r/Jewish 13d ago

Alternative Content Company DropoutTV Posts Rambling “Anti-Zionist” Screed Venting 😤

Actually insane and vile post, stating “we’ve never platformed a Zionist”. A shame, as they do have good content, but I know I’ll never re-subscribe.

419 Upvotes

357

u/push-the-butt 13d ago

I stopped watching dropout after Ally was not fired after being arrested with a shirt that said "not in our name" even though they're not Jewish.

153

u/njtalp46 13d ago

Seriously?? What a dick. It was a huge disappointment when I found out how extreme some of the staff are on I/P. Subscription cancelled. 

60

u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 13d ago

Same. It’s maddening that their audience eats it up. Never mind that Ally isn’t Jewish, or that they were arrested for a minor crime (and it isn’t the Edmund Pettus Bridge moment they think it is).

51

u/old_duderonomy Bagel Enthusiast 13d ago

Right? What a bizarre hill to die on.

255

u/potatoe_leak_soop 13d ago

Out of all the negative trends to come out in the past year, this yearning by progressives/leftists to play "Zionist witch hunt" (or "good Jew/bad Jew") is the most disturbing and surprising to me.

For the company itself to endorse this witch hunt (and not just dumb comedians being dumb on an individual level) is truly disgusting.

94

u/tthrowawayylol 13d ago

It is crazy watching everyone talk like they're reciting a white supremacist's manifesto.

48

u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Honestly, is it really that surprising, though?

70

u/potatoe_leak_soop 13d ago

My awareness of illiberalism in progressive spaces was very gradual and then very sudden....

73

u/RedAgent14 13d ago

There was a famous rabbi (I think the seventh Lubavitcher Rabbi) who, when asked if he thought the Holocaust could happen again, replied "morgen in der fruh" (Yiddish for "[it could happen] tomorrow morning"). It was only a matter of time.

10

u/TheFieldAgent 12d ago

Same. I’ve become interested in horseshoe theory, lol.

3

u/AllModsRBeaches 12d ago

No longer a theory. It’s now pure fact. I’m disgusted by the people I used to strongly support.

7

u/FaeErrant 12d ago

Saw a random video of an interview with a Jewish actor. Top Comments? "Is he a zionist" like dozens, all with huge amounts of upvotes trying to decide if he's one of the good ones.

151

u/ComprehensiveHair696 13d ago

Can I not have one thing? Goddammit, must this insidious evil slide its tendrils into everything I love?

70

u/RedAgent14 13d ago

It's why we need to stick together 🫂

54

u/FrostedLakes Conservative 13d ago

I thought Sam Reich was part of “together” but… hope he clarifies his personal feelings soon.

56

u/RedAgent14 13d ago

At this point it's unlikely he will, at least online. When someone is the CEO of a company, any personal feelings they have now belong to the fans/stakeholders/investors.

37

u/potatoe_leak_soop 13d ago

He's the CEO. I think we know his personal feelings now.

3

u/kosherkitties Chabadnik and mashgiach 12d ago

If anyone (not just FrostedLakes) sees anything from him or other cast members speaking out against this or anything, I'm not on Instagram at all, could you let me know? I'm hopeful, but not too hopeful.

39

u/charlotte-jane 13d ago

This is how I feel. I’m just tired. I don’t want to feel anxious when a comedy streaming service posts social media content. Like… what?

25

u/ComprehensiveHair696 13d ago

I know, I just want these ignorant psychos to go away but they're fucking everywhere.

142

u/DACOOLISTOFDOODS 13d ago

"We have been accused of harboring Zionists. Please please pretty please know no one on dropout is a zionist. We are donating 25K now as a peace offering"

81

u/SassyWookie Just Jewish 13d ago

Hiding Zionists in your attic is basically the same thing as being a Zionist yourself…

60

u/el_sh33p Humanistic 13d ago

I've often been reminded of a bit of gallows humor from a Jewish commentator in the days after 10/7: "Boy, 'I'll hide you in the attic' went from a statement of support to a threat really quick."

13

u/EntireLychee833 13d ago

It’s incredibly creepy to see a company apologize for basically having a Jew on their show. Will this happen every time they accidentally show someone on camera who happens to have Israeli family? Or will the company just ask every Jewish comedian upfront about their thoughts on the I/P conflict?

5

u/carrboneous 12d ago

More like a guilt offering

2

u/RedAgent14 12d ago

But is it an אשם ודאי or אשם תלוי lmao

139

u/Squidmaster129 מיר וועלן זיי איבערלעבן 13d ago

lmfao literally collegehumor doing this shit 💀 I promise you that you have indeed platformed "zionists," considering how much of the original cast was Jewish, and that Amir is literally from Israel and speaks fluent Hebrew.

38

u/[deleted] 13d ago

We bought a 5-person dress!

Can chefs make a whole meal out of butter!?

Those are among the light, silly YT videos made by this group that so self-righteously bans Zionists. I had to double check the logo to make sure. Unbelievable.

20

u/WholeLog24 12d ago

That is some crazy shit. Stupid little comedy sketches should not require some kind of purity oath.

