Who Is A More Disgusting Human Being: Dick Cheney Or Gene Simmons?

[Syrinx]

I just watched Gene Simmons on the Henry Rollins Show. Is there anyone more obnoxious and hateful than Gene Simmons?

Simmons' interview on "Fresh Air" a few years ago proved that he was a disgusting slimeball, but my contempt for the SOB grows every time I see or hear him.

Granted, Simmons isn't as powerful as Cheney, nor as powerful as Simmons thinks that he is.

But when you get right down to it, is Cheney really any more disgusting as a human being than Gene Simmons?

I think we should bombard Henry Rollins with letters demanding that the non-executive executive be given equal time. I think it's his patriotic duty!

[Bucky]

1. This is a trick question, isn't it?

I knew he wasn't a human being. The other guy obviously is, but he sure as heck ain't.

[SeattleGirl]

2. Cheney, hands down. Primarily because he is in a position of power

that Simmons isn't.

[Syrinx]

3. I acknowledged the difference in power

And obviously my poll is in jest.

But Gene Simmons is such a hateful, narcissistic bastard. A lot like Cheney. It's all about him.

[SeattleGirl]

5. Well, the other reason I voted for Cheney is that I have not seen

the hateful, narcissistic bastard aspect of the lovely Mr. Simmons. B-)

[Alexander]

4. The link to this interview doesn't work

And I like KISS, so you'd have to show me something really shockingly awful to get me to believe Simmons is in any way comparable to Cheney.

[Bucky]

6. Here's the transcript of the Gene Simmons Terry Gross interview

http://www.rof.net/wp/carriep/TERRYGRO.HTM

You can read it all, but here's the good part. Apparently all the talk of make up and stockings is what got Gene into reassert the manhood mode...

Terry Gross: Can we get back to your makeup? What do you use to paint your face, and do you ever break out from that?

Gene Simmons: No, it's actually oil-based. It's Stein's makeup ... is one of the brand names, but you can use lots of different ... lots of things. I don't think I've ever been asked that question. But no. My skin is more beautiful than yours. I would be quite more popular in jail if I so chose.

Terry Gross: {laughs} What do you do to take the makeup off? What do you use?

Gene Simmons: You use, uh, Ponds. You know, the same stuff women do. Or you can use a, uh, a Stein's concoction, which is, you know, sorta similar but more ... industrious. Industrial. Industrious means sort of ambitious. Industrial in strength.

Terry Gross: Now, clothes that you've worn onstage include fishnet stockings. Spiked platform heels --

Gene Simmons: That's actually untrue.

Terry Gross: Not -- no?

Gene Simmons: No. Better research needed. Fire your research person. No fishnet stockings. Never. Not in this band.

Terry Gross: Oh I'm sure I saw you with fishnets --

Gene Simmons: We catch fish with fishnets.

Terry Gross: I was sure I saw you in them. But that's all right. I ... I trust you. I trust you on that.

Gene Simmons: Don't ever do that, I'm a man.

Terry Gross: No. Let's get to the studded codpiece.

Gene Simmons: Oh yes.

Terry Gross: Do you have a sense of humor about that?

Gene Simmons: No.

Terry Gross: Does that seem funny to you? Are you --

Gene Simmons: No, it holds in my manhood.

Terry Gross: {laughs} That's right.

Gene Simmons: Otherwise it would be too much for you to take. You'd have to put the book down and confront life. The notion is that if you want to welcome me with open arms, I'm afraid you're also going to have to welcome me with open legs.

Terry Gross: That's a really obnoxious thing to say.

Gene Simmons: No it's not, it's being -- why should I say something behind your back that I can't tell you to your face?

Terry Gross: Wait, it -- it -- has it come to this? Is this the only way that you can talk to a woman? To do that shtick?

Gene Simmons: Let me ask you something. Why is it shtick when all women have ever wanted ever since we've crawled out of caves is, Why can't a man just tell me the truth and just speak to me plainly? Though, if I do that -- you can't have it both ways.

