Episode 586 Scott Adams: Answering the Dumbest Questions About Antifa as a Sporting Event

Date: 2019-07-03 | Duration: 40:42

Topics

Fareed Zakaria’s “pained” opinion that…President Trump is right Want Antifa to go away? Stop treating them as a legit political group They’ll get stronger…as a legit political movement They’ll get stronger…if you fight them in the street Clarifying what I said about antifa primarily just enjoying the violence Politics are a cover story for them enjoying the violence Antifa planning July 6th event in DC

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## Transcript

[0:05]

I'm pumpin pumpin my shirts all rumpled hey everybody come on in here it's time for coffee with Scott Adams I'm Scott Adams I've got my coffee if you're prepared you've got a copper a mug or a glass possibly a tankard or a Steiner a chalice it might be a thermos it might be a flask a vessel of any kind fill it with your favorite liquid I like coffee and join me now for the unparalleled pleasure the dopamine head of the day the part that makes everything better the simultaneous sip go well if I'm right we're gonna have a big crowd today coming in to complain about me so yesterday I did two periscopes the second one was on the topic of anti foie and I know you're all streaming in here to yell at me for what you think is a crazy take a terrible take I'm hearing

[1:06]

crazy take a terrible take I'm hearing on social media but before we get to that few other things in the news so I understand that HP Dell Microsoft and Amazon are all looking at maybe moving production out of China that's a pretty big deal it looks like Chinese got some explaining to do and I've been saying for a while that I just don't know if we need an agreement with China if they're not willing to handle the fentanyl stuff we should look to wind down our business because there was probably a time when you just needed China maybe we don't need them so much anymore so maybe we should phase out like the tech companies might be doing so the big fourth of July story if I can call it that keep in mind that all the let's say the a-team for journalism are going to take this week

[2:07]

journalism are going to take this week off so a lot of people are going to be out of vacation your best producers and writers now not all of them some people have to stay around and some of them will be the best but you're gonna see the quality of the news go down quite a bit this week you know one of the things that they're gonna be talking about I see people complaining in the comments it's making me laugh we'll get to that we'll get to that but if if the country is arguing about whether the fourth of July celebration is more about the country or more about Trump well things are pretty good can you imagine a healthier situation then that's actually the headline news headline news we can't tell if this fun celebration that we're all going to enjoy is really more about Trump in his mind or more about the country in his mind doesn't matter it's

[3:11]

country in his mind doesn't matter it's you're gonna have just as much fun either way I don't think it matters but I'm pretty sure the country will be able to keep this in perspective it's not like it's not like Trump changed truth Donald Trump did not change the 4th of July he didn't he then change it 4th of July I'm still gonna be about the country all right Fareed Zakaria who I respect on most things except when it comes to Trump he's had a bad case of TDS by his opinions on most things if they're not about Trump are quite reasoned and I enjoy his enjoy his show quite a bit enjoy his opinions quite a bit too and not counting the TDs stuff but even free did a little piece yesterday saying that Trump is right about one thing which is that our Asylum system is broken and that we can if have ourselves to blame for some of the

[4:12]

ourselves to blame for some of the problems at the border because we've created a system that encourages it it's a big deal that's a big deal and it justifies my let's say respect for his intellectual agility talking about Farid because it wasn't easy I don't think for him to in a sense cross lines and say okay okay it looks like Trump's sort of right on a very very big thing which is that our laws are broken and they do encourage the very thing that we're trying to have less of so that's a big deal and a productive one and I would say that in this instance Farid is a patriot meaning that he's taking a nun possibly an unpopular view for his core audience because I would guess that he thinks it's the right thing to do so I have to respect that especially around the 4th of July

[5:13]

of July all right everybody shoot but everybody wants to hear me and my terrible take about anti file I'll give you a little background if somebody didn't hear it the first part so you can know what people are all work up about I'm probably getting more hate or at least disagreement in my in my Twitter feed than usual let me start off by saying this I'm pretty sure that a hundred percent of the people who disagree with me are not disagreeing with my actual opinion so so here's your starting point every one of you who disagrees with me in the comments and on Twitter and in your own minds every one of you is not disagreeing with me at all none of you not a single person every single one of you is imagining something that I didn't say and getting bad about it do you believe me do you believe

