An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the West (Konstantin Kisin)

The Michael Shermer Show # 293
Shermer and Kisin discuss: growing up in Russia • “The Talk” Russian parents give their children • What is the “West” and how do Russians view it • Should Whites feel some guilt for slavery, racism, misogyny, bigotry, etc.? • systemic racism: criminal justice, housing, employment, income, wealth • Critical Race Theory (CRT) • immigration • free, private, and public speech • how language is used to distort truth • the origin of “political correctness” • journalism vs. activism • capitalism • and how the West could be lost.
Konstantin Kisin is a journalist, comedian, voiceover actor and social commentator. Born in the Soviet Union, where he experienced both untold wealth and grinding poverty, he moved to the UK when he was 13 years old. Now an award-winning performer, he co-presents the popular KZbin series Triggernometry alongside Francis Foster. Together, they’ve interviewed some of the most in-demand intellectuals of our age, such as Douglas Murray, Jordan Peterson and many others.
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[@crowbar9566]

I've been watching Triggernometry here on YT for years. It's good stuff. They do long-form interviews with guests, which they play straight, and when they don't have a guest Konstantin and Francis do a Raw show which is them exercising their free speech to the max with offensive comedy. It's great.

[@PRAR1966]

Excellent KK 🙂 Glad to find Mr Michael Shermer's channel

[@veracyning5572]

I started reading Shermer about 20 years ago. Had to go to the library to get the books. It's been a long weird ride since then. So happy to see Konstantin on the program! Love you both. I definitely have to read this book now. Thanks guys! ❤️

[@ginabisaillon2894]

What an amazingly wise young man! Thanks for the interview, Michael.

[@leonharrison800]

Yes. Another Putin defender. Another conservative who defends a mass murderer. Just sooo good.

[@amybyrd419]

Both gentlemen are to be complimented on their conversation. Rational, reasonable, respectful and informative! Thank you so much. Avid observer of both of you! I was on a geology bus tour with Michael years ago and he is the real thing, a righteous, down to earth dude! And Konstatin is one insightful, bright young man! Funny, too!

[@leestringer]

Him and his show partner also did a great interview on Rogan. I really like this guy.

[@mark4asp]

Konstantin is right about a direct connection between 1. Free Speech and 2. Western success in science, technology and the economy. Why didn't Capitalism, instead, develop in either China or Islamic world? They had one big advantage over Europe - they had a common language. Yet they lacked anything approaching free speech, or healthy public debate (outside of the State) - AKA in civil society.

[@tuckerbugeater]

Having the same language is useful to capitalism. LOL. It's more about geography and agriculture. Rice farming is a more communistic practice.

[@mark4asp]

@@tuckerbugeater Capitalism developed in the West (Holland, England first), because it could. The institutions and intellectual environment were right for it. Conditions of relatively free trade, competition, combined with commercial innovation which enabled manufacturing innovation. Development of Capitalism in the West was nothing to do with farming, or slavery, or imperialism, or any of that other Marxist BS. Prior capital accumulation wasn't needed because they had modern banking from about 1700 onward.

[@pedanticlady9126]

A very enjoyable interview. A lot of issues covered. Well balanced. Easy and relaxing to follow. Points well made. Thanks to you both Michael and Konstantin 👍 9/10

[@Hollis_has_questions]

I love this conversation and I respect both of you.

[@mikewillis5052]

Good job Michael and Konstantin. I'm old and worked and saved many years before being able to buy a house. Do young people think they should just be given cheap housing? You don't appreciate things you don't work for.

[@markparrott2632]

Great job as per usual

[@dcouric]

• A Russian who wants to buy a car. The man goes to the official agency, puts down his money, and is told that he can take delivery of his automobile in exactly 10 years. ''Morning or afternoon?'' the purchaser asks. ''Ten years from now, what difference does it make?'' replies the clerk. ''Well,'' says the car-buyer, ''the plumber's coming in the morning.'' • An American tells a Russian that the United States is so free he can stand in front of the White House and yell, ''To hell with Ronald Reagan.'' The Russian replies: ''That's nothing. I can stand in front of the Kremlin and yell, 'To hell with Ronald Reagan,' too.'' • The commissar is visiting a Soviet potato farm. The party official asks a farmer how things are going, and the farmer replies that the harvest is so bountiful that the potatoes would reach the ''foot of God'' if piled on top of one another. "But this is the Soviet Union,'' says the commissar, ''there is no God here.'' The farmer replies, ''That's all right, there are no potatoes, either.'' • What are the four things wrong with Soviet agriculture? Spring, summer, winter, and fall. • What is the definition of a communist? Someone who has read the works of Marx and Lenin. What is the definition of an anti-communist? Someone who understands the works of Marx and Lenin. • Two Russians are walking down the street, and one says, ''Comrade, have we reached the highest state of communism?'' ''Oh, no,'' the other replies. ''I think things are going to get a lot worse.''

