If you like Hitch, you might like the channel and The Hitch Series :) Here is the portable Hitch, 20ish topics I think are most important ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-_QsUmKGFE6k.html
In this singular lecture he demonstrates one of the greatest minds in human history. Every utterance is nuanced and complex and filled with historical anecdotes and humor. I miss him so very much.
eh, 5 dollar words forming 10c thoughts sweetened by a pleasing accent. Hitchens, in many ways, is a dumb person's idea of what a smart person is. No offense.
Hitchens would have laughed at such a framing. Intelligent, extremely well-read, insightful, a formidable debater, and a wordsmith, yes. One of the greatest minds of all time, no
Otabe*! You can’t be that stupid.DONT talk such CRAP,,Christopher Hitchens is a one of the worlds greatest orators and can make sense out of the most difficult of subjects so even the ordinary man + woman GETS IT.because you don’t it shows what an unpleasant human?you are the type to put others down not lift them up to help them but stamp on them to keep them in their place that of an ignorant SERF**😢😂
What is his explanation for Anti-Semitism exactly? It basically just seems to be “everything healthy, pure, noble and not homosexual is anti-Semitic, so you should be a gigantic transsexual raging Zionist murderous ex-Stalinist (tee hee) fiend.”
@@junkscience6397 Because I'm interested in the content of someone's argument and their full body of work, rather than a review of the nebulous consequences of one thing they argued for occurring - yes, really. But you do you.
Well. compared with eyeball marketing entertainment tiktok news technology that runs most of our successful media...sure...But that is a very low barrier to jump.
*@Intake33* What do YOU think the reaction would be? *Reply to:* _"Incredible lecture. Imagine the reaction he would have received if he had been giving it today"_
*@melatomic* Because Christopher Hitchens had a long history of keeping silent when others opposed him? Do YOU even know who Christopherb Hitchens _was?_ I suspect you have NO IDEA who he was. *Reply to:* _"Nah,… he would’ve been paid for silence"_
*@thedolphin5428* "tomatoes at the stage," maybe. But Christopher Hitchens would have thrown the tomatoes right back at them. *Reply to:* _"Yeah, tomatoes at the stage."_
I hadn't watched Hitchens in a long time. Forgot just how brilliant he is. This lecture is super relevant for today - autumn 2023. There is no one as erudite, eloquent and also funny as Hitch. I will say this 1 criticism: I think he makes a persuasion mistake by inserting his Atheism into the heart of his argument against Anti-Semites. Like religious fundamentalists, strident Atheists insist on literal interpretation of religion. So when he tells Jews to be proud of the fact that they rejected Jesus & Mohamed & the New Testament and the Koran etc., he is urging them to be extremely provocative. It is also a trap for religious Jews, to undermine their own religion. I don't think this would fool or persuade most religious people.
I have heard him make very stupid remarks about third world and Western sensibilities. Including saying that we should take these disagreeable people on in a war! Shouting at the top of his his lungs "bring it on." I wouldn't want my leader to be making remarks like that! There are too many wars, not too little.
Hitchens speaking on a University campus... How far back in the past did you have to reach for this one? These days one would most likely get crucified for simply showing a Christopher clip on a campus. *sigh* I dearly miss Christopher's rhetoric, and strongly feel this world has declined in its absence. Thank you good sir.
Not too long, its the Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture 2010. I would hope not, I think as long as he isn't mentioned when Iraq is the subject its okay :p The more depressing discovery might be that most of the students have never heard the name.
@WTF Again? I don't think CPAC would have minded him if he were speaking about his neoconservative views on foreign policy, but I doubt Hitchens would've accepted an invitation.
Anti Semitism is fairly common on campuses, liberals tend to side with Palestine, especially the younger generations. You'll get in trouble for supporting Israel much faster, while I've seen Turkish students give outright pro-genocide reports on the Armenian genocide and Israel.
No need. Even though they were pitching a good ''we'll protect your freedom'' story , behind everyones backs the new atheists were modelling the thought crimes that are ruining everyones lives. So its not really possible to get away from him. Thats not the part that mystifies me for the world has been corrupt a very long time and there were always characters like the new atheists spinning even more yarn & growing fat. No - what gets me is even while it was always easy to tell what a bunch of charlatans new atheists are, they STILL have the most vigorous bottom feeding following. I'm a life long atheist virtually, but i knew they were going to cause this outcome as soon as they opened thier mouths. And i wonder often - did new atheist disciples really think that a model, designed and tested on control groups ( new atheist fanatics / christians ) - and being a model tantamount to this being the first time any humans have been ordered by LAW not to practice 'X' since the witch trials ( being a christian in public ) - that such a model would not escape from its cage ? Well it did & now globalist cabalist dictators are telling us what we can & cannot think with that DAWKINSIAN MODEL. As i said theres no need to miss him or any of them because actually thats like saying you'd miss Stalin. NO ? - just look at the empirical data - Dawkins anti christian model / christians BANNED from worshipping in public / ALL OF US now expected o consider ourselves non biological entities or its a THOUGHT CRIME. No its NOT a coincidence its the same model applied to MORE BANS ON FREEDOM FOR ALL THIS TIME. Dawkins ? - just bought a huge mansion in Chipping Norton. New Atheist Disciple = Useful Idiot for supplying gushing ecstatic consensus on having theirs & everyone's freedoms violated by cabalists via the thought crime models formulated by New Atheism..
