Jon Ronson | Full Address and Q&A | Oxford Union

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About Jon Ronson: Author of nine books including best-selling war parody, The Men who Stare at Goats (later a film starring
George Clooney), Ronson has addressed some of the most interesting yet unvisited topics of our time. His work across film, radio, and television has touched on everything from the reliability of psychopathy testing to Robbie Williams's fascination with UFOs. Ronson's recent book, So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed, deals with online shaming; he has recently given a TED talk on this topic entitled How One Tweet Can Ruin Your Life.
Contains very strong language.
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[@Etcher]

This guy is great. I highly recommend "So You've Been Publicly Shamed". A really brilliant book. The audiobook is read by Jon also.

[@TheManInTheLongBlackCoat]

Interesting use of online shaming there. @@renmcmanus. 😏

[@taniaearle4457]

All his work is very good 👍

[@victorblackley8372]

For some reason I can picture Jon Ronson peering, uncannily, from the top window of a semi-detached house in Worksop in an almost totally abandoned post-apocalyptic British landscape.

[@krisquigley4497]

Me too!

[@contactkeithstack]

Michael Johns an anthropomorphic owl librarian in a 5 year olds dream.

[@kennethgibson5728]

thank goodness I'm not alone..

[@Romanplaystation]

@Embittered Drunk . . . . happy that he can call for 'Monty' without his previous self conscious dread.

[@caz2618]

His books are so easy to read, really good combination of funny and interesting

[@ambassador8524]

Caz reading is totally overrated

[@nevermind7469]

jon ronson looks like a very intelligent, very well-intentioned owl

[@callum7081]

Mean comment

[@ambassador8524]

Claire MacDonald 😂😂😂

[@LordSandwichII]

Who?

[@ciaranc7460]

@@callum7081 ah fuck off you child

[@superspecky4eyes]

He reminds me of Edward Hitler from the sitcom Bottom. Just needs to lost the hair.

[@andrewl4018]

I have seen some dope lectures in this room. Thanks KZbin and Oxford

[@Bella-cz6od]

I have such admiration for Jon Ronson addressing this subject now. I'm fear not many are listening however. For those of us who understand the consequences of this lynch mobbing, we can see what will happen if people don't self-regulate. And, we wonder how and why injustice happens at all; we need only look at our own lives and how we justify our actions thinking we are right. The question should be 'what is right rather than AM I right.' Narcissistic whether or not we realize it.

[@jansmith286]

You should listen to his wonderful podcast series "Things Fell Apart ". Absolutely brilliant.

[@WAOD14]

Jon Ronson - *hits you with a serious quote* immediately after 'ooh peroni!' what a hilarious, intelligent man. Love, love, love him

[@darkcult99]

So good 👍

[@baasmans]

The fact that Adria had it worse than Hank doesn't take away from the fact that she started the shaming. She felt so self-righteous about a simple joke that she was hoping for a Justine Sacco situation on these tho guys, and she was quite succesful until Hank asked for help and Hank's people were just way better at it. The MRAs and allies just shamed the shamer. I'm not defending the style of abuse. Hank never wanted the insults and rape threats, he just asked for support against the injustice he faced, and had he remained silent (Jon calls for fighting back himself) he might have had the year of depression and joblessness.

[@Etcher]

This is a good point. I remember when this unfolded and I thought the exact same thing. The initiation of the shaming by Adria was profoundly more vicious and vindictive than the private joke between Hank and his friend. I understand she has every right to speak up if she feels threatened etc but I just don't buy that these two nerdy guys making a double-entendre relating to software version control under their breath could possibly have made her feel so uncomfortable that she had to call it out on social media. That is why I agree with baasmans' comment - I believe she was deliberately angling for a Justin Sacco style outcome.

[@jackdickinson3146]

great discussion

[@joebrokenstrang3711]

As I scrolled down looking for things to watch, I misread this video's title, thinking that Jon Ronson had a new documentary out called 'Full Address'.

[@tiuleasimona]

I just bought ALL of your books!

[@OPHIARK]

Jon forgot his bag :D :P

[@JC-zw9vs]

Jon. When he's 15 years older, he'll be known as a national treasure. Not because he's not done enough to be one already, but because that's just how it works.

[@theblanketfortcohort7332]

I'm very obsessed with Mr Ronson :) I tried to stand up for a minority group I'm part of, and I had to delete my Google account because I was attacked by trolls. I don't understand them at all. Freedom of speech is not an excuse for senseless mean-ness

[@taniaearle4457]

Jon Ronson is a very clever man ❤️😂

[@briteeyes2133]

What an AWESOME SPEAKER!

