By David Futrelle
Yesterday, Twitter was filled with heartfelt tributes to Anthony Bourdain, the outspoken chef-turned-author-and-television-personality who had taken his own life the night before.
Some shared stories; some expressed gratefulness for the solidarity he showed to women and the #metoo movement and his sincere appreciation of cultures other than his own; some shared screenshots of his pointed takedowns of moral monsters like Henry Kissinger, the man he hated above all others on planet earth for what he and Nixon did to Cambodia.
Others on Twitter talked about suicide and the depression that too often triggers it, sharing their own experiences and offering support for those battling their own darkness.
Today, I thought I would see what people were saying about Bourdain on Gab. the so-called “free speech” Twitter alternative that has become a haven for literal Nazis, ironic Nazis, conspiracy theorists, and assorted other terrible people.
Paging through the past ten hours or so of Anthony Bourdain talk on the site, I found little more than batshit conspiracy theories and over-the-top hate.
The only commenters who felt any sadness at his death, it seemed, were those convinced he had been “Hillaried” — murdered or forced into suicide — because he had been preparing to release damning information implicating the “satanic” pedophile Jewish cabal that they have convinced themselves runs the world. I found only a tiny handful of posts from those troubled by Bourdain’s death or concerned about suicide.
As you read through the following comments, bear in mind that these aren’t outliers; they are in fact rather typical of the response to Bourdain’s death on Gab. Many if not most of those I didn’t screenshot expressed similar if not identical sentiments, if sometimes a little less colorfully.
It’s difficult to get screenshots of Gab comments with text large enough to read comfortably, so I will follow most of these comments with their text.
“He was PC…That is trash! He was subhuman filth! Humanity is better without him!”
“degen druggie jew killed himself. hopefully they all follow his example.”
“what if and just what if all these suicides are not suicides but scoop ups and being put in witness protection ?”
“He was an anti-White Jew.“Bourdain promoted White Genocide:”
“Bordain Murdered? islamonazi Minions like Mike Loser @WolverineTongueStreudel Piss @StreudelHiss are out in force smearing & preventing light of truth to shine. Boudain got red-pilled of late and created an episode to air on his CNN show which was sent to and in the possession of Alex Jones. This will air in good time.”
“HOW COME NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS CONNECTION???
Anthony Bourdain girlfriend was member of the “red witches” society.
Yes, Israel-Firsters &/or Jew-Firsters, Jews actually DO practice black magic.
They call it ‘Kabbalah’.
Tell me again how Satanic sorcerers are ‘Gods Chosen People.
I need a good LOL.”
“The more baby boomers who die off, the more we can progress towards fixing this world and creating a Final Solution for the J Question. Baby boomers, can you hurry up and drop dead?”
“Just another white hating kike. Nothing of value was lost. His death is a net positive. Shame he was able to go on his own terms and not shot in the spine on his way to the store. Would have been nice to see that shit stain linger for a while. Oh well, at least he died.”
“How would this Jew know about this if he wasn’t in on the scam? How does he know what private intelligence agencies do?”
Sorry, I have to interject here: BECAUSE ALL OF THIS WAS WIDELY REPORTED IN THE MEDIA. Which you would know if you paid attention to real media instead of Fox News or 4chan or Alex Jones or wherever the hell you get your “news.” Or if you had taken three seconds to Google.
They really can’t decide if he was a murdered “red pill” hero on the verge or proving all their conspiracy theories correct, or “just another white hating kike” they’re glad to see dead.
Oh, apparently (at least in the fevered brains of alt-right assholes) he also had AIDS — or, as many on the far-right insist on calling it, GRIDS, which stands for Gay-Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome, a phony acronym based on what AIDS was originally called before anyone really knew what it was.
“He gleefully celebrated your demise… don’t be afraid to celebrate his.”
“Did Anthony Bourdain Off Himself Thinking About His GF Fucking Harvey Weinstein?
“‘But imagine being Bourdain and finding out that your gf had sex on purpose with Harvey Weinstein.’
“note: I thought Bourdain was one of the gays?”
I don’t even know what the fuck this guy is talking about:
“No doubt it was a satanic blood ritual sacrifice by the degenerates at CNN to help save their platform. It wouldn’t surprise me if wasn’t placed in a cartoon or film for predictive programming of the event.”
Meanwhile, Gab admins and their apologists continue to insist that the site isn’t all about monetizing hate. Yes somehow every public conversation I look at on the site seems to end up just like this one.
Vile and detestable. I have notbing more to say about these cretinous sacks of pus.
I can’t read these yet. Not ready.
And then there’s this vile response from the Facebook page Patriarcha (which characteristically adds a completely baseless sexual fetish component) – a page which I respectfully suggest would reward closer examination as yet another regular source of neo-reactionary alt right misogyny
One of the great things about sites like this is that one can know a bit about what is going on in the bowels of the internet without visiting them for oneself. It is just too disgusting for many of us to want to do for ourselves. So I thank David Futrelle and others for their efforts, but sometimes even getting just the highlights is more than one wants. This comment is not merely about this one post; it is more a cumulative effect of reading many of them. It is unrelenting in how revolting it all is.
