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dannydugong
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Don’t understand the dislikes here? Very very good point. It’s well established that the Mexican based cartels fund their operations (mostly cocaine and crystal meth, but increasingly heroin) with marijuana, grown both here and south of the border. Sure lots of weed gets grown by Americans, especially here in Cali, but most weed comes from the cartels in some way. Those chicken sandwiches aren’t looking so bad now, huh?
I grew up in the South, and like most people who did, I LOVE CHICK FIL A. Maybe there’s nothing special about it, but I grew up eating it and so it probably tastes much better to me than most people. I’ve lived in Los Angeles for the past six years and have been DYING for them to open a CFA here. In the past year they’ve FINALLY opened up two franchises and I rejoiced, literally. Now, all my liberal friends give me SO SO much crap about eating there. It really sucks. I don’t believe that by not doing something (getting there by 10:30 so I can get the chicken biscuits for breakfast) I’m having any effect on anything. If you do want to boycott, I totally understand and support that, but I choose not to.
Here’s why I don’t support a boycott. CFA has always been run by Christian nuts, which is why they don’t do business on Sundays. I actually met CEO Dan Cathy when I was very young, and while I don’t remember the conversation, my dad recently told me he asked Cathy why they don’t sponsor Nascar, and he said it’s because they race on Sundays. The point is, think about the hundreds of millions of dollars and business opportunities CFA has lost out on over the years because of their outdated religious beliefs. They’re punishing themselves! Their religious beliefs are their punishment and cost them literally millions of dollars a year (Sunday is a big day for the chicken and biscuits crowd), so don’t tell me that me not eating my chicken biscuits and sweet tea (do you have any idea how hard it is to find good sweet tea in Los Angeles?!?!) twice a month I’m accomplishing anything but making myself feel good by literally DOING NOTHING.
Here’s the most important point. It makes me FURIOUS when my liberal friends applaud those mayors for trying to keep CFA out of their towns. Like it says above, they can’t really do that, but so many liberals thought this was such a great thing to do. It’s actually a HORRIBLE thing that EVERYONE, liberal or conservative, should oppose vehemently. This is America, and you can’t stop someone from running a business just because you disagree with their politics. Yes, gay marriage is the most important issue of our generation arguably, but that’s totally irrelevant here. Denying someone a business license because you disagree with their politics is a slippery slope. Imagine if Rick Perry said he wouldn’t let any films released by the Jew film companies screen in Texas, or any business that supports gay marriage open in Texas. Same thing. It’s un-American, undemocratic, and a VERY, VERY dangerous precedent to set.
CFA should be allowed to do business anywhere. If the citizens of that town don’t want to eat there bc of CFA’s political views, they won’t eat there, and the franchise will die. But CFA HAS to be allowed to open.
And god damn it I like CFA. Maybe it’s not that great, but I love it and it reminds me of my childhood and I’m going to continue eating there and continue supporting marriage equality and that doesn’t make me a hate monster. This whole thing has been blown so far out of proportion.
A note to West Coast readers: Chick Fil A is to people from the South as In and Out is to people from California. It’s part of our culture, and I didn’t wait five years for them to open a CFA in LA just to let uninformed liberals bully me into supporting a useless boycott.
Give CFA a chance people. Go before 10:30 and order the breakfast chicken biscuits or the chicken minis. You won’t regret it.
I run a small pop culture website too and in general I agree with Gabe’s assessment of exclusives and the relationship bloggers and writers have with publicists. But why does Videogum have to be so apologetic about the situation? How is this any different than the giveaways y’all do all the time? Are you afraid people will think you’re sell outs? Anyone who accuses you of selling out is probably in middle school; we know that Vgum isn’t a not for profit blog. The purpose of this site is to sell out (or advertising anyway), in a manner of speaking. Okay, I’m ranting, but my point is why make all the big fuss and start with the self deprecation and literally apologize to your readers for giving them the option of viewing exclusive content. Most bloggers LOVE to write that big all caps EXCLUSIVE on top of a headline. We like it so much that most of the time it’s not even true.
I didn’t realize Videogum was so insecure! Channing Tatum’s character in Step Up didn’t apologize to anyone, he just stepped up and represented his block and did whatever he wanted and danced like it was nobody’s business but his own because it wasn’t (I’ve never seen the movie but that sounds right). That’s what Videogum should be like. “Hey, EXCLUSIVE CLIP FROM STEP UP! Deal with it, b words.” I think Videogum readers have figured out by now that this website is a website. They can probably deal with you using exclusive material from a publicist about a movie you want to see.
Last comment I swear, just wanted to leave this old rape joke I heard here:
Rape is never a laughing matter…. unless you’re getting raped by a clown!
Also, shouldn’t Louis CK’s opinion just be final on all things comedy?
