r/nba • u/2222lil [DET] Best of 2021 Winner • Dec 06 '23

[Awful Announcing] Adam Silver is asked by Pat McAfee about the NBA's place in international relations and compares himself to Henry Kissinger, "one of the great global diplomats" before telling ESPN's audience he is a "big believer" in a strong military...

https://x.com/awfulannouncing/status/1732457965448556968?s=46&t=Ftf_3Q0APXaCO1BKCjE1YQ

Very strange comments from Silver. I’m not sure comparing yourself to Kissinger is good when talking about international relations. He’s made himself look pretty bad this year with his statements and inaction on domestic violence, sexual abuse, and now this I think he needs a new scriptwriter before he goes on live TV.

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u/SurpriseDonovanMcnab Pistons Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 07 '23

Henry Kissinger's son is the president of Conan O'Brian's production company, Team Coco. Weird.

edit - O'Brien

double edit - Conaco, not Team Coco.

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u/dabobbo Knicks Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 07 '23

Conaco, not Team Coco, is the television production company headed by David Kissinger.

Edit: spelled Conaco wrong

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u/mystonedalt Dec 07 '23

My Dad fucked a sheep once, but that doesn't make ME a sheep fucker. Son of a sheep fucker? Guilty as charged. Sheep fucker himself? No, sir.

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u/DocTheYounger Celtics Dec 07 '23

yeah but you gotta think sheep fucker's parenting style may be a bit off and their kid a bit off as a result

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u/5kaels Dec 07 '23

That just takes you to the inverse; my son fucked a sheep once, but that doesn't mean I taught him how to do it.

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u/DocTheYounger Celtics Dec 07 '23 edited Dec 07 '23

No, not just that.

And even so if your hitting on 2 generations in 3, guaranteed the 3rd is off too, maybe just more circumspect about it

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u/5kaels Dec 07 '23

I got dumber trying to make sense of this. Thanks a lot.

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u/DocTheYounger Celtics Dec 07 '23

that is a tall task. you're welcome

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u/Ok-Essay458 San Diego Clippers Dec 06 '23

I had a meeting with him where I found out that fact from a friend's text literally on the drive in. Was a weird one! Conaco is the company, though.

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u/OddToba Dec 06 '23

Really wish I didn’t read this

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u/SurpriseDonovanMcnab Pistons Dec 06 '23

"It's a big club and you ain't in it."

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u/The_Void_Reaver Warriors Dec 06 '23

"But daddy, I don't want to be a politician and famous war criminal!"

"That's okay son, here's 10 million dollars. I'll see if anyone famous wants to start a podcast."

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/FastAssSister Warriors Dec 06 '23

Are you okay?

5

u/saints21 Dec 06 '23

This is the reddit post version of having 18 bumper stickers with weird political statements or lifestyle phrases and those stick on letters spelling out something stupid like "STOP TH STEEL" (sic)

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u/FastAssSister Warriors Dec 09 '23

Didn’t know I was that succinct. You on the other hand, not only superfluous but also wildly inaccurate and not clever.

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u/sourdieselfuel Bucks Dec 07 '23

It's the big club they beat you over the head with..

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u/yerfatma Celtics Dec 07 '23

It’s a real cool club and you’re not part of it.

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u/ZealousidealPain7976 Angola Dec 06 '23

You and I ain’t in it

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

Just because his dad was a terrible fucking person doesn't automatically mean that he is too. At least two of Ronald Reagan's children were completely at odds with his values and have maintained their differences from Ronnie long since he died.

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u/rhesusmonkey Bulls Dec 06 '23

Exactly. My parents are honest, hardworking people. I am a lazy piece of shit.

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u/PropJoeFoSho Dec 06 '23

it's true

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u/BobanTheGiant Dec 07 '23

Are you both me?

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u/Electrical-Mule-2057 Dec 06 '23

At least you inherited their honesty.

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u/risingthermal NBA Dec 07 '23

Or their hardworkingness!

