Celebrities And Their Opinions

[j2k4]

I'll start this now and get back to it 4/21.

Spent the whole day in the car listening to talk radio; a "main topic" was the Bull Durham/Hall of Fame/Tim Robbins "I'm a celebrity and here's what I have to say" incident.

Here's what I have to ask:
Celebrities seem to think (my opinion) their inherent "superiority" obligates them to grace us with opinions ranging from A to Z. The public has a commensurate obligation to pay heed to their enlightenments. On occasion, public opinion is gauged as being negative in response to their intellectual frothings; the celebrities counter that their rights are being battered if their proclamations meet with any response other than swooning acceptance.
Under no circumstances does the media require a celebrity to debate or otherwise stand behind their statements.

They are guaranteed the right to free speech-I would go to war to defend this right.
I am also entitled to the same right-somehow I don't feel any celebrity would extend themselves on my behalf.

Their rights are curtailed when they wish to expound and a full contingent of media doesn't magically appear; their right to speak includes amplification and dissemination by all available media. Their rights are likewise curtailed if ANYONE questions them.

I've been calling press conferences for a month now; nobody shows-What gives?

[clocker]

Originally posted by j2k4@17 April 2003 - 20:42
I'll start this now and get back to it 4/21.

Spent the whole day in the car listening to talk radio; a "main topic" was the Bull Durham/Hall of Fame/Tim Robbins "I'm a celebrity and here's what I have to say" incident.


I've been calling press conferences for a month now; nobody shows-What gives?

Well, first of all you don't have Susan Saradon hanging out at your press conferences.

Secondly,
In the article that I read today in the Denver Post ( granted, not as acclaimed as the Yooper Times, but well, there you go...) my take on this was that nobody even ASKED Robbins/Sarandon if they were planning on turning this baseball love-fest into a political event. A unilateral presumption was made and acted on. Couldn't the presumption of good sense have been made, or failing that, a preliminary discussion initiated before disinviting the couple? If Hollywood stars trade upon their celebrity to expound their positions, didn't the Hall of Fame use their public position to do exactly the same thing?

[DiogenesUK]

Please forgive my ignorance here,but I'm constantly reading & hearing about 'freedom of speech' & 'freedom of the press' in the States,yet all I see is anyone with an alternative view to the current one, being marginalised,scoffed at,and even silenced (metaphorically speaking) in the most crass fashion on occasion.

So I'm genuinely interested to read how ordinary Americans who don't have millions of $$$'s are able to express themselves,possibly with a different view, without fear of retribution.

It appears to me,that if the only way to be heard, is to be (financially) rich,the media are missing the point,and merely pandering to mans most base instincts.

This is genuinely not a criticism of your system,merely an enquiry.

Also,one can't help but notice that many of the people on these boards appear to be pretty right-wing,and therefore appear to follow the authority of their masters without question.How do they square that with theft of copyrighted material,much of which is of U.S. origin, via kazaa(lite)???..it all seems a little incongruous & inconsistent to me.

Personally,I have no problem morally or ethically,because I don't subscribe to their view........in case that wasn't glaringly obvious

[j2k4]

Originally posted by clocker+17 April 2003 - 22:10--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (clocker @ 17 April 2003 - 22:10)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--j2k4@17 April 2003 - 20:42
I&#39;ll start this now and get back to it 4/21.

Spent the whole day in the car listening to talk radio; a "main topic" was the Bull Durham/Hall of Fame/Tim Robbins "I&#39;m a celebrity and here&#39;s what I have to say" incident.


I&#39;ve been calling press conferences for a month now; nobody shows-What gives?&nbsp;

Well, first of all you don&#39;t have Susan Saradon hanging out at your press conferences.

Secondly,
In the article that I read today in the Denver Post ( granted, not as acclaimed as the Yooper Times, but well, there you go...) my take on this was that nobody even ASKED Robbins/Sarandon if they were planning on turning this baseball love-fest into a political event. A unilateral presumption was made and acted on. Couldn&#39;t the presumption of good sense have been made, or failing that, a preliminary discussion initiated before disinviting the couple? If Hollywood stars trade upon their celebrity to expound their positions, didn&#39;t the Hall of Fame use their public position to do exactly the same thing? [/b][/quote]
Yes yes-
I should begin by proffering a guilty plea; my post was not as well-formulated as it could/should have been-It was very late, and I could scarcely focus my eyes, much less my mind.
While I agree the H.O.F.&#39;s cancellation of the event (to honor the film "Bull Durham") was a bit reactionary, it seems a bit less so in light of the previous inclinations of Robbins and Sarandon (for whom I admit I harbor "feelings"; she&#39;s still luscious). They both are known for dropping their mal-formed socio-political statements at the drop of a hat, regardless of milieu. Given that, it seems the timing of the H.O.F.&#39;s decision was, in itself, a bit of a statement-the unilateral presumption you speak of, normally exercised by the celebrity in question, i.e., one best not presume "celebrity" and "good sense" to be mutually inclusive qualities.

