I think people are way downplaying the impact of social media here. It’s been demonstrated that we are all being fed more and more extreme content based on algorithms, and that social media (and conventional media) is getting more polarized. Saying that he’s just “researching” or “debating” or “has different views” does not at all capture what’s going on, especially for kids/teens.

What I’d recommend is setting aside the individual arguments and personalities and talk instead about social media and polarization. Watch the Social Dilemma together. Encourage him to consume edited media on both sides of the aisle - I actually like Reason Magazine although I never fully agree with it. Subscribe to the NYTimes and WSJ.

Then, have conversations about values, not “debates.” Explain why you care about sexism and racism. Talk about actual statistics and facts.

I think all of us raising white boys in this environment are going to face this sooner or later. The fact is a lot of the rhetoric around race/gender is well meaning but can result in white boys feeling attacked/alienated, which obviously leads them straight to the Shapiro types.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So he has different political views then you? That is perfectly fine, and the fact you are on here asking how to stop him is a sad testament to the state of our political discourse right now.

Make sure he knows you love him no matter what, and he is welcome to enjoy whatever political discourse he wants. Maybe schedule some time to sit down with him and watch a few of his favorites, not arguing, but watching with him so you can better understand where he is coming from. You might even find that these news programs aren’t the evil boogeyman that is depicted in the replies above.

By the way, this is coming from a Liberal Democrat, not some fan of Steven Crowder or what not. I’m just tired of acting like everyone who disagrees with us is evil/racist/homophobic/etc and think we need to sit down and meet in the middle.

Except Steven Crowder is all of those things, and the current wave of popular Republicans are all those things. If OP's son was under the influence of an Alex P. Keaton type of Republican it wouldn't be an issue. Folks like crowder are specifically targeting teenage boys with their toxic ideology similar to how ISIL recruits. It really isn't something to take the " it's no big deal" approach with.

I'd be tempted to do a major overhaul of his social media access.


OP, it comes down to this he's trying to bond with his dad, so he emulates the things he's into. You probably aren't going to get far debating him. But do keep a close eye on it. Maybe sharing videos from another guy who counterpoints Crowder would help?

He is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc from your viewpoint. From the conservative viewpoint, he is not any of those things. I’ve yet to see him involved with the KKK, arguing for segregation, or other solidified racist arguments. To OP’s son, his message is not hateful, and that is a valid perspective shared by our conservative friends in this country. All of this extremist talk, about how newscasters are racist because they say George Washington was a great man, or the alt-right is akin to ISIS because they both are groups where many young man gravitate towards is silly and does nothing but divide this country. We should be focused and mending this devide through understanding and tolerance.

You can stop pretending you're a liberal democrat now. Racism is not limited to spouting KK rhetoric, Look it up his racism, homophobia misogyny are on record, these things are not subjective and up for debate, OP is right to be concerned and take a hard line against it in her household..

Agree. It’s not limited to those things. It’s anything you want it to be nowadays, especially if it’s an opinion that differs from your own or an individual that you don’t care for. Extra points if it’s a conservative, because it’s surely not going to be anyone on the left. They’re incapable of racist or transphobic thoughts or rhetoric. Only those with a conservative viewpoint are.

You should get a youtube channel because you've nailed the "act like an ahole and play the victim" bit.

Teenagers need to separate from their parents. Rejecting your parent’s politics is one way to do that. In the past the parents tended to be conservative and the kids would rebel by going the other way. Now many parents are so far on the left that the only way to rebel is to go right.

Don’t push him away, op. Ask him questions, listen to what he has to say.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Tell me this is just a phase. I can’t handle it. Yes I have warned him and educated him about alt-right recruitment as well as how to do your own research about topics and to get information rather than rely on inflammatory videos, etc.

He likes to debate with me and argue with me about it a lot - topics that this guy talks about, etc. I know this is how they form their views of the world and he’s only a junior in high school. But I can’t rely on his dad to refute this stuff as he’s pretty libertarian/conservative.

I won’t be able to handle my kid being a Ben Shapiro acolyte.

It sounds like he IS doing his own research about topics and viewing the spectrum of political viewpoints and forming his own opinions. It sounds he is doing exactly what you say you want, but you don't like the outcome. You sound incredibly intolerant.

It sounds like he things watching youtube videos is "doing research" which is how we end up with college republicans going groyper.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So he has different political views then you? That is perfectly fine, and the fact you are on here asking how to stop him is a sad testament to the state of our political discourse right now.