Terry Gross: So you really have no sense of humor about this, do you?

Gene Simmons: Oh, I'm laughing all the way. You know, we're --

Terry Gross: Oh, to the bank, right?

Gene Simmons: Well of course. {laughs} Don't I sound like a happy guy?

Terry Gross: Not really, to be honest with you.

Gene Simmons: I was going to suggest that you get outside of the musty place where you can count the dust particles falling around you. And get out in the world and see what everybody else is doing.

Terry Gross: Having sex with you?

Gene Simmons: Well, if you chose, but you'd have to stand in line.

Terry Gross: Well, that's the thing. We might as well get to this since you ... since you keep bringing it up. Uh ... yeah. You've had 4,000 --

Gene Simmons: I didn't actually, you did.

Terry Gross: You write in your book you've had 4,600 sexual liaisons --

Gene Simmons: You're supposed to say "so far."

Terry Gross: So far.

Gene Simmons: Right.

Just amazing.

[Guava Jelly]

7. He was so disrespectful to Terry .It really pissed me off

She is such an amazing interviewer and in no way deserved the disrespect that arrogant asshole gave her.
She blows me away with the intelligent and well thought out questions she comes up with.
I am constantly awed and thinking to myself Now I would have never thought to ask that.

[qdemn7]

30. Disrespectful?

Hell she's a journalist and he's a musician. That like trying to choose between a career politician and a used car salesman.

[Syrinx]

8. thanks for the transcript

I'm sorry to hear that the mp3 link I provided isn't working.

I'm really a hater of the "PC" movement, by and large, but Simmons is so far beyond that, I find him offensive on so many levels.

My comparison of him to Cheney was a joke, but I really think they exist on the same sort of plane.

Really, really disgusting individuals.

I'm not sure if I should hold Shannon Tweed in contempt, too, or just feel sorry for her. :D

[noamnety]

13. You "hate" the PC movement?

You mean you hate when women and people of color object to sexist or racist language?

[Syrinx]

17. yeah, that's exactly what I meant

On second thought, that's not quite right.

I guess I was thinking more of people who automatically assume the worst of everyone that they "meet." People who make an avocation, if not a vocation, of being offended. People who can't be happy unless they imagine that they are being victimized, even in the most innocent of circumstances.

I hope you don't know anyone like that, as people like that are most unpleasant.

I must now take my leave. I must water my plants. We are short of rain. Cheers.

[noamnety]

19. That seems like a contradiction.

The people who speak out against racism and sexism do it because they are unwilling to accept victim status.

I always view the ones who smile and nod while others are slurring them as being professional victims, as they seem determined to help perpetuate the system that's hurting them. I hope you don't know anyone like that, because they are most unpleasant. :)

[derby378]

24. I've always felt that Political Correctness = Political Cowardice

I do try to avoid racist and sexist language, true, but I'm not so hip to the idea of institutionalizing language the way that the PC movement has tried to do it.

[noamnety]

26. I've always felt opposition to political correctness

was inherently racist and sexist.

From one of the best essays I've read on the subject:

The phrase "politically correct" can be used in two distinct ways: either with its original literal meaning, or with the mocking sarcasm that's common these days. I'll get to the former in a moment, but I'll begin with the latter. As it's commonly used, "PC" is a deliberately imprecise expression (just try finding or writing a terse, precise definition) because its objective isn't to communicate a substantive idea, but simply to sneer and snivel about the linguistic and cultural burdens of treating all people with the respect and sensitivity with which they wish to be treated. Thus, the Herculean effort required to call me "Asian American" rather than "chink" is seen as a concession to "the PC police", an unsettling infringement on the free-wheeling conversation of, I suppose, "non-chinks". Having to refer to black folks as "African Americans" rather than various historically-prevalent epithets surely strikes some red-blooded blue-balled white-men as a form of cultural oppression. Having to refer to "women" rather than "bitches" lays a violent buzzkill on the bar-room banter of men preoccupied with beating on their chests and off other body parts.