So, to answer your last, "yes they did, and it&#39;s about time".

It should be noted that everyone involved was allowed full media access and at no time were rights curtailed or denied. It was a beautiful thing&#33;

Clocker: please be advised the "Yooper Times" is now known as the "Porcupine Press".

[clocker]

Originally posted by j2k4@21 April 2003 - 06:25
one best not presume "celebrity" and "good sense" to be mutually inclusive qualities.

Certainly the world overflows with sterling examples illustrating your point...Charo, Jerry Lewis and ,ah....oh yeah...Charlton Heston.
So we agree that one mustn&#39;t make that assumption. Does that, however, mean that the obverse is necessarily so?
My primary objection to the way that this was handled by the HOF is that they unilaterally politicized an event before it was necessary. Keeping in mind that "Bull Durham" was the movie that introduced Robbins and Sarandon, that they both consider it to be high point in their respective careers, and that Robbins is somewhat of a baseball fan, I don&#39;t find it beyond reason to think that the couple MAY have been willing to forego their usual political posturing and simply enjoy the event for what is was. This may have been difficult for them as any such event would almost certainly been prefaced with some sort of tribute to " our brave boys overseas", but it IS concievable that they would have been politically mute. Not likely, granted,but concievable.
Contact could have been initiated privately before any decisions were made.
BTW...what moron invited them - and made the invitation public- before considering their past history of political activism anyway?
As it is, the HOF appeared ( to me at any rate) to be cartoonishly naive and politically opportunistic- whipping up a typhoon in a bathtub merely to focus attention on an event which in a normal world would have drawn minimal media attention. Baseball as an industry is dying you know, and jumping on the patriotic bandwagon this way seems as tasteless as the statements that you presume R/S would have made.
The grand sport of ballroom dancing would never have behaved so badly.

[Blue_Seraphim]

You said it all J2K. I wanted to reply in your thread, but the more i read your post the more i agree with you. However allow me to quote someone. [QUOTE] "Charlie Daniels&#39; Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch" and all the other protesters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


OK -- Let&#39;s just say for a moment you bunch of
pampered, overpaid, unrealistic children
had your way and the U.S.A. didn&#39;t go into Iraq.

Let&#39;s say that you really get your way
and we destroy all our nuclear weapons
and stick daisies in our gun barrels
and sit around with some white wine and cheese
and pat ourselves on the back,
so proud of what we&#39;ve done for world peace.

Let&#39;s say that we cut the military budget to
just enough to keep the National Guard
on hand to help out with floods and fires.

Let&#39;s say that we close down
our military bases all over the world
and bring the troops home,
increase our foreign aid
and drop all the trade sanctions
against everybody.

I suppose that in your fantasy world
this would create a utopian world
where everybody would live in peace.
After all, the great monster,
the United States of America,
the cause of all the world&#39;s trouble
would have disbanded it&#39;s horrible military
and certainly all the other countries
of the world would follow suit.

After all, they only arm themselves
to defend their countries from the mean old U.S.A.

Why you bunch of pitiful, hypocritical,
idiotic, spoiled mugwumps.
Get your head out of the sand
and smell the Trade Towers burning.

Do you think that a trip to Iraq by Sean Penn
did anything but encourage a wanton murderer
to think that the people of the U.S.A.
didn&#39;t have the nerve or the guts to fight him?

Barbra Streisand&#39;s fanatical and hateful rankings
about George Bush makes about as much sense
as Michael Jackson hanging a baby over a railing.

You people need to get out of Hollywood
once in a while and get out into the real world.
You&#39;d be surprised at the hostility you would find out
here.

Stop in at a truck stop and tell an overworked,
long distance truck driver that you don&#39;t think
Saddam Hussein is doing anything wrong.

Tell a farmer with a couple of sons in the military
that you think the United States
has no right to defend itself.

Go down to Baxley, Georgia and hold an anti-war rally
and see what the folks down there think about you.

You people are some of the most disgusting examples
of a waste of protoplasm I&#39;ve ever
had the displeasure to hear about.

Sean Penn, you&#39;re a traitor to the United States of
America.
You gave aid and comfort to the enemy.
How many American lives will your little,
"fact finding trip" to Iraq cost?
You encouraged Saddam to think
that we didn&#39;t have the stomach for war.

You people protect one of the most evil men
on the face of this earth and won&#39;t lift a finger
to save the life of an unborn baby.
Freedom of choice you say?

Well I&#39;m going to exercise
some freedom of choice of my own.

If I see any of your names on a marquee,
I&#39;m going to boycott the movie.
I will completely stop going to movies if I have to.
In most cases it certainly wouldn&#39;t be much of a loss.

You scoff at our military whose boots
you&#39;re not even worthy to shine.

They go to battle and risk their lives
so ingrates like you can live in luxury.

The day of reckoning is coming
when you will be faced with the undeniable truth
that the war against Saddam Hussein
is the war on terrorism.

