The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Trump's Old-Timey Take on Video Game Violence | Vann R. Newkirk II

Episode Date: March 9, 2018

Amazon's Alexa creeps out its customers, President Trump suggests that video games cause gun violence, and Trevor chats with The Atlantic's Vann R. Newkirk II. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. Hey, everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show, coming out every Thursday. We're going to be talking about the election earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient-to-bread ratio on sandwiches. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart wherever

you get your podcast. March 8, 2018. From Comedy Central's World News Headquarters in New York. This is the Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Welcome to the Daily Show everybody. Thank you so much for shooting and I'm Treminoa. Our guest tonight from the Atlantic Van Nuke is joining us. Welcome everybody, take a seat. But first up, happy international women's day. All right? It's amazing. I feel like everyone is getting into it. This morning I heard a construction worker on the way to work, and he was yelling at a woman. He's like, hey, gorgeous, I support your professional goals and hope you're treated with respect

today. I'm like, yeah, that's different. So, let's start the news with something about one specific woman, one who many of you may have in your own home. Amazon's Alexa is malfunctioning in a very creepy way. She is laughing, unprompted, at users. Ha ha ha ha. Voice assistants like Alexa have become fixtures in many homes,

but some people are still unsettled by them, and not because of the creepy random laughter. Many claim Alexa stops responding to requests. One user even said their echo suddenly began listing names of local funeral homes and cemeteries. This shit is creepy. This shit is creepy. theylapes like, throwns. their shit in the their house, even after the creepy laughs, like it just laughs in the middle of the night. Like, that, that's what freaks me out. Alexa's laughing at you in the middle of the night, it's like, ha, ha, ha. And white people like, that was, that was crazy. I, uh, yeah, yeah, I went to a bed

and I was freaked out. And you left the day, yeah, I mean, what was I'm gonna' that tha, to to to to be, to a black house? Yo, I can't imagine if my mother had this with Alexa? Alexa would be like, ha ha ha, mama would be like, what with that? The thing laughed by itself, she'd be like, in the name of Jesus! God! Finished! But let's move on. Today was a very busy day for citizen number one. After a week of threatening to impose tariffs on steel coming into the U.S. The president finally made it official.

Today I'm defending America's national security by placing tariffs on foreign imports of steel and aluminum. Steel is steel. You don't have steel, you don't have a country. I think he's confusing countries with toasters. Without steel, you don't have toasters. Easy mistake to make. I get it. I get it. Now, although most economists think terrorists will hurt the economy. For steel workers, this is a dream come true.

So for them, Trump has proved that he remembers the forgotten man, although not everything about the forgotten man. My father during the 80s, he lost his job due to imports coming into this country. So I never want to see it happen again. And I say that sincerely from my heart. And I thank you for the opportunity for what you do. Thank you. Herman. Sorry, sorry, yes sir.

Yes. Well, your father Herman is looking down. He's very proud of you right now. He's still alive. Oh, he is? Well, then he's even more proud of him. That he's even more proud of him. Oh, shit.

That was priceless. Oh, in that moment, you know, Trump looked like one of those fake TV psychics, you know? He's just like, I'm getting a message, your father, he's looking down on you and he's very proud. My dad's still alive. Yeah, yeah, well, that's what I mean. He's upstairs right now. He's upstairs looking down. Now, trade is not the only issue that Trump has been focused on recently. Since the school shooting in Florida, the president has also been trying to address gun violence. And while he has proposed a number of gun control measures, there are a few additional

culprits that he has in his sights. The video games, the movies, the internet stuff, is so violent. I have a young, very young son, who I look at some of the things he's watching and I say, how is that possible? And this is what kids are watching. But these things are really violent. No, Trump talks about his kid like he's not his parents. He's like, look at the violence this kid is watching.