Here's a "truth" for you: by the time he died, more than 100,000 innocent Iraqis had died violent deaths in an unjust war "Hitch" madly advocated for...even though based on lies and manipulation. How's that for "truth"? I bet those Iraqi civilians "deserved" their fates, right?
You can't hold Hitchens responsible for the delusions and personal agenda of Bush and the utter incompetence and vainglory of his generals and Rumsfeld. His argument for ridding the world of Saddam was far more nuanced and specific. The total delusion of the administration that once "shock and awe" was done with the Iraqis would sort themselves out on good old western principles was incredible. You can agree with his arguments or disagree. (He would prefer you to disagree so understanding by debate can begin.) "Truth" has nothing to do with anything.... @@junkscience6397
Fantastic video. I'd like to add in my occupation as a LL I've met 10-15 anti semites. They work for entry level pay or live off govt assistance. The common denominator shared by all was a dissatisfaction with what theyve achieved in life. Whether its their current economic/social standing in life (younger ppl) or failure to achieve goals/meet expectations set as a young adult (older)...and for any number of reasons an incapacity for self awareness (even with what might seem obvious like daily pot use) and an eagerness to accept an alternative explanation especially when it removes personal responsibility combined with the explanation that a cabal at the top of society rigs everything from the beginning so you never had a chance to begin with...IMO every one was able to delude themselves and unfortunately weren't ever challenged...
idiotic cod psychology i support Israel but grow up please. every anti semite i see seems to be wel educated (usually ivy league or similar), well paid, professional careers. -the squad, kanye 'net yohoo' west, dave chapelle, pretty much all ivy league profs that have expressed an opinion, on and c. just as if i wanted to find the biggest concentration of 'men can absolutely give birth' types I know that the best place to hunt for anti semites is at the most successful evels and most elite institutions. couldn't be clearer , after the past month, its actualy been clear for decades but if were still pretending its about guys who havent got a mortgage we should give up now... aoc/half of hollywood/all the well paid journos at the nyt and bbc on and on etc etc, they're all anti Israel because of their low status in life?. get a grip, quickly... "anyone who disagrees with me is just a loser who isnt earning enough and thus they dont agree with me" is such a 5 year old on a playground type cop out..
You have applied to them logic and reason. That is probably flattering. Racists are only racists if they are against you for some defined reason. They may have lashed out because of your hair cut or your trousers or anything that came to mind at that moment. I am not black so I know that people are not reacting to me for being black, but if I was some of the negatives occurrences of my life I might have attributed to it! In short, some people are assholes full stop.
@@SierraSierraFoxtrot no its not. Hitch was false. A disgruntled man who tool it upon himself to make a name and money from views such as theology that cannot be proved or disproved.
@@jamesfranklin8364 Hitchens and co have always maintained that a theistic worldview is unfalsifiable, which is what makes it an even worse hypothesis than a dumb-but-falsifiable one like, say, alchemy. Saying "you can't prove it ISN'T true" is just pouting (if you're Christian) or equivocating (if you're agnostic). The burden of proof is on the person putting forth the proposition, not the person raising his eyebrow at it. The evidence put forward had not convinced Hitchens, who by the way had a long and successful career as a journalist long before he became known as a public atheist. He earned his scratch as far as I'm concerned, even if I didn't always agree with everything he said.
I really wish when people post lectures and other such content years after it was recorded, that in the description they would include the date it was recorded. *This appears to have been recorded March 3, 2010*
The real problem is of definition: the word “semite” is defined as “a member of any of a number of peoples of ancient southwestern Asia including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, Hebrews, and Arabs”. Semite is a classification not limited to jews. Here we have a classification problem and an error of definition. We spend so much time and energy defending and supporting “groups”, when in truth, there are no naturally occurring groups. Groups or tribes are human, social constructs. It is not OK to mistreat any other human based on lineage or birth location. We do not choose to whom or where we are born. Let’s get serious about human rights if that is a concept we believe in.
I like Hitchen’ keen point on the inherent anti-Semitism of Christianity and Islam. The Jews rejected both the Christian Messiah and Islamic prophet and they will never be forgiven. That is beautiful and tragic all at once.
