A new study from the CDC confirms what we already knew: Natural immunity is better than a vaccine. So why aren't we allowing natural immunity to be recognized at a place of work? And why is the CDC still selling vaccines?
00:03:28.920During May to November 2021, case and hospitalization rates were highest among persons who were unvaccinated without a previous diagnosis.
00:03:42.680Before Delta became the predominant variant in June, case rates were higher among persons who survived a previous infection than persons who were vaccinated alone.
00:03:56.760By early October, persons who survived a previous infection had lower case rates than persons who were vaccinated alone.
00:04:11.380It used to be, says the CDC, that people who were unvaccinated and who didn't have COVID had a higher rate of infection and hospitalization.
00:04:24.180But then the new variant made its debut, Delta.
00:04:28.720And if you had natural immunity from that, or as they put it, if you survived a previous infection, you were actually less likely to get the virus after that than someone who was vaccinated.
00:04:41.340I think I'm explaining what they said.
00:04:44.300Now, I think that sounds obvious, but it's quite an admission from the CDC.
00:04:50.840In fact, immediately they jumped on their own study with this statement.
00:04:54.680And they said, although the epidemiology of COVID-19 might change as new variants emerge, vaccination remains the safest strategy for averting future SARS-CoV-2 infections, hospitalizations, long-term sequelae, and death.
00:05:10.540Primary vaccination, additional doses, and booster doses are recommended for all eligible persons.
00:05:17.600Additional future recommendations for vaccine doses might be warranted as the virus and immunity levels change.
00:05:25.160So you just literally reported that once people were sick from the Delta and then had natural immunity, they actually do better than people with the vax only.
00:05:37.800But you're still recommending vaccinations, additional doses, boosters, et cetera, ad infinitum.
00:05:45.080You just told us natural immunity, people who recovered from Delta, was strong.
00:05:51.180But you just can't stop serving your political masters.
00:05:54.520This is what I mean by you can't trust the CDC.
00:05:56.740It's written so defensively in such a way to downplay what they found.
00:06:01.120Previous SARS-CoV-2 infection also confers protection against severe outcomes in the event of reinfection.
00:06:12.400Now, this study tracks the disease over time as different variants of the disease were dominant.
00:06:18.520But let me read this to you slowly, okay?
00:06:20.520By the week beginning October 3rd, compared with COVID-19 cases, case rates among unvaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis,
00:06:33.600case rates among vaccinated persons without a previous COVID-19 diagnosis were 6.2-fold in California and 4.5-fold in New York lower.
00:06:45.800Okay, so what they're saying is that the vaccine reduces cases compared to unvaccinated people who haven't been sick with it yet.
00:06:59.700Here's the center of this whole study.
00:07:01.340Rates were substantially lower among both groups with previous COVID-19 diagnoses, including 29-fold in California and 14.7-fold lower in New York among unvaccinated persons with a previous diagnosis.
00:07:24.440This is significantly stronger protection than the vaccine gives people who haven't been sick before.
00:07:33.720You have to get pretty deep into the verbiage to see this admission.
00:07:39.360Importantly, infection-derived protection was higher after the Delta variant became predominant,
00:07:45.400a time when vaccine-induced immunity for many persons declined because of immune evasion and immunologic waning.
00:07:56.920So not only was natural immunity better, but it didn't fade away as quickly as the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines did.
00:08:05.140By the way, the CDC study here isn't the first to find this fact.
00:08:09.500Let me quote, as was observed in the present study after July, recent international studies have also demonstrated increased protection in persons with previous infection,
00:08:20.620with or without vaccination, relative to vaccination alone.
00:08:25.660Then, as usual, the study lists its possible limitations, and of course they all genuflect and pray to St. Fauci and the Church of Pfizer,
00:08:34.560and say they really, really recommend vaccines and boosters.
00:08:37.420But you can't avoid the fact that they found getting sick and naturally recovering from it gives you better protection than the vaccine alone.
00:08:58.180So why isn't this natural immunity recognized anywhere in Canada or in the U.S. for that matter?
00:09:03.520Why can employers, especially government employers, fire people who have literally stronger immunity to the disease than vaccinated people do?
00:09:14.620Why can they force them to get vaxxed when that brings the risks of an emergency use authorization vaccine to someone who's already immune?
00:09:23.800We're still learning about more side effects from these vaccines all the time.
00:09:30.040The latest one was about how vaccines change women's menstrual cycles.
00:09:40.180So if you're a nurse, let's say, and you had COVID-19 and you recovered from the disease,
00:09:47.040So you got strong antibodies, stronger than someone who is vaxxed alone.
00:09:53.060You can be fired and demonized and banned from flying on planes and taking the train and banned from going to a store and banned from going to a restaurant.
00:10:01.840But someone who is vaccinated and literally has less immunity than you is given a government pass.
00:10:09.640Novak Djokovic, the Serbian tennis star, got COVID, became immune, told that to the Australian government,
00:10:17.980and they granted him a vaccine exemption because of his strong antibodies.
00:10:22.840Then he arrived in Australia, the government kicked him out, humiliating him, demonizing him, not because he was sick.
00:10:30.400I think he's got to be one of the world's healthiest men.