[@emilianosintarias7337]

What has capitalism in Russia done, that the USSR couldn't , despite over 60 years of trying? Make communism look good

[@digitalnomad9985]

@@emilianosintarias7337 Fed Russians. Anyway, "capitalism" is a caricature by Karl Marx to claim that free commerce favors capital. The engine of progress is free markets. You don't have free markets in Russia, you have a corrupt kleptocracy.

[@tanchella]

In Putis's Russia they cannot shout "To hell with Ronald Reagan" in front of Kremlin any more. Protesting with a piece of blank paper or saying to the camera "I support special operation in Ukraine" will get you arrested swftly.

[@blakesleyk.7166]

Tho I find Konstantin very informative, enlightening & Francis effing hilarious. Oh where’d my objection to Kissin go?

[@sebastiennesp1978]

19:26 Forgive me, but I'd rather 10,000 people from Northern Europe come here to work, live, start families, than 10,000 people from (for example) Sub Saharan Africa who don't share our Western values. Your average Latvian does not believe in FGM I suspect...

[@mkilptrick]

I like his approach to inequities in society. Very well spoken.

[@patrickmulder2450]

The Patricks are in agreement

[@grahamwallace4355]

Konstantin is a breath of fresh air. A pragmatic honest intellectual mind. He is a testament to the fact that there are good smart honest Russians. May they all stand up to Putin.

[@KirilDimitrov86]

Housing is already regulated in the Anglosphere. Heavily at that. This is why there is a shortage of it. To attribute it to a free market is a deep misunderstanding of what is happening. More regulations is just an insane notion. Otherwise a pretty good interview.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

There's no free market of property in the UK. Here property ownership is the gateway to raising capital for just about anything. Our economy has been kept artificially buoyant by constant inflation in the value if property, fuelled by mass immigration. This has priced millions out of the market and can no longer be sustained. It is difficult to convince a 20 year old that capitalism in ita current form is a great idea when they have no realistic opportunities of ever owning capital themselves. We are getting very close to the point where over half of our voting population will not own property. Why do you think a lunatic like Corbyn came so close to power?

[@WNH3]

I wonder if the "Indians" agree that Slavery is America's "original sin."

[@pillsareyummy]

The comment section here is strikingly different to the comments found on Trigonometry's YT channel regarding the interview they did with Shermer. Many of the comments on the latter channel bordered on conspiracy theories and an illogical (not to mention toxic) view of Shermer. It's nice to see reasonable discourse here. Obviously, there's a difference in the people who watch (or at least) comment on either of these channels.

[@theglanconer6463]

Thank you.

[@wwiels]

Immigrants mainly want to move to the Anglosphere because they speak English. That, and a perceived lack of obligatory ID. Also, Western Europe and Scandinavia systematically rank higher on human development, happiness, freedom of the press, and obviously healthcare. I'm sorry but those are simply facts. The American project was built much more on enlightenment rationality than on the supposed invention of personal freedom by protestant aristocrats. The latter appears to me as being quite close to a romantic chauvinist myth. Cheers from a Belgian skeptic and Anglophile

[@carmenmartin4259]

Inderdaad nogal xenofoob tav andere west europese landen, maar voor de rest veel interessant denkvoer

[@Zoomo2697]

“But the new rebel is a skeptic, and will not entirely trust anything. He has no loyalty; therefore he can never be really a revolutionist. And the fact that he doubts everything really gets in his way when he wants to denounce anything. For all denunciation implies a moral doctrine of some kind; and the modern revolutionist doubts not only the institution he denounces, but the doctrine by which he denounces it. . . . As a politician, he will cry out that war is a waste of life, and then, as a philosopher, that all life is waste of time. A Russian pessimist will denounce a policeman for killing a peasant, and then prove by the highest philosophical principles that the peasant ought to have killed himself. . . . The man of this school goes first to a political meeting, where he complains that savages are treated as if they were beasts; then he takes his hat and umbrella and goes on to a scientific meeting, where he proves that they practically are beasts. In short, the modern revolutionist, being an infinite skeptic, is always engaged in undermining his own mines. In his book on politics he attacks men for trampling on morality; in his book on ethics he attacks morality for trampling on men. Therefore the modern man in revolt has become practically useless for all purposes of revolt. By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything.” ― G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

[@Doutsoldome]

I haven't found anything over which I disagree with Konstantin, yet. I may have to read his book to see if I find some odd footnote, or something.