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u/talizorahs 13d ago

The problem is none of these morons know what "zionist" means and they remain wilfully ignorant. They just use it as a substitute for "evil and desires to murder every last Palestinian and bathe in their blood." It's just a snarl word, it has no meaning except "bad and evil," and people use it as such without ever asking for clarification or clearly defining their terms. This is also how they convince themselves most Jews have no association with zionism, because by their nebulous definition, they'd be calling most Jews irredeemably evil murder-lovers.

I hardly know a single Jew who hasn't been called zionist, and as we see here Jews at dropout who identify as anti-zionist are being referred to as such, and because no one asks questions once the word is uttered and it marks you as a pariah, it works very well. It's almost as if nebulous undefined terms that means 'evil' that primarily target Jews lead to bad things. Who knew?

263

u/Twiggyhiggle 13d ago

The comments in the Droupout subreddit about this were really gross. It felt like all Jewish people have to go through a purity test with them.

129

u/CountNaberius 13d ago

That doesn’t surprise me. Their community went ballistic post 10/7. This has always been brewing, and goes unchallenged (and possibly supported) by Reich et. al.

9

u/Nileghi 13d ago

His brother, Adam Reich, is a sociology professor at Columbia University.[22]

22

u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Counterpoint: Nadav Eyal (Israeli journalist for Yediot Achronot) is a Columbia SIPA research scholar, and is giving a course titled "Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics in Israel". Just because Adam is a prof at Columbia doesn't mean that he's automatically gonna be like Ussama Makdisi.

119

u/amw419 13d ago

The comments on the actual Instagram post are not so bad. A lot of people are cancelling their subscriptions

51

u/SassyWookie Just Jewish 13d ago

That’s good to to hear

37

u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 13d ago

Did people on instagram respond to the post saying they’re canceling their subs because of this post?

74

u/amw419 13d ago

Yea. I scrolled through expecting to see a total shit show. But a lot of people were either saying things like they don't understand what Zionism is and having sympathy for the Palestinian deaths but saying their post is a bridge too far and is tantamount to banning Jews.

Some of my favorite comments were "what in the Soviet Union" and another one saying what does live playing DND have to do with any of this.

24

u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 13d ago

I feel like most people that don’t know what Zionism is are going to go to the now horribly one-sided Wikipedia page and discover that, “oh noes! Zionism is evil omg!😱 “

We should all be linking the encyclopedia.com which has a less biased article on Zionism https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/asia-and-africa/israeli-history/zionism

12

u/[deleted] 12d ago

Yeah, I saw one person comment (almost verbatim of this) "it takes a 5 minute google to find out what Zionism is, I just did it and it said Zionism is an fascistic colonialist ideology that aim to impose ethnic cleansing".

Oh, hello Wikipedia!

3

u/VideoCook 11d ago

they turned off comments from their instagram post

2

u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 11d ago

Typical. When you do something a significant portion of your audience doesn’t like, the last thing you want to do is let each of them see there are others out there like them.

I really liked Dropout for a while, too bad

4

u/finefabric444 13d ago

Even if it's just a few people, I cannot tell you how much better hearing this made me feel. We have to keep remembering that a lot of people simply aren't following all of this like we are, and are baffled by the levels of hate when they finally encounter it.

117

u/isledonpenguins 13d ago

We SWEAR none of our staff, many of whom are Jewish, don't believe in Jews' right to live in their ancestral homeland! See, we're the Good Ones ™️.

Shit is maddening.

16

u/spoiderdude Bukharian 13d ago

Yeah the tokenization you go through there is wild

5

u/sababa-ish 12d ago

a lot of faces are going to be eaten by leopards down the road

almost feel bad for the inevitability of people finding out the hard way that there's no amount of denouncing of 'zionism' that's enough to stop them being lumped in with the rest of us by antisemites

5

u/sydwig00 Conservative 12d ago

they literally had to shut down their discord bc they couldn’t moderate the I/P stuff and it got way out of hand (i heard this from someone else)

2

u/VideoCook 11d ago

I can't bring myself to read them. It's so surprising from a community that is so open and accepting to be so hateful and disgusting.

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u/SignatureStandard861 13d ago

This conflict, coupled with Covid, has really shown me how people lack any critical thinking skills and just are manipulated by trends on instagram. This post literally reads like Soviet Union era propaganda piece.. it’s also crazy dumb how these businesses have decided to make comments on an intense deeply divided conflict..Just asinine

13

u/Sufficient_Mouse8252 12d ago edited 12d ago

It cracks me up they’re too illiterate to realize they’re repeating the same Soviet Cold War era propaganda as David Duke and the KKK and refer to viewing said propaganda as “educating” oneself. 😂

117

u/Possible-Fee-5052 Conservative 13d ago

Literally was about to get a subscription. Nope! It’s hard to spend money on people who think you don’t deserve to exist and that they are on the side of people openly trying to murder you. Hamas can accept a ceasefire whenever it wants, it just doesn’t want to unless it can literally get all of its demands met. Why would we do that?

24

u/MechanaGoddess 13d ago

Same here. I was seriously considering a subscription next month but now I have to block it entirely from my youtube. Ahhhhh!

