It can be a real lesson in how ironically being an ass for too long can create a risk of turning into one. Unexamined irony, especially of the “edgy” shock variety, can be a gateway to normalizing what one thinks one is satirizing. And then enjoying it, and then accepting it. To finally unironically becoming that thing.
The human mind is very powerful, and the brain can treat role-playing as indistinguishable from the real thing. If one doesn’t maintain healthy introspection, and doesn’t rely on edge-lording for money, perhaps one has a better shot of staying free of it.
…The other side of it, of course, can be that the irony was cover from the start. The infamous “just kidding - can’t you take a joke?” defense.
I have always felt that Joe Rogan and his resident “experts” are no better than me and my friends sitting around throwing ideas against the wall after a few beers.
I can’t say that I know you or your friends, but I’m pretty confident that you are much better than Joe Rogan and his guests.
ETA: For example, and I know it’s difficult to quantify exactly, but how many deaths would you say that you and your friends are responsible for because of your spreading anti-vaccine misinformation on a national platform? Just for one example.