Obviously these examples fall on the simplistic side of things, but I think they illustrate the shaky philosophical foundation of today's usage. Underlying every complaint of "PC" is the absurd notion that members of dominant mainstream society have been victimized by an arbitrarily hypersensitive prohibition against linguistic and cultural constructions that are considered historical manifestations of bigotry. It's no coincidence that "PC"-snivelers are for the most part white men who are essentially saying, "Who the hell do these marginalized groups think they are to tell me how I should or shouldn't portray them? I'm not going to say 'mentally challenged' when it's my right to say 'retard', goshdarnit there's only so much abuse I'll take!"

http://www.kaichang.net/2006/11/the_sloppy_prop.html

And another favorite observation:

There is a politics to language, and it is not just being “PC.” That term was invented by right-wingers to fight back against things like women’s studies, African American studies, and other non-white, non-male, non-imperial challenges to a racist, Eurocentric, and patriarchal canon.

http://stangoff.com/?p=418

[hfojvt]

39. about African American

I have not heard very many black people tell me that they preferred that term. Instead I hear that from people who sort of act 'holier than thou' when they use the term. It reminds me of my 14 year old niece interrupting me to tell me 'that African Americans don't like to be called black'. She has not known any black people to have learned that from. Her white 6th grade teacher told her that. My experience says different. I also think it is perfectly fine to say 'Smokey THE bear'. I refuse to let the younger generation push me around. They will be putting dirt on me soon enough as it is.

Further, the snip sorta scoffs at the idea that a white male can be victimized, as if it is not a harsh attack to be labelled a racist or a bigot, especially if your crime is merely that of not using the current jargon, or perhaps with Don Imus, of having the wrong skin color to get away with using the current jargon.

[jobycom]

25. There is always "PC," the question is only what is "PC."

There is always speech that's socially acceptable, and speech which is not. The only issue is whether you think polite, mannered speech should include racist and sexist slurs, or whether it should attempt to be respectful of all people.

WHen I hear someone say "I am not PC," or "I am against PC," I immediately consider them the worst of the worst of Republicans--the exact type of bigots that attack progress. It horrifies me to hear a liberal claim they are against "PC." I can only assume they don't understand it. Or else, they've been brainwashed by the KKK style bigots who try to pretend it's about free speech or thought control or vicitimization or some such thing. Oddly, the very people I hear whining about victimization are usually the ones acting the most victimized. "Poor us, we can't use the N word without getting looked at badly, we can't call women whores and bitches. Oh poor us."

Please reconsider your thoughts on "PC." I think you'll discover that it's a label applied by people who want to feel justified in the prejudices, and I sincerely hope that you aren't such a person.

As for Gene Simmons, he's an entertainer. He plays a role for a living. He may be as obnoxious as he acts, that's not my point. My point is that artists try to influence people by being extreme, and direct. They hold themselves up as examples and say "See, this is one way people can be. Love it or leave it." People can choose what they think, they can accept or reject the image, they can even use that image as a negative model--something to avoid rather than become. I don't hold that against him, even though I don't particularly like him, anyway.

Dick Cheney is a politician in the highest position in the land. His words, his actions, are not just examples for people to judge, they are the policy of the land, as well as the bent of the laws and interpretations of laws. A politician should never be that extreme, and should never forget that they also do the work for people with completely different opinions than their own. Gene Simmons is just an obnoxious prick who has no influence over us unless we allow him to. Dick Cheney actively sought a position of power over people, so that he could force his views on our laws, on our way of life.

There's no comparison. The fact that Simmons chose to be an entertainer rather than a world leader proves he's a better person. Somewhere in that obnoxious ego, he would rather persuade people than dominate them. That makes him a much better person than Cheney, hands down, even if I would hate to sit down to dinner with either one.

[Syrinx]

28. when I say I hate "PC"...

I'm talking about people that want to make us all walk around on eggshells.

There are some irrational thought-police in this world. Some people just want to suck every tiny bit of joy out of life, in a relentless race for championship victim status.

My comparison of Cheney and Gene Simmons was a joke. Not a very good one, I guess. Of course, Cheney has done infinitely more damage to the world than Simmons.

I do disagree with the statement that an entertainer is necessarily a better person than a world leader, though in this particular case it is obviously true.

Note, please, that one of the reasons that I find Gene Simmons so distasteful is his attitude toward women.

I still think pretty women are nice to look at. And I still think Sarah Silverman is funny. I still think Randy Newman's song "Short People" is a hoot. "Rednecks" too.

I don't guess I will really reconsider my thoughts on "PC." My mind's pretty much made up on the topic. Maybe the term just means something different to me than it does to you.

And I guess that's okay with me.

[jobycom]

32. Walking around on eggshells?

So you feel uncomfortable having to be polite to people? That, again, strikes me as wrong.

Interestingly, you seem to want others to be more PC. Your distaste for Gene Simmons, for instance, is based on his lack of it. And Randy Newman's song "Short People" was an attempt to create a more PC attitude by satirically mocking those who aren't, towards any person who is different (not just short people, obviously).

The part you need to rethink is in your definition of PC. You've allowed the right to define it for you. Your point about egg shells is a typical right wing talking point, which they use any time they are justifying sexual harassment in the work place, the use of the N word in casual conversation, etc. Any time you find yourself siding with the right, you should re-evaluate your opinion.

And I didn't mean to say that entertainers were better than politicians. I just meant that Gene Simmons is better than Cheney because Cheney tries to force his non-PC bigotry on the world by becoming a powerful person, where Simmons as an entertainer only tries to influence people, not pass legislation forcing them to follow his horrible beliefs. This was only about them, not about all politicians and/or entertainers.

[Syrinx]

36. of course I don't mind being polite to people

I try always to be polite. I probably don't always succeed, but I try.

You know, maybe it's the phrase "politically correct" that bothers me. I don't know where the term originated, whether from the right or the left. In any case, it strikes me as such a dogmatic phrase that it pisses me off a little.

I'm not fighting for my right to use the "N-Word," in case you got that impression.

I can remember using that word exactly one time in my life, and it has bothered me a little ever since. It was when I was robbed and beaten by a group of black guys. If it had been a group of white guys, I probably would've called them "motherfuckers," or something instead. Still, that's the only time I remember using the word, so it's not like I'm complaining that I'm not allowed to use it.

Of course sexual harassment is a problem. However, let me relate my only brush with it. I was once nearly fired from a job after my immediate supervisor reported me to her boss for "sexual harassment." I was puzzled at hearing this. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what I could possibly have done. I had never flirted with her. I wasn't the least bit attracted to her, physically, intellectually, or in any other way at all. I had never told her a dirty joke or made an off-color comment to her of any kind. And I had even politely listened to her ribald tales of youthful indiscretions.

You know what it turned out that nearly cost my job? A couple days earlier I had slammed my right index finger in a very heavy wooden door in the office, nearly breaking the finger. She saw my anguished grimace, and read my lips as I mouthed the word "fuck." I didn't even make a conscious decision to mouth that word. It was just a reflexive action to some fairly intense pain -- and I didn't even say it out loud. That got me reprimanded for "sexual harassment." Don't you agree that's pretty fucked up? That's the kind of thing that makes me mad.

And what about the people on DU who just can't let the Duke "rape" case go? There are people on here that are still siding with the stripper and Nifong, just because they want some "privileged, white boys" to get nailed. And forget about holding the stripper to account for the false accusations.

I'm about as progressive as they come, and pretty damn liberal. But I think some people that consider themselves good liberals can become so extreme on the political continuum that they wrap around that continuum and become something very much like the extreme right, united with them in moral certitude and authoritarian dogma, leaving little to no room for free thought.

But, hey, I was only making a dumb joke about Gene Simmons, so what do I know?