00:10:32.360Not because he was at risk from the disease, either catching it himself or giving it to others.
00:10:41.060This CDC study shows he was more immune than someone who was just vaxxed.
00:10:48.080But because they're not testing health, they're not testing immunity, they're just, I don't know, full-time big pharma salesmen.
00:10:57.580Literally, that same tennis tournament in Australia is allowing another player to play while he's sick with COVID because he happens to be vaxxed.
00:11:08.680He's literally sick, but paid money to Pfizer, so everything's okay.
00:11:16.060Don't even let them tell you this is about science.
00:11:19.620You know, one last thing I'm thinking about, these abusive rulemakers.
00:11:22.800Do you remember the faces of nurses and doctors that were posted last year on social media about how bruised faces were because they were wearing tight N95 masks and goggles all day?
00:11:35.760They were quite dramatic, very sympathetic.
00:11:39.620Just FYI, there are schools across Canada and the United States now requiring students, including young students, to wear industrial-style masks like that.
00:14:24.560And my experience has been like that in other protests or events or when I went to other places to bring the other side of the story where I met with other fans.
00:14:38.280All across the country, I have met with beautiful, wonderful people that I didn't even know existed.
00:14:44.060I didn't even know that such beautiful people existed.
00:14:48.200They were very kind, very compassionate.
00:14:50.740And it's very interesting because I met with so many different, different in ideology, different in ethnicity, different in so many ways, religion.
00:15:03.360But they all welcomed me and such solidarity, such common ground is really valuable.
00:15:53.060I think we should get something with maybe four-wheel drive because if there's a snowfall, if there's a blizzard, you want to have a serious car for the highways.
00:16:02.360I mean, you're still a fairly young driver.
00:16:05.320Motels along the way, there's no fancy accommodations, but staying in – and really, you're just going to use it to edit your video and sleep.
00:16:13.400Obviously, food and gas along the way.
00:16:15.840And so about a week there, and then you're going to come back probably about maybe almost two weeks in total.
00:16:24.980What do you think the total cost is going to be?
00:16:26.620Just sketching on the back of a napkin, I'm guessing that's $3,500 to $4,000 in out-of-pocket costs.
00:16:36.220Well, actually, it will probably be more given our operational costs.
00:16:40.540We have writers in the background, we have video editors in the background, social media people, and these people are not doing that for free.
00:16:52.440So when you add all these costs up, it's going to go a little higher.
00:16:56.400But at the end of the day, we will bring the best quality coverage that no other media will be able to bring, despite their millions of dollars from Justin Trudeau.
00:17:39.700I think you're going to do some beautiful journalism.
00:17:42.840And just brainstorming here for a bit, besides the daily updates, maybe there's a little documentary here.
00:17:49.240Like if you were following this story every day for a week, that's quite a, and to watch the crowds grow and the excitement of coming to Ottawa and what happens to Ottawa, maybe there's a little movie.
00:18:00.520Like maybe a half hour or 45 minute documentary that comes out the other side in addition to the little daily updates.
00:18:08.160The reason I say that, Mocha, is it's important that we document this journey because I'm sure it won't be long before Justin Trudeau condemns these truckers as racists or misogynists or whatever names he calls.
00:18:20.660They're going to try and demonize these truckers if they haven't already.
00:18:24.460Your mission is to tell the other side of the story, to tell the trucker's side of the story, to be honest and to push back against the lies.
00:18:32.800I think a documentary may be the best way to do that long term.
00:19:13.980If you chip into convoyreports.com, not only are you going to get updates every day, but when he comes back to Calgary, he's going to put it together into a compelling documentary.
00:19:25.880Let's talk to make sure you get a good vehicle.
00:19:27.940I want to make sure you got something that's going to do well on those highways if it's snowing.
00:19:32.280And you're in for a heck of a journey.
00:19:34.140I'm sort of jealous, to be honest, because that's going to be a wonderful journey that you're going to look back on fondly for many years to come.
00:23:13.660With everyone being locked down over the past two years, people have been consuming more media than ever.
00:23:19.580Whether it be online, in person, occasionally, or on Netflix, comedy specials have become the talking point, the buzz for many.
00:23:29.100And very often the headlines are not positive.
00:23:31.800People who dare utter unpopular or undogmatic opinions due to the current progressive environment we are living in are very often dragged on Twitter, as Dave Chappelle said.
00:23:43.800Comedy was once a relative safe space where you could say things, and as long as you weren't being overtly bigoted or hateful,
00:23:51.320it was understood that it was a joke. It was meant to make people laugh.
00:23:55.020Well, it seems that those days are long gone, or are they?
00:23:59.460To discuss this topic and to delve more into the world of comedy, I'm joined by comedian Jeremy McClellan.
00:24:06.320So I'm, in addition to being a stand-up comic, I'm a fellow at Word on Fire with Robert Barron,
00:24:12.420and I recorded a course on comedy that's coming out soon on comedy and Catholicism and religion and stuff.
00:24:18.440And, you know, I think that there's a lot that one can say about political correctness.
00:24:26.140I mean, comedy has always been, there's always been political comedians who, and, you know, comedians are people like anybody else.