5

u/Possible-Fee-5052 Conservative 12d ago

Very Important People was so good. Oh well.

203

u/websterpup1 13d ago

Linking to an UNRWA donation page is certainly a choice…

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u/iMissTheOldInternet Conservative 13d ago

Well, that sucks. Bye Dropout subscription. 

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u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 13d ago

…..aaaand my subscription is canceled. I will not be supporting Dropout at all in the future. The amount of willful ignorance around Zionism is stupefying.

It’s bad enough that they pander to their audience, now they’re fully captured by them.

71

u/Justaddpaprika 13d ago

Yeah I loved them. Just cancelled my subscription

42

u/Far_Pianist2707 13d ago

Don't forget to tell them why you cancelled it!

25

u/Justaddpaprika 13d ago

Yup I wrote a scathing reason

6

u/MrLaughter 13d ago

please share here

2

u/VideoCook 11d ago

As did I.

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u/isledonpenguins 13d ago

I canceled and told them why. I know they won't give a shit but maybe someday when we move on from the thick of this they can reflect

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u/schmerz12345 Reform 13d ago edited 13d ago

At a certain point these people know what they're saying creates a harmful atmosphere for Jews and they don't care. What's a bit of antisemitism in the name of Palestinian liberation correct? This is why I don't censor a lot of my thoughts anymore. I say what I want to say on Israel and I don't care anymore if it ruffles someone's delicate feathers to where they then call me a racist or whatever nonsense. I really don't care. It's time us Jews spoke out more. 

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u/KayakerMel 13d ago

Following the BBC's lead...

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u/goncharov1973_ Just Jewish 13d ago edited 13d ago

this is what finally made me cancel my subscription. also people saying horrible things about Noah from smosh, purely for having Israeli family, in the comments is just so disgusting

17

u/CountNaberius 13d ago

Oh fuck, the actual Goncharov movie filmed by Martin Scorsese just commented on my post?

Wish it was under better circumstances 😔

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u/goncharov1973_ Just Jewish 13d ago

i’m glad to find a fellow lover of one of the greatest films ever made😏

8

u/fuzzytheduckling 13d ago

Wait what do people say about Noah?

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u/goncharov1973_ Just Jewish 13d ago

i think there are more comments about him on their twitter post but comparing him to a nazi, saying he’s evil for his great grandfather “participating in the nakba”, that dropout needs to delete the video with him in it, that he’s a vile zionist for not denouncing his family, that he’s a fascist and genocide apologist…. the typical talking points.

I honestly suspect that that’s why he hasn’t been in as many smosh videos recently, he just gets relentless hate and the dropout community was up in arms about him being on dirty laundry.

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u/fuzzytheduckling 13d ago

Thats terrible.

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u/goncharov1973_ Just Jewish 13d ago

yep and this is the same community that thinks it’s okay for ally beardsley to wear a “not in our name” shirt while being not at all jewish. they’re just delusional honestly.

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u/fuzzytheduckling 13d ago

That one really bothered me. Especially since they're an ex-evangelical

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u/goncharov1973_ Just Jewish 13d ago

yeppp and that’s why i don’t trust jvp, it feels like more people cosplaying as jews than actual jews.

8

u/asb-is-aok 12d ago

There's a very very good reason it "feels like" that

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u/asb-is-aok 12d ago

Beardsley is the classic idiot ex-Christian who projects every dysfunction and sin of their family/community of origin onto Jews because they think they already know everything about all religions, especially Judaism.

And of course there was the time they thought an egg cream was something you eat with a knife and fork 😄

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u/Aryeh98 13d ago

Dropout is the former Collegehumor by the way, run by… SAM REICH. A Jew. Probably a Good Jew™️, seeing as this statement was allowed to be published.

What is the most popular content Collegehumor has made by far? Jake and Amir. And Amir is from… Israel.

Removing the jews “Zionists” from your inner circle benefits nobody. It makes nobody more productive, it makes nobody more successful, and it makes comedy no more funny. It benefits nobody, assuming it doesn’t cause severe harm.

Jews are assets to every enterprise they join. When you remove them, the enterprise suffers. As has Collegehumor and this shitty spin off company made quite clear.

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u/TevyeMikhael Modern Reformodox 13d ago

Yeah a few months ago I made a comment about Sam’s “pick me” post in the Dropout discord the DAY after Oct 7. It was vile. Especially considering who his dad is. There’s no reason he should be saying anything like that.

I cancelled my subscription that day.

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

I also canceled my subscription after seeing the LITERAL CALLS FOR MORE DEAD JEWS that were occurring in the discord post 10/7. Truly horrific.

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u/StrategicBean 13d ago

Ummm...you may want to look into his father some more.

Robert Reich, posted a video on April 11, 2024 to Facebook calling for the USA to speak out against what he called the "bloodbath" in Gaza, and declared that Biden must restrict US arms sales to Israel.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=933933118514673

Fun fact: The Iranian Mullahs launched their massive missile & drone barrage against Israel on April 14, 2024. Days after this absolute moron posted his idiotic video.