If you’re on his mailing list you know he’s an extremely intelligent, thoughtful and articulate person. I somehow doubt Vgum’s commenters, yes, even the people who seem to comment all day long all the time in a way that’s kind of sad, know better than he does…
Most Muslims aren’t terrorists, but most terrorists are Muslims. If we’re talking about Muslim Americans it’s a different conversation, but by and large the Muslim world is medieval, treats women like walking hymens, hate gay people, believe in a stupid holy book, don’t support free speech, etc. etc.
Ughhhhhhh, I hate it when Videogum gets all preachy and self-righteous. Just on the off chance that Gabe or Kelly read this, you two have a tendency in posts like this to write from a point of view that basically says, Well, OBVIOUSLY our self righteous indignation is the ONLY appropriate response to this story and CLEARLY anyone who disagrees is just ignorant. Sometimes it seems like you suggest there are two sides to the story, but then make snide jokes about people who would take the other side.
I thought hecklers were fair game at comedy shows? I’ve definitely heard Louis CK and Patton Oswalt tell audience members to get raped by someone with AIDS or something similar and no one bats an eye.
One of the hazards of free speech, people who get paid to make jokes and push boundaries sometimes go too far, sometimes way too far, sometimes their speech is vile and upsetting. So fucking what. The other hazard of free speech is that pop culture bloggers can write condescending and self righteous screeds in situations like this.
I feel like Videogum should be making fun of the fact that this story is a story at all, not writing a super long followup post discussing the politics of rape jokes.
If as many people spoke out against suicide as they do against bullying, then maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad problem. Doesn’t anyone worry that media coverage like this actually makes gay teens more likely to hurt themselves?
I’m going to go out on the unpopular limb and say that I sort of agree with Chet. Obviously calling gay teens who killed themselves weak is weak, but all the intense media coverage and memorializing of teen suicide victims probably has as much to do with the epidemic as the bullying itself. When a gay teen kills himself and a week later Lady GaGa is dedicating a show to him and people are holding these kids up like martyrs, what kind of a message does that send to others in that situation? Suicide is a terrible, evil thing (not saying kids who off themselves are evil), way worse than bullying, and all this mania to prop up suicide victims as tragic heroes is really misguided. Suicide shouldn’t be glorified, ever, which is what many gay rights activists have been doing over the last two years. We need an anti suicide movement as much as we need an anti bullying movement, but no one ever looks at the issue from this angle. Killing yourself doesn’t make you a tragic hero, it hurts your family and friends in a permanent and unchangeable way, and no amount of bullying justifies it.
Chet’s obviously a dumbass who said this all wrong, but he’s trying to make a larger, valid point. Probably.
Am I the only one who thinks Gabe’s Mad Men reviews have been miles off? It’s like he’s not even watching the show. I’m not some kind of Mad Men loyalist who thinks this season has been perfect, but half the things he criticizes are legitimately awesome, or at the very least decent, and decent by mad men standards is so far beyond any other show on tv (until breaking bad comes back). That dirty line was not a clunker, it was a great line and the perfect way to end the episode. The pilot wasn’t a bad episode either, it was the perfect way to open the show after a long hiatus. And I fail to see how someone commenting on Don’t handsomeness somehow detracts from the experience or “limits your engagement”. Don is a beautiful and I want to marry him, it would be weird if people didn’t comment on it once in awhile. This season has been a slow burn, but so was this past season of Breaking Bad, and look how that turned out.
It seems like Gabe’s become disenchanted with the show, but I think the quality is as high as ever, which is still the highest.
Can someone tell me how to post a GD picture on videogum? I want to post the AMAZZZZIIIINNNNNGGGG panel from the comic where Lori and the blank get blank in the blank during the assault on the blank as a present to everyone during next weeks finale recap. And in case anyone is wondering, Lori is just as annoying in the comic, but everyone else is infinitely cooler. Especially Rick, who just rules so hard.
For anyone wondering about how unbitten people become zombies, in the comics it is eventually discovered that EVERYONE becomes a zombie, no matter how they die. It’s part of a larger metaphor that the survivors are in fact “The Walking Dead” the title refers to. Just one of a MILLION ways the comics are more well written than this shitty show. Also, in the comics, Carl shoots Shane in the face IMMEDIATELY, before they even leave Atlanta and find the farm. Also, instead of endless arguments and equivocating, the characters actually take actions that change them and further the plot along, go figure.
Did anyone else notice that the girl’s front door had a sign on it that said “Please use front entrance”? Like they filmed it at the emergency exit at their church instead of just finding a real front door? It’s details like that that really break the internal reality of the video and pulls the viewer out of the story. But more importantly, THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID (on their wedding night)!!!!!!
