“Dirty Jobs” host Mike Rowe has spoken out in defense of Republican values in the past, but he was just forced to defend the whole party.
When a critic of Rowe, Chuck Atkins, wrote to him and jumped through illogical hoops to link Rowe’s nonprofit organization to anti-intellectual white supremacists, Rowe destroyed his argument.
Atkins wrote:“One of the tenants of white nationalism is that college educated people are academic elitests. Comment? No? I’m not surprised. You never take a political stand because you don’t want to alienate anybody. Its bad for business. I get it. But there is a current of anti intellectualism in this country – promoted by Republicans. Those people love you, and they think your initiative is their initiative. Meanwhile, the rest of the world is kickin our ass academically.”
But Rowe picked apartment Atkins accusations, telling him that celebrities political opinions have no value, and the real problem with our country is people like Atkins, who illogically, and without evidence, make these huge, insulting assertions.
“I can’t think of a celebrity who’s political opinion I value, and I’m not going to assume the country feels any differently about mine,” Rowe responded.
He decontructed Atkins round about connection between Republicans and white nationalists, acknowledging that he “sucsessfully connect(s) two radically different organizations by alleging a shared belief.”
“Very clever. Without offering a shred of evidence, you’ve implied that Republicans who support mikeroweWORKS do so because they believe I share their disdain for all things “intellectual.” And poof – just like that, Republicans, White Nationalists, and mikeroweWORKS are suddenly conflated, and the next thing you know, I’m off on a press tour to disavow rumors of my troubling association with the Nazis!”
His response is one every liberal should read and understand. It shows the lack of logic behind any liberal argument that all Trump supporters are white nationalists and racists.
Read Rowe’s entire response below:
-The Horn editorial team