00:24:36.740I think what's different now than in the past is that audiences and comedians are sort of, you can almost, like, if you're watching, like, Stephen Colbert on The Late Show,
00:24:54.420you can tell that the jokes are, here's a point I want to make, and then I'm going to try and make that funny.
00:25:04.840Um, and that's a terrible way to write material.
00:25:09.400Um, it's, it makes you, where, yeah, it's just, it's not, it's not, it's just straight up not a good way to write or to think of things that are funny.
00:25:19.900Um, and the audiences don't like it, and, uh, but what, but what I have found recently is people sort of insist on that.
00:25:28.660So if you have a joke about something, people will try to retro, uh, not, not retrofit, what's it called?
00:25:35.100Where you break something down, um, uh, no, like reverse, reverse engineer the joke to find out what you believe.
00:25:42.980So if you tell a joke about, uh, Pope Francis, then it can't just be silly.
00:25:50.940It has to be, uh, there has to be a sneaky sort of, uh, thing underlying that.
00:25:58.060Um, and once you find out what that is, then you can judge the comedian as on your side or not.
00:26:05.040Uh, and God forbid you, you make a silly joke that, you know, makes your, your own side angry.
00:26:11.940Cause then you're sort of hurting the war effort.
00:26:13.800Almost, um, people get mad at you for that the other day, the other day we got into an argument because she was saying that women still make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes.
00:26:36.840Just naturally gravitate towards lower paying professions like female doctor and female engineer.
00:26:43.800So my, my, the only rules that I have in terms of political correctness or what I will and won't say, um, besides just like moral ones, I'm not going to blaspheme the Virgin Mary on stage.
00:26:57.740But like, uh, is that you can make a joke about any group of people, but it has to be done in front of that group.
00:27:03.900Now it doesn't have to be done in front of that group.
00:27:05.160You got to be willing to do it in front of that group of people.
00:27:07.780And, you know, like I'm a white comic.
00:27:11.000If I have a joke, if I come up with a joke about black people, uh, that's fine.
00:27:15.360Uh, I got to go do it and, you know, in a black room and see how it goes.
00:27:19.460And if it sucks, like, or if I'm like nervous and like, oh, I don't think, you know, then there's something wrong with the joke.
00:27:26.800Like it, not in the, not in the sense that it would make people mad, but in the sense that it's not getting at something true, uh, which I think is, is sort of part of the essence of comedy.
00:27:35.620Comedy is, uh, being, um, surprised by something good.
00:27:40.540I think, um, it starts when you're a baby and your mom's playing peekaboo with you.
00:27:45.640It's something that's surprising, but it's a good thing instead of, instead of horror, which is kind of being surprised by something bad.
00:27:51.340So there's lots of surprising things you can say, um, if you're doing terrible material that, uh, people have heard before, uh, then it's not going to go well.
00:28:02.620And, and you can't sort of be like, well, it was edgy.
00:28:05.100And like, but the problem is that it wasn't, it was, it was edgy to you, but it's something that they've heard every day for the last, you know, um, so that's sort of my take on political correctness.
00:28:16.640Um, I, I don't think it's ruining comedy, like in, in the sense that you can't say certain things.
00:28:23.600I think it's ruining comedy in the sense that you have to make it clear now, uh, what you believe and what your joke is trying to convey, which is terrible for, I mean, it's sort of, it would ruin every poem, every, you know, musical piece, every song.
00:28:40.120If, if it was all just propaganda, where, where you are trying to slip something in.
00:28:45.960So I'm talking about a girl here, not the government.
00:28:53.340It's really interesting that so like on the sort of threshold of comedians, um, there, there are comedians back in the day, for example, like George Carlin, who their entire thing was just making a political point, but the way they made it funny.
00:29:05.320Um, you can't even get a decent hamburger anymore. They cook their shit out of everything now because everybody's afraid of food poisoning. Hey, where's your sense of adventure? Take a chance, will you? You know how many people die in this country from food poisoning every year? 9,000. That's all. It's a minor risk.
00:29:23.160Um, on the opposite spectrum, you might have someone like Anthony Jesselnik, where it is crude, but real, I mean, the joke is ultimately in the wit and the twist.
00:29:31.780Like about a month ago, some kids in my neighborhood had played hide and go seek. And one of them ended up in an abandoned refrigerator. It's all anybody talked about for weeks. I said, who cares? How many kids, you know, get to die a winner?
00:29:46.160Those are, those are, those are kind of polar opposites. I mean, they're both a little bit crude, but, um, so, so you're saying that, that we've kind of gone between that threshold, um, and we've stepped aside from that. And now you can't even make a joke. You can't, uh, do anything because it all has to be transparent. Here's what I'm trying to get it.
00:30:05.340Right. Right. So you have to, and, and, and I don't know how, how much this is like what you really have to do because, you know, Anthony Jesselnik has lots of jokes about topics and you can't tell what he thinks from the jokes. You can't, uh, it's, it's not super, super obvious. I mean, you, he's a basic liberal, like, and he's a sweet guy, but like, he's, he's not, uh, um, like, yeah.
