01 December 2008

Trump Card

by Frank Turk

I usually have this thing in an argument -- when one side invokes the epithet "Nazi", I recognize things have gone from reasonable or rational to absurd.

In that context, I present the following, HT: Abraham Piper & Andrew Jones.

Mind your coffee ...



Have at it.


28 comments:

Matthew Carroll said...

Das finde ich überwitzig! Ganz gut gemacht.

FX Turk said...

Matai --

I need the subtitles.

Michael Russell and Vicki Fox Productions said...

I don't get it.

I recognize many of the people mentioned in the subtitles.

Was the Hitler character lamenting some breakup or disorganization among the Emergent movement leaders?

What is this National Coordinator?

Who do the Germans represent - the emergent movement, some other liberal movement, other?

Sorry to be so dense, but the satire of the video depends way too much on inside knowledge of the people mentioned.

greglong said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
greglong said...

Zehr gut.

Saw this footage used to explain the mortgage crisis, but this is even better.

Brian @ voiceofthesheep said...

"We don't believe in absolutes"...that subtle declaration of an 'absolute' in the clip rips away the veil of the emergent farce.

Deep down they know that one can't NOT have absolutes...so what they are doing is just making up their own new ones which are void of real absolute truth.

Great clip.

Chris H said...

Frank,

Great clip. Your thing about people invoking, "Nazi," is being called an "ad Hitlerum," if wikipedia can be believed. And I agree with you; it usually means the debate has taken a left turn at Good Logic Junction and is heading speedily towards Fallacyville.

Moon said...

ok that was hilarious!

"without the help of Tony or his brother Andrew the Scrawny kiwi or whatever he's called, I'm liable to ignore Scot McNight and just read John Piper. I'll never be cool again"
lol! Mr. "Hitler" you won't be cool but might get saved...

Anonymous said...

"Get me Pagitt!" was the best line.

absolutely hilarious. [can i say "absolutely'?] ALMOST as good as Pyromaniac emergent-see posters, maybe funnier, but hasnt had time yet to get the same kind of circulation.

"ad Hitlerum" should NOT be invoked here because, even though Randy the creator is a non-emergent "critic", he is just using a common medium in this particular clip to have a shot at the emerging church.

take a look at youtube for many many other clips with different subtitles that take a shot at sports, politics, florida, etc.

so - its a fair shot and well done Randy!

if anyone wants to create a widely viewed critic of the emerging church, humor goes a long way.

Chris H said...

Kiwi,
I didn't say that this clip was an "ad Hitlerum," just mentioning Frank's comment about when debates leave sanity. No worries, I enjoyed this clip immensely.

Phil Johnson said...

I tried to watch this video clip, but the spectacle of so much cruelty disguised as humor and then wielded against tender souls like Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones gave me a pain deep in my heart.

Where is Emerging Grace when we need her? She or someone with video skilz needs to subtitle an episode of the Smurfs as an alternative to this grotesquely ugly style of satire.

FX Turk said...

Kiwi --

I think the only reason this doesn;t dive into the Nazi dumpster is that you cna't really decide who "Hitler" is supposed to be. I mean: who's really running the Emergent Village anyway?

It's like The Village in the old "The Prisoner" TV series -- Who is Number 1? And why is he wearing a gorilla mask? And why does he have so many Number 2s?

I AM NOT A NUMBER! I AM A FREE MAN!

Rachael Starke said...

Phil -

FWIW, DirecTV now offers a fabulous assortment of Smurf episodes for the public's viewing enjoyment. There was one my girls watched over the weekend involving Lady Smurf demanding a blue rose from Mother Nature, even though no blue rose existed.

It would be perfect.

FX Turk said...

My kids watch the Smurfs just to hear Jokey Smurf laugh. He oibviously enjoys laughing.

Anonymous said...

chrish and frank

hey guys. sorry if i sounded harsh. didnt mean to accuse anyone.

the hitler thing crossed my mind earlier on when i saw this and so i think its a relevant point for discussion.

and yes - agreed that this breaks no rules, but is given in good spirit and is quite harmless . . except for phil's heart pain, that is.

FX Turk said...

Kiwi --

No blood, no foul, dude. I for one am glad to see someone targetted in the video receive it in the spirit it was delivered.

GET ME PAGITT!

hockeyboy5 said...

Vicki, I only used Hitler in the parody because that film has been used for many parodies on YouTube already. No other significance. Tony Jones stepped down as National Coordinator and some emergent guys put mock "I'm the new coordinator" videos on YouTube about the same time that I first saw the mortgage crisis parody. A light went off in my addled brain, and the rest is just the story we find ourselves in.

The video was meant to depend on inside knowledge. How else was I to infiltrate the movement? But now my cover is blown and the threats have begun.

Phil, despite the pain in your heart, you may remember me if you look at this photo from the 2003 AOMin cruise. Everyone else should look to see proof that James White is clearly a hyper-Calvinist.

Anonymous said...

"...you can't really decide who "Hitler" is supposed to be."

Yeah, that's what's bugging me. Who is the Emerg*** Fuehrer? Or is he not a real person, only an abstraction of emergence?

Agree - "Get me Pagitt!" was the highlight.

Anonymous said...

hockeyboy5, you svine. you vill pay for das insolent video! i hope you like da taste of leather because i am putting aside a glove with your name on it! and dont think you can escape it by your own free vill because i saw dat photo of you and james vite and let me tell you . . . you were predestined for dis slapping.

Rob said...

Very funny.... and what is it with people from Minnesota, indeed!

Chad V. said...

Nice, there are several versions of this video on You Tube. I've seen one where they are talking about the decline of the stock market and Hitler is blowing a heart valve because his investments are all gone to pot.

A nice bit of satire Frank.

Anonymous said...

Frank asked:

Kiwi . . .I mean: who's really running the Emergent Village anyway?

Not sure Frank. I haven't been to an EV meeting for about 3 years. I try to keep up with what they are doing, as I do with all the emerging church movements I can find, but dont have time to be too involved in any of them.

BUT . .. it does sound a little bit like the spider is becoming a starfish.

DJP said...

...the spider is becoming a starfish....

< desperately searches countersign manual >

Yes, and... and the lonely swallow barks at the abyss!

(c;

Anonymous said...

sorry. too vague and cryptic. i was referring to a recent best seller called "The Spider and the Starfish: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations". Its emergent theory, actually, but in another package.

I prefer the Proverbs 6:6 version which tells us to observe the ant. same thing.

i find that most emerging church networks (some of us are not using that term anymore but i bring it up here for simpicity) operate like the starfish - or the ant - in a decentralized fashion which allows leadership to rise to the occasion from within the group.

it makes them more invisible as a group but a lot stronger, since a key person (hitler, etc) is not actually needed.

EV bucked the trend by having a national coordinator and are returning to what most other emerging groups are already doing.

Caleb Kolstad said...

Classic

Marcus Pittman said...

Probally one of the best Emergent satires I have ever seen...

I LOL'd.

Anonymous said...

Obviously Phil's comment was one of humor. Reference emergent-see po-motivator "Cruelty"

hockeyboy5 said...

you were predestined for dis slapping.

You might be tall, but I bet you're skinny. I play hockey, so we'll see who's chewing leather! You're buying the frappuccino in any case, right?

Randy AKA hockeyboy5