“Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough is weathering Twitter backlash after he blasted young people for “playing video games,” which is a lot different than the 1940s, when thousands of young men served in World War II.
“Young men in the 1940s liberated Europe from Nazism and the Pacific from the Japanese Empire. Today, too many stay home playing video games,” the TV host tweeted in a follow-up to a tweet about smartphone culture. Philip Carter, an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, pointed out that many young men are still serving in the military, and not sitting at home playing video games: “Hey @JoeNBC who do you think is fighting our post-9/11 wars? A narrow slice but one that defies your caricature.”
To that, Scarborough responded, “A narrow slice of the best and bravest among us. Unfortunately, the trend lines of overall society are not as promising. We have work to do.”
Our smartphone culture impacts young men in the most profound way. It is often younger women who suffer the most. https://t.co/cagBUD9rUE
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 7, 2017
Young men in the 1940s liberated Europe from Nazism and the Pacific from the Japanese Empire. Today, too many stay home playing video games. https://t.co/e7FTe0O20P
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/Carter_PE/status/894546991719624708
A narrow slice of the best and bravest among us. Unfortunately, the trend lines of overall society are not as promising. We have work to do. https://t.co/EFmLOsayhZ
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 7, 2017
Twitter users were quick to mock Scarborough for his wartime nostalgia. “Love @joenbc, but this is a legit old man yells at cloud tweet,” said CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski. To which Scarborough doubled down on his old-man-yells tweet: “If you’d get off your XBox & back away from your 3 fantasy baseball league computer screens you’d see data supports my Old Man concerns.” Scarborough did not cite any specific data to support his concerns.
“These are only millenials [sic] that neither you nor I personally know, and certainly none that follow me on Twitter or watch Morning Joe!” he added.
One veteran called Scarborough’s tweet “insipid,” saying, “I deployed seven times to Iraq/AFG. I was wounded in action. I play a LOT of video games now, as I did back then. The comparison is insipid.”
Others virtually eye-rolled at a man complaining about lack of military engagement when he himself never enlisted: “Middle-aged man who never fought in or enlisted in the military wishing that young men might have the chance to be killed in battle.”
https://twitter.com/KFILE/status/894567916624125952
If you'd get off your XBox & back away from your 3 fantasy baseball league computer screens you'd see data supports my Old Man concerns. https://t.co/RFZQ5OxDln
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 7, 2017
These are only millenials that neither you nor I personally know, and certainly none that follow me on Twitter or watch Morning Joe! https://t.co/Ux50bMwPuw
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 7, 2017
love when these National Greatness conservatives pine for the old days when millions of young people got killed https://t.co/P2R8fB3nSW
— ryan cooper (@ryanlcooper) August 7, 2017
I actually prefer to live in a world where the young can play games rather than die in wars. But that's just me. https://t.co/bbNIOREB5s
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/Atrios/status/894558640836943872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fblogs%2Fblog-briefing-room%2Fnews%2F345587-scarborough-too-many-young-men-play-video-games-instead-of
https://twitter.com/BA_Friedman/status/894540482059137024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fblogs%2Fblog-briefing-room%2Fnews%2F345587-scarborough-too-many-young-men-play-video-games-instead-of
Middle-aged man who never fought in or enlisted in the military wishing that young men might have the chance to be killed in battle. https://t.co/cH1wdPBALD
— corey robin (@CoreyRobin) August 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/mistermegative/status/894579089868115969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fthehill.com%2Fblogs%2Fblog-briefing-room%2Fnews%2F345587-scarborough-too-many-young-men-play-video-games-instead-of
https://twitter.com/JoePalank/status/894582415263506432
Scarborough kept engaging with the backlash. Another veteran tweeted, “I served 3x in Iraq and went to Afghanistan as a civilian. I’ll also pwn you in @Battlefield 1, Joe. Catch me on @Xbox as I Miss Obama.” Apparently, Scarborough himself plays video games even as he cites them as a societal issue, as he responded, “Thank you for your service to America. I am deeply grateful. You would also own me. I’m more of a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 guy.”
https://twitter.com/CheekyAmriki/status/894560656162258944
Thank you for your service to America. I am deeply grateful.
You would also own me. I'm more of a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 guy.🎮 https://t.co/kbNfRokyoV— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 7, 2017
The responses to Scarborough’s take on video gaming seemed only to further affirm his thoughts on the matter. “The stupidity of these responses suggest an ignorance of current trends and the need to get out in the sun…which I am going to do now,” he tweeted, after three hours spent engaging online with critics.
The stupidity of these responses suggest an ignorance of current trends and the need to get out in the sun…which I am going to do now.😀 https://t.co/ohluLxirwS
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) August 7, 2017