America is in imminent danger.

You&#39;re either for her or against her.
There is no middle ground.

I think we all know where you stand.

What do you think?

God Bless America&#33;



Charlie Daniels
Copyright © 2003 Charlie Daniels

[myfiles3000]

bullocks, bullucks, bullocks...

OK -- Let&#39;s just say for a moment you bunch of pampered, overpaid, unrealistic children
had your way and the U.S.A. didn&#39;t go into Iraq.

Let&#39;s say that you really get your way
and we destroy all our nuclear weapons
and stick daisies in our gun barrels
and sit around with some white wine and cheese
and pat ourselves on the back,
so proud of what we&#39;ve done for world peace.

Why you bunch of pitiful, hypocritical,
idiotic, spoiled mugwumps.

not nearlys as funny as the author thought
Get your head out of the sand
and smell the Trade Towers burning.
rhetorical error: false link between iraq and 9/11

Do you think that a trip to Iraq by Sean Penn did anything but encourage a wanton murderer
to think that the people of the U.S.A. didn&#39;t have the nerve or the guts to fight him?
do you think Americans should be restricted in their mobility?

Barbra Streisand&#39;s fanatical and hateful rankings about George Bush makes about as much sense
as Michael Jackson hanging a baby over a railing.
Gratuitous, irrelevant

You people need to get out of Hollywood once in a while and get out into the real world.
You&#39;d be surprised at the hostility you would find out here.
I think that&#39;s their point. Hostility displacing reason

Stop in at a truck stop and tell an overworked, long distance truck driver that you don&#39;t think
Saddam Hussein is doing anything wrong.
Yeah, i want MY foreign policy dictated by an exhausted truck driver with a grade 11 education. that&#39;s what the nation needs

Tell a farmer with a couple of sons in the military that you think the United States
has no right to defend itself.
I bet he&#39;d sport a shit-eating grin to know his sons&#39; lives won&#39;t be wasted

Go down to Baxley, Georgia and hold an anti-war rally and see what the folks down there think about you.
just make sure not to create a scheduling conflict with Baxley&#39;s weekly cross burning

You people are some of the most disgusting examples of a waste of protoplasm I&#39;ve ever
had the displeasure to hear about.
Protoplasm=big word=smart author...if you&#39;re 12
Waste of life? Like jews, you mean? or the Kikes? or the Gays?

Sean Penn, you&#39;re a traitor to the United States of America.
You gave aid and comfort to the enemy. How many American lives will your little,
"fact finding trip" to Iraq cost? You encouraged Saddam to think
that we didn&#39;t have the stomach for war.
Whats the threshold for being a traitor these days? Giving aid and comfort to civilians?

You people protect one of the most evil men on the face of this earth and won&#39;t lift a finger
to save the life of an unborn baby. Freedom of choice you say?
Well, now we know for a FACT you&#39;re on the lunatic fringe

Well I&#39;m going to exercise some freedom of choice of my own.


If I see any of your names on a marquee, I&#39;m going to boycott the movie.
that&#39;ll show all those pansy hollywood types who&#39;s who, wont it?
I will completely stop going to movies if I have to. In most cases it certainly wouldn&#39;t be much of a loss.
You&#39;re telling me

You scoff at our military whose boots you&#39;re not even worthy to shine.
Like the jews?

They go to battle and risk their lives By their own choice, its a private army
so ingrates like you can live in luxury. no, i think they volunteer so they can blow stuff up and shoot guns

The day of reckoning is coming more apocalyptic language. this guy is definitely fundamental christian, just be thankful he&#39;s not ringing your front doorbell right now
when you will be faced with the undeniable truth i love irony
that the war against Saddam Hussein is the war on terrorism.
I guess that means the war on terrorism is now officially over. Cool

America is in imminent danger. yeah, sure, from all those WMDs no one&#39;s been able to locate....

You&#39;re either for her or against her. There is no middle ground.
false binary, favourite of bush, stalin, hitler, pol pot, suharto, etc

I think we all know where you stand.
What do you think?
I&#39;m thinking, you think you all know where i stand, but ask me anyway what i&#39;m thinking, which makes me think there&#39;s something wrong with your question
God Bless America&#33; God Bless Allah&#33;

[Blue_Seraphim]

My personal opinion isn&#39;t hand in hand with that of my quote. I just thought it was funny how he told the other celebs to stick it. If you were trying to get something going between us, I am unoffended in any way.This is the opinion of yes another celeb.

[clocker]

Originally posted by Blue_Seraphim@21 April 2003 - 17:24
My personal opinion isn&#39;t hand in hand with that of my quote. I just thought it was funny how he told the other celebs to stick it. If you were trying to get something going between us, I am unoffended in any way.This is the opinion of yes another celeb.

On what planet is Charlie Daniels considered a celebrity?

[hobbes]

C&#39;mon you idiot. He&#39;s famous for his whiskey, globally.

How can anyone be so ignorant&#33;?