[6:14]

it do you believe me do you believe that's true do you believe that a hundred percent of you every single one of you who disagreed with what I said about India does not actually disagree with me they've imagined something I didn't say and they're disagreeing with that so you can see in the comments that a number of people understand that so I'm going to reiterate what I said yesterday which did cause a lot of confusion apparently and by the way as as a professional communicator I'm not escaping my own responsibilities for clear communication so I would have to say based on just the number of people who seem to hear me incorrectly or misinterpret what I said I will take full responsibility if you'll allow me I will take full responsibility for communicating communicating in a way that causes people to misinterpret me right when when when the person communicating doesn't take responsibility I I lose respect now I

[7:17]

responsibility I I lose respect now I think you guys have some responsibility too but as the communicator I think that the primary responsibility asked me was B so here's what I said I said that I saw a video of somebody was a anti fire insider who was explaining the psychology of anti-shah and what he said and he had lots of examples and he was very credible and he was he was an insider he was like a an organizer type and he said that the main motivation for the Anti Fog people the the black bloc people who show up to cause trouble is fun and he was very clear about it spoke about it at length and in great detail and and his theory was that males and it's almost mostly men 95 percent or something that they have a need for some violence okay now these are not my opinions I'm talking about the anti-shah person who was an insider talking about

[8:17]

person who was an insider talking about anti file he said that it's young men who really needed to get get some other energy out and they had a biological need he believed to do dangerous risky things because young men do and I agree with that part and that that was their primary motivation and that the political stuff was sort of an excuse now it's not that they don't believe the political stuff they do it just wouldn't be motivating you know by itself it wouldn't be a reason to show up on the street but because it's fun they show up on the street so you should see it as more of a an entertainment recreational sporting event now here's where I went wrong I suggested I suggested at one point that we should see it as a sporting event and that maybe it should be legal now here's

[9:19]

that maybe it should be legal now here's where I went wrong when I said when I said maybe it should be a sporting event and maybe it should be legal here's the first thing you should say to yourself he's not serious about that if you said to yourself oh he's totally serious about that it should be an actual sporting event that's where you went wrong it's also where I went wrong because apparently I say enough crazy stuff that it's not obvious when I'm not serious no I don't think an tyfa should be an actual sport and if you believe that's what I actually believed well that's where we went wrong so I take responsibility for that because I said it but in no way should you thought that that was serious but let me take a little further the things that people complained about as they said and this is the part that's the funniest they said how could you say that rioting in

[10:20]

said how could you say that rioting in the streets should be a sport with all these innocent people who are not even there for the event getting attacked to which I say well if it's a sport if you make it a sport you would have to give it rules just like MMA just like boxing just like football all of those sports have as a rule that you're not allowed to tackle the audience you're not allowed to punch the ref you're not allowed to do your fight outside of the cage if an tyfa were to turn into a sport which I do not recommend I'm saying it as a joke sort of a you know there's just something make you think if it were to be turned into a sport one assumes that rules would be applied and that it would be confined to a space were the only people who would be combatants had agreed to do it so it might be people

[11:21]

agreed to do it so it might be people were agreed to be you know on the far right who said yeah I hate these anti-fog guys I want to fight it'll be fun and then anti-fog could fight them and the only people involved on some controlled area it could be a public park it could be a stadium they could fight get it out of their system once again I say it's not a serious suggestion this is all in service of getting you to understand that the mentality of an tyfa is not primarily political here's why this is important and there's the part that i didn't say well yesterday or really say it all i just imagined you would connect the dots but it's not that easy so I'll do it for you here's here's why it's important to see it as that their mentality sees it as recreation why that's important is it determines what you do let me let me say if I said to you there's a political event a protest and and you understood

