Liberal comedian Jon Stewart on Tuesday ranted at anyone who isn’t happy with the politicized tone of late night comedy, telling the New York Times: “Tough shit.” Of course, he also slimed conservatives as bigots for objecting to the angry liberalism of Jimmy Kimmel or Seth Meyers: “The people that say, ‘This culture isn’t for me,’ live in a nostalgic world. Those are the people that are the first to tell minorities, ‘Suck it up.’”
Times journalist Dave Itzkoff wondered, “For people who don’t share your politics and feel alienated by what they see in TV comedy — who wish we could go back to a more evenhanded era of Johnny Carson — do they have a point?”
Stewart sneered, “Here’s what I would say: Tough shit. Honestly. The idea that you’ve lost the pleasure of watching Carson? We all have lost that pleasure. I used to like watching Carson, too. But I think that’s a cop-out.”
Unnecessary, pointless nostalgia? Journalists were the first people to mourn the loss of Stewart’s “voice” and “fearlessness” after he left The Daily Show. Hillary Clinton praised the liberal comic in 2015: “Missing Jon Stewart already.”
And let’s not forget that journalists are still whining about the loss of Walter Cronkite, the “arbiter of truth.” In 2016, journalist Lesley Stahl mourned, “Uncle Walter had dominated, certainly CBS, but in a way, the country. People used to say he was the most trusted man in the country.” Keep in mind, Cronkite stopped anchoring the news in 1981.
So, maybe, just maybe, liberals aren’t in a position to judge those not willing to embrace modern media.
Here's the full question and answer from Tuesday's New York Times:
For people who don’t share your politics and feel alienated by what they see in TV comedy — who wish we could go back to a more evenhanded era of Johnny Carson — do they have a point?
STEWART: Here’s what I would say: Tough shit. Honestly. The idea that you’ve lost the pleasure of watching Carson? We all have lost that pleasure. I used to like watching Carson, too. But I think that’s a cop-out. The people that say, “This culture isn’t for me,” live in a nostalgic world. Those are the people that are the first to tell minorities, “Suck it up.” Those are the first people to say to individuals that are being relentlessly either ostracized or legally threatened, “Oh, snowflake, watch yourself.” But God forbid somebody doesn’t say “Merry Christmas.” It’s the empty rhetoric of grievance, and I don’t feel bad in any way, whatsoever.