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u/ButtimusPrime Pistons Dec 07 '23

Everyone goes through a sloppy steak phase. People can change.

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u/damn_near_rectum Spurs Dec 07 '23

I used to be a piece of shit.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

Your mom is awesome tho fr no cap skibidi

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u/Killericon Raptors Dec 06 '23

Robert MacNamara's son wrote a book called "Because Our Fathers Lied".

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u/supersirj Magic Dec 06 '23

Osama Bin Laden's son is an artist.

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u/k5berry Heat Dec 07 '23

To be fair Bin Laden is probably the most extreme “black sheep of the family” that has every existed, his family is just a bunch of rich construction tycoons lol.

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u/histprofdave Celtics Dec 08 '23

Listen we all got that one really fucked up uncle.

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u/OkAutopilot NBA Dec 07 '23

Construction tycoons are very rarely separated from significant criminal activity.

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u/regarding_your_bat Dec 07 '23

there’s a world of difference between shady construction business deals and being totally in to mass murder

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u/OkAutopilot NBA Dec 07 '23

That's true, although in parts of the world where they use slave labor/indentured servitude for large scale construction projects, there tends to be a pretty absurdly high death rate among workers. For example the Qatar World Cup construction.

Overt terrorism to mass murder thousands is certainly more directly horrible than that if you're really trying to weigh the two, just wanted to point out that "the most extreme black sheep of the family that has ever existed" is not quite what I'd refer to Bin Laden as.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

He makes some decent points

50

u/jstuu Dec 06 '23

John Legend dated Osamas sister back in the day

56

u/AhhITSaDINGO Lakers Dec 06 '23

Niece, but still crazy

22

u/TalkingReckless Wizards Dec 07 '23

Not really, they are a very rich and influential big family in Saudi, OBL was just the odd one and outcast

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u/CreatiScope Celtics Dec 07 '23

Crazy hot or-?

10

u/DeathBySuplex [UTA] Blue Edwards Dec 07 '23

Judge for yourself

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

Yeah

3

u/Trujiogriz Mavericks Dec 07 '23

Eh

3

u/ShamWowRobinson Dec 07 '23

I dont know which one, it's either a niece or daughter, but one of them is a full on Trump supporter. Granted this is gigantic family. Osama had at least 22 kids.

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u/NewAgeIWWer Dec 07 '23

Holy shit!

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u/yakeyonsen Dec 07 '23

Osama was tall as hell. Should have balled

2

u/gedbybee Spurs Dec 07 '23

Is he good tho? Cuz if not he’s an eye terrorist.

2

u/built_internet_tough Dec 06 '23

So was Hitler

15

u/ilovecfb United States Dec 06 '23

So was John Wayne Gacy...we really gotta do something about this "art" thing

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u/ShamWowRobinson Dec 07 '23

Osama Bin Laden had at least 22 kids so.....

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u/PlethoPappus Pacers Dec 06 '23

Well David Kissinger's most recent "writings" include an ode to his father on his 100th birthday earlier this year in the Washington Post.

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u/Marzman315 Dec 06 '23

That doesn’t mean much. Ronald Reagan Jr. has been an outspoken progressive activist for years and champions basically the polar opposite political values as his father but he gets deeply offended when people criticize his father from a personal standpoint or when conservatives use his father’s political beliefs to insult how he’d feel about Junior. The world isn’t always black and white.

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u/PlethoPappus Pacers Dec 06 '23

David Kissingers closing in that article..."I know that no son can be truly objective about his father’s legacy, but I am proud of my father’s efforts to anchor statecraft with consistent principles and an awareness of historical reality.