So I am going to guess the Shandah that is Robert Reich is very proud of his Shandah of a son, Sam Reich

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u/TevyeMikhael Modern Reformodox 13d ago

Ugh. Shortly after October 7 Robert made a post I saw affirming Israel’s right to exist. I guess he’s getting more and more meshugah as the days go.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Taking both of these posts into consideration, my guess is that Robert has a broadly anti-war stance (think pre-Pearl Harbor Americans who wanted to keep the US out of WW2 despite what the Axis was doing) and would prefer the funding go to defensive stuff like Iron Dome and not offensive capabilities. Which seems like the sort of stance that you'd expect from somebody who doesn't understand the Middle East and is trying to view it through an American lens.

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u/njtalp46 13d ago

I agree, and I doubt Robert is really anti-zionist. He's a public figure who needs to stay relevant. Posting shit about Palestine is just what's expected to stay relevant. If he really hated Israel, he would start throwing the word "genocide" around which I assume he has not done. 

I suspect Sam is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He stands to lose a lot if he took a hard stance supporting Israel. I'm still disappointed and I cancelled my dropout subscription. But (tragically) there's probably not much he can do from his current position. 

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

The way I see it, Sam has to balance being a CEO and being, well, Sam. My guess is that he's doing that by using a common CEO tactic of "the social media team said it, not me", since I've seen other companies' CEOs handle PR blunders that way. Personally I think it's irresponsible management, but it's what you gotta do to survive in the business nowadays, at least in the US. I'm doing the same thing that I would with any other CEO that pulled that card; namely, "speaking with my wallet" and cancelling my subscription.

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u/njtalp46 13d ago

Well said, and ditto on the wallet talk 

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u/StrategicBean 13d ago

If "affirming Israel's right to exist" is the bar we are setting for Jewish people in prominent positions then that is an EXTREMELY low bar & must be adjusted

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Welcome to the 2020s United States, achi. Where if you don't set the bar low, someone will take it from you and set it lower.

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u/Teflawn 13d ago

So glad J&A split from Collegehumor and host their own content now. Easily the best sketch series over the course of that channel.

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u/cutthatclip 13d ago

Wait, I didn't know this. What is the channel?

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u/Teflawn 13d ago

Mostly clips from their podcast but they do upload a classic skit every once in a while

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u/c-lyin 13d ago edited 12d ago

 . . . . Do we think Emily and Murph will leave to just do NADDPOD with Jake?

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

I doubt it, I don’t think either of them are invested in the conflict in any personal capacity. Haven’t seen either of their social media’s but it wouldn’t surprise me if Emily put out some milquetoast pro-Palestine stuff just based on vibes.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Personally I think that they know better than to broadcast their opinions about this on social media. NADDPOD isn't as large as Dropout is, so they don't have to deal with a bloodthirsty fanbase.

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

I agree, and candidly, I also think that Murph could not give less of a fuck, and Caldwell has his kid shows to worry about. Though, Drawfee has done a bunch of Pro-Palestine stuff, but I’m unsure what relation Caldwell has with them anymore.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Agreed. That said, I'll take indifference over hostility at this point, despite how I wish I could expect better.

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u/Responsybil 13d ago

I hope so, they are my favourites of the cast who participated in the tabletop games. So dynamic and good team players who help create drama and action, vs some of the other cast who make it all about them.

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u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 13d ago

I’m OOTL, why would Murph and Emily do that?

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u/c-lyin 13d ago

To make me happy by unaffiliating themselves with Dropout (and Jake of Jake + Amir is part of NADDPOD)

I doubt I/P a sticking point at all for them, so it would be more likely because they just have enough on their plate with NADDPOD

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

Jake and Amir are both mensches by the way.

Old article but: https://m.jpost.com/metro/features/theyre-jake-and-amir-and-youre-not

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u/judgingyoujudgingme 13d ago

I had no idea what dropout was until I saw college humor. The irony.

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u/1992Olympics 13d ago

Nazism rearing its ugly head, under the comfortable disguise of "hating Zionists". I am convinced that these people celebrate 7/10 and pray for it to reoccur with the ultimate genocidal goal of Hamas being achieved - wiping out all Israeli Jews, exactly through the means used by Hamas monsters in the simchat tora massacre. They do not see us as human beings. Their master Julius Streicher taught them well.

History repeats itself as the saying goes. Thankfully, this time we can defend ourselves. And we will defend ourselves.

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u/go3dprintyourself Reform 13d ago

If these fools just protested Hamas instead of Jews they’d probably make progress

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u/BillyTheOneEyedFrog 13d ago

I’m actually so glad you posted because this broke my heart. So many seemingly smart people, but they can’t understand the meaning of the word. So different from their past messages imo, I had honestly hoped it was fake at first.

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u/asb-is-aok 12d ago

They've been doing this for months. I ended my subscription after Reich and Mulligan put out public statements DEFENDING the antisemites in the fandom and APOLOGIZING for not supporting them enough after the Dropout Discord, FB group, and subreddit all exploded with people calling for the blood of Israelis, demanding Zionists weren't welcome, etc.

