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   From: jthomq@gmail.com   
      
   >(CNN)The podcaster Joe Rogan did not join a mob that forced lawmakers to   
   >flee for their lives. He never carried a Confederate flag inside the US   
   >Capitol rotunda. No one died trying to stop him from using the n-word.   
   >   
   >But what Rogan and those that defend him have done since video clips of   
   >him using the n-word surfaced on social media is arguably just as   
   >dangerous as what a mob did when they stormed the US Capitol on January 6   
   >last year.   
   >   
   >Rogan breached a civic norm that has held America together since World   
   >War II. It's an unspoken agreement that we would never return to the kind   
   >of country we used to be.   
   >   
   >A White person would never be able to publicly use the n-word again and   
   >not pay a price.   
   >   
   >Rogan has so far paid no steep professional price for using a racial slur   
   >that's been called the "nuclear bomb of racial epithets." It may even   
   >boost his career. That's what some say happened to another White   
   >entertainer who was recently caught using the word.   
   >   
   >It is a sign of how desensitized we have become to the rising levels of   
   >violence -- rhetorical and physical -- in our country that Rogan's slurs   
   >were largely treated as the latest racial outrage of the week.   
   >   
   >But once we allow a White public figure to repeatedly use the foulest   
   >racial epithet in the English language without experiencing any form of   
   >punishment, we become a different country.   
   >   
   >We accept the mainstreaming of a form of political violence that's as   
   >dangerous as the January 6 attack.   
   >   
   >Why Rogan's use of the n-word may not hurt his career   
   >Some might say that comparing a podcaster's moronic musings about race to   
   >January 6 is hyperbole. They will invoke "cancel culture" and political   
   >correctness.   
   >   
   >?He called his comments "the most regretful and shameful thing," adding   
   >"I know that to most people, there's no context where a White person is   
   >ever allowed to say that word, never mind publicly on a podcast, and I   
   >agree with that," Rogan said after a video showed him using the n-word   
   >more than 20 times in different podcast episodes.   
   >   
   >Rogan has also apologized for a video of him comparing a gathering of   
   >Black people to "Planet of the Apes." He has said he is "not racist."   
   >   
   >In the past, White public figures who used the n-word provoked universal   
   >and unqualified condemnation. But Rogan has gotten some support.   
   >   
   >His comments drew criticism from Daniel Ek, chief executive of Spotify,   
   >which reportedly pays Rogan at least $100 million to carry his   
   >mega-popular podcast. Ek said Rogan's racial slurs "do not represent the   
   >values of this company."   
   >   
   >But Ek also said Spotify will continue to stand by Rogan, who had the   
   >most popular podcast on the streaming platform last year.   
   >   
   >"We should have clear lines around content and take action when they are   
   >crossed, but canceling voices is a slippery slope," Ek said in a memo to   
   >his staff.   
   >   
   >Another media mogul offered Rogan a lucrative new gig. The chief   
   >executive of another social media company offered Rogan $100 million to   
   >bring his podcast to its platform, citing Rogan's "legion of fans in   
   >desire for real conversation."   
   >   
   >And former President Donald Trump told Rogan he should "stop apologizing"   
   >for his controversies -- including the racial slurs and spreading   
   >Covid-19 misinformation -- because he shouldn't allow critics to make him   
   >"look weak and frightened."   
   >   
   >Rogan's use of the n-word could even boost his career if it follows the   
   >trajectory of another White entertainer, country music star Morgan   
   >Wallen.   
   >   
   >Wallen's career seemed finished a year ago after he was caught on video   
   >using the n-word in a conversation with a friend. Radio stations and   
   >streaming services dropped him from their playlists. The Academy of   
   >Country Music declared him ineligible for the 2021 ACM Awards. Wallen   
   >apologized but was widely condemned.   
   >   
   >A year later, "Wallen's career has ?not only rebounded but exploded,"   
   >according to Billboard magazine. His songs are back on the radio and he   
   >had the most popular album of 2021 in the US, according to Billboard.   
   >Wallen is embarking on a nationwide tour, with many dates already sold   
   >out, and is slated to headline music festivals this summer.   
   >   
   >Country singer Morgan Wallen performs on February 9, 2022, at Madison   
   >Square Garden in New York City.   
   >Country singer Morgan Wallen performs on February 9, 2022, at Madison   
   >Square Garden in New York City.   
   >Rolling Stone published an article earlier this month with the headline:   
   >"Did Dropping the N-Word Actually Help Morgan Wallen's Career?" The   
   >article quoted a Nashville industry insider who said Wallen's popularity   
   >surged after his use of the n-word because the backlash "made him a   
   >martyr... to people that hold what I would say are prejudices."   
   >   
   >A recent USA Today story said Wallen has become an "anti-cancel culture   
   >hero" and quoted an executive who said that the more the mainstream   
   >criticizes Wallen "the more power those who support his bigotry begin to   
   >feel."   
   >   
   >Meanwhile, Rogan is now reframing the backlash over his use of the n-word   
   >as a cancel culture battle.   
   >   
   >"This is a "political hit job," he recently said, suggesting that the   
   >controversy may actually help him.   
   >   
   >"It's good because it makes me address some (expletive) that I really   
   >wish wasn't out there," he told a guest on his show Tuesday. ?"You just   
   >have to stay offline ... Life goes on as normal."   
   >   
   >For decades, life would never go on as normal for a White person caught   
   >using the n-word. This represents a momentous shift in American culture.   
   >There used to be a consensus that any White person caught using the   
   >n-word or other racial slurs would pay a hefty price.   
   >   
   >In 2018, the actress Roseanne Barr had her popular sitcom canceled after   
   >she made a series of racist tweets.   
   >   
   >That same year, a top executive resigned from Netflix after using the   
   >N-word in front of Black employees.   
   >   
   >Celebrity chef Paula Deen lost her business empire and saw her cooking   
   >shows canceled by the Food Network in 2013 after she admitted using the   
   >n-word during a deposition in a lawsuit.   
   >   
   >And the career of "Seinfeld's" Michael Richards cratered after he was   
   >caught calling hecklers the n-word in 2006.   
   >   
   >The price that White people paid for crossing this line wasn't legal. No   
   >one called for them to be jailed or fined. But many were shamed and   
   >exiled from their professional communities.   
   >   
   >The prohibition against White people using racist language in public was   
   >so severe that a person could see their career destroyed even if they   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)