00:30:29.260Right. So, but, so maybe you can tell that, but you can't tell, you know, when he jokes about like a city, what he like really thinks about the city, you know, I mean, it's just, it's a joke. Um, and the, the purpose of jokes is to, is to surprise you and make you laugh. And, uh, you're, if you laugh at the group of people, that's really good for solidarity with other people and with, uh, um, sort of group, group, group cohesion.
00:30:57.000Uh, and it's really good for your mental health cause you don't feel as lonely. Um, and yeah, I mean, it's, it's great. What I, what I find in, uh, the like Twitter sort of, um, canceling comedians kind of thing is it's usually a group of people who punch way above their weight. It's, it's, it's not a very large group of people. It's not most people. It's a group of people that can make you feel, uh, they're really good at this.
00:31:26.880They make you feel like everyone hates you right now. Yeah. And the way that they write is like, you have been canceled. You have been, uh, and like, there's no, there's no like boss, there's no CEO of comedy who's going to fire you.
00:31:41.000Yeah. So you can just keep talking unless Twitter bans your account or something, but like, uh, so, but, but they make you feel like, well, like you've really screwed up now.
00:31:53.220And then you start apologizing and that that's when you, that's when careers get over is when you start apologizing, uh, just to, just to placate the mom. Um, because it's a lot like a hostage situation where at first there are demands are reasonable.
00:32:11.320You know, they're like, I want a pizza, right. Like holding a bank hostage. I want a pizza. I want like, you know, some, a drink. Uh, and then later on, they're like, I want a helicopter and a passport. And they're like, yeah, you're not getting a helicopter.
00:32:26.040And, but in like, no matter what happens with these people, they will always shoot the hostage at the end. There's no, there's no like, okay, thank you for apologizing. We are now your fans. What's when's your next show? Uh, we're going to come. So, um, meanwhile, by apologizing, you've just insulted all of the people that thought it was funny.
00:32:48.380Yeah. Right. So, uh, and so now you have nobody. Um, and it's like, I'm all for like apologizing. If you really think independently, which is hard to know, but like really independently think that you've, you've messed up, uh, then by all means apologize to people one-on-one, uh, like if someone ever came up to me and was really angry, it hasn't happened, like really angry at something.
00:33:14.360I said, you know, I'll talk to them and I'll, you know, if, if I really offended them and be like, I'm really sorry that happened. But like, when someone does that in public, you're not their audience, not actually talking to you. It's very rare that you get sent a message by someone on social media. And they're like, Hey, just want to, I want to Matthew 18. This, I want to talk to you like one-on-one first and like, uh, and address this, uh, and corrections.
00:33:40.360You really, yeah, no one does that. No one, no one takes you aside and does that. Um, and so that that's really all you need to know about like the sincerity of it. Um, and I mean, this is what, this is what Bill Burr always says. It's like, if you really think that all of this is a huge problem, just, just stay away from Twitter and go to the clubs because like the test of, of material is whether it does well live.
00:34:06.080Because one thing that, uh, I think a lot about is that when you make someone laugh, it's a pre-rational, uh, it's not irrational, but it's a pre-rational, um, reaction where like, they don't think about it first. And then they're like, Oh, ha ha. Like no one does that.
00:34:23.840But on Twitter, social media, people do think about it first. And then they decide whether to like it or not. So you can have a joke that crushes in person. That's always does well in person, but that you'll get dragged for. And nobody will like on Twitter because they have to, they have to think about it first.
00:34:37.680But there's always that, that thing, what happens where people laugh a lot and then they're like, Oh, that was horrible. And it's like, nah, too late. It's too late. You already laughed. I already got what I wanted. Right. Um, so, you know, as a comedian, you have to pay attention to that.
00:34:51.560You have to pay attention to people's actual in-person reactions. Um, and don't take much stock in the, uh, sort of Twitter, uh, like algorithm and like the technology that sort of has you think about something.
00:35:10.720Exactly. Well, there is a natural segue here, um, to Dave Chappelle. Dave Chappelle said they dragged me on Twitter because I don't care. That's not a real place.
00:35:17.920When Sticks and Stones came out, a lot of people in the trans community were furious with me. And apparently they dragged me on Twitter. I don't give a fuck because Twitter's not a real place.
00:35:29.900But Dave Chappelle has been the focus and the brunt of a great deal of these cancellation efforts and kind of along the vein of South Park. He seems uncancellable no matter what he does. Um, I don't know if you, I imagine you watched all the latest specials, but, um, for anyone who did watch or who paid attention.
00:35:46.320Um, no, I've, I've seen all of them. Yeah. You use the language, uh, about not punching down. And the point that Dave Chappelle is making throughout all these series is simply, and he states this bluntly, that he is envious of the LGBTQ progressive activist movement, because in a very short amount of time, they've surpassed the black community.
00:36:05.400We blacks, we look at the gay community and we go, God damn it, look how well that movement is going.
00:36:12.400Look how well you are doing. And we've been trapped in this predicament for hundreds of years. How the fuck are you making that kind of progress?
00:36:23.920The point he's making throughout all these specials is not to bash on or discriminate or to persecute, uh, the trans community. He's simply making jokes at the expense of, uh, his own community, basically because he's suffering and envious for what's going on there.
