A GEICO voiceover guy was fired by Geico due to pressure from teabaggers. Here’s a video about it:
GEICO Voiceover Guy Fired From Teabagger Pressure
April 21, 2010 By 57 Comments
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I guess that’s y I’m with Progressive Ins lol. To Geico: that decision WAS NOT ‘the bees knees’
To Mr. Announcer Dude: thank you (And sorry about ur job status)-but next time leave out ur tel # ;l
Lawyer time. He could realistically sue the Tea Party into bankruptcy on this one.
The only problem is that the Tea Party isn’t a single incorporated entity. It would be like trying to sue Liberalism, or Socialism. It’s just an ideology. An ignorant, goofy and racist one, but still just an ideology.
Well, he can certainly sue an individual over it, and doubtless the donations for said teabagger’s defense would flow in – that would be good enough for me :-)
Voiceover guy, you’re the newest name on my list of true American heros.
I’m at work and can’t listen to the video. What happened to the Geico guy?
I wonder if you guys would love him as much if he had asked, “I just wondered how many of your employees are nappy-headed hoes, and what kind of spin you will put on it when they kill somebody while in a crack-induced stupor?”
Because that would be exactly the same, right?
Wait, what?
If it had honestly seemed like a significantly-sized wing of the protestors were in fact crackheads, then yeah, that would probably have been the equivalent thing to say – maybe without the “hoes” bit, that seems pretty irrelevant. And while I wouldn’t be happy with his tone and wording (just as I was not happy with his wording in the actual message), I would feel pretty much the same about the situation as a whole. I think he had the right to express his opinion, even if I wish he’d been a little more careful about how he did it.
Oh wait we already know what happens……Just another double standard. Figures
IP ban please.
Huh?
I think he is assuming wondering and figures are sockpuppets.
Not a bad assumption.
I have GEICO and I’ve been putting off getting onto my husband’s car insurance out of sheer laziness. I think it’s time to make that change now. And I’ll be happy to tell them why.
Not that I’m all that thrilled with Geico’s behaviour in this matter either, but the guy does specifically say that he doesn’t blame Geico for having acted as they did, and would rather people direct their anger (more constructively) towards the bullying which caused them to make that decision.
Obviously, most of the people here would be happier if Geico had stood up against the pressure of FreedomWorks and the Tea Party, but I think “Voiceover Guy” was right: they shouldn’t have to take on an angry mob. Neither should he, obviously, but ultimately his career as a whole is doing fine, and the people at FreedomWorks who were involved in this fiasco have made themselves look pretty bad.
That’s just my opinion. I don’t know if I’d want to have Geico insurance or not, but it’s worth considering whether other insurance companies are any better in this respect.
Two quick comments:
1. “Teabaggers” is inaccurate and derogatory… at least. I humbly as that you curb you prejudice.
2. The guy has every right to express his opinion as he wishes and Geico has every right to decide whether or not to employ or contract with him. Choices have consequences. At least in most realities.
IMHO, this is only an issue because there is a new vocal political group. There have been several in the US’s history and there will be more. They typically survive, or not, on their merits.
You’re right, it is innaccurate and derogatory.
We should call them idiots, morons, dumbskulls, dumbasses, smegheads, wack-jobs, or cottage-cheese-for-brains.
Better?
Hmm, how about simply “ignorant rasict homophobic douchebags”?
Don’t forget “misinformed” or even “lied to.”
CoffeeJedi—-”You’re right, it is innaccurate and derogatory.
We should call them idiots, morons, dumbskulls, dumbasses, smegheads, wack-jobs, or cottage-cheese-for-brains.
Better?
Hmm, how about simply “ignorant rasict homophobic douchebags”?”
You are the pot calling the kettle black. Who is ignorant here, calling a group of people (tea partiers) the same? You resort only to name calling, which shows the level of intelligence you convey towards debating. Try using facts instead of emotion next time, and you won’t be the one looking ignorant.
Yes, definitely debate the racists on the issues.
Well, one could at least try. Name-calling doesn’t seem to work all that well, for any of the parties involved…
While I must admit I found the ‘teabagger’ thing absolutely hilarious the first time I heard it (it was an actual Tea Party member using it to describe themselves – unless, of course, it was an undercover agent – who knows?), I do try not to use it in more serious contexts. I mean, if it makes them feel persecuted, why bother? It isn’t helpful to us, and it hardens others against us.
