http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XZvMwcluEg
This clip features Alex Jones, an American born radio talk show host and conspiracy theorist "debating" Piers Morgan about the controversial issue of gun rights in America. Jones is, of course, a huge supporter of the second amendment and the right to bear arms.
The first thing I noticed was that Jones repeatedly compares the United States government today with that of the British monarchy during the time of the revolutionary war. He seems to fear the rising of a totalitarian regime with all of the power centralized within the central government. He argues that if guns are taken away the American citizens lose their right to protect themselves from their own government. Even though almost 250 years have past since the American revolution it seems Jones is still living in the past and trying to instill fear wherever he can. He also appears very hard headed, loud, rude, and unprofessional. He cuts Morgan off on countless occasions and refuses to stay on topic. Because of this behavior, he lost most of his credibility to me. Even if his ideas had some merit, he did not communicate them effectively, did not support them with facts, and refused to act in a mature manner. At a certain point, he even started to act like a child throwing a temper tantrum.
Throughout the clip Jones reinforces the stereotype of the crazy, gun loving, government hating, conspiracy theorist who continues to still fight for freedom and will plow down anyone who gets in his way. Even though Jones says he supports America and is a very patriotic person, it seems as though he wishes to disband this great nation that has been built on tradition replace it with anarchy and chaos. Hypocrisy at its finest.
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ReplyDeleteI obviously am no good with this blogger website, here is my comment again!
DeleteWhen I watch this video it immediately brings me to the divide that we as culture and society have set in stone when it comes to political opinions and the way we are supposed to think when we place ourselves on one side. I see two adult men who know their opinions on this specific topic of gun control differ but are (failing) to actually have a conversation about it. Obviously, Alex Jones is on Piers Morgan’s talk show, which is tuned in by people who agree with Piers Morgan – what does this tell me about how the conversation is going to go? It tells me based on my experiences that it is going to be an argument that neither are going to ‘win’ and that neither are going to actually ‘make the other think a different way’.
I believe that as a whole, this shows how vastly different our culture can be and how our opinions not only show our beliefs but they are the one true thing that makes studying culture so interesting and always changing.
I do agree that Alex Jones is quite worked up about this topic and did continue to talk over Piers Morgan but when stepping back and just listening to their conversation (if you can call it that) they are both just rattling off statistics that favor their side of the argument which is exactly what I assumed would happen based on cultural norms when it comes to political arguments.