Isn't someone going to stop him? You know what this kid needs in his life? That's a John Kelly. That's what he needs in his life. But you're his dad, Donald. Isn't it your fault? No, this kid started playing games under Obama. I inherited a mess, folks. The point is, Trump is not a big fan of video games. Partly because the controllers are too big and also

because he believes they inspire real-world violence. So this afternoon, he summoned the heads of the video game industry and their critics to a roundtable discussion. For a change, Trump decided to be camera shy, so there's no footage of this meeting. Although we here at the Daily Show were able to get exclusive audio of what went down. Okay, let's get started. Wait, wait, wait, why is it Mario here? Uh, Mario's not coming, sir. Video game characters don't exist.

Okay, but then why is that Coupa trouper here? I'm Mitch McConnell. That's just what a Cooper would say. Let's jump on him! Oh, oh, oh, Mr. President, oh, my neck. Ah, oh. Ah, Ah.

true Now, Trump is hardly the first person to blame gun violence in part on video games. In fact, this has been an idea that's been around for decades now. This is the hand-held implement with which you play the game by shooting it at the screen. Instead of enriching a child's mind, these games teach a child to enjoy inflicting torture. Of course it affects our children and it affects our kids in a very negative way. Yeah, you see, it turns out politicians have been warning about the dangers of violent video games way back when. I mean, like, this is back when games look like this.

Remember this? Yeah? To them, this was hyper-realistic violence. I mean, to me, it looks like you're pointing a dildo at a Nazi dance crew. I don't see the violence. And here's what I don't get about this argument. How come video games are supposedly so influential, but only when it comes to guns, right? Because I mean, if they really were as influential, as politicians say, then shouldn't games influence us with everything?

Like as kids, we spent every day playing paper boy. But that never inspired anyone to go to comiss mass paper deliveries. No, I was like, it's because of the games. Extra, extra, read all about it. And here's the thing. There have been hundreds of studies on this issue, and they have shown, they have shown that there isn't any connection between violent video games and violence activities. Now, that doesn't mean that video games have no influence on you, because let's be honest, everything we consume as human beings affects us somehow. All right, sex in the city might make you want to go to brunch.

A karate kid might have made people join the local dojo. Hell, if it wasn't for Instagram, I would have never gotten my butt implants, okay? Yeah, I got on the back because I already had to to to to to to to to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have to have th.. th. th. thin, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm the thi, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi.e.ea.ea.ea.ease.ease.ease.ease.ease. Wea, their, their, their on the back because I already had a real ass. I just wanted another one. It's like, because two asses, I mean, come on, why not. So yes, I agree that video games can affect your behavior. But so can TV and movies. And I mean, hell, there's even violence in the Bible. Mother-Fixing, I'm their killing people in there. Like, you can't take violence out out violence, the violence, the violence, tha, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thi. thi, thi, thi, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, thr. too, to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to, to. to. to, to. to, to, to. to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to. to, to. to. to. to. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. tho, thi. to. to. t tttto. to. to. togu. togu. to. togu. too. too. too. too. too. too. too. to, to, to. to. the world. What you can do is limit the tools violent people have, which is exactly what they've done in Japan.

The Japanese play many of the same violent video games that we do. In 2015, gaming revenue in Japan was over $12 billion behind only the United States and China. Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. In 2015, this nation of a hundred-tie-tie-tie-thai-violence violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, the-violence, the-violence, the-violence, the-violence, th violence, th violence, th violence, th violence th violence the-violence, th violence, the-violence only the United States in China. Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. In 2015, this nation of 127 million counted only one gun murder. Wow. Only one gun murder. That is impressive. And I'm sorry, but if you're the only gun death in a country of 120 million people, you probably deserve it. I'm sorry, but if you're the only gun death in a country of 120 million people, you probably deserve it. I'm just saying.

I'm just saying. Look, man, the truth is, many countries around the world have figured this out. The most effective and realistic way to limit gun violence is to regulate who has access to guns. And while the President is talking about video games, interestingly enough, lawmakers in Florida have decided to take action. New state gun legislation is headed to the desk of Florida Governor Rick Scott this morning after last month's deadly school shooting in Parkland.