Michael – I think that almost anybody here would admit that there are those among the Tea Party who are not racist, ignorant, or homophobic – but when (as appears to be the case for many people here) the only explanation for the actions of a very large, very vocal part of the group seems to be that they fall into at least one of those categories, it often makes sense to use those adjectives to describe ‘the Tea Party’ instead of just ‘many members of the Tea Party’. It gets tedious qualifying that you mean ‘some not all’ every single time you want to explain the sentiments of a large category of people. It would prevent a lot of misunderstandings, but it’s usually unnecessary, and rather inconvenient.
I mean, just look at this terribly huge paragraph I’ve just written. If everybody wrote like this, nothing would ever get done. :P
They quite frankly don’t deserve it; waving their poorly spelled signs and yelling and braying like barnyard animals, showing absolutely no regard for discourse, hurling racial and sexual epithets. So no, your little troll comment isn’t going to work. They started the stupidity and appeals to emotion, not me. They have already shown their lack of intelligence, I’m certainly not going to treat them as if they hadn’t.
Now, if it their arguments were presented clearly and logically and in a calm and rational manner, THEN I wouldn’t resort to name calling.
Ah, the tolerant Left.
You’ll notice it’s not the left waving signs advocating slave ownership, homophobia and racism.
Typical right-wing (Christian, usually) double standard: “You’re shouting at us because we’re persecuting people, therefore you’re persecuting us!”
Um, no. Just no.
Ah, the insane Right.
So you think the same tolerance that is applied to differences in race, color, and sexual orientation should also be applied to racism and homophobia?
You honestly don’t see a difference?
I suppose it makes a difference whether homophobes were “just born that way” and “can’t help it”, or whether they’ve made a reversible choice to be useless human beings. Cause if they can’t help it, maybe they are a (pathetic) minority group in need of some coddling and protection.
Let’s not overthink this. I think the term “teabaggers” works just fine. I laugh everytime I hear it or say it.
Let’s not forget, they came up with the term. It’s our fault they use a name that is the start of a modern day sexual slang? Don’t think so.
Wow, the tea party members are racist and homophobic?. No they aren’t.
My GRANDPARENTS are members. They ARE BLACK. Everyone who says the tea party movement is just racists and homophobics is just ignorant and avoiding the real problems. Who the hell are you going to blame now if you can’t blame them for something. oh and have the tea part members ever hurt ANYBODY?. no. have the crazy liberals. yes. nice try idiots.
…riiiiiiiiiiiight. Funny how the coverage of these teabagger two-minute-hates hasn’t turned up one African American teabagger–and I’m including Fox News here.
First of all, they initially started calling themselves “teabaggers.”
But to your larger point, this is pretty much the same argument I made when John Rocker made his horribly offensive and bigoted comments ten or twelve years ago. I’d say the difference is that there is a much, much higher bar to clear for getting fired as the result of making offensive comments if those comments express a conservative viewpoint. Liberals apparently get fired for saying much, much less, as this case demonstrates.
Of course, now that I think about it, Rocker’s comments were made in a public forum while the announcer’s comments were made in a private one, or at least it was private until the teabaggers decided to make it public. So okay, no comparison. Never mind.
CoffeeJedi
April 21, 2010 at 11:18 pm
You’re right, it is innaccurate and derogatory.
We should call them idiots, morons, dumbskulls, dumbasses, smegheads, wack-jobs, or cottage-cheese-for-brains.
Better?
Hmm, how about simply “ignorant rasict homophobic douchebags”?
—————————————————————————————————————
Just say no to drugs, a mind is a terrible thing to waste
You’re pretty safe then – Start on crystal meth and work up.
So you’re a drive-by troll then? Register for one post you don’t like, reply to someone’s comment but are too stupid to use the “Reply” feature, then leave a generic comeback that has nothing to do with the comment to which you’re responding. Yeah… you really got me good there buddy.
I’d say “try again”, but as we all know, drive-by trolls never come back.
So when one puts teabagger,or tea party in an article header…I guess we should expect posts and comments from numerous people we have never seen nor heard from before on this site that make the christians(no offense ment to those that are) that do post here seem sane and rational. So does that make the tea party kind of thin skinned,and defensive and of course ridiculous, or does it make me paranoid to expect more of the same if another post talks about them?
First of all, FreedomWorks should be sued for making public someone’s voicemail and phone number.