[@KW-hk2jd]

I really like Konstantin, sharp dude. I just wish you would’ve talked more about geopolitics than American politics, that is the real danger and puts the rest of it into perspective. But otherwise, great, thank you.

[@mrpopo8298]

I love Konstantly Kissin Butts!

[@MasayaShida]

Triggernometry is great. Thanks for this conversation.

[@tonyburton419]

The UK joined the EU in 1975. Not during Blair's Premiership .

[@crowbar9566]

The EU didn't exist in 1975. We joinee the old EEC, the European Economic Community, which was a very different animal and not nearly so involved in the lives of private citizens or their elected governments.

[@WNH3]

@@crowbar9566 Wasn't it 1973? Or is that just when the decision was made? I remember the 50p with the circle of hands on the reverse.

[@pedanticlady9126]

The UK originally joined the EEC in January 1973. It had a referendum in June 1975 when it voted to remain in the the European Economic Community. At that time there were only 9 members. The original 6 members were Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. They were joined in 1973 by the UK, Republic of Ireland and Denmark.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

No, Blair took us into the EU. The EU didn't exist in 1973, we joined the EEC. Most people didn't have a huge issue with the EEC. What then happened however was an unelected, unilateral powergrab as successive British governments from Major handed over our sovereignty to the EU.

[@micpin6810]

1:14:35 - Have you looked at the national average eye que of countries???😂😂

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

What is 'eye que'

[@micpin6810]

@@HarryFlashmanVC IQ. 😂😂 You don't seem to have much of it. 😂😂

[@williamvorkosigan5151]

Without Soviet Support. The non aggression pact and supply of material. Germany would not have dared send all of it's military to attack France in 39. The Soviet facilitated the commencement of WW2, They assisted Germany in attacking Poland as they dashed to get their share.

[@missygoldstein12]

The best

[@CalisthenicsWork]

I would have liked to have seen him challenged re the covid and vaccine information he has been putting out. Love the triggernometry show, but disagree on many of their covid points.

[@theinngu5560]

Same

[@micpin6810]

7:51 This is the BIG mistake everybody makes. I.e. Look at INDIVIDUAL humans. First of all, not ALL humans are flawed. Most humans are NOT flawed. But if you look at it at the CORRECT level, i.e. the level of human RACES, then you will see that the flaws in some become meaningless as the these flaws will be neutralized by the most other individuals in your RACE who are NOT flawed.

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

What?

[@hawk8403]

Relatively Rich people should not be able to vote on the third world populations that poor folks are going to have to deal with.

[@mark4asp]

Re: "Social Darwinism" - which Micheal criticises. Correction: they didn't have genetic engineering back then. They used public policy, birth control, and, in the case of the NAZIs, actual extermination.

[@scillyautomatic]

9:40 Awe, hooee! The Soviets didn't build Keiv and Moscow. The Soviets built miles and miles of grey concrete nastiness.

[@HGALAXIES]

Love the discussions as usual bu he has lots of contradictions though. Like telling that person not being allowed to bad mouth others yet he just called actions of talking as "freedom of speech" and that we have to accept the "price"!!! Well, here you go, pat the price!!! And if you don't like it, I pay for your ticket back to your homeland, beloved russki land I mean! Hahaha, nice jock?! Hmmm 🥳

[@micpin6810]

22:24 - So you don't have any problem when Japanese say this. Do you have any problem if a European says the same thing??