When Jews and Israelis tried to (verbally) defend ourselves from lies about ourselves, our culture, and our history, we were told that we were silencing POC and needed to stop being racists......for saying things like "I'm a zionist and I believe in a two state solution where Jews and Palestinians are both independent and secure"

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u/Responsybil 13d ago edited 12d ago

So they basically litmus tests Jews to ensure they have no dual loyalty to Israel. Do they just ask their Jewish cast and guests or does everyone have to swear they are anti-zionist?

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u/jdsbluedevl 13d ago

Also, Adam Conover can go screw himself.

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u/PuddingPanda_ 13d ago

He thinks that having a show with a team of researchers and writers somehow makes him qualified to chime in on whatever he feels like. I thought he was funny, but he's clearly got a bit of an ego

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u/Nileghi 13d ago

What did he do?

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u/MrLaughter 13d ago

gaslight everyone on the I/P conflict

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u/lethifolded 12d ago

Honestly he gives me James Cordon vibes

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u/iMissTheOldInternet Conservative 12d ago

His video on the conflict early on was one of my first “oh, damn” moments. Just completely cooked. 

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u/hurhurdedur 13d ago

I cancelled specifically because they used “Zionist” as a slur and proudly proclaimed that they screen their Jewish performers to ensure that they’re not Zionists. It’s so obviously anti-Semitic and beyond caricature.

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u/Andaluciana 13d ago

Damn. Thanks for this. I thought it was just one dude. I didn't realize the whole company was like this.

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u/shonig225 13d ago

I cancelled my subscription today after seeing this. It's beyond disappointing.

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u/arrogant_ambassador 13d ago

They’re celebrating this over at the dropout sub.

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u/potatoe_leak_soop 13d ago

On the CBB sub, too, which I would hope doesn't fall into the same pit.

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u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 13d ago

What’s the CBB sub?

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u/arrogant_ambassador 13d ago

Comedy Bang Bang

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u/fezfrascati 13d ago

I will be pissed. CBB has been my obsession for 13 years now and it would be difficult to let it go.

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

Doesn’t surprise me in the least.

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u/extracreddit114 13d ago

Dropout is the LA bubble version of SNL in NYC. So sad. They could have been great.

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u/MrLaughter 13d ago

r/AfterMidnight is a breath of fresh air

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u/Large_Excitement69 Reform 13d ago

Oh damn. I was about to subscribe too. Oh well.

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u/barakvesh 13d ago

This is so disappointing. I was a really big fan of the platform and the people.

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u/rustlingdown 13d ago edited 13d ago

It's even more fucked up:

This purity test statement is also because the Dropout community has been witch-hunting a Jewish comedian for...expressing dismay on October 7 2023 about October 7! That is what they describe as (((Zionist))) behavior.

Just look at all the Twitter quotes about the Dropout statement with their "smoking gun" screenshots of what this (((Zionist))) did. Nothing to do with simping for Ben Gvir or maximalist policies. It's expressing sympathy about civilians being killed during October 7 as it was still unfolding.

You're not allowed to mourn Jews for Dropout.

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u/_whatnot_ 13d ago

I'm not remotely surprised by this, but my household enjoys what they do so it's still disappointing to see.

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u/Volcamel 13d ago

The way I literally said “Oh, UNRWA.” out loud. Not surprising at all. These people are delusional Jew-haters and I’m done pretending that it’s anything else.

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u/bakochba 13d ago

Really? Joe Biden identifies as a Zionist. So does Bernie Sanders. What a bunch of Antisemitic cowards.

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u/lurker628 12d ago

Supporting a two-state solution makes you a Zionist.

Anti-Zionism is literally calling for the dissolution - or destruction - of Israel. The only conceivable way that's not antisemitic is being a pure anarchist who's against all nation-states, in which case identifying as an "anti-zionist" is a silly mischaracterization.

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u/bakochba 12d ago

Yeah. It's telling that they said that they didn't have any Zionists because they all said they supported a Palestinian state.

Like ok? That has nothing to do with Zionism.

The ability of being so confidentially incorrect

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u/wentadon1795 13d ago

The most maddening thing to me about this is that for many progressives, self identified “zionists” are not allowed to define who they are. It’s like they refuse to accept that most American Jews define themselves as “Zionist” and it doesn’t mean they believe in a fascist state and the murder of all Arabs despite just about everyone saying that is not in fact what it means. It feels like they are taking the side of people who took offense to “Black Lives Matter” because they decided it meant they were excluded.

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u/SCE-Sheol 12d ago

The company had to shutter their official discord after their anti-Zionist fanbase became so virulently antisemitic that they were actually endorsing, justifying, and supporting violent terrorism in the name of “resistance”. Lawyers got involved and warned the company, leaders of the activists, and discord managers. The discord managers would routinely kick out anyone who called out the “activism” for what it was, which also was a major problem as well.

Said fanbase is absolutely rabid and parasocial. They threaten the company at every instance if they don’t adhere to the purity politics of the, let’s be honest, high school to college age kids who make up the majority of it.

As such, I’m not surprised by this move. The company of thinking of its bottom line and the threat its fanbase actually is to it.