Make sure he knows you love him no matter what, and he is welcome to enjoy whatever political discourse he wants. Maybe schedule some time to sit down with him and watch a few of his favorites, not arguing, but watching with him so you can better understand where he is coming from. You might even find that these news programs aren’t the evil boogeyman that is depicted in the replies above.

By the way, this is coming from a Liberal Democrat, not some fan of Steven Crowder or what not. I’m just tired of acting like everyone who disagrees with us is evil/racist/homophobic/etc and think we need to sit down and meet in the middle.

Except Steven Crowder is all of those things, and the current wave of popular Republicans are all those things. If OP's son was under the influence of an Alex P. Keaton type of Republican it wouldn't be an issue. Folks like crowder are specifically targeting teenage boys with their toxic ideology similar to how ISIL recruits. It really isn't something to take the " it's no big deal" approach with.

I'd be tempted to do a major overhaul of his social media access.


OP, it comes down to this he's trying to bond with his dad, so he emulates the things he's into. You probably aren't going to get far debating him. But do keep a close eye on it. Maybe sharing videos from another guy who counterpoints Crowder would help?

He is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc from your viewpoint. From the conservative viewpoint, he is not any of those things. I’ve yet to see him involved with the KKK, arguing for segregation, or other solidified racist arguments. To OP’s son, his message is not hateful, and that is a valid perspective shared by our conservative friends in this country. All of this extremist talk, about how newscasters are racist because they say George Washington was a great man, or the alt-right is akin to ISIS because they both are groups where many young man gravitate towards is silly and does nothing but divide this country. We should be focused and mending this devide through understanding and tolerance.

You can stop pretending you're a liberal democrat now. Racism is not limited to spouting KK rhetoric, Look it up his racism, homophobia misogyny are on record, these things are not subjective and up for debate, OP is right to be concerned and take a hard line against it in her household..

Agree. It’s not limited to those things. It’s anything you want it to be nowadays, especially if it’s an opinion that differs from your own or an individual that you don’t care for. Extra points if it’s a conservative, because it’s surely not going to be anyone on the left. They’re incapable of racist or transphobic thoughts or rhetoric. Only those with a conservative viewpoint are.

You should listen OP- you might learn something. My 16 YO and his friends listen to Shapiro all the time.

You realize that you sound like a Karen to your son, don’t you?

Anonymous wrote:Steven Crowder had such a racist rant on YouTube that they removed it. You know how bad you have to be for YouTube to cancel you?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/3/30/22359191/steven-crowder-youtube-partner-program-suspension-demonetize-ads-strike-ban-misinformation

I agree with the OP. There’s one thing having differing views, it’s another when those views are horrifically insensitive to races of people. He’s also a bit of a misogynist. He tries to cover it with humor but It’s pretty easy to see through.

Are you serious? YouTube removes people/videos all the time.

Anonymous wrote:My sympathies. Some children just should not be born.

Wow. Starting with yourself, I presume?

Anonymous wrote:Tell me this is just a phase. I can’t handle it. Yes I have warned him and educated him about alt-right recruitment as well as how to do your own research about topics and to get information rather than rely on inflammatory videos, etc.

He likes to debate with me and argue with me about it a lot - topics that this guy talks about, etc. I know this is how they form their views of the world and he’s only a junior in high school. But I can’t rely on his dad to refute this stuff as he’s pretty libertarian/conservative.

I won’t be able to handle my kid being a Ben Shapiro acolyte.

It sounds like he IS doing his own research about topics and viewing the spectrum of political viewpoints and forming his own opinions. It sounds he is doing exactly what you say you want, but you don't like the outcome. You sound incredibly intolerant.

My sympathies. Some children just should not be born.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So he has different political views then you? That is perfectly fine, and the fact you are on here asking how to stop him is a sad testament to the state of our political discourse right now.

Make sure he knows you love him no matter what, and he is welcome to enjoy whatever political discourse he wants. Maybe schedule some time to sit down with him and watch a few of his favorites, not arguing, but watching with him so you can better understand where he is coming from. You might even find that these news programs aren’t the evil boogeyman that is depicted in the replies above.

By the way, this is coming from a Liberal Democrat, not some fan of Steven Crowder or what not. I’m just tired of acting like everyone who disagrees with us is evil/racist/homophobic/etc and think we need to sit down and meet in the middle.

Except Steven Crowder is all of those things, and the current wave of popular Republicans are all those things. If OP's son was under the influence of an Alex P. Keaton type of Republican it wouldn't be an issue. Folks like crowder are specifically targeting teenage boys with their toxic ideology similar to how ISIL recruits. It really isn't something to take the " it's no big deal" approach with.

I'd be tempted to do a major overhaul of his social media access.