A privileged, advantaged class or group is the gate way to tyranny. The antidote is individualism From this perspective Every Individual is a precious person (This philosophy places individual rights at the center of its ethical and political thought. This strong emphasis on individual rights is crucial to a just and free Society). Thank you Christopher Hitchens
@JasonRing observing and respecting the rights of others is the noblest, most responsible thing to do, which most people do anyway. Misconstruing freedom to life, liberty and the pursuit of happyness, to mean freedom from responsibilities is a false reinterpretation of a very important point. For man to live peacefully with his brothers and sisters, work productively with the highest degree of motivation, vigor, happiness etc, he/she must be free from harassment, bullying, threats, punishment, ridicule, enslavement etc.. individualism simply states that we each hold our life precious and jealously guard it. An inherent value every person holds for themselves. The next step is to recognise that in others, as a universal value we all have in common. Therefore to live well with each other, each individuals responsibility is to recognise this fact in themselves and others, observe it, respect it and defend it for themselves and their fellow brothers and sisters. This way each of us can live unmolested and free. The only people who interpret freedom to mean; irresponsibility to others and disregard their rights are criminals and usually governments, like in Hitler's Germany. Individualism screams in defence for the responsible, law abiding citizens of the human family against the criminals and governments of the world who crave to violate the rights of innocent individuals, to " leave them alone". The responsible individual needs to be freed. Only criminals and governments need to be restricted
I adore Hitchens but… right off the bat: there’s a difference between debating the existence of a Jewish state before hand, and trying to destroy it after it exists - especially when it was sanctioned by the UN.
@user-cx7kg6ok9b You don't make a bad point. Absolutely. Here's how it went, I think. Israel gets attacked, Israel wins new land -- often happens in a war. I get it. They weren't supposed to win, but they did. They have given some of it back (Sinai). But obviously not all. Nevertheless, they should have tried much harder to make the whole peace process work. No doubt. Nevertheless, it's not one-sided. And it is a colossal mess. And I hate that people on all sides are suffering.
@jamesedwards3266 since the u.n turned out to be extremely bias and often sntesemite throughout the years, yes. We dont see the need to listen to everything they have to say
Hitchens offers viable and valuable arguments, but there are other angles on these issues which i find far more persuasive. The scholarly literature on nationalism is most instructive On antisemitism, the issue is so much more basic than all these quibbles try to make it. It's simply a form of racism like any other. The arguments are simply couched in religion, biblical history, a vaguely sketched modern history of the Levant, and a crude history of the Jewish diaspora. The complaint against Zionism, valid or invalid, is a seperate matter. Antisemitism is just one of the great sins of Western and Near-Eastern civikizations which refuses to die. But it is one among many.
I think it's more Insidious in the sense that Jews are otherwise very integrated into all areas of society in many places. And because Jews don't necessarily look any different than non-jews, I think that there is this sense of there being something Insidious to anti-semites. Like the Jews are everywhere and you have to look over your shoulder because you can't quite be sure where they are. That being said, it also depends where you are. Well anti-Semitism in the United States is very troubling, as a practical matter it has not been anywhere near as impactful as racism. But in other countries the impacts of anti-Semitism are far worse than the impacts of racism
I always hate to rush behind ignorance, but I got to be an adult like without a thought to Judaism and or knew anything other than a few sketchy facts. I know a little more today, but it doesn't enter my mind much. I think it enters the mind of people entering expensive public schools, golf clubs or academia more.
I would have liked to listen to this one, but unfortunately the audio is just too poor. I'm English, and I can't understand what he's saying twenty percent of the time.
Yes, but just turn on subtitles.....not ideal but. This is too important a speech to let bad audio put you off. There is also transcript available to you. Slán.
@@januszpiechota6994 Idiot. I clearly said the audio is too poor. Perhaps your audio reproduction is better than mine, but the fault lies with the RU-vid video producers.
Hitchens demonstrates how you should never assume your expertise in any one area extrapolates to fields outside your narrow scope of competence.Im referring to his approbation of Lawrence Krause as an intellectual giant in the field of physics.He couldn’t have been more mistaken if he tried.
Anti-Semitism has to be based on irrationality or plain stupidity. The criminal Bernie Madoff targeted Jews because he thought they were more likely to give him money than gentiles. If we look at professions there are professions where Jews or are over-represented and under-represented. No one is allowed to ask "why?" Some Palestinians are probably driven by circumstances to hate Jews, but under other circumstances would have no views on the matter.
His views are contrived to match an audience that he knows lies out there. He doesn't need to write a book which slanders Mother Teresa, but he knows there is an audience for it. He never walks the dark/unpopular side of the street where there is no money. He also is a juxtapositionist - often using different fields and different dynamics. Discovering facts is not his strong point. Indeed I can't think of one new piece of information he has brought to the world.
I hope he was alive now to see what he thinks about it. Will he devolve to Faschisim like Sam did or will he call a spade a spade. Anyway big loss Christopher was my hero getting out of religion
In the wake of the Russian Revolution, an estimated 1,326 pogroms are thought to have taken place across Ukraine alone, leaving nearly half a million Ukrainian Jews homeless and killing an estimated 30,000 to 70,000 people between 1918 and 1921. Pogroms in Belarus and Poland also killed tens of thousands of people.
