Normally, when a person messes up and wrongs someone else, he has a responsibility to make it right, apologize to the affected party, and ask for forgiveness. Unless that affected party is a censorious mob feigning offense to hurt you — then you don’t owe them a damn thing.
Joe Rogan ought to keep that in mind. He has apologized twice now, first to those “offended” by podcast episodes that challenged the mainstream COVID-19 narrative and again after past episodes resurfaced in which he or his guests allegedly used inappropriate and racist language.
If Rogan believes these apologies are truly necessary, we shouldn’t begrudge him that. He has to do what he believes is right. But if he’s apologizing because he also believes doing so will alleviate some of the backlash directed toward him and his podcast, he needs to stop. The mob doesn’t want his sincerity or regret — they want his head. That won’t change, no matter what he says or does.
That should have been clear to Rogan as soon as clips of his past episodes began to resurface. Many of these clips were deliberately taken out of context, as Rogan pointed out. He said that in many of the clips, he was actually quoting or alluding to someone else who had used the N-word, such as Richard Pryor or Redd Foxx. The context makes it clear his intentions were not racist, Rogan added.
Here’s one example. In a clip shared by Ibram X. Kendi, one of Rogan’s past guests suggests black people are inherently more violent than white people. What the clip does not include, however, is Rogan’s response, in which he rebukes his guest:
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Ibram X. Kendi QT’s a clip that makes Joe look racist. The guest says there’s a theory that black people are genetically more violent.But that clip edits out Rogans response where Rogan completely refutes his guest with an example.
Good thing I have the whole clip: https://t.co/jPDNOkiUHg pic.twitter.com/emQ9arVgo6
— Wokal Distance (@wokal_distance) February 7, 2022
Unfortunately, Rogan has made any defense of him a lot harder by agreeing to the terms of those trying to silence him. He pointed out the clips circulating on social media had been deceptively edited but then agreed that “there’s no context where a white person is ever allowed to say that word.” Well, if that’s the standard he accepts, then the Left is correct and he is a racist, whether he intended to be or not.
Rogan does not owe the mob an explanation, let alone an apology. He knows he’s not a racist, as do his listeners and anyone else familiar with the context in which these comments were made. That’s all that needs to be said — full stop.
As Rogan himself once put it, “If you censor yourself just 1%, if you say, ‘I’m going to censor myself just 1%. That’s what they want, I’m going to make them happy.’ And then they’re just going to keep moving it. They’re just going to keep moving it forward, moving the goalposts, and providing you with more money and giving you more things, but keep moving it in a certain direction. And if you keep giving in to it, they’re going to have a hold on you, and they’re going to control you.”
To Rogan, I’d say: Don’t give the mob that control. Don’t give them another inch. And don’t give their dishonest attacks one more ounce of credibility by offering an apology that won’t be accepted and isn’t necessary.