Secondly, the “name-calling” issue is not black and white. “Mentally retarded” is, IMO, unacceptable. “Crazy,” a term I admit to using, is probably not appropriate either. “Racist,” however, is clearly applicable and acceptable. Same with heterosexist/homophobic. “Ignorant” is too broad, and everyone is ignorant about something. Same with “uneducated,” as education comes in many forms and to different degrees.
Ideally, Tea Partiers would be engaged in civil dialogue that would make them aware of facts that are clearly unbeknownst to so many of them (e.g., regarding the size of government under various administrations, regarding corporate influence on politicians and the media, regarding the meaning of socialism and the meaning of fascism, regarding war profiteering, regarding white privilege and institutional racism, regarding the Bible, regarding Obama’s birth certificate, etc., etc., etc.).
But, if someone is totally resistant to facts, what can you do?
Also, I will admit that it’s difficult for me to not get incredibly frustrated and downright pissed off when encountering bigotry, hypocrisy on a grand scale and extreme ignorance. The corporate media has no vested interest in this, but I would love for there to be a nightly TV program (in primetime) that devotes at least 1 hour to a few dozen folks discussing various issues of national significance (such as the proper role of federal, state and local government). In a different location of the country each night. There would be moderators, as well as fact-checkers, on hand. There could be localized versions, as well. In the meantime, I have zero interest in wasting my time with TV.
Can we southamericans have a hitchhicker’s guide to that Asylum, (North)America?
I love this blog, but sometimes I get just… blank.
Tea party members are regular people. They are not for expressing racist or homophobic views. Anybody who thinks that is just ignorant. I believe in what the tea party stands for and I am not racist or homophobic. I guess you bitter liberals are just going to have to find someone else to criticize. Oh, and one more thing have the tea party members ever hurt ANYONE? No not once. Have the crazy violent liberals? Yes. They have. idiots…
So those folks with racist or homophobic signs marching with the tea partiers, who are not criticized by anyone standing around them and seem quite at home…those are a mass hallucination?
The majority of the tea party members are just fed up with the radical government feeding us lies. The base of it has nothing to do with bashing different races or homosexuals. I mean what do you think the African American tea party members are doing? Criticizing themselves..?
What exactly has the government done that you would characterize as radical?
Nah, they’re there to accuse teh gheyz.
Where we you patriots when the government was feeding the public lies about WMDs in Iraq?
Bitter? Why would we be bitter dude.
We’re in CHARGE right now. Our legislation is getting passed. The economy is turning around under our guy’s watch. You people OTOH, are just a bit pathetic really.
Also, the word “radical”? I do not think that word means what you think it means…
No it actually does mean what I think it means, but thank you. Oh, and I don’t know why you all are so bitter, why don’t you tell me. We are pathetic because we disagree with whats going on in Washington? oh ok. Our president really is not doing that good of a job I have to say, and you are not recognizig that, you just like to point out how pathetic the tea party movement is…like thats going to get you anywhere. There are more important issues.
You’re pathetic because you wave incredibly ill-thought out signs and elevate an anti-intellectual quitter as your poster-woman.
patriotic443,
Others have asked you for specifics, and I will do the same. List some of your specific issues and we’ll discuss them one by one.
And a question for you: Why is patriotism a good thing? I assume you think it is, so I’m curious as to why.
I think a lot of the Tea Partiers can relate to the folks mentioned in this article from 2008: http://www.redroom.com/blog/tim-wise/this-how-fascism-comes-reflections-cost-silence
Tim Wise, a brilliant author who has written extensively about white privilege (read “White Like Me” if you haven’t already), probably goes a little too far in the above article when he implies being a sports fan is synoymous with crudeness and sexism (that attitude is a bit too elitist). Overall, though, I think he makes an excellent case.
Actually no one has asked me for specifics besides you Garrett. But I’ll be glad to give you some issues, healthcare reform, thats a big issue.
Elemenope April 22, 2010 at 10:19 pm asks: “What exactly has the government done that you would characterize as radical?”
Yep, no asking for specifics at all.
“Healthcare reform, that’s a big issue” isn’t exactly specific either.
And what are your thoughts on health care reform? Are you against it? Are you for it? Status quo? Change? If change, what kind of change?
PWNED!
No here is one neither party has done right here two wronges dont make a right but……….
Isnt the teaparty thing for are rights isnt there a right to speak no didnt Teaparty take the freedom speach and use it against the Voice over guy no how does this play out ?
Not that I am against the teaparty but hey two wrongges dont make a right hey
If I called them and said those things would I be all over the news and loose my job ……
Dout it