stuff.

I think some of these people think that they will be speaking to a captive audience of thousands who watch these shows or read those webpages.  It shows that they are willing to pander to anyone, at any cost, so they can get support, even from the lowest denominator.

I agree with the general sentiment that the show is sad and funny.

[ganesh]

Still though, I can't imagine it's foolproof. 

[Guest]

8 hours ago, link417 said:

The Rap Genius guy . . . BARF.

 

Jesus. In a show filled with odious people, he seemed the worst of all of them. What an asshole. 

By the time the segment with the Israeli character rolled around, I had to turn it off. Not only is there a high second-hand embarrassment factor going on as @link417 mentioned, but I just couldn't take any more of these bottom-feeding morons on my TV. Yes, I know they're being set up to be humiliated by their own stupidity and evilness, but my god...I just can't get behind this as entertainment before I go to bed on a Sunday night. I have trouble sleeping as it is and this show doesn't help. 

I was glad to see that David Clarke left all his stupid flair at home. 

1 hour ago, ganesh said:

Still though, I can't imagine it's foolproof. 

I would assume, for the sake of my sanity, that some people declined to participate because their staff who investigates these interview opportunities were way savvier than the staff of the idiots who did. 

[Mumbles]

A few times I threw my head back and laughed out loud last night:

* When the Israeli defense guy talked about the armed kids at school shooting a crazed school shooter and adding, "that substitute teacher didn't stand a chance."

* The same character describing how he was almost beheaded and adding that the guy who tried to do it now runs a PR agency in Turkey.

* The comment that Miss Piggy is a strong woman.

A little disappointed that SBC didn't get Lewandowski in any trouble. Dude's pretty slick.