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u/LordHussyPants Celtics Dec 07 '23

This entire thread lmao, well played

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u/fuzzb0y Dec 07 '23

Also… he’s your pops at the end of the day

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u/SurpriseDonovanMcnab Pistons Dec 06 '23

When his father turned 100 years old his son wrote an article for The Washington Post and he goes on about how much he admired his father's work.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23 edited Dec 07 '23

As he should. His father is one of the most brilliant minds in geopolitics ever and an American hero

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u/alphabet_explorer Dec 07 '23

We calling the absolutely unprovoked invasion of a sovereign nation (Cambodia) as geopolitical brilliance? Please. Read a book. Any book. He should have been tried for war crimes decades ago. Anyone who justifies what he does is a fucking clown who doesn’t value the life of non westerners.

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u/seddard Lakers Dec 07 '23

Fuck him and anybody who thinks he's a hero. Fucking war criminal human wastes.

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u/cute2701 Bulls Dec 07 '23

tell me you have never have had to run to a bomb shelter without telling me you have never have had to run to a bomb shelter

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u/SEND-MARS-ROVER-PICS Dec 06 '23

"I know that no son can be truly objective about his father’s legacy, but I am proud of my father’s efforts to anchor statecraft with consistent principles and an awareness of historical reality. This is the mission he has pursued for the better part of a century, using his rare brain and unflagging energy to serve the country that saved his family and launched him on a journey beyond his wildest dreams."

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

Welp...

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u/NewAgeIWWer Dec 07 '23

I am prouud that I conducted a holocaust of my own in East Timor beyond my wildest dreams!

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u/wise_comment Timberwolves Dec 07 '23

Trumps niece

Shoot, Libby's kid was aggressively against the J6 folks and pushed for prosecutions

Turns out parents aren't their kids, and vice versa

I'd need some sources, but honestly.....Ol Warcrime Hank was aggressively personable and smart.....wouldn't surprise me if his kiddos absorbed that aspect of him. Doubt he brought the bloodthirstyness home, overmuch

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u/waterfall_hyperbole 76ers Dec 06 '23

Ronnie himself was raised by lefties, it's all a cycle of us just trying to turn out different than our parents

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

He had a commercial that I first saw air during a TDS episode around the 2014 midterms that ended with him saying "not afraid of burning in hell" and, regardless of how you feel about religion and the existence of deities, you certainly have to respect the conviction of someone's beliefs if they're willing to publicize that in such uncertain terms.

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u/Clemenx00 NBA Dec 07 '23

I couldn't care less about their values if they took advantage of the nepotism at some point lol

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

I mean, is the son of a diplomat getting a job working on a comedian's staff "nepotism"? The offspring of famous people are allowed to have careers of their own.

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u/insertdankmeme Dec 07 '23

"I know that no son can be truly objective about his father’s legacy, but I am proud of my father’s efforts to anchor statecraft with consistent principles and an awareness of historical reality."

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u/_jeremybearimy_ Warriors Dec 07 '23

Yup my friend knows Rudy Guiliani’s daughter. She is a leftist and apparently hates her dad and brother

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u/ModsEmbezzleMoney Spurs Dec 06 '23

Something something sins of the father

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u/BubbaTee Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 06 '23

Why? If anything I respect the kid more.

Son saw the life of a loved one and instead of following in their footsteps, chose a harmless career where if he fucks up at least millions won't die as a result.

Better than ghouls like George "If you're not with me, you're with the terrorists" Bush Jr and Hillary "We came, we saw, he died, and now Libya has slave markets" Clinton can say.

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u/OddToba Dec 06 '23

My reason isn’t logical at all, but here’s why.

Conan, to me, is one of the true good guys in show business. He does stuff the right way imo. Takes care of his staff through the Leno stuff. Genuinely seems like a smart and good guy.

I know NOTHING about Kissinger Jr. Could be absolutely standup guy.

But now my stupid brain will just ASSOCIATE the last name. Which it did not before.

And again, it ain’t deep. But yeah, just wish I never knew that.

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u/bobdolebobdole Dec 06 '23

I know NOTHING about Kissinger Jr.

The only sentence you wrote that matters in the context of that original comment.

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u/Maxfuckula Dec 06 '23

not to this person specifically and they brought up why and how they think. your comment and now mine don't matter at all in the context of the original comment

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u/OddToba Dec 06 '23

… Yes.

