Twitter thread

Starsky wrote:
That makes no sense…it’s often a foreigner that has the best perspective on a country

And needing foreigners to validate you as a society has always struck me as weak

A lot of the above is what I have experienced in my other country of Argentina more than in the US.

But it’s true John Oliver is just plain annoying so I wouldn’t watch it myself

She actually literally made that Oliver comment yesterday. I pointed out that she seems to like Trevor Noah, who basically does the same thing, and he's not obnoxious about it. of So maybe its like you say, the messenger who is egregious, not the message itself.

Space wrote:
I would watch that, but, my wife tells me I should have a problem with an obnoxious foreigner who comes to America and make millions off of Americans by telling them what is wrong with America. So I'm not going to watch it!

BTW John Oliver is an American citizen
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/watch-america-john-oliver-is-officially-a-us-citizen-now-1273984/

Doesn’t change anything…nobody wants to hear from someone they consider lucky to be American


Its kind of the equivalent of an American criticizing the US publicly while abroad

Same rule sort of extends to all first generation Americans

Starsky wrote:
Its kind of the equivalent of an American criticizing the US publicly while abroad

As a future expat, I take offense to this.

Julian, wrote:

Starsky wrote:
Its kind of the equivalent of an American criticizing the US publicly while abroad

As a future expat, I take offense to this.

Trust me…when you hear what the natives say about America you will quickly learn to laugh it off, pity them and not engage……or you will move back to the US

When you start hearing people literally blaming all the world’s evils on the US you won’t want to join in

Space wrote:
have a problem with an obnoxious foreigner who comes to America and make millions off of Americans by telling them what is wrong with America.

saying that foreigners who live in the US can't/shouldn't criticize the US is the stupidest, most jingistic argument ever.  it's a facile and infantile way to dismiss an opinion without having to actually come up with a counter-argument.  the day that that same foreigner says something in favor of their position, they'll be the first to elevate that argument as saying "see?  even the foreigners acknowledge this!!!"  (aside: jim jeffries' take on this).

You had me right up until you posted a Jim Jeffries link and lost me.

sweetcell wrote:

Space wrote:
have a problem with an obnoxious foreigner who comes to America and make millions off of Americans by telling them what is wrong with America.

saying that foreigners who live in the US can't/shouldn't criticize the US is the stupidest, most jingistic argument ever.  it's a facile and infantile way to dismiss an opinion without having to actually come up with a counter-argument.  the day that that same foreigner says something in favor of their position, they'll be the first to elevate that argument as saying "see?  even the foreigners acknowledge this!!!"  (aside: jim jeffries' take on this).

Well maybe the better idea is to not give a foreigner his own American tv show feautring commentary on America, thus giving his a louder voice than 99.99% of Americans.

Julian, wrote:
You had me right up until you posted a Jim Jeffries link and lost me.

mea culpa… i got carried away…

;D

Space wrote:
Well maybe the better idea is to not give a foreigner his own American tv show feautring commentary on America, thus giving his a louder voice than 99.99% of Americans.

"give"?  like, he showed up at Customs, showed his passport, and "they" issued him a visa and a TV show?  (aside: why wasn't i given my own show?!?!?)

john oliver is now on his 9th season, i'd say that the american public has spoken: they want what he's offering.

Space wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Space wrote:
have a problem with an obnoxious foreigner who comes to America and make millions off of Americans by telling them what is wrong with America.

saying that foreigners who live in the US can't/shouldn't criticize the US is the stupidest, most jingistic argument ever.  it's a facile and infantile way to dismiss an opinion without having to actually come up with a counter-argument.  the day that that same foreigner says something in favor of their position, they'll be the first to elevate that argument as saying "see?  even the foreigners acknowledge this!!!"  (aside: jim jeffries' take on this).

Well maybe the better idea is to not give a foreigner his own American tv show feautring commentary on America, thus giving his a louder voice than 99.99% of Americans.

I wish GGW was here so he could find when Space first made this argument about Peter Jennings 25 years ago or something.

sweetcell wrote:
john oliver is now on his 9th season, i'd say that the american public has spoken: they want what he's offering.

100%
you may or may not like him, but HBO is paying him a lot, because he get tons of viewers…they speak with their eyes/wallets
His deep dive on so many 'american' topics NO OTHER person is doing
I just watched one about how all the Power Utilities are monopolies, not exactly click bait kind of stuff and there is almost no coverage by other shows

Sidespeare wrote:

sweetcell wrote:
john oliver is now on his 9th season, i'd say that the american public has spoken: they want what he's offering.

100%
you may or may not like him, but HBO is paying him a lot, because he get tons of viewers…they speak with their eyes/wallets
His deep dive on so many 'american' topics NO OTHER person is doing
I just watched one about how all the Power Utilities are monopolies, not exactly click bait kind of stuff and there is almost no coverage by other shows

"Tons?"

