One of the signature elements of "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" is the host's ability to use long, commercial-free segments to dig into subjects upon which many Americans are uninformed.
Take net neutrality, for example. Most will have heard of it, but aside from activists and corporations who would be negatively impacted by the proposed changes, there doesn't seem to be a general sense of urgency about protecting it.
Why is that? According to Oliver, it's because cable companies know how we think. If you've ever seen a report on net neutrality, you'll get where he's going. Oliver explains, "If you want to do something evil, put it inside something boring." He later goes on, "Advocates should not be talking about protecting 'net neutrality'... they should call it 'Preventing Cable Company Fuckery.'"
The segment also takes pains to outline the "evil" at work, comparing cable companies to drug cartels and pointing out President Obama's appointment of Tom Wheeler to Chairman of the FCC. "Yes, the guy who used to run the cable industry's lobbying arm is now running the agency tasked with regulating it," said Oliver. "That is the equivalent of needing a babysitter and hiring a dingo."
But the segment reached its apex when Oliver revealed that consumers have 120 days to give the FCC their thoughts on the proposed changes to net neutrality, by leaving a comment at fcc.gov/comments. That was when he made a dramatic appeal to all the internet "monsters" out there to finally do some good.
"This is the moment you were made for, commenters. Like Ralph Macchio, you've been honing your skills, waxing cars and painting fences. Well guess what, now it's time to do some fucking karate."
Check out the full clip above.
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