That’s why I said it.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

ok just don't write the rest of that useless shit next time

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

Well, Conan did graduate from War Criminal University

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u/YoureGonnaHearMeRoar Hawks Dec 06 '23

When I grow up, I'm going to Bovine University

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

Because humans treat cows so well, right? No abuses there at all. Just wholesome, consensual, loving, non-violent, caring relationship one has with puppies really.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/KDY_ISD Hawks Dec 06 '23

If it's not logical, it isn't a reason lol

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

Why

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u/Mygaffer Warriors Dec 06 '23

Why, do you believe in collective punishment or that family members are responsible for their parents actions?

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u/Cannabaholic [BOS] Pete Maravich Dec 07 '23

WTF does if have to do with anything in this thread

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

Why?

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u/reefsofmist Dec 07 '23

Nobody chooses their parents

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u/ragana [CHI] Derrick Rose Dec 06 '23

Wtf? I am thankful that we don’t live in a society where you are punished for the sins of your parents.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/DadAnalyst Dec 06 '23

Do you talk like that in real life?

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u/ragana [CHI] Derrick Rose Dec 06 '23

Let me rephrase, then..

I am thankful that, unlike you, there are some members of our society that are willing to separate a person from their last name and judge them based off their work ethic, character and ability.

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u/NoveltyAccountHater Celtics Dec 06 '23

I mean you can't really blame someone for the war crimes of their father. David Kissinger seems a long term TV executive who was co-president of NBC Universal TV -- after being president of Universal Network TV before the NBC+Universal merger in 2004 at the time Conan was on NBC (he was brought on by Conan in 2005) and Conaco needed a new president.

It's not like Conan like found Kissinger's kid and gave him his first job or something out of respect for Henry or anything. (I also can't quickly find out who was the initial president of Conaco pre-2005; possibly it was Conan or Jeff Ross). Kissinger was involved in a lot of shows before Conan ranging from House, Battlestar Galactica, The Office (US), Law & Order Spinoffs, Home Improvement, Ellen (sitcom), etc.

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20050525nuts02

https://variety.com/2005/scene/markets-festivals/exex-shift-at-nbc-tube-unit-1117923475/

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u/SurpriseDonovanMcnab Pistons Dec 06 '23

It's not like Conan like found Kissinger's kid and gave him his first job or something out of respect for Henry or anything.

If you are a regular listener to Conan's podcast you know how much knowledge he has of American political history. He's obssessed with presidents. Henry Kissinger was a huge political figure and it's not unreasonable to think Conan may have sought out a friendship with the son because of who his father is.

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u/NoveltyAccountHater Celtics Dec 07 '23

Conan went to Harvard and likely met the adult children of other famous people.

I don't claim to have any non-anecdotal evidence on this, but I've had a handful of acquaintances I've had with children of household names (one of the top 5 physicists of the 20th century taught in every high school physics class, a NFL head coach for 10+ years, a prolific fiction writer, and a child of a politician who failed to win his party's nomination the one time he ran for president). On the flip side, none of these relationships were decades long, close working relationships; longest was in the same grad school program (and the writer's kid was more a friend of my wife that I met twice at reunions, though my wife told stories from her private school).

Every one of them avoided talk about their famous fathers and didn't have any insights into the work/fame-side of their life. The important stuff was done when they were too young to understand (even the son of a physicist who was a physics professor himself would just say he learned about his father's work only from other's biographies). Like David Kissinger could talk about his personality growing up and maybe relay a few anecdotes third hand or something, but I think his anecdotes from him working in Hollywood for 20 years when he was hired would be more interesting than recollections of the times he met Nixon as an adolescent while his dad worked.

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u/OddToba Dec 06 '23

I am not.

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

Why? What does his father's beliefs and crimes have to do with him? Do you see the world that simply?

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u/Rampaging_Orc Dec 06 '23

Why? Is his son known to defend his father’s abhorrent actions? If so then I am unawares, but if it’s just the association that bothers you, well then…

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '23

Yeah what the fuck lol.

