Just got back from a concert of all things. Had time to think it over, calm down, etc. Here are the videos in question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruYeBXudsdshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_gwhfahcy0Now let me explain why I think Jimmy Kimmel is a scumbag.
He starts off by crying about the deceased and providing background details, and if you've seen any other opening monologue like this, you know it's going to get political really soon. He then spouts a string of provably-wrong gun myths, showing he has no idea what guns are and has no understanding of the 2nd amendment, and then he undermines all his previous arguments against Annoying Orange with his allusion to the wall and travel bans in that they fix problems instead of exasperating them. He lies about the power of the NRA and tries to speak for all the victims, saying they would want something to be done about guns, even though it was a country music festival (likely high percentage Republican/conservative concert-goers) and even though people like Rep. Scalise exist, who was shot but doesn't want to ban guns. Then, he tries to demonize Annoying Orange by painting him as some kind of liar or manipulator, and his evidence for this is the bill Annoying Orange signed in February that he also lies about. He also demonizes the GOP leaders and accuses them of being under the NRA's thumb (again overestimating the power of the NRA). He then pushes the "gun-show loophole" myth, which has been proven false, not to mention it has no connection to the shooting whatsoever. He then publicly displays the faces of every senator who voted against closing the loophole that doesn't exist, again demonizing them and judging their thoughts and prayers as "insufficient" just because they don't agree with him about what should be done. He then brings up """silencers""" like he's Hillary loving Clinton or something, and tries to demonize the HoR for trying to pass a bill to legalize them. He then whines about how he'd like to do comedy, but has to talk about this, he misleads people about the no-fly list (Ted Kennedy was on the no-fly list, you can be put on it for any reason whatsoever), and finishes off by suggesting his way of fixing the problem (banning guns) is "common sense" and that "it's time to put politics aside", even though that's exactly what he was just arguing against.
Next day, he comes back on stage and addresses the people who attacked him for demonizing everyone, lying to his audience and not being funny. Note, there is no reason for him to do this except for the sake of being political. He lumps himself in with all the regular people offering solutions to the problem, gun control or not, and then he blames conservatives/Republicans/people who don't want to get political for the loving shooting, suggesting we partake in "dirty business". He then covers for himself saying that he has 1st amendment rights, which absolutely no one was questioning. The only reason he brought it up is that he's a spineless leftist who can't handle criticism for politicizing another event.
This is what it boils down to; politicizing an event is different from providing solutions to make sure the event doesn't happen again. What we're doing is trying to provide solutions, whether they'll work or not. What we're having is a discussion. That's providing solutions. What Kimmel did is he presented his argument on top of a wave of lies, misrepresentations and irrelevant information, already debunked eons ago, and topped it off by saying that anyone who disagreed with him either didn't care about the dead or were paid off not to care by some shady boogeyman that he made up. He suggested his solution was obviously the right one, in the process contributing to the already out-of-control polarization. That's politicizing an event. He did exactly what Hillary Clinton did, and he should be treated the same as Hillary Clinton was for it.
Absolutely no sane person, whether they be in favor of gun control, improved mental illness treatment (which is irrelevant BTW, Paddock was not mentally ill), reform of Islam, or they see no viable solution at all, does not care about the dead. It's ridiculous to suggest otherwise. Kimmel suggested otherwise, several times. That's demonizing your opponent, which is what everyone attacked him over, not that he had an opinion that people didn't like. He used the "freedom of speech" argument like every other leftist (Sarkeesian, Quinn, etc.); to demonize his detractors by suggesting that they wanted him to stay quiet, which no one did.
My last point is one more tailored towards Kimmel's position in society. I hate to sound like the unfeeling starfish here, but Jimmy Kimmel is a comedian. He's not paid to be depressed and talk politics. He's paid to be funny. He can be political off-stage. That concert I went to tonight? Neither one of the two singers even mentioned the shooting. Why? Because it's not their job to discuss politics with us, it's their job to sing and play music. I'm sure they have their own opinions about what happened and what to do about it, but they keep it to themselves at least while they're on stage. What do you get when they don't keep it to themselves? You get millionaire comedians, in a space protected by armed guards, lying to their audiences about topics they don't understand. He's not furthering the discussion, he's regressing it back to points people have already discussed thousands of times and have moved past. On top of all that, he's not being funny in the process. As a result, you see people not watching late night anymore, and you see even bigger divides in the population grow.
That's my opinion on Jimmy Kimmel. I hope you get where I'm coming from now that I'm not calling everyone handicapped cunts.