OP, it comes down to this he's trying to bond with his dad, so he emulates the things he's into. You probably aren't going to get far debating him. But do keep a close eye on it. Maybe sharing videos from another guy who counterpoints Crowder would help?

He is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc from your viewpoint. From the conservative viewpoint, he is not any of those things. I’ve yet to see him involved with the KKK, arguing for segregation, or other solidified racist arguments. To OP’s son, his message is not hateful, and that is a valid perspective shared by our conservative friends in this country. All of this extremist talk, about how newscasters are racist because they say George Washington was a great man, or the alt-right is akin to ISIS because they both are groups where many young man gravitate towards is silly and does nothing but divide this country. We should be focused and mending this devide through understanding and tolerance.

You can stop pretending you're a liberal democrat now. Racism is not limited to spouting KK rhetoric, Look it up his racism, homophobia misogyny are on record, these things are not subjective and up for debate, OP is right to be concerned and take a hard line against it in her household..

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Steven Crowder had such a racist rant on YouTube that they removed it. You know how bad you have to be for YouTube to cancel you?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/3/30/22359191/steven-crowder-youtube-partner-program-suspension-demonetize-ads-strike-ban-misinformation

I agree with the OP. There’s one thing having differing views, it’s another when those views are horrifically insensitive to races of people. He’s also a bit of a misogynist. He tries to cover it with humor but It’s pretty easy to see through.

Stating that you don’t believe transwomen are actually women can get you banned from YouTube. The bar is not as high as you think it is.

He got demonetized and suspended for election misinformation. OP, ask your kid who won the election.

Looked this guy up on wikipedia:

In June 2019, YouTube investigated Crowder for using racist and homophobic slurs targeting Carlos Maza in multiple videos reacting to the Vox series Strikethrough, which Maza hosts. Crowder referred to Maza as "Mr. Lispy queer", an "angry little queer", and a "gay Mexican", and mocked him with a stereotypical gay voice, sometimes while wearing a t-shirt with Che Guevara on it that said "Socialism is for f*gs [sic]".[3] In addition, Maza said that Crowder's fans have doxxed and harassed him.[31]

Crowder responded with a video where he said his use of slurs was "playful ribbing" and that "it's funny, it's a comedy show".

Yeah I don't understand what there is to debate.

Anonymous wrote:Steven Crowder had such a racist rant on YouTube that they removed it. You know how bad you have to be for YouTube to cancel you?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2021/3/30/22359191/steven-crowder-youtube-partner-program-suspension-demonetize-ads-strike-ban-misinformation

I agree with the OP. There’s one thing having differing views, it’s another when those views are horrifically insensitive to races of people. He’s also a bit of a misogynist. He tries to cover it with humor but It’s pretty easy to see through.

Stating that you don’t believe transwomen are actually women can get you banned from YouTube. The bar is not as high as you think it is.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So he has different political views then you? That is perfectly fine, and the fact you are on here asking how to stop him is a sad testament to the state of our political discourse right now.

Make sure he knows you love him no matter what, and he is welcome to enjoy whatever political discourse he wants. Maybe schedule some time to sit down with him and watch a few of his favorites, not arguing, but watching with him so you can better understand where he is coming from. You might even find that these news programs aren’t the evil boogeyman that is depicted in the replies above.

By the way, this is coming from a Liberal Democrat, not some fan of Steven Crowder or what not. I’m just tired of acting like everyone who disagrees with us is evil/racist/homophobic/etc and think we need to sit down and meet in the middle.

Except Steven Crowder is all of those things, and the current wave of popular Republicans are all those things. If OP's son was under the influence of an Alex P. Keaton type of Republican it wouldn't be an issue. Folks like crowder are specifically targeting teenage boys with their toxic ideology similar to how ISIL recruits. It really isn't something to take the " it's no big deal" approach with.

I'd be tempted to do a major overhaul of his social media access.


OP, it comes down to this he's trying to bond with his dad, so he emulates the things he's into. You probably aren't going to get far debating him. But do keep a close eye on it. Maybe sharing videos from another guy who counterpoints Crowder would help?

He is racist, sexist, homophobic, etc from your viewpoint. From the conservative viewpoint, he is not any of those things. I’ve yet to see him involved with the KKK, arguing for segregation, or other solidified racist arguments. To OP’s son, his message is not hateful, and that is a valid perspective shared by our conservative friends in this country. All of this extremist talk, about how newscasters are racist because they say George Washington was a great man, or the alt-right is akin to ISIS because they both are groups where many young man gravitate towards is silly and does nothing but divide this country. We should be focused and mending this devide through understanding and tolerance.