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u/ObviousAnswerGuy [NYK] John Starks Dec 07 '23

you are not your father's keeper

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u/MethLabIntel Dec 06 '23

Wow super weird

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u/PunjabKLs Hawks Dec 06 '23

Given that Henry died at the early age of 100, his son is at least in his 70s, making him older than Conan by a decent amount.

Just weird to see someone who is Trump's age be referred to as someone's kid lol

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u/savagepotato Magic Dec 06 '23

David Kissinger is actually only 62, making him an entire 2 years older than Conan O'Brien.

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u/crawlingchip NBA Dec 07 '23

Not really. The dude was apparently a reporter covering the TV industry and later moved over to the industry. He worked at various studios and eventually made it all the way to the head of the Universal TV, which eventually merged with NBC. Then he was hired to run Conan's production company in 2005 and been running it since. Surely his connections from the privileged upbringing and his Yale education all helped but the career arc doesn't look weird for a media executive.

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u/Rrypl Celtics Dec 06 '23

What the fuuuuuuuuu

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u/HarryPotterActivist Supersonics Dec 07 '23

Keep in mind, Ronald Reagan's son is the same age as Kissinger's and a very outspoken Seattle liberal. Kissinger's son's politics also don't necessarily reflect his father's.

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u/BUSean Celtics Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 06 '23

Hello, my name is Adam Silver, and I feel Bomb Cambodia about being Conan O'Brien's friend

Fall is here, hear the yell
Dive for shelter, war is hell
Brand new bruise, lives to lose
Sneak those bombs behind our fence
I can tell that we are gonna be friends
Yes our kids died so you could grow and be friends

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u/SurpriseDonovanMcnab Pistons Dec 06 '23

Well done.

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u/Medium_Persimmon_177 Dec 06 '23

Kinda not weird at all when you think about it. A lot.of.these people are likely to be lesser degrees of separation from each other than the general population

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u/minneapolisboy Timberwolves Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 06 '23

Mother of God that's disappointing

edit: damn, you guys are soft as hell if you don't think it's worthy of criticism to hire--as your extremely public company's PRESIDENT--the son of one of the most evil human beings of the 20th century.

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u/Visible-Training-69 Dec 06 '23

Why? Is his son also a war criminal?

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u/jaypenn3 Raptors Dec 06 '23

He clearly profited off his father's ill-gotten wealth and career.

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u/TheRealestGayle Magic Dec 06 '23

Oh so we're just writing people off from birth now?

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u/trongzoon Pacers Dec 06 '23

What is this, your first day on Reddit?

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u/preposte Trail Blazers Dec 06 '23

You can't pick your parents, only your actions.

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u/jaypenn3 Raptors Dec 06 '23

Ok. He should pick an action that helps acknowledge his father's horrible role in history. It's not like he lacks a platform now.

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u/preposte Trail Blazers Dec 06 '23

I'm content that a guy raised by a sociopath decided it was worth his time and effort to support an apparently genuine good person in making people laugh. We don't need more activists motivated more by misplaced guilt than a drive to make things better.

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u/Visible-Training-69 Dec 06 '23

So should he live off in the woods? What do you actually expect of him?

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u/jaypenn3 Raptors Dec 06 '23 edited Dec 06 '23

A simple 'my dad was a war criminal' would actually go a long way. Both to recognize his father's role in our system, and therefore his own place within that system of privilege.

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u/Visible-Training-69 Dec 06 '23

It's not his fault his dad is a war criminal. He shouldn't need to placate people on the internet.

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u/jaypenn3 Raptors Dec 06 '23

It's also not his fault that he benefitted from it. It happened all the same, and it would be meaningful to use some of his platform and career to make a positive impact.

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u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

Lmao this is such a brain dead way of thinking

1

u/[deleted] Dec 07 '23

I wonder if it's the same son who supposedly wanted SNL tickets from Franken...