[@micpin6810]

23:33 - So if a you get Japanese citizenship tomorrow you become Japanese?? What a joke..😂😂

[@roxee57]

I don’t think the only issue Re Trump as a candidate in 2024 vs a different conservative candidate is the issue of his policies vs his personality. The stand out issue is that even before 2020 election, and after, he worked at doing what he could to prevent the peaceful transfer of power if he lost. Electing Trump to the presidency again in 2024 would be to elect someone to the office that has already revealed what he would do if he doesn’t win the next & that behaviour is no different to what some tin pot dictator like Putin, Assad, Xi, or Jong-Un thinks about losing an election.

[@HGALAXIES]

The only issue is that neither of you apparently have any idea of the world history, especially about the other countries that got sucked into war and other ramifications of it and the powers behind it just due to their proximity!!! And, what history they have before and after world wars!!!

[@pavelpudivitr9531]

Framing debate capitalism vs socialism is ultimately false choice and easy talking point.

[@aminomar7890]

Socialism is bad doesn’t mean that it’s faked opponent “Capitalism” is necessarily good! It’s kind of sophistry mixed with stupidity and hypocrisy! he is a very simple man not aware of the big game: who made weapons and how weapons reached third world countries, maintaining chaos,supporting and helping criminal thieves to steal the revenue of natural resources to take the stolen money to the banks of western countries! where do the biggest criminal thieves live after they committed their crimes against humanity?! and why people immigrate to the west (some countries are full of natural resources while the biggest criminal thieves those ruled them and committed crimes already got permits of residence in the west because of the huge amount of stolen money)!

[@s.v.discussion8665]

He does not look like a russian. Is he an ethnic russian?

[@rezzob]

“I speak russian, therefore trust me with my bullshit comments on ukraine russia relations” mate since 2014 Ukrainian in donbass had time to leave and come to mother ukraine but instead they stayed and fought and died by nazi artilleries, over 15000 of them. still right now Ukrainian army shells city centers, it’s own city centers! there is a british journal living and reporting among them (graham philips) h speaks russian too, and he thinks you are full of shit

[@StephenDuncan]

@49:00 ish - everybody was doing slavery, or everyone has been a slave. Wow, can you minimize the African slave experience in the Anglo world in a more dismissive way?

[@StopBeingLiedTo]

what do ya want, a medal?

[@andyelkerton361]

The etymology of the word "Slave" originates from the word "Slav"....and that's not because they were the ones doing the enslaving. Millions of white Europeans were enslaved over the centuries and taken to the Islamic Empire. From the 1500's until the 1700's alone, a million Europeans were captured by North African Pirates, and suffered a similar fate. So "yes" most, if not every, society has suffered slavery in it's history, either at the hands of foreigners or it's own countrymen. Not to diminish the "African slave experience" but slavery did not start or finish with Africa. However our memories are so short that we forget that. (btw, regarding African slavery in the Anglosphere; more Africans were stolen and taken to the Muslim World than were taken to the West throughout the entire history of African slavery)

[@timw9047]

Well yes. Slavery was standard practice in all over world prior to the industrial Revolution. And before slavery was the norm, dominant cultures would just destroy weaker ones, eradicate them, annihilate them. Slavery is still being practiced in Africa and the Arab world and has been for thousands of years. Having perspective and understand is not dismissive.

[@timw9047]

African slaves sold to whites lived a lot longer than the ones who were sold (they were mostly captured and sold by black Africans) to other blacks in Africa or Muslims. Are you dismissing the treatment of black slaves in Africa during the period of the trans Atlantic slave trade? Do you hold Africa today accountable for that trade? Do you hold the Arab world accountable for their involvement with slavery (which they're still practicing)? Do you think African or Arab wealth today is built on the slavery it engages in hundreds of years ago? No, no one does. No one thinks the Arab world's wealth today is built on slavery even though it used more slaves than the west and is still using slaves today. China was the biggest market for slaves during the period of the trans Atlantic slave trade. Does anyone think China's wealth today is built on slavery? No, because it isn't, neither is the wests. Theres so much nonsense floating around about how important slavery was to the west. So perspective and a deeper understanding is important (if you care about what's true).

[@HarryFlashmanVC]

America does not have exclusive claim to slavery. Your attitude is that of the typical American chauvinist... history beginning in 1601! 🤣🤣🤣 pointing out that slavery is not unique to America does not dismiss the experience of American slavery. Has it occurred to you that claiming Slavery as an uniquely American experience dismisses the hundreds of millions who were enslaved from the dawn of time to the modern age across the globe. Americans.. you've been around for about 5 minutes and you claim to know history!🤣🤣🤣🤣