Sad Beetlejuice is sad because he can’t post on Videogum until after he finishes haunting the model train set on the West Coast, and unless you post a comment within like two seconds of a post going live you can’t get more than a few upvotes on your comment.
I don’t understand why Mr. Hurwitz doesn’t listen to my amazing idea, probably because I’m not in the television industry probably. Forget the new series/movie. Every year they should do an old school Arrested Development Holiday spectacular. Each year they could do a Thanksgiving or Christmas or New Years or maybe even Halloween (!) special, and the premise would be the family is getting together for the first time since the show ended, or the last Holiday special aired, and we get to see where they are in their lives and the comedic antics that ensue during their holiday reunion.
Seriously though, this seems like a much more realistic goal than the movie that won’t ever happen or renewing a TV series that’s already been cancelled. Plus because it’s once a year and a huge event they could get huge ratings.
Please read this in a crotchety old man voice:
Why did Videogum turn into Hollywoodgum while Gabe’s off doing his own thing? Sure, the nutshot video was a welcome change of pace, but can we relax on all the insider industry hollywood news deadline posts? Or is it just annoying me? Please phrase your answer in the form of an upvote or downvote.
Ashton Kutcher’s Character: “Meeeoow!”
John Cryer’s Character: “Whooopsies!” **urn holding the remains of the half-man comically fly across the room**
Studio Audience: “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA, HAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAH, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!”
**beat**
John Cryer’s Character: “Well, someone’s gonna have to clean that up.”
Studio Audience: “AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA, HAHAHAHAHA, HAHAHAHAHAHAH, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!” **clapclapclapclapclap**
The problem with your phrasing is that saying “in my opinion” is painfully redundant.
I understand where Gabe is coming from, and the applause was incredibly inappropriate and GROSS but also totally expected, but “The fact of the matter is that there is absolutely no moral defense of the death penalty”? That’s just not true. I’m not going to make it, but you COULD make a reasonable, well thought out argument in favor of executing people who have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be BIG MONSTERS. Obvi that might not always be the case, especially in Texas, but that’s not what we’re talking about. And killing is not the worst thing you can do. Raping and murdering children is the worst thing you can do, and I think you could make a moral argument that removing those people from the equation of life is a good thing for mankind. Capital punishment is a complex subject and reducing it to killing is wrong and your wrong if you don’t agree with me because life is precious doesn’t really do the subject justice (geddit?). I know that it’s treated as a given on the V-GUM that we all prescribe to a very specific set of liberal ideals that are just right, duh, but to say there’s no possible moral defense of executions, well that’s just an untrue thing to say. Personally I think we should go back to hangings, not public hangings, but all this hubub about whether the lethal injection drugs are exactly perfect and or gassing people and or the electric chair, actually not and or it’s usually just one or the other, I hope, seems completely unnecessary. If there’s one thing human beings are good at, it’s killing each other, and I don’t understand why they overcomplicate it when all they have to do is tie a knot.
I’ll go ahead and point y’all to the downvote button —————————————–>
“Shhh, sweetie. Mommy loves you the most because black goes with everything.”
We don’t call them bodegas in los angeles. We call them stores.
Cool obscure musical reference, bro! I mean…cool obscure musical reference, ma’am! Seriously tho, did anyone else expect that link to go to some hilarious fakeout link (not a rickroll, bc Videogum is better than that) but were disappointed to find out it’s just some punk band?
The liberals applauding Chicago/San Fran/Boston/etc. for wanting to stop CFA from expanding into their towns need to think beyond their knee jerk reaction. Like it says in the post, these are largely pointless political statements and they don’t have much authority to actually enforce a ban for the most part, but if they could, it would be a hugely dangerous and undemocratic precedent. Such a position is unequivocally wrong and un-American.
Since most of us believe gay marriage is one of the most important issues of our generation, it’s tempting to give those politicians kudos for their stance, but it’s absolutely fundamentally wrong.
Let’s say Rick Perry decided to keep all them liberal elite Jew movie studios from releasing any films in Texas, or prohibited any businessman that believes in fighting climate change from operating in Texas, how would you feel then? You can’t stop a business from operating just because you disagree with their politics, no matter how hateful their politics are. In fact, their politics/beliefs are totally irrelevant!
And it’s different than a ban on gambling, liquor laws, etc. Those are businesses that have a measurable and negative effect on public health and safety, which the government then incurs costs combatting, so they have a right to prohibit them. Yes, homophobic views are dangerous in their own way, but it’s a completely different issue.
It sucks, but business with hateful and bigoted religious beliefs have the same rights to operate as any other. It’s like freedom of speech—we let Nazi’s spew their ignorant hate speech as much as they want, because freedom of speech means freedom of speech for everyone, not matter how despicable that speech is.