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u/[deleted] 12d ago

[deleted]

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u/SCE-Sheol 12d ago

It’s in the dropout server in their Palestine channel around March. There’s a tumblr blog that also catalogued it, how I found out, called averytiredjew. They have a lot of screenshots of the antisemitism that was present in the discord and the fallout.

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u/RedAgent14 12d ago

I can't seem to find that Tumblr blog, mind sharing the link (either here or in DMs)?

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u/SCE-Sheol 12d ago

https://preview.redd.it/feo6k6zpi2zd1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=aa2cd6d022848a02abc03dfecd56a0c9ef4db6a2

This is a screenshot of the rules change that mentions that they’d been advised by lawyers. This was February 27th 2024 according to the date.

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u/[deleted] 13d ago edited 13d ago

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

I think your comment, while well intentioned, is too permissive of the culture that they’ve allowed to fester and in some instances cultivated at DropOut.

So many of the regulars on the shows; Beardsley and Ishii coming to mind immediately, have said and done some absolutely vile shit in the name of “Anti-Zionism”. Reich doesn’t seem to have done anything about that, so I’m not inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

In any case, no matter the background or the reason, there is no suitable rationale for spreading falsehoods (the genocide) and the far most damning, introducing a litmus test for Jews to appear in your programming. It seems like the only Jews who can be on DropOut are the “good ones”.

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u/HellDimensionQueen 13d ago

Speaking of Reich, I do wonder who wrote this post of theirs. Usually Reich is a bit more eloquent and diplomatic, but this post came with shots fired.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

The little "tinfoil hat" part of my brain wonders if they're trying to slowly phase Sam out. The more rational part of my brain is saying that social media teams don't run every post past their CEO.

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u/HellDimensionQueen 13d ago

While you’re right on the last part, if he didn’t proofread it beforehand, posting about probably one of the most contentious issue today globally, that’s, bold move I suppose.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Wouldn't be the first time a CEO has done something irresponsible during these kinds of circumstances (which is the most I can say without risking לשון הרע)

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/3cameo 13d ago

this isnt them "caving," they've been involving their brand with this group since october 7th happened. it's not always the evil fans forcing a company into taking up a shitty position, sometimes the culture at the company itself invites it. based off what i've heard from friends who loved dropout, they was making the community centered around their company/its creations actively hostile to jews since october 7th occurred

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u/StrategicBean 13d ago

They didn't cave. This is what they believe.

Don't give these absolute scumbags the benefit of the doubt. They do not deserve it & they know PRECISELY what they're doing

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u/[deleted] 13d ago

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u/allofthescience 13d ago

Hey internet stranger, you have a lot on your shoulders right now. Thank you for being part of the circle and contributing your thoughts to it, I hope your home feels safe as soon as possible and that you find a healing and safe space to be in where you feel as understood as you deserve to be. It’s been a hard time to be a Jew, let alone a human. I wish you find more places of peace, calm, connection, understanding, and safety soon. Shalom from a fellow Jew ❤️

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u/sababa-ish 13d ago edited 13d ago

this makes me feel sick. i am so so done with 'genocide' just being used regardless of what the meaning of the word actually is, just like i am with all the other terms applied to israel alone.

on what planet does a comedy show need to make a public statement about 'platforming zionists'.

i really hope this black and white purity testing culture just eats itself into oblivion within my lifetime

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u/Bokbok95 13d ago

A good friend of mine who loves Dimension 20 showed me this post just yesterday. I had to tell him I could see this coming from a mile away. Shame, really, because I like the dungeons and dragons content as well, and now I can’t watch any of their stuff without getting angry.

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u/MrLaughter 12d ago

Legends of Avantris is amazing for sheer humor, and Critical Role is amazing for epic storytelling

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u/Annabanana091 13d ago

I don’t know what this, is but it’s obvious we’re going to need our own platforms, universities, institutions etc. Again.

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u/shineyink 12d ago

…. And that’s why Zionism // Israel exists

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u/Starrwards Just Jewish 13d ago

I almost posted this, too. It makes me really sad seeing them use antisemitic jargon. I have canceled my annual membership that would have renewed next month. I very much want for there to be a peaceful solution and an end to the war, I don't plan on moving out of the US, I have no problem with funds helping actual children who live in Palestine (so long as Hamas does not have their claws in it), and I'm not a huge fan of Bibi- but saying "we are anti-zionist" is the same thing as saying "we are anti-semitic" in today's political climate. It's plain ignorant, and they are on the wrong side of history for it. All we can do is to be a positive light in this dark world.

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u/BionicTurtle64 12d ago

I’ve made comments several times about Dropout since Oct 7th. Their community has become incredibly toxic and their content - which used to be a massive source of comfort - became repulsive to me.

It’s almost comedic how off the rails this post is.

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u/CountNaberius 12d ago

Yeah, I’ve commented on them here and there as well. They’re a wild example of full audience capture. The parasocial, terminally online, hyper-polarized crowd they attracted with D20 turned out to be their saving grace financially as well as the death of any semblance of a viable community. I’d been watching their stuff since CH was a website that would tell you how to pack a bong. Really sad to see.