00:36:39.120But they seemed to miss that nuance. They seem to not be able to accept that it was a joke, a joke. He speaks very sort of, uh, lovingly about his friend who happens to be trans. Um, but what do you make of this massive concerted effort to destroy him, to drag him on Twitter, um, to do all of this stuff when he's clearly in comedy, very much for its original intention, to speak from a place of hurt for a community.
00:37:05.620Right. And, and, and he's, I mean, I think what he, what he is, and this is what I've always told, uh, sort of Christian artists in general is their one advice. And I'm like, just be like undeniably good at it. I mean, Dave Chappelle is undeniably good. Uh, if anyone says that he's not funny, like they're, they're just wrong. I mean, like, uh, it's, yeah, you're not, you don't know what you're talking about. Um, and so when you do that, then
00:37:34.800I think it's really hard to cancel you like full time. So I, I think that one, one kind of, um, thing, no, like no one complains when they go viral and they get famous really fast. And, uh, and that's a bunch of people that that's basically the mob loving you, uh, for something. And then they, and then when you say something that the mob doesn't like and they move on,
00:38:02.060or they say they don't like you anymore, that's not like being persecuted. You know what I mean? Like, that's not like, you can't, you can't complain about that. If you're not going to, you know, that's what you signed up for is, is sort of the, like what I don't like on either end is cause getting famous really fast can mess you up. Cause now you're stuck in that, in that, uh, mode. And you tell one joke about like, I don't know, rice. And then now you're like the rice comedian and you're like, Oh, but I really want to talk about all this other stuff.
00:38:31.260I like rice. Rice is great when you're hungry and you want 2000 of something.
00:38:36.860Well, like, so, uh, it is the speed at which this happens. Um, especially where people get fired, uh, for their employers. I mean, like by their employers, um, for, I mean, and at that point, it's almost like it's a labor issue where, uh, you like the mob should not be able to put so much pressure on you, uh,
00:39:00.760on your boss so that they will fire you within 24 hours with zero, uh, investigation because the mom's going to forget about you in a week. Like they're not going to even remember what, what you mean. It's like, that's why Facebook had to invent the, the memories part is just to remind you what you were mad about a year ago.
00:39:21.580Uh, cause, cause, cause you're not going to remember. And I know, uh, Neil Brennan's great comedian. He had this great thing. He was on, uh, comedians getting coffee in cars with coffee with Jerry Seinfeld.
00:39:33.880And he said, just wait two weeks. Just, if you're still mad about this in two weeks, like I'll talk about you. And, and I, I have heard of a lot of Silicon Valley people putting in their contracts now when, when they get hired, like a cooling off period where there's like a month where if something happens, like they have a month and then like reassess, uh, that. Um, and I think that's the crux of it because you can't, especially if you sort of agree to be in the public eye.
00:40:03.140I mean, if you're a comedian and you're saying stuff in public, the goal is to change people's opinion. The goal is sometimes to make people angry. Uh, and you know, there's, it's, it's, it's kind of like getting in the boxing ring. There's, there's a certain amount of like, okay, I'm signing up for this. The, the, when I think of cancel culture, I think of the speed at which it happens.
00:40:25.540And I think of going after regular people where, uh, someone gets caught on tape or something and they get fired and they get fired in 24 hours. Right. Um, uh, that, that, that I think is just fundamentally unjust. Like it's not what we've signed up for. It's not what the average person is signed up for. Um, so yeah.
00:40:48.360It's interesting. And you, you talked about sort of, there is this democratization of comedy of entertainment with YouTube, Twitter and all this stuff. But one of the things we lose with that is you don't have this sort of editorial, uh, oversight of a corporation. Um, so someone is maybe willing to take that dangerous extra step to potentially get famous. Um, they're willing to rush to the next stunt, um, to get famous.
00:41:13.360And then the substance isn't necessarily there to make something that will last. So they're always sort of reaching for those next things. Um, so very much, we see people going to those extremes for, for both the audience outreach, but then someone who's willing to go to those extremes is inevitably likely to make an extreme mistake by going to an extreme again. So it's almost like this self-repeating vicious prophecy or a self-fulfilling prophecy.
00:41:37.380Right. And, and, and there is a paradox where, uh, hierarchical institutions can allow for a lot of weirdness within them. Uh, and, uh, whereas like very decentralized systems, uh, can promote, uh, you know, conformity because all you have is the mob and you, you have to appeal to the mob.
00:42:04.600And, uh, and, uh, whereas like, if, if you have a patron, for example, like who buys your stuff and you can do whatever, you know? Um, so the, yeah, there, there is a paradox there where the more that we become decentralized and like the fewer gatekeepers there are, which there's a lot of benefit to that.
00:42:26.000Especially if you're a part of a group that is being shut out of the, uh, of the, of the main system, but it's, it's not like it used to be where you, uh, you were, you know, trying to impress these, this group of people.
00:42:40.960Yeah. And then now it's, you try to reach as many people as possible. And then you go to those groups, those people and be like, Hey, I have 500,000 fans. Uh, I want to book this, this theater. And they're like, great. You know, um, you know, proof of concept.
00:42:57.180Yeah. Yeah. It's really interesting. You said that though in Canada, it is almost like back in the day to many extents, because, um, almost all like our media company does not accept any, our news organization does not accept any money from, from the government, but almost every news organization does.