All I have to say is…Fuck Gab.
As a baby boomer, I’m hurt. No, really.
The J Question: Jimmy Stewart? Jalapeno? Jamboree?
I’ve never heard of this Anthony Bourdain fellow before his death, but he seemed nice.
Also, someone needs to hold Gab’s moderators responsible for their continuing to wage war on sanity, logic, and basic human decency. Every time I read one of these Gab quotes, I lose more faith in humanity.
Mr. Futrelle, you’re a stronger person than I for being able to gaze into this abyss and come back unscathed.
Anthony Bourdain praised by food critic whose Olive Garden review he defended
Marilyn Hagerty was 85 when she was mocked over a positive review of the chain. The chef publicly came to her aid
For her praise of the widely derided chain, Hagerty was subjected to widespread online mockery. Bourdain, one of the most famous faces in food journalism in the world, quickly came to her defence.
“Marilyn Hagerty’s years of reviews [are] a history of dining in the America too few of us from the coasts have seen,” he tweeted. “We need to see.” . . .
Hagerty’s newfound fame brought her to New York, where she reviewed a street hot dog cart for the New York Times. She met Bourdain and he ended up editing and writing the foreword to a book of her collected reviews.
“She is never mean,” he wrote, “even when circumstances would clearly excuse a sharp elbow, a cruel remark. In fact, watching Marilyn struggle to find something nice to say about a place she clearly loathes is part of the fun. She is, unfailingly, a good neighbour and good citizen first – and entertainer second.”
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jun/09/anthony-bourdain-olive-garden-marilyn-hagerty
I had no idea who he was either, but among all the adulation on my Facebook feed I found something very disturbing. Bourdain hated fat people. Not “he told some fat jokes”, not “bought into the idea that being fat is automatically unhealthy”, but actually said that fat people should be quarantined from society until they either “develop self-discipline” or die. The friend who wrote that said that she’d gone to one of his public appearances because he seemed nice and she liked what he wrote, and left the event in tears knowing that someone she had admired hated her enough to advocate for her death.
I don’t care how many people say “don’t speak ill of the dead” — this is the sort of thing that should be spoken of, so that it doesn’t get lost in a wave of whitewash.
Of course Alex Jones is mixed up in the filth. I don’t want to violate the rules, but how can the people who post that nonsensical garbage be in touch with any sort of reality? They sound like they pose a danger to society, seriously.
Kat,
Marilyn Hagerty, she writes for the Grand Forks (ND) Herald, right? She’s a treasure.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/community/people/4457711-watch-marilyn-hagerty-remembers-anthony-bourdain
His defence in the Sandy Hook defamation case is that he’s an entertainer playing a character and it’s not meant to be taken seriously.
To me that’s even more loathsome than if he actually believes the guff he comes out with.
Alan,
The trouble is, certain individuals do believe his garbage. And they walk among us, and they vote.
Please follow the comments policy.
@ Katherine
Yeah, and that’s why he’s so dangerous. If I shout ‘fire’ in the proverbial crowded theatre, the people crushed to death won’t care that I was only joking.
@Katherine the Adequate
Alex Jones is the worst kind of person who is maliciously using his microphone to harm others and is allowed to.
Nononononon, it’s about free speech!! There was a niche in the market! We’re simply providing a service! There’s no monetising hate here!!!
It does appear that our main users are those too hateful for Twitter, Reddit and fucking 4Chan to stomach; it is true that without our platform they would be reduced to putting up physical flyers under cover of night; and it is true we’re making money from giving them a platform. But this does not mean we’re monetising hate!! No no no. We’re providing a service.
Why do you hate Freedom??
The gift of Gab, eh? Return to sender for sure. Blergh…
I didn’t know much about Bourdain either until his death but considering that the catering industry is notorious for unchecked harassment, I’m glad he sided with #metoo.
Sister Bat’leth brought it up first.
I’m sorry that Bourdain committed suicide. But he was very mean-spirited when it came to larger people. I don’t think that should be swept under the rug.
That being said, those awful people and their wretched comments should board the next rocket ship to the center of the sun. The world would be a better place for their departure. Although their presence might upset the sun.
Didn’t follow Bourdain, but isn’t he the guy who compared vegans to Hezbollah?
It’s important to shine a light on what happens on Gab, but, personally, it’s not what I needed to read right now. I just finished Amanda Marcotte’s Troll Nation, and I’m hoping for an asteroid impact soon, because I feel like humanity is unfixable.
I was really confused where I know Bourdains name from as I don’t follow the culinary world at all. Then it hit me: He was the writer of a food themed horror anthology comic (Hungry Ghosts) by Dark Horse recently. It looked interesting but I didn’t pick up because money, and because critics were very divided on it (either the best thing ever and he can do no wrong, or drivel not worth the paper it’s printed on).
It will never surprise me just how low the alt-right will go in terms of awfulness.
Also, someone needs to hold Gab’s moderators responsible for their continuing to wage war on REALITY
fify
Just once, it would be nice if people could wait until the body was cold before writing this shit.