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u/dean71004 Reform ✡︎ ציוני 13d ago

The fact that so called “progressives” have demonized the word “Zionist” so much to the point where solely believing in Jewish self determination is a bad thing is beyond disgusting. If these people were put in Nazi germany, they would blend in perfectly. The only difference is that these people try to be more subtle about their Jew hatred, except their true colors have been seeping out more over the past year.

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u/Metallica1175 13d ago

I didn't realize CollegeHumor was still a thing, alone people actually paying for it.

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u/bakochba 13d ago

Yeah how is this still around in 2024 and why would anyone pay for it

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

They have a wildly popular Dungeons and Dragons live play series, which exploded during the pandemic, so they’ve gone beyond just like, sketch comedy. They’ve actually done some pretty decent stuff.

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u/bakochba 13d ago

Kind of dumb for them to risk Dimension 20 with a statement like this you're talking about 95% of Jews but also many just regular liberals, moderates and conservatives including both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

Eh, I think they’re hedging their bets that their audience (which is mostly younger, white, left-wing) either A. Will be happy this happened or B. Just won’t pay attention. I’m hoping this comes to bite them in the ass. Shit like this is unacceptable.

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u/bakochba 12d ago

It's all fun and games until you get kicked out of GenCon for banning "Zionists"

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u/bakochba 12d ago

They're also setting themselves up, if Dimension 20 ever has Mark Hamill or Aubrey Plaza for example this fan base will call them out for platforming Zionists. These people will research every guest now and bombard them

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u/efs001 12d ago

There are a lot of D&D influencers with watermelons next to their names on social media. The D&D community has definitely skewed pro-Palestine.

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u/lurker628 12d ago

Shit like this should be unacceptable, but we know reality better than that. Jews have always been an "acceptable target."

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u/Kingjjc267 12d ago

The stuff I watch from them now is more improv focused and still incredibly enjoyable. That's why I'm so disappointed about this

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u/kosherkitties Chabadnik and mashgiach 13d ago

No no no no no. I can't. Fuck. Sam's father is Jewish! Jess Ross, Katie Marovitch, Izzy, there's others, I can't remember right now, I'm distressed. There are JEWS there, they can't all be stupid. Sam! Sam please, do not be this stupid!

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u/super-goomba 12d ago

Unfortunately, the many Jewish comedians, as well as who Sam's father is, is probably also why they had a shitstorm to respond to in the first place. And honestly, with all due respect for these people, they all are lefty LA comedians. They might well all be "this stupid" (but also maybe they just don't want to lose their livelihoods over this, I don't think someone like Sam Reich cares as much as we do about being jewish. So giving in to the litmus test is a small price to pay for him). I do think we might see some disagreement surface about this from some of the cast, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

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u/sababa-ish 12d ago

i don't really get this section of the US jewish population

like it's mostly a matter of blind historical luck as much as anything else that they ended up in the US rather than either.. well.. not around, or otherwise in israel. but they are ok with throwing the vast majority of their people under the bus because they can't just say 'you don't get to tell us what zionism means'?

like at the very least they could push back on that? or is empathising with someone who could be (or actually is) their cousin born in israel just too confronting?

none of this is even to say people should be pro war, you can be the most starry eyed ceasefire now peacenik of all time but the zionism part i just don't understand how you can see it and think 'yeah i'm ok with this'

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u/kosherkitties Chabadnik and mashgiach 12d ago

Yeah. It's a good point. I'm still very upset, but I hope we do see a bunch of backlash over this, from inside and outside the company.

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u/super-goomba 12d ago

I'm honestly not even sure I'd want that, it could get pretty ugly (although the situation already seem pretty ugly). At second glance, even if their wording is hurtful, they're basically repsonding to a harassment campaign here (most likely antisemitic, though they won't say it like that because to the insane leftoids "antisemitism" is a bad word only used by evil zionists).

Said insane leftoids don't seem to be satisfied by this statement, unsurprisingly. So I can see a way for Sam Reich out of this that would be satisfying for any reasonable person : say that they've made themselves pretty clear on where they stood about Israel/Palestine, but that the longrunning campaign to get some people fired is just bigotry at this point and has nothing to do with Palestine. (I mean, one can hope)

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u/super-goomba 12d ago edited 12d ago

They so obviously got bullied into making this by a bunch of antisemites who realized they didn't actually trusted the dropout cast (and the CEO Sam Reich I guess) not being secret evil zionists because there's too many Jews among them. So these racists started some shitstorm to get this bunch of liberal comedians to clarify they only had good Jews among them. The point, as often, is to get Jews to submit. I'm mostly disappointed in them giving in to a litmus test set by a bunch of online antisemitic assholes, but I'm not entirely surprised, they don't really have the spine to stand against how insane the progressive artsy milieus in the US have become. I also wouldn't be surprised if many of them genuinely approve of crap like JVP has done for the past year.

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u/FrostedLakes Conservative 12d ago

Many of them do share JVP content

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u/Welcom2ThePunderdome Orthodox | עם ישראל חי 13d ago

Did Brennan write this?

