I was going to ask how this was a dunk until I started reading it and saw that the author calls out Piker for saying he’s not an academic while having a bachelor’s degree lmao. I know multiple people with bachelor degrees who aren’t academics and don’t ever claim to be one, and I know people with bachelor degrees who claim they’re academics when they’re straight up not lol. fuck, I have a bachelor’s degree and I’m just like a pretend academic when no one else is around. Then the whole Peter Singer thing and the fucking Maslow hierarchy of needs , what the fuck. I’m sorry but it’s just “I’m a 19 year old college student and I understand how the world really is” vibes lmao. I used to be that college kid.
I do think Hasan probably wouldn’t be as famous as he is if he wasn’t pretty handsome and the nephew of the Young Turks guy, so yeah I guess nepotism, but I can’t take this seriously. It absolutely fucking sucks that people can buy multimillion dollar houses in LA just making money as a streamer while people working actually necessary jobs are struggling to pay rent, and there’s undoubtedly things you can criticize him for from the left. I don’t get twitch and it does weird me out that (likely young) people think he’s some sort of revolutionary just for streaming himself talking or reacting to other videos or whatever. But has he ever claimed to be a Marxist? Or a communist, or anything like that? You can just say you think he sucks without trying to shoehorn your undergrad ethics and sociology terms into it lol.
He doesn’t just “have a bachelor’s”. He graduated cum laude with a double major from an elite university, Rutgers. Maybe to you that’s not an academic, but it sure looks like it to the rest of us. He also benefited from nepotism, which our elites also consider a sacred institution.
“Being an academic” requires you to have a doctorate or at least be teaching on your way to a doctorate. Quite literally having a doctorate means that you are qualified to teach your subject within academia, thus rendering you an academic. Mind, this is not academic shit, this is pedantic nerd shit.
I’m not a huge fan of either academics or Hasan, but him not calling himself an academic despite having gone to an elite institution is absolutely the correct take. Which is the problem with Hasan, where most of his takes are good despite his nepotism, overwhelming wealth and completely useless job.
If the choice for ‘Marxism’ is between Hasan and whatever person wrote this essay, I’m sorry but I am choosing Hasan because at least Hasan isn’t doing stupid misrepresentation of arguments (most of the time, his clip on TJ was pretty cringe). Fortunately, this isn’t some sort of binary and there can be nuance where both of Hasan and articles ranting about Hasan are cringe.
That’s just straight up not what “being an academic” means tho.
“Academic” is an occupation. It usually requires a certain level of education (usually a doctorate or being in the process of getting a doctorate) but primarily it’s a job description for people who get paid to teach at Universities (or other academic institutions) and publish papers in academic journals.
ok now I can’t tell if you posted this to dunk on the writer or Piker lol. but I’ll assume you’re trying to dunk on Piker. graduated cum laude (on financial aid because I’m poor) and I was not a good student, all you need to do is get a B average, it’s not some special thing. to me that just sounds like he had enough money to go to a good school. I used to work with a total dip shit who went to Columbia just because his dad is some pharmaceutical executive and could afford it. just having rich parents and going to a good school doesn’t make you an academic. and I’m not saying Piker didn’t benefit from nepotism I literally said he wouldn’t be famous if it wasn’t for his uncle and his good looks lmao, but this whole piece is just “I hate this nominally leftish rich guy so let me use my new college classes to justify it”. I think he sucks too but I don’t need to bring up Singer or Maslow to justify it