Let's not get carried away. 1 million viewers in a country of 330 million people.

https://deadline.com/2020/04/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver-series-high-viewership-hbo-1202914391/

99.7% of Americans don't watch his show.

Julian, wrote:

Space wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Space wrote:
have a problem with an obnoxious foreigner who comes to America and make millions off of Americans by telling them what is wrong with America.

saying that foreigners who live in the US can't/shouldn't criticize the US is the stupidest, most jingistic argument ever.  it's a facile and infantile way to dismiss an opinion without having to actually come up with a counter-argument.  the day that that same foreigner says something in favor of their position, they'll be the first to elevate that argument as saying "see?  even the foreigners acknowledge this!!!"  (aside: jim jeffries' take on this).

Well maybe the better idea is to not give a foreigner his own American tv show feautring commentary on America, thus giving his a louder voice than 99.99% of Americans.

I wish GGW was here so he could find when Space first made this argument about Peter Jennings 25 years ago or something.

Remind me what show Peter Jennings was spoiting his opinions on.

Space wrote:

Julian, wrote:

Space wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Space wrote:
have a problem with an obnoxious foreigner who comes to America and make millions off of Americans by telling them what is wrong with America.

saying that foreigners who live in the US can't/shouldn't criticize the US is the stupidest, most jingistic argument ever.  it's a facile and infantile way to dismiss an opinion without having to actually come up with a counter-argument.  the day that that same foreigner says something in favor of their position, they'll be the first to elevate that argument as saying "see?  even the foreigners acknowledge this!!!"  (aside: jim jeffries' take on this).

Well maybe the better idea is to not give a foreigner his own American tv show feautring commentary on America, thus giving his a louder voice than 99.99% of Americans.

I wish GGW was here so he could find when Space first made this argument about Peter Jennings 25 years ago or something.

Remind me what show Peter Jennings was spoiting his opinions on.

He was the nightly anchor of ABC Nightly News for years and years and years and was the frequent target of "we aren't going to let a CANDAIAN tell us things are we?" by chuckleheads.

Space wrote:

Sidespeare wrote:

sweetcell wrote:
john oliver is now on his 9th season, i'd say that the american public has spoken: they want what he's offering.

100%
you may or may not like him, but HBO is paying him a lot, because he get tons of viewers…they speak with their eyes/wallets
His deep dive on so many 'american' topics NO OTHER person is doing
I just watched one about how all the Power Utilities are monopolies, not exactly click bait kind of stuff and there is almost no coverage by other shows

"Tons?"

Let's not get carried away. 1 million viewers in a country of 330 million people.

https://deadline.com/2020/04/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver-series-high-viewership-hbo-1202914391/

99.7% of Americans don't watch his show.

Another classic Space canard – claiming everything on HBO is niche because of low traditional viewership numbers in a social media world. 9 out 10 people who see a segment from John Oliver do not have HBO, bro. This shit lives on Twitter and Facebook.

The Sopranos is one of the most referenced television touchstones of the past two decades; it pulled a 4 in the ratings.

Julian, wrote:

Space wrote:

Julian, wrote:

Space wrote:

sweetcell wrote:

Space wrote:
have a problem with an obnoxious foreigner who comes to America and make millions off of Americans by telling them what is wrong with America.

saying that foreigners who live in the US can't/shouldn't criticize the US is the stupidest, most jingistic argument ever.  it's a facile and infantile way to dismiss an opinion without having to actually come up with a counter-argument.  the day that that same foreigner says something in favor of their position, they'll be the first to elevate that argument as saying "see?  even the foreigners acknowledge this!!!"  (aside: jim jeffries' take on this).

Well maybe the better idea is to not give a foreigner his own American tv show feautring commentary on America, thus giving his a louder voice than 99.99% of Americans.

I wish GGW was here so he could find when Space first made this argument about Peter Jennings 25 years ago or something.

Remind me what show Peter Jennings was spoiting his opinions on.

He was the nightly anchor of ABC Nightly News for years and years and years and was the frequent target of "we aren't going to let a CANDAIAN tell us things are we?" by chuckleheads.

I knew the first part, but not the second. I guess I don't know as many chuckleheads as you.

Space wrote:
I guess I don't know as many chuckleheads as you.

I know a great many chuckleheads.

Space wrote:
"Tons?"

Let's not get carried away. 1 million viewers in a country of 330 million people.

99.7% of Americans don't watch his show.

Why would HBO pay him over $15 million a year then?  you are just looking silly on this topic

For his highly successful TV show on HBO, John Oliver earns an annual salary of $15 Million dollars. In addition to this fixed salary, John Oliver is also eligible for an additional $2 Million in bonus, if his TV Show achieves certain Cable TV ratings


pulled from your article
Last Week Tonight has averaged 4.7 million across all platforms and plays for episodes of the new season.
so your 99.7% number is incorrect too

Obviously the network is willing to pay for Julian or Sidehatch's eyeballs much more than you or hutch's
But I already knew that