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Who Is The 'Master Debater,' The King Who Went Viral For Shutting Down An Interviewer
Any veteran of the online flame wars knows what it's like to be goaded into a nonsensical debate with a dingdong who demands you play within their parameters, even if those parameters are nonsense. Thus, when a video of a man perfectly handling such a dingdong hit the internet, it was bound to go viral. This is The Master Debater.
@shaneyyricchh Why’d he make this so difficult 😭 #fyp #npc #college #lgbt #comedy #economy #viral #interview #ponytail #shaneyyricch ♬ original sound – Shaneyyricch
Who Is The Master Debater?
At this point, we don't know the identity of the ponytailed man being interviewed, but we do know who he's talking to: TikToker shaneyyricchh, a young conservative whose content seems to focus on posing a binary choice to people on the street, getting their take, and debating them. So, shaneyyricchh approached the ponytailed gentleman and asked him to choose between LGBTQ rights and economic stability.
Immediately, the interview goes off the rails, as the ponytailed gentleman asks "Why can't you have both?" and shaneyyricchh insists he "pick one." The ponytailed man says he "refuses the question" and shaneyyricchh continues to make him try to pick one. What follows is a lengthy, almost sketch comedy-like back and forth where the ponytailed man will not entertain shaneyyricchh's hypothetical.
- LGBTQ rights or economic stability?
- Why can't you have both?
- You need to pick one.
- Refuse the question.
- You can't refuse the question.
- I do.
- But you can't.
- But I did.
- But you need to pick one.
- No, I don't.
- I just said you did.
- Hahaha, so what?
- Can you pick one?
- No, because they're both doable.
- No, only one.
- I don't have to pick one because we can have both.
- But the answer is that both is not an answer. It's not a valid answer.
- I reject your question.
- You can't reject it.
- Just did.
- Can you pick one?
- I don't have to.
- Why?
- Because they're both completely doable.
- So LGBTQ rights or economic stability?
- Both.
- That's not an answer.
- Yes it is.
- LGBTQ rights or economic stability.
- Both.
- Are you trying to troll me.
- No.
- I'm just wondering which one you like more.
- I like them both,
- You can't have both.
- Yes you can.
- Not in this question.
- Haha, too bad.
- Why are you trolling me right now?
- Because I don't have to choose.
- Well, if I had to ask you gender inclusivity or economic stability?
- You can have both.
- You can't.
- Why make this so difficult? I'm trying to pass my final.
- Too bad.
- Which one do you pick?
- I pick them both.
- Uhm, that's not a vaild answer.
- Too bad.
- Okay.
[Shaking hands]
- Thank you.
-Thank you.
The video went viral after it hit Twitter thanks to a tweet from @jedinabber.
bro won pic.twitter.com/U7Cchf9bhN
— Fraser 🤠 (@JediNabber) December 12, 2023
How Has The Video Been Received?
Many who've come across the "debate" between shaneyyricchh and the "Master Debater," as he's been dubbed, were impressed by the Debater's ability to easily brush aside the unnecessary hypothetical choice between LGBTQ rights and economic stability, as "both" is a realistic answer.
He was quickly memed as a chad, and was soon seen in various "one side dumb/one side smart" meme templates as the "superior" option.
Others joked by imagining the "Master Debater" in common Twitter "would you rather" hypotheticals, such as "one food has to go forever" or "you have $15 to make a perfect game," etc.
There are definitely some politics at play here, as many celebrating "The Master Debater" likely saw shaneyyricchh as the "villain" in the video. Ricchh is wearing a shirt that says "My pronouns are 'Find/Jesus,'" which is a strong indicator of which side he'd take in a hypothetical "LGBTQ rights" vs. "economic stability" debate.
We'll never know how the video would have played out if the Debater had said "LGBTQ rights," but considering some of shaneyyricchh's other videos, where he drops a supposed "truth bomb" on people who take the more "liberal" option in his hypotheticals, it's easy to guess what he had planned.
For more information, check out The Master Debater entry on Know Your Meme.