The bill raises the minimum age for buying firearms to 21, imposes a three-day waiting period for gun purchases, bans bump stocks, and establishes new mental health programs in schools. I'm going to say a sentence that I'm assuming has never before been uttered on the show. Well done, Florida. Well done. I mean, usually the news coming out of Florida is like, man arrested for threesome with two rattlesnakes. So this is a step in the right direction.

Now, the bill does do one other thing that might not be as popular. The most controversial provision in this legislation is the Marshall Program. That's a program that would allow teachers and other school personnel to be armed as long as they go through training. In this case, 144 hours of training. Yep, Florida teachers about to get strapped, which means that kids are gonna be a lot more engaged in class. And be like, who wants to answer the next question?

Wow, a lot of hands up, a lot of hands, look at you, yeah. Here's what I find interesting about this law, all right? Florida lawmakers have decided that the teachers, the people they trust with their kids, need to meet strict standards before they can carry a gun, right? 144 hours of training, and passing a psychological exam, and random drug tests, and additional training every year, which makes sense. But when it comes to anyone outside of a school,, all, right, right, right, right, their, right, right, right, their, right, right, their, right, right, right, right, right, their, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, their, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, right, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, their, their, their, thi, their, their, their, their, their, thi, thi, their, their, th. their, th. their, their, th. th. thi, th. thi, thi, thi, thi, to, to, to, to, to, training every year, which makes sense. But when it comes to anyone outside of a school, they go, yeah just give that random dude a gun. I mean what's the worst that could happen? I feel like you guys were so close to figuring this out. Just take that same law, cross out teachers and

write in everyone. Problem solved solved. Why doesn't everyone have to go through those same stacks? It makes sense. So, uh, if you'll excuse me, I've been playing a ton of angry birds, so I've got to go outside and throw some pigeons at pigs. We'll be right back. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID. Thank God it's Thursday. We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I

listed that fourth, but in importance it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Welcome back to the daily show. My guest tonight is an amazing writer at the Atlantic who helped produce a special commemorative issue of the magazine called King, a look at the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Please welcome, Van Nukerk. Welcome to the show.

I've been a fan of your writing for so long. You touch on so many different topics, you know, from Black Panther through to racism in America, the Second Amendment. One of the more interesting conversations that I got started because of your writing was specifically about teachers being armed and you argued that in its very essence it goes against the Second Amendment. Why would you make that argument? Yeah, so the Second Amendment is supposed to be this thing that protects people from

the government. The whole entire ethos of it is you get people, you give them guns and you give them guns so they can build a militia to protect themselves against tyranny. And so you have teachers who are state agents, paid by the state, who are taking care of our kids, who have sometimes done bad things to those kids, and you're giving them guns. So especially in Florida, you have a guy who was known to use the in-word with his students and was suspended for doing it, you give that guy a gun. Right. That's the tyrannical government. Yeah. I never thought of that as an idea. I go, like, but you know,

it's one of those ideas where people go, like, this seems like a good idea, because everything leads to more guns. to the guns. You go like, just give the people the people the people the people the people the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, the people, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th, th, th, th, th. That's, thi, thi, thi, thi, that's, that's, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the, the, the, the, the, their. That. That, their. That, their. That, that, that, that, that, that's, that's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, th. That's, thirty. That's, thirty. That's, thirty. thirty. thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, thirty, th guns and then it solves the guns. Because if everyone has a gun, then I guess it means no one has a gun. I don't know how it works. I'll give my gun a gun. Yeah, you give you a gun a gun. That's the most important, because guns don't kill people. People kill people. What about killing guns? Gons?

I don't think a gun, I think, the most of a movies at the world and this issue of the Atlantic I think looks at Martin Luther King from so many different places and through so many different lenses which I really found interesting. Martin Luther King is one of those figures in America that I've always felt is mythologized and oftentimes misunderstood and it feels like you've captured that in this article. Why did you think it was necessary to have an entire article about Martin Luther King Jr.? So what we want to do is challenge people.

