This is the problem with Joe Rogan defenders, they think he brings Nazis and conspiracy theorists and other dangerous people to debate them. They think oh no Joe Rogan didn't challenge them enough, he should be better at that. They don't want to wrestle with the reality that Joe Rogan brings Nazis and other bigots in because he wants to platform them and agrees with the shit they believe. Joe Rogan is a white bigot who enables all this because he wants more white folks to be radicalised to become extreme right wing. Humour is one of their main tools to mainstream white supremacy. Just like it was for literal Nazis back in the day, when they weren't taken seriously as they got platformed. Just like when liberals thought letting Trump get platformed would mean they would need to just fact-check him and make fun of him, so everyone else would not vote for him. Spotify is enabling all this. No excuses.
First they came for Pepe: How “ironic” Nazism is taking over the internet
Over the last year, various internet subcultures have embraced Nazi iconography while simultaneously claiming to hold no Nazi beliefs. Why?
www.newstatesman.com
It is also important to note that many who claim to be "satirical" Nazis are simply hiding behind a thin veil of plausible deniability. The word "irony" – however incorrectly it's being used – allows them to spread Nazi messages and iconography whilst denying culpability. It also leaves many on the left unsure where they stand. What's more important: combatting hate speech or protecting free speech?
Kassie is a 31-year-old graduate student who reached out to me after being mocked for taking Trash Dove seriously as an alt-right symbol - proving that online trends can have real-world consequences. "My friend is liberal but thinks I'm overreacting and don't understand satire," she tells me. "But I don't get why I have to call Nazi jokes satire.
"The most frustrating part is that my concern is immediately written off as stupid because I don't belong to the community. If we get past that part, then I'm overreacting or dumb because I don't get that it's ironic or I don't understand that it's a joke. But I get that on some level people are saying that it's a joke, and some are 'just joking' and I still think that a joke can be racist and misogynist and alt-right or whatever.
"I'm just left with feeling like I've fallen down a hole of ironic devils advocates who use that as an excuse to say 'funny' racist and misogynistic things."
