User TheOriginalBigDave on Reddit recently wrote the following scathing review of Robert Evans and his content material, instead calling Robert Evans "The Ben Shapiro Of The American Left:"
Yeah, you heard me. I know this is the most unpopular thing to post, but it's been bouncing around in my head for a while, and I couldn't think of another place to say it.
Know what the difference is between Robert Evans and Ben Shaprio?
Ben Shaprio probably makes less money then Robert Evans.
Otherwise, they're the exact same. Shapiro says don't trust the media because its controlled by the democrats, Evans says don't trust the media because they manufacture consent. Both of them do the whole contrarian 'Im just saying' bullshit, both of them indirectly encourage streetfighting and buying firearms for 'self-defence', both of them actively want a second American Civil War, and both of them have come real close to advocating for the assassination of public figures. (Shapiro wanted someone to kill Hillary, Evans would love to see Ted Wheeler drop dead). Both of these two jerkoffs make a shitton of money by exploiting peoples anxiety and then doing the *wink wink* *nudge nudge* "its satire" thing in case they get called out on it.
And you know something? They're actually right!. Shapiro and Evans don't believe in their 'causes' any more then any other media personality does. Evans doesn't *actually* believe that there's gonna be a proletariat uprising and the billionaires will finally get the guillotining they so richly deserve, he doesn't believe in any of this crap!
"Robert Evans the dirtbag leftist journalist" is a media personality, something he made up to look authentic and "real", like a poor mans Hemmingway.
A few years ago, Jason Pargin at Cracked.com wrote a great article about the entire concept of 'hope we all die lol', and this perfectly describes Evans to a fucking T. https://www.cracked.com/blog/5-crucial-things-to-remember-about-our-wretched-hellscape
"First, let's make it super clear that virtually no one making "Things can't possibly be worse!" jokes actually means it. The exaggeration is in fact the joke -- "I'm really tired of all the Trump scandals" gets translated to "What's waiting for us in this wretched hellscape today?"
This is true even for people who've built their entire personality around it. The podcast hosts who just spent an hour talking about we'll soon take to the streets to battle the elites to the death will then put down their headphones, chill out with some Netflix until bedtime, and go laugh their way through a boozy brunch with their friends the next morning. They are living comfortable, safe lives, and pretend otherwise for the same reason Republicans in quiet suburban neighborhoods stockpile guns, the same reason suburban rappers pretend to be from the hood.
Comfort and safety isn't cool. It offers no chance for courage or heroism. It brings no street cred.
But let's at least get that part out of the way: If you offered any member of the "We're in the end times" crowd the chance to be reborn in a random time period in a random country, they'd fight you to the death to prevent it. They wouldn't trade this "hellscape" for a world without air conditioning or anesthetics. In the Trump Era, everyone seems to feel that pressure to perform nihilism, kind of the flipside of having to put on a smiling face at a party as not to ruin the mood. It's the pressure to pretend you think everything is shit, just to fit in."
There are elements of truth - Behind The Bastards can be a little hard to listen to. Most news, especially the stuff that professes to be 'leftist,' has huge elements of doomerism and hyperbole. Hell, in one of the more recent BTB episodes, Robert himself talks about the dangers of comedy in news, and how even his time at Cracked played into that. There's a subtle but important difference between satire and blending comedy with news. But, the answer to both doomerism and comedy is to do your own homework and suss out the facts from the flair.
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