You know, we want people to read every single article in this issue and come away thinking about something new. Right. Something they had never even fathomed about Dr. King. And what that does as a whole is so many times politicians bring up, or people who will have an agenda bring up Dr. King. They quote the dream speech. They do the same thing, okay. He want us to live in a colorblind society where our kids can go to school together. They quote this one part, but they don't quote the part about him being against the Vietnam War. They don't say his speech, his letter from Birmingham Jail,

where he talks about the white moderate, and nobody asks themselves, am I the white moderate? So nobody, everybody now is pro-king and not racist, but nobody's reading King now for how to be anti-racist. It's interesting that you say that because there was a specific article or piece of it that connected with me, written by you in this, and it was specifically about the idea of Martin Luther King and his assassination. And you say here, in the official story told to children, King's assassination is the

transformational tragedy in a victorious struggle to overcome. But in the true accounting, his assassination was a the assassination, tholololol, thion, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and tho, and tho, and tho, and thi, and tho, and it was tho, and it was tho, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and it was, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi, and thi.a, and thi.a, and thi.a, and thi.a, thi. throwneeeeeeeanananananananan, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, specifically, thr-augh, to overcome. But in the true accounting, his assassination was one of a host of reactionary assaults by a country against the revolution, and those assaults were astonishingly successful. Yeah. That's an interesting point of view, because many people feel like Martin Luther King being assassinated was the beginning of the great journey that got black people to where they needed to be. And you're arguing that it ended a revolution that was starting. How do you prove that or why do you believe that? So I remember when I was in school and I had a teacher who told me straight up that the civil rights movement was victorious, that we won. That we won. And what I could never

reconcile was how did we win if Dr. King was assassinated while protesting? How did we win the civil rights movement? How are we victorious if while protesting for higher wages for sanitation workers in Memphis, he was assassinated. And his poor people's movement was derailed. So I always want to revisit that point. So when I wrote that essay I was listening to Nina Simone's song, Why the King of Love is Dead. She wrote it three days after he was assassinated. And she's talking about, will the country stand or fall? She's talking about a country that seemed then on the verge of an apocalypse. And so I really wanted to go back to that moment and see how we get from that moment, where you're talking about the end of the world, the black community in shambles, in tears, and unrest and riots.

And how you go from there to here in 50 years and say we won. How does it happen? People would say, but Van, look at how much progress black people have made since Martin Luther King. Surely things have gotten better, black people on the up in America. Well, some studies are showing that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that the up in America? Well, some studies are showing that that may not be the case. So we've got some studies out from the Economic Policy Institute

that are saying that black wealth, black home ownership rates, segregation in schools haven't gone anywhere in 50 years. So in 50 years? In 50 years. So what are we talking about here? We're saying that the gap between blacks and whites now in terms of wealth is just so staggering that it's how do you even build policy to bridge that gap? Education has risen but our kids are now in schools that are as segregated as they were at 1970 so what we're talking about? That's an interesting point of view

and I guess I know a lot of people argue back on that and they'll say well I mean Obama became president fans so I mean that's a that's a progress. that's that's an that's an that's an that's an that's an that's an that's an that's an that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting.. that's an interesting. thi. that's an interesting point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point point's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's an interesting that's an interesting that's an interesting that's an interesting that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. thi's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting. that's an interesting point. that's that's that's back on that and they'll say, well, I mean, Obama became president fan, so I mean, that's progress, isn't it? Yeah, Obama was president eight years and now will we ever have another black president? Will you ever have another president, is the question I ask? Here's something that I really connected with, and I guess because of South Africa's history and also because it is International Women's Day, is this beautiful quote in the, that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's, that's that's, that's that's, that's that's, that's, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's progress, that's something that I really connected with, and I guess because of South Africa's history and also because it is International Women's Day, is this beautiful quote in the article. Women have been the backbone of the whole civil rights movement. This popular narrative of the civil rights movement too often relies on great men, the great men version of history, King, Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, other names, you know, and it ignores the importance of women who also organized and led the movement and shows how their contributions have been sidelined, hidden