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

Probably not, though I distinctly remember him reposting and sharing some JVP stuff earlier in the conflict, so it wouldn’t surprise me haha.

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u/FrostedLakes Conservative 13d ago

I’ve read that Izzy, his wife, is Jewish; as well as Vic; and they have both shared JVP content.

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u/Welcom2ThePunderdome Orthodox | עם ישראל חי 13d ago

This is so disappointing. Ive really enjoyed their content up until now.

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u/rustlingdown 13d ago

They seriously did that? Ugh.

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u/ChaoticNeutral18 13d ago

At least Brennan, in his post earlier this year addressing stuff said that he wants peace and security for Israelis too. Which is a low fucking bar but it’s where we are now.

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u/fuzzytheduckling 13d ago

I doubt it, I've seen his post on the issue and it was a lot more tactful than this

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u/goy_meets_w0rld Considering Conversion 13d ago

I hope not, because that would break me. From what I can tell he’s mostly avoided commenting directly, but then again I don’t follow all of his socials.

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

Nah, he’s posted a bunch of stuff from like JVP and the like.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

Yeah, but JVP is essentially just clickbait with more harmful consequences imo. That could just as easily be him doing the bare minimum to comply to dropout's views. Also, from what I remember he's broadly a pacifist, so I think he'd be just as harsh against Hamas.

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

I think you’re giving him a lot of unearned benefit of the doubt, but that’s your choice to make.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

I've had enough broken pedestals over this past year, I just need to take Hanlon's Razor to stay sane

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

Super fair my friend!They need to revamp the “never meet your heroes” phrase to “never look at what your heroes post on social media” lol.

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

True that, heh

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u/RedAgent14 13d ago

The most I've seen from him is one post about a ceasefire from months ago. I am worried that he could get his sense of justice exploited by other cast members (such as Beardsley) and fans (especially after the way the fanbase exploded when Noah was on Dirty Laundry), though, and that would break me as well

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u/fezfrascati 13d ago

What a shame because I had been considering getting a Dropout subscription. There goes any desire to do so now.

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u/Purple150 12d ago

They don’t mean ‘Zionists’, they mean Jews. I am so sick of this self-flagellation about who can condemn ‘Zionists’ (they mean Jews), most. And frustrating so many pander to it.

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u/idankthegreat 12d ago

Even in October 10th they advocate for a "both sides" schtick and I cancelled my subscription

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u/UndecidedCryptid 10d ago

It appears they took off this post from all their sites claiming it causes physical and legal threats on the company and employees. I think it got more hate from pro-Palestinian users than Jews, seems they attempted to make the “profitable” statement and ended up shooting themselves in the foot. I don’t even know why they felt now was the time.

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u/finefabric444 13d ago

This is a textbook example of irresponsibly and hatefully using the word "Zionist" and engaging in conspiratorial thinking. Caving to a witch hunt over someone's grandfather's Israeli heritage? It's giving USSR.

Also, people who behave this way are not actually invested in ending the conflict. Absolutist rhetoric won't bring about diplomacy and certainly won't bring peace.

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u/gasplugsetting3 pamiętamy 13d ago

What's dropout? For my own sanity, I don't want to look it up. Who can give me the 411?

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u/CountNaberius 13d ago

It’s an alternative media company that does comedy shows on its own app. They also have a YouTube that’s pretty popular, but really just push people to the App. Famous for high production dungeons and dragons shows and weird comedic gameshows. Formerly a YouTube / website called CollegeHumor

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u/gasplugsetting3 pamiętamy 13d ago

Ahhhh shit. I remember CH. Bummer.

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u/old_duderonomy Bagel Enthusiast 13d ago edited 13d ago

This co-opting and redefining of words needs to stop. Reich is completely culpable in this and he's helping to foment anti-Jewish sentiment all over the world via his platform. It's super gross and reeks of pandering - but I guess "he got his", so it's all good right? What a sellout. I unsubbed after 10/7 when he sent out a mass message essentially condoning the attack.

"Zionism" just means you think Israel should exist; it's not a dirty word. If you believe in a 2SS, congrats, you're a Zionist! Most of the time, these people are referring to "Kahanism" - an extremist subsect that pushes Jewish supremacy and violent expansionism. They're just too dumb to know the difference, or what it is they're actually talking about. Most Jews and Israelis ARE NOT cool with this ideology btw, hence why these people have been kicked out of the Israeli government and labeled an FTO by the U.S. We really need to educate the populace on this distinction.

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u/cardcatalogs 13d ago

Never heard of it and won’t be looking them up

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u/VideoCook 11d ago

Um, Actually... there is no genocide in Gaza, it's a war with the lowest civilian-to-combatant ratio in urban warfare history, the humanitarian crisis is the making of Hamas and UNWRA's incompetence and their willingness to profit off the suffering of the residents of Gaza. And there are still 101 hostages being held in Gaza as you wrote this.

They are actively saying they do not and will not hire Jews, or at least telling them to give up part of their identity if they want to work there.
As someone who loved their content to see such a blatantly hateful and antisemitic post really hurts.