[@AzaleaOliver345]

Publisher to Jon... " You could have picked up your book a few more times... sales, sales sales..!"🤣

[@briteeyes2133]

Wow, it is really SICK the enjoyment people get from shaming. This really affected me and I don't do Twitter, IG, FB. I watch KZbin and see this happening but not as much on that grand a scale. I am truly sorry if anything I've ever said shamed anyone, please forgive me. My goodness this is horrible, PEOPLE truly ARE ANIMALS.

[@larrykestenbaum]

Jon Ronson comes in with a backpack, and throws it under a bench. When he leaves, he forgets the backpack and leaves it behind.

[@RoyKoopaling]

Like Jon and his work. Think he's highlighted a lot of very big problems with social media. But I also think that we need a sort of unbiased researcher to really look at this. Jon's a liberal (as am I), and I think that makes it difficult for him to really tackle the fact that this is very much a problem of the left. He talks about the 'very good, very liberal' Mother Jones, and how even 'good, liberal people' like him can be 'shamers'. But they aren't the exception. They are the rule. Clickbait journalists and left wing activists. It is the Gawkers, the Huffington Posts, the Helen Lewises. It is the people who have absolute certainty in their moral high ground who feel they have the right to crusade. That needs to be addressed, and Jon skirts around it.

[@churblefurbles]

+Chríss M Also notice the fear when he was addressing issues potentially unflattering to women? The equivocation, the "not misogynist plz no bully" pleading is an indicator of the real societal land mines he has to avoid in order not to be dog piled, and "harassed" on social media.

[@Jake-kn3xg]

+Chríss M Why are you associating shaming with political agenda.

[@RoyKoopaling]

+Caffa Jake Because much social activism, as practised by the fringe left, is shaming. No platforming, safe spaces, petitions, firing, and so on.

[@Jake-kn3xg]

I'm sure those social activities aren't exclusively displayed by just the left. It's a problem of the people and their ethics, not politics.

[@RoyKoopaling]

+Caffa Jake I'm sure. Which successful shaming campaigns have been pushed by the right in the last ten years?

[@hongry-life]

Entering Twitter or Facebook is diving into the whirls of opinions and emotions that are expressed in there. We just have to be aware of that and choose consciously to participate in drama and intrigue or not and where to draw personal lines to protect our own sanity.

[@stevesandford8993]

Love Jon Ronson! (Though I might say that, although we are both straight men, he is the only other hetero male I've ever seen who is camper than I... And that annoys me because he does it better than I do...) I shall now go and post something hateful about him on Twitter... Take THAT! Ronson! *(hits Jon with my man-bag*) xx SF

[@CharlieQuartz]

He’s straight? *raises hand to mouth with a soft gasp*

[@JC-zw9vs]

@Ischi2007 Walliams is Bi.

[@michaelcaplin8969]

I never knew Benjamin Linus was a journalist!

[@jakobbokaj123]

he forgot his backpack on the floor lol

[@taniaearle4457]

Awww he's such a geek lol

[@briteeyes2133]

Absolutely I don't think people want apologies that would be too easy. They want a public hanging. Reminds me of the storys you hear in days gone by when they would do the public hanging and the whole town would come out, men women and children, and they would be cheering and having like a carnival with food and drinks etc. SICK

[@andydixon2980]

Exactly. These the same type of people, who project their hatred and self loathing onto others. Easy when in front of a screen, rather than being face to face with someone isnt it? I would bet only a very tiny percentage of these type of people would have the courage to do this, if it were face to face. The internet and it's social media platforms really does expose these horrible humans and worst of all, gives them a voice, they wouldn't usually have.

[@nannasrensen7674]

I first found out about this man shortly after a bad breakup. My ex liked to play the victim, manipulating people by making them feel guilty and shaming them into doing what he wanted them to. He didn't mean any malice, he was just in pain, and he was hellbent on blaming everyone else, myself included, in stead of taking responsibility for his life. Many times I would refuse to feel sorry for him. I would tell him that I supported him and would help him but that he had to get up and do something about the things that made him sad. Reach out to old friends, he'd pushed away, make a career chance if he didn't want to stay in his chosen profession etc. He would get angry, accuse me of being cold, because it felt bad when I called him out. I thought I was doing him a favor. He didn't see it that way. I ended up cheating on him and breaking up the very next day. That's a bad thing to do. I shouldn't have told him but I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I ended up blurting it out in a less than sympathetic way. He was hurt and angry, and e month later I got a long letter from him where he explained to me that I was suffering from narcissistic personality disorder. He went into gruesome detail, psychoanalyzing me in a way that made me doubt my own heart and mind. He was in therapy and claimed that his therapist, who'd never met me, had made the diagnosis. He started warning people who ran in the same circles as the both of us against talking to me. The reality is much more complicated and nuanced, but the moment people hear that you cheated, you are the villain of the story - at least in the eyes of anyone who doesn't know you. In the beginning I was determined to explain to him that he was wrong. I'd loved him and I was gutted that he really believed all of these things about me. I couldn't. He'd made up his mind and anything I did or said he'd use to reinforce his ideas in one way or another. I have later realized that his unwillingness to see me as anything but an unfeeling bitch is just another excuse for him not to take responsibility for his own mistakes. I feel sorry for him. Society has made it so hard for us to be open about our own flaws moral shortcomings. We throw stones in an attempt to divert attention onto others. But it only makes us feel worse. The more impossibly high the standard we set for others, the more impossibly high is the standard we fail to live up to ourselves. I love the line: "We want to destroy people, but we don't want to feel bad about it". It's sad but true.

[@gravityfalls8439]

It's weird that everyone has something about themselves they have to deal with but most of us fail to do that. But, taking responsibility can also be a bad thing if not balanced right cause I always blame myself for the things that happen to me. It's as if I don't think I have the right to blame someone maybe because of my low self-esteem. I dont really know but I think maybe some people dont have the ability to function normally.

[@nannasrensen7674]

@@gravityfalls8439 well, no one is perfect, and no one will ever be, and I don’t believe you can ever be completely free of insecurities and vanities. However, you can improve. I think that dealing with your own shit starts with you being willing to love yourself no matter what you fint when you start looking inward. But you are right, it’s a difficult balancens act - knowing who to blame. I think, if you can take responsibility for the things that to wrong in your life (because you can’t force anyone else to) without blanding for punishing yourself, sometimes that helps. But I get it that you can’t always do that ... And it’s impossible to be objective about your own life.

[@bluesifer8238]

This has no audio for me here in the UK, i've tried it on different quality settings and in different browsers, Anyone else with the same issue?

[@pwuk]

Woking a-ok for me, UK too

[@iseeolly9959]

So funny and so self aware, a fine chap.

[@JamesCarmichael]

"Can I just say 'it's about fucking time I talked at the Oxford Union." 1 like, 1 prayer.

[@2bsirius]

Frame 28:15 The truth is that what we are not a "bubble of irrational" within social media. It is a bloody dirigible the size of Cleveland.

[@masonandrus4894]

+2b Sirius I believe bubble in this context is analogous to a housing bubble... an inflation of irrationality that is unquestioned and perpetuated.

[@lenayo5039]

Jon is very brave considering he believes he has an anxiety disorder.

[@krool1648]

Going to Africa. Hope I don't get Aids. Don't worry. I'm white!

[@zetetick395]

:o

[@krool1648]

Week has passed, and I haven't received an avalanche of hateful replies.Zetetik -

[@zetetick395]

Depth of Shadow I guess that in itself deserves a second :o

[@curtisnixon5313]

The Adria versus Hank shame quotient differential reminds me of the scene in 'Band of Brothers' when some Dutch women who collaborated with the Nazis are having their heads shaved and a local man says to one of the American soldiers something like - "you think that's bad, the men who collaborated were shot". Maybe being shot would have been less shameful or cruel.

[@dsgreat3]

John Bain (Totalbiscuit) has recently left twitter because the shaming and hate he gets continuously has caused him heath problems and has forced him to go into therapy.

[@LudvigIndestrucable]

If you were going to design a cartoon character to ask the feminist question, it would look exactly like the woman who asked it. Is it an active desire to conform? An active attempt to be a stereotype? I have always found the conformity of some groups to their own stereotypes to be baffling.

[@METALVLOGUK]

When it comes to Adria I think she kinda deserved what happened, she tried to ruin someone's life because of a stupid joke. The same 'mechanism' she was trying to feed Hank to destroyed her, that's what she deserved for trying to inflict that on him.

[@KraziEyevin]

Instant karma, basically. She sought an unjust punishment for another, and the punishment fell upon her head instead.

[@Vorres]

Is that Louis Theroux in the audience? @33:00 middle right in the black jumper with the red and white stripes?

[@mandawerhun]

I'm pretty sure it is :)

[@thetessellater9163]

Looks very much like him, and he did get a First from Magdalen at Oxford. Well spotted.

[@WhyTech01]

VRRS Vorres It isn’t - he faces the camera at 37:04

[@Solaar_Punk]

Nope

[@Vorres]

@@WhyTech01 well spotted!

[@ArtieMcCannMusic]

The guy at 49:10 looks like Elijah Wood :)

[@edward3301]

More like Gollum

[@thenealdog5343]

I thought more of a Jay Spearing appearing washed up but eager after failing at Liverpool myself but fair.. :)

[@ActionGeekUK]

Excellent talk.

[@muukkeli]

+

[@Mortimer_Duke]

ActionGeek UK right up to the point where he claimed BLM to be wonderful and important.

[@SuperBagshot]

And your point is?

[@debanjandasgupta7485]

His speech sounds a lot like that Ted Talk!!

[@ams914]

20 members of the shame brigade disliked this video.

[@theblanketfortcohort7332]

ams914 I've got this image in my head of people with warning lights strapped to their heads, running at people shouting "WEEEOOOOOHHH WEEEOOOOOHHH "

[@briteeyes2133]

😱😯

[@AVoiceForThePeople]

Your life is shame

[@allegedlyalive9811]

Scrolling through these comments wondering why no one seemed to notice what looks like Louis Theroux in the audience.

[@AVoiceForThePeople]

shit shit shit shit, this would NOT be a conversation in a gulag

[@plasticelectrics]

he forgot his bag as he left...

[@TommyDMBT]

I do love Jon Ronson but I wish he didn't do that thing wherere he goes "my friend Adam Curtis" or "my friend Clive Stafford-Smith", for example. He rarely (or never) refers to his friend John or Dave who aren't well-known and highly-regarded people.

[@Solaar_Punk]

I like that he does that, it allows me to go off and investigate them and see if they have anything published or on Radio. I assumed that's why he does it.

[@mathewthompson7683]

Powerful Joe Rogan quote to close the speech out

[@contactkeithstack]

Mathew Thompson it's crazy he remembered it so close to verbatim, it was such a passing comment by Joe Rogan and Jon Ronson didn't even seem to note it in the conversation.

[@iseeolly9959]

Loads of people in the UK love Powerful Joe Rogan....and uncle Joey Diaz.

[@peterpyke1213]

machete dont tweet,me neither

[@upendasana7857]

We really haven't evolved very much as a human race have we ...in fact in many ways we seem to be moving backwards

[@LukeGibsonSS]

He really should find more ways to say "he/she said" - "online shaming" I said, "Oh did you read that piece in the NYT?" She enquired, "I wrote it!" I exclaimed against my better judgement "Oh you must be so happy" she replied grinning. "Actually I'm not" I insisted wholeheartedly, "Why not?" She shrieked in bewilderment "Because there's a backlash with people calling me a racist" I proclaimed in frustration "So what do you want?" She asked me reassuringly. "Xanax!?" I joked jadedly. Possibly not detecting the underlying sarcasm, she scrambled inside her bag without hesitation and after a few seconds that lasted longer than they should, she lay forth her doctors pad and wrote me a prescription for 60 Xanax...

[@Solaar_Punk]

What should he say?

[@andrewlawless9796]

7:31

[@mensmans9241]

The fore last question about who does the shaming is simple to answer. People on the left to by far the most shaming as they like to claim the moral high ground. People in the right do more of the trolling.

[@calebvoyles8240]

I don't see a difference at all, shaming and vicious trolling read the same. They feel the same. This ain't politics bud.

[@alexanderdemontfort3022]

Why's everyone goto drop the f-bomb at the Oxford union, these days?

[@acvieluf]

GoteeDevotee there's a more intelligent and well thought out way to speak. And while you certainly wouldn't expect that higher standard here on KZbin comments (see your own post as an example), you WOULD expect it at one of the highest places of education in the world.

[@WhiteSleevedStu]

Fuck knows

[@thetessellater9163]

Because one can be sure they are all adults, and no children! Its just words!

[@christianknuchel]

It's a celebration of meaning, a world behind the veil of words. In a culture where the value of what is said is first assessed by the form within which they are spoken, there is bound to be a surge of those aiming to put a dent into that distortive effect.

[@sratus]

I see Louis Theroux in the audience

[@thetessellater9163]

Bloody Racist! [joking, what a very intelligent man, thanks Jon for provoking serious thought.]