in plain sight. That is a powerful narrative that many people forget. And that is, Coretta Scott King wasn't just a sidekic. She wasn't just the woman at home. Why do you think it's so important to acknowledge these women and what were the instrumental in doing in many movements? Yeah, I learned a lot reading that essay from Gene De O'Harris. She was talking about Coretta, Coretta, Scott King, and how Martin's development politically came from conversation with Coretta. So a lot of what he was doing was sort of mansplaining Coretta, right? He was going out and saying, okay, she was against the Vietnam War years before

he was. She, when they were courting each other and when they were still dating, she was the one who was sort of giving him these economic ideas, passing him along text about what to read and how to learn and grow. So you look at, if you look at Coretta, Scott King, not just as King's help me. As someone who was an activist in our own right, right. and grow. So you look at, if you look at Coretta, Coretta Scott King, not just as King's Help Me. As someone who was an activist in our own right, you start looking at just all these other women in the movement who did so much. Rosa Parks, who was an operative, we're taught in school that she was a tired old lady who sat down.

She was out there, she built the same organizing structures that actually King relied on when he was doing the boy the boy the boy the boy the boy th. th. th. th. th. the boy. th. th. th. th. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. T. I was th. I was th. I was thi. I was thi. So, thi. I's, thi. I's, thi. I's, thi. I. I's, thi. I. I. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, tha. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, the, the, the, the, the the the the the the the the thi. thi. the te. te. te. te. te. te. tea. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. And, the te. And, built the same organizing structures that actually King relied on when he was doing the boycotts. Wow. Those were built by black women against sexual assault. That's powerful. The same things, yeah. And so when you look at these stories, how do you think it plays out? Because Martin Luther King exists in a place where some people use him to stage

a protest and others go, we should use him to sell trucks in America. Everyone sees him in a different light. If Martin Luther King were around today from what you have read and what you've learned, like how happy do you think he would be? Would he think people have reached a mountain top? I think from reading him, his thing was never being satisfied with where we are, because there's always space. A mountain top the mountain, the mountain, the mountain, in, in, in, the mountain, in, in, the mountain, in, in, thoppip, in, in thoppip, in that, that, that, thop, thop, thi, thi, thi, thi, thope, thop, thop, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the thi, the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, threateean, threate, threaten, threaten, threaten, thi, thi, threaten, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, being satisfied with where we are, because there's always space. A mountaintop in that speech wasn't the place

where we need to be in terms of race. The mountaintop was having the vision to see where we needed to go. And I think that vision was that the road is ever-evasting. The moral arc of the universe is always bending towards justice and we bend it. So I think King would, he would be protesting regardless of whatever situation is on the ground right now in America, he would be protesting. Because that's what an activist does. They were always agitating. And so that's what I want people to take away from the magazine is that his activism was always agitating, was always moving forward and progressing and you see in the last year of his

life before he was assassinated, he sat down and thought how do I move this forward and he came forward with the most ambitious program to fight poverty, to fight militarism and to fight racism across the globe and that was King. That was King. It's an amazing article. Thank you so much for being here. It's an amazing issue of the Atlantic. King, the special commemorative issue of the Atlantic is on Newstand now through May and you can go to the Atlantic. to purchase a copy.

Van Nuke, everybody. The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central, and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show. And follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central podcast. Hey everybody, John Stewart here. I am here to tell you about my new podcast, The Weekly Show. It's going to be coming out every Thursday. So exciting. You'll be saying to yourself, TGID, thank God it's Thursday.

We're going to be talking about all the things that hopefully obsess you in the same way that they obsess me. The election. Economics. Earnings calls. What are they talking about on these earnings calls? We're going to be talking about ingredient-to-bread ratio on sandwiches. And I know that I listed that fourth, but in importance, it's probably second. I know you have a lot of options as far as podcasts go, but how many of them come out on Thursday? I mean, talk about innovative. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast.