When you hear the name “Ben Shapiro,” what words come to mind? A lot, probably. Which is fitting, considering how many words Ben Shapiro is able to get out between breaths. Seriously, the guy can talk fast.
But back to our question: what do you think of when you think of Ben Shapiro? Chances are pretty good that “harm” is not anywhere on the list.
But apparently it’s at or near the very top of @PodcastMovement’s list. According to their Twitter bio, Podcast Movement is “the world’s largest community of podcasters,” and they’re currently doing a big event in Dallas. An event that Daily Wire editor emeritus Ben Shapiro showed up at — which prompted an apology from Podcast Movement:
Hi folks, we owe you an apology before sessions kick off for the day. Yesterday afternoon, Ben Shapiro briefly visited the PM22 expo area near The Daily Wire booth. Though he was not registered or expected, we take full responsibility for the harm done by his presence.
— Podcast Movement at #PM22 (@PodcastMovement) August 25, 2022
We’re not used to snowflakes taking responsibility for anything, so kudos to them for this, we guess.
I thought this a @TitaniaMcGrath-style parody. Apparently not! lol https://t.co/iQ9RrLrc3g
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) August 25, 2022
Titania McGrath is probably kicking xim/xerself for not coming up with it first. But xe/xhe still got to have a moment:
A “brief visit” by Ben Shapiro is all it takes to expose us to the literal violence of his wrong opinions.
Do we even know how many innocent people have been erased by his presence at your event?
Apology NOT accepted. https://t.co/mjGfUXJbLJ
— Titania McGrath (@TitaniaMcGrath) August 25, 2022
Heh.
Maybe Podcast Movement was worried that too many other woke podcasters and podcast fans wouldn’t be satisfied with the apology, either, and that’s why they turned it into a whole thread (for which they limited replies, FYI):
There’s no way around it: We agreed to sell The Daily Wire a first-time booth based on the company’s large presence in podcasting. The weight of that decision is now painfully clear. Shapiro is a co-founder. A drop-in, however unlikely, should have been considered a possibility.
— Podcast Movement at #PM22 (@PodcastMovement) August 25, 2022
We apologize for not planning for the possibility that Ben Shapiro would visit a booth for the site he built! We should’ve known he’d show up and never allowed The Daily Wire to have a presence there in the first place!
https://twitter.com/PodcastMovement/status/1562765178738855936
Titania? Is that you?
Those of you who called this “unacceptable” are right. In 9 wonderful years growing and celebrating this medium, PM has made mistakes. The pain caused by this one will always stick with us. We promise that sponsors will be more carefully considered moving forward.
— Podcast Movement at #PM22 (@PodcastMovement) August 25, 2022
Just to clarify, no TDW representatives were scheduled to appear on panels, and Shapiro remained in the common space and did not have a badge. If you have questions, we’re here to talk. Thank you for reading, and we hope you’ll continue to join us from here on out.
— Podcast Movement at #PM22 (@PodcastMovement) August 25, 2022
Well, @PodcastMovement, we have questions. Namely, “How are you people for real?”
I didn’t realize Aaron Mahnke (who does the popular Lore podcast) is so hysterical. 😆 pic.twitter.com/YO0IZx8aGR
— Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) August 25, 2022
“Refund their dirty money.”
Call the police next time. https://t.co/CfT6G4x3rt
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) August 25, 2022
Ermahgerd! Oh the humanity!!! https://t.co/ubnZYSPiuH
— Fingers Malloy (@FingersMalloy) August 25, 2022
Oh, the harm!
What harm was done? https://t.co/tDQ2K4Y3lR
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) August 25, 2022
It's a private convention, not a tech platform or monopoly, of course they can pick who they want at their events and it's not that big of a deal. But they justify it by claiming some harm was done. What was the harm?
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) August 25, 2022
Is the harm what Ben Shapiro says? Shapiro and Daily Wire's audience is in the millions. Is his physical presence in this space even relevant to whether or not his message is heard? Why is it more harmful if he walks through the convention space?
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) August 25, 2022
Inquiring minds wanna know.
“I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never ever possibly destroy us.” https://t.co/PfevP87Wn7 pic.twitter.com/Zo7mpt4eAp
— Aelfred The Great (@aelfred_D) August 25, 2022
Ben Shapiro walking through the expo https://t.co/kZvt9hlBwz pic.twitter.com/3ISLbChDfW
— 🏳️⚧️ kenzie_homeslice :3 🏳️⚧️ (@Le_Kenzie0w0) August 25, 2022
Does he walk into a room and emit wave after wave of destruction just by being there? https://t.co/HEs2KjVTqd
— Jay (@OneFineJay) August 25, 2022
Maybe that’s what it is. Or maybe he’s just better at his job than they are at theirs. Maybe he’s just more popular than they are. Maybe he’s just smarter than they are.
And maybe if people at the big convention had a chance to actually listen to what he had to say, they’d realize that he’s actually right about a lot of stuff.
I've never met Ben, but I am guessing he is one of the least harmful people on the planet.
No offense, Ben. https://t.co/JNBoBXz8Mh
— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) August 25, 2022
None taken, we’re sure.
What's amazing is they never identify *why* Shapiro is so gosh darn scary. Is it perhaps because his views are ones that half (or more) of the country hold? https://t.co/9WPJWqZPOq
— Katrina Trinko (@KatrinaTrinko) August 25, 2022
Really?! We’ve had disagreements with TDW folks on some issues & we haven’t been afraid to share that. But for something called “Podcast Movement” to be apologizing for the presence of one of the biggest podcast hosts in the country, @BenShapiro, is absolutely absurd. https://t.co/NjSUtX1gT8
— Darvio Morrow (@DTheKingpin) August 25, 2022
This thread is worth the read and a good laugh. A complete meltdown of the "worlds largest community of podcasters" over the fact that Ben Shapiro was in the room. https://t.co/xcVmysZuJR
— Jeff Hunt (@jeffhunt) August 25, 2022
I am laughing heartily at this mea culpa. Ben Shapiro’s presence is harmful! 😱 Diversity of thought is bad! The people are appalled! https://t.co/SoMjRAsnlg
— Kimberly Ross (@SouthernKeeks) August 25, 2022
The sea of woke podcasters was angry that day, my friends.
Will you also take responsibility for the harm inflicted on society by this apology? https://t.co/JKuEcG6TVQ
— Chris Pandolfo (@ChrisCPandolfo) August 25, 2022
Ha! Yeah, the time we took to read it … that’s time we’ll never get back.
You are being baby people. https://t.co/M1vFnnevaq
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) August 25, 2022
I’m breaking my own twitter rule of not calling people stupid, but wow, do you sound colossally stupid. https://t.co/WHWaMD2k2Y
— Erielle Davidson (@politicalelle) August 25, 2022
They sound colossally stupid because they are colossally stupid. They should consider seeing someone about that.
If the presence of someone who disagrees with you politically is harmful to you (especially of an orthodox Jew with mostly mainstream conservative views), then you have serious issues that should likely be worked out with a therapist instead of on a public platform. https://t.co/XH064Lm82y
— AG (@AGHamilton29) August 25, 2022
Or can anyone recommend a good mental health podcast for them to check out?
***