Nasty, Brutish, and Fat

Commentary ^ | 13 Oct 2017 | John Podhoretz

[Rummyfan]

Of Hobbes and Harvey Weinstein...

In man’s natural state, with no social or religious order to impose limits upon his hungers and passions, “notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice have there no place. Where there is no common power, force and fraud are…the cardinal virtues.” Thus did Thomas Hobbes, in 1651, anticipate and describe the sordid story of the film producer Harvey Weinstein.

...

Harvey Weinstein is a brutal thug, a man of no grace, more akin to a mafioso than a maker of culture. And yet as a movie producer he gravitated toward respectable, quality, middlebrow, elevated and elevating fare. People wanted to work with him because of the kinds of movies he made. I think we can see that was the whole point of the exercise: It was exciting to be called into his presence because you knew you would do better, more socially responsible, more praiseworthy work under his aegis than you would with another producer.

And then, garbed only in a bathrobe, Weinstein would strike.

[Steely Tom]

“notions of right and wrong, justice and injustice have there no place. Where there is no common power, force and fraud are…the cardinal virtues.”

That's ol' Tom Hobbes' way of saying "don't let the little head do your thinking for you."

[ClearCase_guy]

Weinstein was universally known to be a terrible person long before the horrifying tales of his sexual predation, depredation, and assault were finally revealed. And—this is important—known to be a uniquely terrible person. His specific acts of repugnant public thuggishness were detailed in dozens of articles and blog items over the decades, and were notable precisely because they were and are not common currency in business or anywhere else.

I'm not sure I'm buying this.

I think the claim is that Harvey Weinstein is THE ONLY guy in the entertainment business with a casting couch.

This is an attempt to head off future scandals with other pigs.

[gaijin]

Off topic:

This was at the Tropicana. Anyone know what this was about...??

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=Rd-qz6ei-UM

[marktwain]

I think the claim is that Harvey Weinstein is THE ONLY guy in the entertainment business with a casting couch.

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Exactly.

Weinstein is almost certainly the tip of the iceberg.

[NutsOnYew]

Rochefoucauld’s immortal declaration that hypocrisy is the tribute vice pays to virtue

No comment.

[refermech]

Excellent article!

[lodi90]

I think the claim is that Harvey Weinstein is THE ONLY guy in the entertainment business with a casting couch.

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This is a lot more than a casting couch. What a pig. He obviously could have gotten PLENTY of side action with the ladies without being an abuser like this. He obviously got a sick pleasure out of abusing these women thinking they couldn’t report it because of his fame.

[Forgotten Amendments]

Ooooh. A lecherous Hollywood mogul. Who knew???

Four US special forces killed in NIGER. Why were they there? Who cares???

We and the Saudis are slaughtering Yemen. Why? Who cares!

Just worry about this perv and NFL kneelers. Who cares about WWIII?

[Intolerant in NJ]

It was exciting to be called into his presence because you knew you would do better, more socially responsible, more praiseworthy work under his aegis than you would with another producer...Really? - I wasn't aware that Weinstein's films were that much superior to those of others - except maybe in the judgment of the in-crowd that were looking the other way and protecting Weinstein for the start......

[Jeff Chandler]

From now on refer to them as the Weinstein Democrats and the Weinstein media.