[12:24]

event a protest and and you understood it to be a political event and it was about something you cared about might be free speech might be war or no war but something you care about under those conditions if I said and it might be dangerous should you still go the answer is depends on the topic if the topic is very important to you even though you know it might get dangerous you might want to go because free speech is worth fighting for ending war you know or avoiding war that might be worth fighting for so if you imagined it was a political event you could also imagine it would be correct for journalists to cover it right you want a journalist to cover a political event if you imagine this political event I might even recommend that you consider going even it's dangerous but if you imagine that it's not any of those things and that that's just a cover for the fact that

[13:25]

that's just a cover for the fact that people enjoy it what would you do if I said a bunch of people are gonna show up at a place they're probably going to cause some violence and it's not about politics at all they just enjoy it under those conditions should a journalist cover it well if they want to but they would know what they're getting into it's a free country they could show up but it wouldn't make sense because it's a sporting event all right if I said to you should you attend knowing that they're only attending for the fun of the fight I would recommend that you not attend in fact I would recommend that you stay as far away as possible now is there anything I've said that would suggest I'm in favor of an tyfa attacking or that I think it should be legal for an tyfa to attack innocent citizens and beat them with clubs no I'm not saying antiphon should get away with

[14:28]

not saying antiphon should get away with violence unless it's like an MMA sporting event where it's a controlled space and there are no innocents who could get in get in the way and it's scheduled and everybody agrees on what the rules are well then they can do anything they want to each other and I don't care how much they hurt but no there's no situation in which I'm in favor of legalizing antifa rioting in the streets and attacking innocent people somebody says just like Charlottesville huh what does that mean what is wrong with you all right here's the here's the important point if you would like an t fought to go away is it more is it more productive for you from your perspective if you wanted them to go away to treat them like a political movement or to treat them like a bunch of people in the sporting event that you can avoid which

[15:28]

sporting event that you can avoid which would be more important if you wanted to if you wanted antiphon to go away well my claim is that antifa can be reframed and of existence by simply seeing them as not a political movement the moment you give them credibility as a political movement you give them longevity you give them a meaning as soon as you say you can do whatever you want but we just don't want to be there and anybody who wants to be there knows what they're getting into they're getting into a sporting event in which violence against them is somebody else's entertainment do you want to go there well if you do want to go there under those conditions you know what you're getting into now I would suggest somebody says please watch in dinos interview with Brett Weinstein now now I'm not gonna watch that because there

[16:29]

I'm not gonna watch that because there isn't anything that that's gonna say there would in any way have any bearing on what I'm talking about right now
didn't they go to Tucker Carlson's house oh that's my favorite dumb question what did I say they would suggest I'm in favor of them going to Tucker Carlson's house a lot of people imagine that I was in favor of that in what way am i in favor of them targeting somebody's family or going to somebody's house in no way let me let me be let me be as clear about this as possible because I I can tell that some people are still not getting it so this might help you a little bit if an tyfa attacks somebody who's an innocent or even just somebody who's exercising free speech but maybe

[17:30]

who's exercising free speech but maybe they they were there for a reason under any of those conditions I would be completely happy with somebody exercising their second Amendment rights to end that person's existence is that clear I'm completely in favor of somebody's using their second Amendment rights to stop anti-shah with maximum prejudice any time they attack innocent people with deadly weapons is that clear enough are you okay with that the people who went to Tucker's house if they violated the law and I'm not sure the specifics of the law they should go to prison if an tyfa attacked anybody who didn't want to be in a fight they should go to prison if an tyfa did anything illegal anywhere at any time they should

[18:32]

illegal anywhere at any time they should suffer the legal consequences are you okay with that is anybody unclear on the point that I think an tyfa should be punished legally for every crime a hundred percent of them no crimes accepted every crime they do they should be punished for it are you okay with that does that help at all what I'm saying is if you want them to go away treat them like a sport ignore them when they show up don't go there to engage them now some people are saying will they then start making it impossible for conservatives regular conservatives to meet and talk about free speech to which I say how important is that is it important that far-right people can meet in public places and argue for free speech well

[19:38]

places and argue for free speech well probably not let me tell you this or let me give you a case in point it is not safe for me to go into let's say I'll use the most offensive example just to make the point you could not go into a black neighborhood and start screaming the n-word without expecting to get beaten up and yet you have free speech right we live in a world where there's free speech but if you told me hey free speech is so important that I'm gonna bring a I'm gonna put a group together we're gonna go to a black neighborhood and we're all going to yell the n-word as loud as we can because we want to support our free speech if you guys get beat up I don't give a I don't care yeah okay on some on some level you're protecting your free speech

[20:39]

level you're protecting your free speech I get that but you're also being dumb and you're also protecting a right that you already have right you already have free speech it's not really being it's not being challenged by the government the government has made no move against your free speech tech companies are a problem but that's not technically constitutionally speaking free speech but something has to be addressed if some of you were protesting the tech companies and anti-flash showed up and you know caused a fight I'd be kind of a problem I'd be more worried about that but if somebody's holding a rally to protect a right that they already have and it's not being threatened in the slightest way by the government anyway so the tech companies are a different issue but from the government why is that even important why are the far-right groups even having these

[21:40]

far-right groups even having these rallies please trying to take away their freedom of speech knotti it's a whole unnecessary thing it's a as unnecessary as if you've got a group together to go to a black neighborhood to yell the n-word because you think you have free speech you can do it it would be really really dumb it would be bad in every way and it wouldn't protect your rights because you already have that right it's just dumb to exercise it so I saw the video I don't know if it was an undercover video or not of anti-fog who's planning to protest I guess July 6 there's going to be some kind of a free speech right organized by somebody on the right and they had a bunch of people that they they were calling out as the as they would call them Nazis and the people that they were calling out as Nazis you know with with

[22:41]

calling out as Nazis you know with with pictures and brief sort of biographies included just the most generic people on the right meaning that none of them were Nazis I'm not even going to name the names because I don't want to associate the names with with the accusation but what do you actually see anti fuzz organization and what their what they think that they're gonna protest against none of it is serious I'll just use one name I don't think he'd mind they might want to go protest Jack bas avec what why does the anti-shah want it going and protest Jack Poe Sabich or what's he doing what's he doing that they don't like I mean if you think about how weak and ridiculous that is but they're calling him out by name as somebody that

[23:43]

calling him out by name as somebody that must be stopped what he tweets too much come on that you can't take any of this too seriously now given that they're organized against him any of the people who were named in their little slideshow I personally I wouldn't go so if my name had appeared in that slideshow I would say darn it I wish that I could go and speak public without any risk but I still wouldn't go because why would I subject myself to risk to fight for a right I already have free speech right I don't have a right to well I do have right but I can't expect that if I offend people and go to the wrong place and say the wrong thing that I'm not going to have some consequences so I just wouldn't go there now I've turned out a number of very lucrative speaking offers recently

[24:44]

very lucrative speaking offers recently because it's not safe in my opinion it's not safe for somebody who has ever said anything good about president Trump's talents it's just not safe for me to go in public it's very expensive and I don't like that but that's the world I live in when things get unsafe I go other places do you know how many times I've been beaten up in my adult life guess how many times I've ever been the victim of violence in my adult life zero zero now some of that might be luck but a lot of it is I stay away from dangerous situations if you go toward dangerous situations well you know I think you know what you're getting into somebody says no rules right I don't

[25:46]

somebody says no rules right I don't know what you're talking about yes so those of you who are coming in late are still angry as something you imagine I think that I don't in case you have noticed you were losing that right well let me let me go back to the base point again you would like anta fought to go away because you think they're eroding your rights I would like them to go away because I think they're they could erode our rights all right so we agree on that we'd like anti far to go away you would like them to go away and you would like to apply the least effective way to do that which is treating them like a legitimate political movement I would like them to go away and the way I'd like to do that is by treating them as and as a sporting event they should not be taken seriously and you should remove all of their energy every time you fight with them they get stronger if auntie Foss says

