Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain apparently thinks that eating rather than shrieking is a better approach for finding common ground among those who politically disagree.
The irreverent TV foodie and author gave his opinion on Chris Hardwick’s Nerdist podcast . Hardwick is the engaging dude who hosts Talking Dead , which comes on after each new episode of The Walking Dead on AMC.
Bourdain is the star of Parts Unknown on CNN in which he samples local culture and cuisine all over the world. The show is one of the few programs on the CNN lineup receiving significant viewership, which the media industry refers to as “eyeballs.” On cable news, both CNN and MSNBC continue to suffer nightly and mightily in the ratings.
In sitting down to break bread with all different kinds of people in his travels, self-described New York liberal Bourdain declared that “I disagree with Ted Nugent as violently and as much as anyone could disagree on just about everything. But we both like barbecue… He’s fun to hang out with in spite of the fact that he says appalling sh*t that offends the hell out of me.”
He added that it is intolerable and unforgivable to automatically be dismissive, for example, of red state America. “I have a really good time in those places and get along, I like to think, very well with people there …”
As far as the intolerance that is regular feature of MSNBC — the liberal network which has been likened to a 24-hour pro-Obama infomercial — Bourdain explained that
I hate preaching to the converted. A nightmare would be for me to sit in a room where everybody totally agrees with everything I say. You know, MSNBC, it’s like every show they’re saying ‘look at what these stupid Republican morons did today.’ I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of Republicans watching that channel. You’re not changing hearts and minds that way, it just seems kind of pointless to me, to shriek at each other that way, especially on issues like guns. There’s some common ground to be had, and I just don’t think that kind of shrieking is helpful.”
For those who disagree on political issues, rather than stereotyping each other, Bourdain recommended “at least have a beer together, eat some f***ing barbecue, listen to some Lynyrd Skynyrd, and f***ing relax dude, you know?” [Warning: Audio embedded below NSFW for language]
[image credit: Lwp Kommunikacio ]