00:43:12.500So even if something seems blatantly false or inaccurate, but it's what the government is currently stating, um, right. All media organizations will push that, um, Canada being generally very progressive as well, the mob very often, even if it's that small group of people observing an inordinate influence, um, they're pushing very often those same sort of talking points and taking the government at face value.
00:43:36.380So in our case, it's interesting because almost all of the pressures are unilateral. Um, there's no, very few, we're one of the few voices telling the other side of the story alongside a couple other outlets of how, one of the things that I'd like to sort of ask you is not to say that a, that a comedian has to have a distinct political, uh, bent, but I think there is a general sort of progressive or liberal lean throughout comedy.
00:44:01.780And there are very, very few voices, um, sort of speaking to that or countering that.
00:44:07.860Right. Um, you know, I think, uh, yeah, I mean, that's very true, obviously, you know, you, you go to comedy shows and there's, but I, you know, there's, there's like, there's nothing about the, like the art form of comedy, uh, other than you want to surprise people.
00:44:25.480Um, I mean, part of just community, you know, being, it has to surprise you surprising people with words. Okay. And I'm trying to think of what, how I explained to my daughter or what I do for a living and like what jokes are, she's three. And I'm like, you're surprising people with words, saying something funny and surprises people and they laugh.
00:44:42.960And, uh, so because of that, you know, you, you're not just going to say things that, uh, they already know to be true. Um, like instead you are sort of, I mean, as a, as a comedian, you are a destabilizing force when you're performing. I mean, you're, you're, you're unsettling people.
00:45:07.480South Carolina actually has a very rich progressive history. I don't know if you guys know this, but, uh, South Carolina actually started the war that ended slavery.
00:45:17.640And so perhaps there is something sort of inherently, uh, like non-hierarchical or leftist about it that sort of appeals to people who want to change things, um, and shock people. Uh, but, you know, I know conservative comedians that are just not, they don't tell people they're conservative.
00:45:40.380Uh, but, but, um, I, I, I, I, I really think that it has to be, um, you have to have a worldview, uh, that sort of grounds your, your voice as, as a comic. Uh, and maybe you don't know what that is yet.
00:46:01.440When you start doing, you know, comedy, you're just talking about, you know, things that you think are funny, but then you start thinking about why you think those things are funny and what, like, what your purpose is and stuff.
00:46:11.260And I do think that, um, that there's the industry part of it where there's pressure on you and, and there's pressure to tell a certain kind of story.
00:46:21.100You know, I do a lot of shows. I was in the UK, I was doing a tour, uh, with a bunch of Muslims. Uh, and I do a lot of comedy, like I've toured Pakistan and stuff.
00:46:30.180And I've done a lot of comedy for Muslim audiences. And even though I'm like pretty conservative Catholic. And I think that's why is that I take, I take religion seriously instead of, uh, just not, you know, being secular.
00:46:43.460But I think that there is, I've, I've, I've, I've talked to Muslim comics about this too, where there is a certain story that you're allowed to tell, uh, about yourself in order to be accepted into Hollywood, whatever.
00:46:55.060And it is. So as, as a Catholic, you're allowed to be born Catholic. Okay. Uh, you're allowed to, uh, like, and, and like not believe it anymore. Right. That's always great.
00:47:06.460Um, and you're allowed to maybe still be Catholic, but like, like they want to see that you are going where history is Biden Trudeau Catholic. Yeah. Yeah. But like you are, your life story is to, should, should, should be in the trajectory of like Whig history. Like you are supposed to, uh, be moving from traditionalism to, uh, the, the, the, the city on the hill of Hollywood. Right. Um, and, and that's also true of me as a Southerner.
00:47:36.320I'm from Charleston, South Carolina. I still live here, born and raised. And, uh, whenever like Southerners perform, we're supposed to talk about how racist our parents were and how like we were super homophobic, but then we met a gay guy in college and everything changed, whatever. And if you're Muslim, uh, especially you're supposed to be like, well, it's the same story, but it's like, you have to talk about like your parents back in Pakistan, you know, who are like stupid.
00:48:06.320Right. Yeah. And, and, and because they're from traditional cultures where people get married enough kids. Right. And you're supposed to move to that. And there's plenty of Muslim comics. We're like, they, that that's the pinch of incense they do. Uh, and that's the story they tell. Um, what you can't be ever is someone who, uh, was raised regular or just raised like anybody else.
00:48:28.320Anybody else. And has become more traditional over time. Yeah. Like that is, that is the worst thing you can buy. So you, you can never like convert to Catholicism, which is what I did like two years ago. Um, because you're moving in the wrong direction. Like that's not the way history is going. Uh, you're, you're investing in Enron, you know, right now, like it's, it's a terrible idea. Um,
00:48:58.320that's the advice of admission where you can be a member of any group, as long as you basically have the same story. Um, it's really interesting. I want to jump back before we move too much. Yeah. It's interesting how you said like comedy is sort of this counterpoint or at least this like stirring agent within society. Yeah. Is it just me? Or like, if you look back at the nineties where every family was basically full house, I'm joking, but it was more sort of traditional.