[idgiehkt]

37. you should watch that show

It's obvious Shannon wears the pants in that family. Then the kids. Then him. It's all schtick, what he does, and the money is the bottom line. Tweed has always said they don't have an open relationship...and even took him to a therapist to talk about the marriage phobia he has. His family seems very normal, and actually he is a whole lot less macho than my Dad was. Tweed seems like a very sweet lady.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

27. What an asshole.

[hellbound-liberal]

9. My vote goes to Gene Simmons because I'm not sure Dick Cheney is human

on second thought...

[rug]

10. Simmons is just a putz with abandonment issues.

[mitchum]

12. Absolutely... he considers all women to be rapacious golddiggers...

when it was actually his father who abandoned the family. Weird.
Simmons seems to have an extreme madonna/whore complex. All women, with the exception of his mother, are whores

[bumblebee1]

35. If all women except for his mother are whores,

I can't imagine what Gene Simmons thinks of Shannon Tweed. She's the mother of his two children.

[Bucky]

38. I think they're a perfect match. Two egotistical users who found their soulmates

It's their kids I worry about.

[Joe Fields]

11. It isn't even close. Cheney by a mile...

[MysticalChicken]

14. I saw Gene Simmons on the Henry Rollins show...

I seriously thought he was joking/being sarcastic at first when he kept going on about how "fascinating" he was, then I realized he was being serious. I never had any respect for him anyway.

And ... rap is the new rock? The hell? I have no interest in listening to anyone who makes a big deal about how much money they have. Which is why I love indie-rock.

[EstimatedProphet]

15. Gene Simmons. Dick Cheney is not a human being.

[MrSlayer]

16. Cheney actually has caused the deaths of many, many people.

Simmons is just a self-aggrandizing piece of shit.

[sarge43]

18. I don't think Simmons has blood on his hands. n/t

[guitar man]

31. oh really??

:P

[outofbounds]

20. I don't think

Gene ever shot his Friend in the face! May have stabbed him in the back though. But Gene makes music not war.

[Mad_Dem_X]

21. As much as I loathe GS, I gotta go with Dick

Altho', as another poster mentioned, I'm not sure that he's even human.

[HuskerDU]

22. Gene and KISS don't fool around anymore.

KISS now offers their fans a box to check on their tax form which simply gives the money to KISS without plastic trinkets being exchanged. (joke I heard somewhere by a Gene impersonator- sorry!)

Gene and Co made millions because they are smart business people. How many other bands let the suits rob them blind? I wish some of my fave bands had half the biz sense that Gene has. He is an ass tho!

[Crazy Dave]

23. DICK!

I think Gene's BS is all a put-on.

Edit - I guess Gene's a DICK too
On NPR's website
"Simmons declined to give permission for this Web site to offer audio of his interview, or sell tapes or transcripts of it"
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1137499

I guess it anything doesn't have a check with his name on it....

[qdemn7]

29. What?? You're shocked by Simmons?

You're only now discovering many people who are artistically and / or musically talented are jerks, fools, idiots and poltroons?

So what? Many of these people don't even have high school diplomas, and yet we suck up everything they say like it really means something. I came to the conclusion a long time ago, the best way to enjoy music or art, is to quit listening the instant said artist stops talking about their art.

OTOH, how many wars have been started by artists?

Cheney by about...... I don't know about 100 lengths. In fact Simmons never even left the starting gate.

[Strawman]

33. Gene Simmons is acting

Gene Simmons cultivates an image of a sleazy rock rebel that (unfortunately) sells to his legion of fans who will buy any piece of crap with his name on it.

I remember that interview with Terry Gross. It was awful. He was a total prick.

But ultimately, being an evil warmonger/dark overlord trumps being a tactless self-promoting sleazebag in terms of disgustingness. Cheney is more disgusting despite perhaps having a more sociable demeanor.

But they both disgust me on multiple levels.

[dysfunctional press]

34. how many innocent lives is gene simmons responsible for ending...?

cheney, no contest.

besides- anyone who can nail shannon tweed on a regular basis- CAN'T be all bad.