[@06comment]

He forgot his bag :(

[@kathygraham6251]

but is it effective in changing behaviour? Thinking of that rotten dentist that shot that lion.....just said the other day that it was time to bring back shaming, now I'm rethinking it, except for that dentist. I don't tweet,need to defend against that impulse. I think its a defense against the powerlessness we feel to affect change

[@dennishorne1542]

Actually that dentist was set up. He paid $54,000 to shoot a lion with a bow and arrow (which did not kill it). Not saying I agree with killing wildlife but read this: www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/06/cecil-african-lion-anniversary-death-trophy-hunting-zimbabwe/

[@swesleyc7]

I blame thus lack of morality in our culture is the removal of Christian ethics in our households and the lack of role models in our lives - either parent, politicians, or pop culture.

[@Simple_Slmon]

I find christians to be the most judgmental and many have very poor ethics.

[@swesleyc7]

@@Simple_Slmon Then i reply they aren't being Christ like.

[@Solaar_Punk]

It's not completely to blame but I can't help feel it's left a void.

[@NapalmFacepalm]

He's still regurgitating social justice ideology even though he's now being burned by the flames it fuels. There's a part of me that wants to click the like button. It's the same part that wants to watch the world burn down.

[@raphidae]

Ugh, if only he understood that this shaming comes *from* social justice. It's not the ugly side of it, social justice *is* that ugly,. It just shows up more clearly in the public shaming. But this shaming goes on constantly in all layers of the social justice clique, damaging them and everyone around them. It's a cancer.

[@theninjadee]

Terrence Koeman I think he very much realizes this.

[@raphidae]

And then still be fine with social justice regardless?

[@theninjadee]

Sorry, I don't mean to come across as I'm completely knowledgeable about his views. In this video though, he seemed to understand this by the way he addressed it saying he used to do it (in a negative view), that he doesn't like the outcomes, and a general overall negative view of the herd mentality of the internet, specifically on twitter or social media. He mentions that these are not examples of democracy in any way.

[@whatspoppin11326]

Holding people accountable for their behavior is still necessary in a functioning society, especially if that behavior can incite real harm or damage to others

[@medaphysicsrepository2639]

WTFU

[@swesleyc7]

"Black lives matter is great and important." Boy I think Jon is rethinking this one today.

[@christianknuchel]

No, he won't. The statement is as true today as it ever was. You'll find people who go to far in any movement. Narrowing the proverbial camera angles in order to single out these examples is how good movements get discredited in the eyes of good people.

[@swesleyc7]

@@christianknuchel Their website "about" section literally states "disrupt the nuclear family". Or at least it did, until people became aware of it and how vile the organization is, gaslighting people with a positive term like "black lives matter"... which has nothing to do with what they want.

[@pujapete3665]

8 years on and it just got worse

[@user-il9qo4qc4n]

He forgot his backpack as he left. Not so smart after all.

[@tommyreazy]

He always reminds me of a less funny, less likeable Louis Theroux

[@Solaar_Punk]

Jon's an author, Louis a documentary maker.

[@badfreddytube]

The interviewer at the end is terrible.

[@ambassador8524]

The English people here are not an attractive bunch.🤭 I agree with him on one thing for sure. I too LOVE JON SNOW, King of the north🗡.

[@Solaar_Punk]

The brainy ones usually aren't.

[@Gedagnors]

People who laugh = horrrible people...

[@MrJabramo]

The real problem is the awful puritanism of the PC crowd. The sad thing is that Mr. Ronson is nothing but a preacher who is doubling down on the puritan way of thinking. This is making matters worse.

[@Solaar_Punk]

He's bringing awareness. I read his books and I'm a chad.

[@jaccrystal6993]

Dodgy character, full of off the shelf manipulative tricks: ''Like all of us(the temerity) .....baboon'-no buster, 'we' didn't; tune in, turn off.

[@lucyk2634]

God he always tells the same stories and tells them exactly the same in every occasion...

[@thenealdog5343]

True, i'd watched his appearances on TEDx Talks and found it mildly interesting to begin noticing his anecdotes and trying to predict what he'd say, to great effect aha however i feel as though we can give him the benefit of the doubt, he came to present and promote his new book on the same topic, whilst public speaking acts against his anxious feelings addressed previously

[@alanbrooke144]

WTF? You can’t be a journalist and politically correct, however you can be politically correct and a propagandist.

[@KlausDoitschlaaand]

"Black Lives Matter is important" ... ehm, no.