00:49:28.320society. Now society is extremely homogenized, but it shifted towards progressivism and non-nuclear families and all this sort of stuff. Right. And the, the comedians, like there's lots of comedians out there that they want to push and want to be popular, but the ones who are extremely popular are like Dave Chappelle, Bill Burr, people who are saying things that are destabilizing. I think people want to some extent to be mildly offended because society is counter offense that they want to be shaken out of their sort of stagnant. This is the way it is.
00:49:58.080Um, would you, yes. And that's important. I think that that's, what's important is that people have a desire, I think, uh, to, to know the truth. And I think that, um, like I say this in my word on fire course, but, um, uh, I very much think that comedy is, is within the art, the art is, is, is the art form of the apophatic tradition in Catholicism where it, you know, it works by negation. Uh, so you're,
00:50:28.080um, like pseudo Dionysius type, uh, it's, I don't want to get too, too weird with it, but, um, well, comedy clears the way. Like you are, you are calling people, you are calling people out. You are destroying people's illusions. Um, you are, uh, showing the contradictions and, you know, even, even just the pun, right. A dumb pun.
00:50:55.940Where, like, you, you, you're showing that words are, that the, the, the connection that people have between words and their meaning is unstable. Like words can mean two things, even something like that.
00:51:08.140Democrats argue that banning abortion would endanger women's lives, violate the right to privacy and send everyone who works at Planned Parenthood to prison. Although to be fair, we don't like to use the word prison. It's more of a clump of cells.
00:51:21.060It surprises you sometimes. Um, and so I think that, uh, properly speaking, it clears the way for, um, a genuine encounter with reality. Um, and ultimately I think with God, where even comedians who are atheists, when they trash God, are they trashing God?
00:51:45.100Or are they trashing this image that we have of God? Uh, which I think is the biggest problem that we have is we imagine God as another person, like some guy in the sky and he's doing things.
00:51:56.660And so when Tig Notaro, uh, got cancer and she did a set on it and she was joking about people saying, well, you know, God never gives you more than you can handle.
00:52:07.420Um, as if God is up there looking at her and being like, eh, she can handle a little more. Right. Uh, and then just, you know, give like God is jigsaw, like from saw, just coming up with elaborate torture devices to people.
00:52:23.480Um, and, and so when an atheist makes those kinds of critiques and makes those jokes, it's easy for religious people to get offended, uh, but, um, prop properly understood, uh, atheists just, they don't believe in a God that we also don't believe in.
00:52:41.120And so that can be really helpful. And like thinking about me, I'm, I'm married, uh, I've been married for, uh, almost seven years now.
00:52:52.480And one thing that's great about friendships, including spouses is that, uh, you insult each other, you make fun of each other and you tell jokes about each other.
00:53:02.520And that I think does sort of clear the way, um, for a genuine encounter with the other person.
00:53:12.380Um, and so, uh, I, I think, whereas, you know, comedians who only tell you what you want to hear or make jokes that sort of soothe you, like they don't get genuine laughs.
00:53:26.160Uh, they get, they get claps, uh, and right. Or they're, they get laughed because in the studio, there's a big sign that says laughter and you have to laugh and, or it's a Netflix special and they literally fill the seats with people who laugh, um, really well.
00:53:43.640And so, uh, that I think is a lot of what's going on with, you know, comedians who, who think their job is just soothe people's illusions.
00:53:52.360But I think that comedians, and maybe this goes to, you know, most comedians struggles with, like with mental health, where there is a kind of joker, uh, mentality that we have where like, we want to get at the truth.
00:54:07.780And one way you get at the truth is by, uh, making fun of stuff. And like, and when you go to like, you know, punching down, but like that whole thing, I think that's, that's just people trying to create moral codes where there's no tradition, where they're like, well, we don't have a belief system at all.
00:54:27.520So let's create a moral code. That's just about like, don't hurt people who have X amount of power, whatever. But like, it's a, it's a real gift to someone to, to destroy an illusion.
00:54:39.260They have it's that that's a really beautiful thing to do to somebody. And so if you make fun of someone's belief system, uh, and then, and it resonates like heaven forbid, yeah, maybe they're down, but you've just, I mean,
00:54:55.740maybe it sets them free of, you know, from that, uh, if it's done well and done properly and like, and you're really good at that, then, uh, if you're bad at it, then you can't just do it and suck.
00:55:07.900And then be like, I only suck because they don't like what I have to say. Um, but yeah, I mean, like, so I don't like the whole punching down, punching up rule. Um, cause there's plenty of people who are up, who, uh, deserve to be up and they're, they're honorable people.
00:55:24.660And, uh, you know, like trying to destroy them is, is sort of a way of, um, uh, like if you, if you trash a bishop, for example, uh, and he doesn't deserve it at all, but you're just filthily, uh, destroying him.
00:55:43.400Are you punching up at that point? Like, I mean, he's a bishop. Okay. But like, yes, you're punching up, but like, it's, it's also, so, I mean, I think all of this is just a way of,
00:55:54.660trying, trying to, trying to create a code, uh, that sort of will guide comedians, but comedians as a group don't share the same worldview with each other.