[26:49]

they get stronger if auntie Foss says they're going to show up and you don't or you leave when they show up how much how much are they going to want to show up next time if anti-fraud didn't encounter a fight how much energy would they have to do it again because it's the fight they want I say starve them of the fun and you can get rid of them anybody who says that you should fight them on a political level like with better ideas or more demonstrations and we'll have more people and if they fight we'll fight and if they get violent we'll get violent all of that is treating them like a political movement if you treat them like that they become that and they get stronger if you treat them like a bunch of idiots who are trying to cause some violence for fun what would you do if you heard they're gonna show up you don't show up and if they do show up as soon as you see them

[27:49]

they do show up as soon as you see them you move in the opposite direction you just run away what would happen eventually would they get stronger because they were winning so much now you would remove all of their fund they would stop showing up because they would get all dressed up they get on their helmets and they put on their tape and they they get their their clubs and everything and they would show up and it would just be them nobody else would be there what would they do because the whole point was to engage people so if you want to win as I do if you want to defeat an tyfa as I do if you want to avoid violence against certainly against instance as I do you should want to do it in the way that is most effective not in the way that is caring to make them stronger did charlottesville make them weaker or stronger stronger does fighting with

[28:49]

stronger stronger does fighting with them make them weaker or stronger stronger if they show up July 6 and and the the proud boys show up and fight them does anti-fog get weaker or stronger stronger right and what does that do to the proud boys turns them into Nazis let me say clearly because a number of people said that I conflated proud boys with Nazis as far as I understand it the proud boys are not a racial group that's not part of their identity they're correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe the proud boys are they're a racist group and if somebody thinks that I conflated them with Nazis that would be the opposite of what I intended and I don't think I said anything like that my understanding is that they might like to show up for the for the violence as well if I'm being honest the proud boys they

[29:52]

if I'm being honest the proud boys they might like a fight alright so if the proud boys and aunt if I get into a fight honestly I don't care too much for either one of them right meaning that I don't want anybody to get hurt but if people willingly go into a fight that's optional if you go into an optional fight how much empathy am I supposed to have for you if it's optional if you have the if you have the option of being somewhere else do it so what I said yesterday which probably caused the confusion is that I don't know exactly what the crowd boys stand for I do know that they have black members so if you have an organization that black people joined and other people are calling you a racist organization well somebody needs to check some facts because I don't think black people join racist organizations at least racist against themselves

[30:53]

at least racist against themselves so I think the proud boys you know have a philosophy that's not one that I understand but it's not one I need to research either so but as far as I know they're multiracial and I would not conflate them with any kind of racist group yeah so people are saying the same thing they're not racist but that does not mean that certain members have not done things that I would dislike so let me say that clearly just because the organization is now racist and just because as far as I know non racist people are numbers of it that doesn't mean that every single person is a non racist just as it doesn't mean that every every other large group doesn't have some so in a bad way somebody says somebody says pick a side Scott I just picked the side are you

[31:56]

Scott I just picked the side are you kidding me could I be more clear how could you say pick a side that's all I've done I just picked the side as hard as you can pick a side I just said I want auntie fun to go away is that clear the the proud boys are just something I don't know a lot about so you know they can they can manage their own lives they don't need my help if they liked fightin they know where to get it yes they like not fighting they know how to avoid it they can choose they're they're adults what about Andy no and other journalists they don't like well here's why here's how Andy no could be safer next time if there's a and and can we agree that we can change the past right there's nothing I can do today that will help indeed no not getting hit on the head because that already happened alright so if we can agree that the past is not what we're trying to manage we're trying to manage the

[32:57]

manage we're trying to manage the present in the future why should Andy no do in the future to not be hit with an object on the head by anti foul well he should not attend an anti-feminist raishin right if he gets hit in his public you know his life outside of the demonstration then that person who hit him should go to jail I think we agree but he can certainly avoid going to another anti fraud demonstration because they shouldn't be covered it's not a political event and my understanding is that he covers political events it's just not one and once you understand that you can marginalize them and treat them the way they are all right new subject please well we're kind of additive subjects because it's 4th of July and there's just not a lot happening oh yeah I guess