00:56:07.820And there's, I mean, it's like, it's part of the sort of victimhood Olympics where everyone's, everyone is saying that they're down, but then they're the ones dragging you on Twitter.
00:56:16.880Right. So in what sphere, who is up, you look at someone like Robin Williams, who for many would have been way up there.
00:56:23.000And then clearly in his personal life, he was dealing with some extreme sort of emotional issues.
00:56:27.440So what we perceive as up, they might be down, um, this whole arbitrary metric of determining who is up and who is down, um, I think is extremely falsified.
00:56:34.880It's like, I mean, I guess it's a decent rule of thumb maybe like, but like, again, it's just a way of, uh, sort of like, you know, now, now that like, we don't, we're like, we're part of a global society.
00:56:50.880And none of us share the same worldview, even though we act like we do, we act like there's a, like, I was, uh, I think Liz Brunick said that, um, liberals always, uh, are talking to an invisible referee.
00:57:04.960Like, like there's nobody there who's going to actually do what they're like, I'm going to tell, I'm going to tell him what you said.
00:57:11.360And you're like, okay. Um, but, uh, like, it's just in that situation where no one has a shared worldview, even among like the comics that I'm friends with in Charleston, like we're all funny, we're all friends, but like, like some of them deeply immoral people that like, I don't agree with.
00:57:28.520And, uh, so when, like, like there's no rule that's going to like guide what I say, uh, that's that they're going to accept. Right. Um, and yeah, so a lot of that, I think is just, it's just hopeless.
00:57:45.740And I think a big part of that too, is I think to experience comedy, um, as comedies intended versus this just propping up of your values, you actually need to some extent, uh, love or respect the person on stage to the extent of saying, well, I'm interested in their opinion.
00:58:02.720And when Dave Chappelle talks about his trans friend laughing the loudest and being in the front row while he's making jokes about that community, um, right.
00:58:11.520We as Catholics endure the brunt of a ton of jokes. It's, it's, we're, we're prime.
00:58:17.460And you can always tell. I mean, I think that, uh, I mean, one thing I mentioned this in my course, but like, uh, like, because it's, there's like seven courses, each one's like one of the virtues and like how comedy relates to it. And last one of the love and, uh, insults are an act of love. Um, I think, uh, but they sort of rely on loving the person. They only work if, if you love the person. And that's true of roasts.
00:58:41.520Where when you do a comedy roast, which I've, I've done a bunch of them, like the person being roasted is, is someone that you love.
00:58:49.940Um, when we were looking for a roast master, we called Jamie Foxx, uh, Chris Rock, and they both couldn't do it. Um, then I had a great idea. Let's call Kevin Hart and see if he has Dave Chappelle's number.
00:58:59.960No, I have huge. And if, if a comedian does get invited to do the roast who doesn't love the person, like they hate them, it's, it ruins, it ruins it because, uh, you can always tell.
00:59:16.000And, and, and, and like growing up, like, you, you know, you're bullied by, by people. Um, and, but the bully is always is, is making fun of things that your friends also make fun of you for.
00:59:28.660So you can't have like a list of things that you can't make fun of. Like your friends are also calling you fat. Uh, and, but like when the bully does it, he's doing it to be like exclude you from his like group.
00:59:43.100Like he can't, and, and like the bully can't play. The bully is incapable of playing. He's trying to establish himself above you in a hierarchy. Whereas your friends are, they love you and they're calling you fat, which if you take that to heart means that being fat doesn't make you unlovable, which is a really important thing to know. And that's one thing that insults can teach you. Um, but so yeah, so you have to love the people that you are, um, making fun of and you have to love the audience.
01:00:12.440You have to be doing it. Uh, you have to be rooting for them. Uh, whereas if you just want to destroy them, I think, I think it also hurts your, your material because you're not, you're not interested in liberating someone from their illusions. Instead, you're interested in, in fact, you might even get mad if they change. Right. That's one thing. Like if you make fun of somebody or you, you sort of, it's sort of like Jonah getting mad that like Nineveh converted.
01:00:39.340I always think of that when like, there's this, there's this moment where someone that you don't like becomes a better person and you're like, dang it. Right. Um, like you have to hope, you have to hope that, that the people that, uh, you are against your enemies will become your friends. Not that you don't have enemies, but you're hoping that they will become your friends.
01:00:58.960You know, Jeremy, I want to thank you so much for sitting down and having, where can folks find you? You mentioned the word on fire course, but where can folks check you out?
01:01:07.200Yeah. Uh, I just look him up on social media, Jeremy McClellan, uh, for, and just follow me on social media for tour dates and, you know, when I'm going to be in your city and stuff. So.
01:01:17.960Well, I want to thank Jeremy for his inside perspective into the world of comedy, truly some meaningful and substantial insights from him.
01:01:26.720And for everyone out there, I hope you enjoyed our conversation for rebel news. I'm Adam Sos.
01:01:34.520Hey guys, if you want to support the work we do at rebel news, go to rebel news store.com now and grab a shirt for yourself. Lots of the shirts. There are funny and comedic and sure to get a rise out of your friends.
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01:01:52.180What do you think you have an immune system for? It's for killing germs, but it needs practice. It needs germs to practice on.