[33:57]

just not a lot happening oh yeah I guess Iran said that Iran said that it was going to start processing nuclear fuel into nuclear weapons grade whatever and they would do that if they don't get their way by Monday or something I don't know what to make of that because I'm trying to and trying to square these two things Iran has said we have no intention of making nuclear weapons I believe the Ayatollah has said we're not going to do it we don't want any nuclear weapons but they're also saying that if they don't get they don't get some relief from the sanctions they're saying that they will process the nuclear fuel until it could be nuclear weapons great so Iran's messages we don't want to make nuclear weapons but

[34:59]

don't want to make nuclear weapons but we're totally going to make nuclear weapons so I don't know what that's all about sure sounds like they want to make nuclear weapons oh I'm seeing a comment here this just it makes my head hurt some of these are so dumb somebody's saying esque and II know how he feels what does that mean seriously what does it mean when you said in the comments ask Andy know what he thinks what does that mean do you imagine that I was happy I had the head do you or do you imagine that I don't think that the person who did it should go to jail for a very long time do you imagine that I think that was a good situation like what does that question mean it's just it makes me crazy now I know what's happening is it's just cognitive dissonance because people live in these you know the world where there are two choices you're either pro ante follow or you're against and you know and there can be no nuance so I throw in a little bit of nuance and

[36:01]

so I throw in a little bit of nuance and people think that I'm in favor of an tyfa like literally it couldn't be you couldn't have a worse interpretation alright so let me list the things people are begging me to change changed the topic but I'm not going to for a moment whatever you do stop asking me what I think about somebody who got violently attacked in every case I'm not in favor of violent attacks those people should be should go to jail and if if somebody uses their second Amendment rights and solve the situation in the field totally ok with that are we are we good are we good
so if Andy now goes to another anti-fog event gets his ass kicked let me say this as clearly as possible I think that what happened to Andy know is terrible and you know whoever did it

[37:04]

terrible and you know whoever did it should be punished but if he goes to another one and he gets his ass kicked again I don't have any sympathy for it ok because he should expect it now this last time I don't know if he expected it or not but he certainly expects it now so if he goes again that's just bad thinking all right
somebody says do you realize that all anti-fire has to do is decide that you were a facet fascist and then justify an attack they've already decided that what are you talking about ante file already believes that which is why I would not go to an ante which is why I would not go to an anti for anti fraud event how do I like it don't like it so I would like anti far to go away and so I would like to do it the smart

[38:04]

and so I would like to do it the smart way and other people would like to do with the dumb way by making them more powerful so choose your path the smarter way the dumb way will trump replace pence I don't know I'm thinking not thinking not they'll come for you they've already come for me are you kidding me they've already come for me they've come for me online and they started to come for me financially so anti-shah and the left have taken 30 percent of my income that's that's pretty big hit but that doesn't mean I'm gonna go somewhere where they they can hit me with a pipe I'm not gonna do that
somebody says so you're okay with mayhem on the streets no you fricking idiot I'm not okay with mayhem on the streets you stupid frickin idiot

[39:04]

stupid frickin idiot you could not be dumber than to say that comment serenity down there are still people reading this whose whose bottom line is that I'm okay with rioting in the streets I'm sorry that you're so dumb there's nothing I can say about that you're really stupid for whoever saying what about that guy who was innocent who got hit what do you say about that Scott that's a stupid stupid question and you're a stupid stupid person for asking it uh there's no way around that I try not to say that but man sometimes stupid is just stupid all right
I'm just reading your comments now can we discuss Iran and the border crisis

[40:06]

we discuss Iran and the border crisis well Iran there's not much happening except that they're do threat to process their nuclear fuel to weapons-grade and the border there's nothing new happening this week so I think I'm going to end this because I'm just getting too annoyed at the people who somehow believe that I'm in favor of violence unless people are doing it willingly all right that's all for now willingly meaning both sides