There was a period of like 2 years when I was a kid where chuck Norris jokes were all the rage on the playground and I made an iPhone app that listed them all.
Jokes like “Chuck Norris is able to slam a revolving door.”
Anyway, I “built” this stupid app when I was like 13, copy-pasted like 300 jokes in there and a random one would show every time you tapped the screen.
Chuck Norris’s estate blocked the app from going live. I wish I had printed that rejection out and framed it.
For the first time in over a decade he was suddenly relevant in a way. People remembered he existed, and they were playing off his tough guy image.
And what did he do? Try and shut it down and start suing people. Stupid.
It took him a couple of years to come around to it. If it wasn’t for those jokes would he be remembered anywhere as well? Or would he be a much more obscure celebrity by now?
You underestimate how popular Walker, Texas Ranger was. It wasn't pulling ratings like Seinfeld, ER, or Friends, but it was a solid primetime staple for almost a decade.
I never watched it myself, but the 50+ demo loved it.
Maybe for people in the US. Internationally? I haven't watched a single episode of WTR, I don't know anyone who has, but everyone knows who Chuck Norris was.
The dude was a badass, 6 time undefeated karate world champion (!!!), created his own variant of karate mixed with korean martial arts, was a good friend with Bruce Lee and that scene in Colloseum - probably the coolest thing I saw as a kid growing up behind iron curtain... not many actors can have such a resume on top of their acting career.
Those who cared would/will know him regardless. But obviously those people would be relatively few and far apart.
An immense amount of time, dedication and talent must have went into all those achievements. This requires mastery of body and mind at an exceptional level. Putting aside all jokes and acting roles, the martials arts is where he earned my full respect and that will also stick in my memory about him.
Found out about his passing from my teenage kids. They knew him as some legendary tough guy based solely on the jokes, but had no idea who he actually was. To be fair, looking at some other comments here about his political and personal leanings, I didn't know who he actually was either.
His proximity to Bruce Lee earned him more or less permanent kung fu cinema fame. Walker,Texas Ranger and other work he did definitely boosted it, but the memes clinched it.
Having been near the epicenter, I recall that Vin Diesel jokes (same format) pre-dated Chuck Norris ones. I always found it a shame that the Chuck Norris ones caught on; Vin Diesel is, imo, a better role model.
If you're curious, maybe you can look into Chuck's lawsuit against Penguin's book of Chuck Norris facts. He would eventually "co-author" his own book. The obvious guess here is trademark infringement (over use of Chuck's name/likeness) and/or copyright (if some of these facts were lifted from his book).
For better or worse, in the US you can pretty much sue anyone for anything. A court certainly requires more evidence to declare liability than Apple would to remove an app.
As far as copywriting facts, are you really under the impression that Chuck Norris is the only man who can factually slam a revolving door? :)
In India, we have Rajni (Rajnikanth) jokes that keep increasing in number and are still pretty popular...
I remember reading 'The Vinci Code' in college which was very popular those days and getting a SMS from a friend almost the same day, "Rajnikanth gave Monalisa that smile!".
The Vin Diesel jokes I remember had an absurd quality to them beyond "He's really tough." One I recall fondly was "Vin Diesel writes Donkey Kong Fan Fiction."
It is funny because you usually think of Death as something inevitable and people just accept it but then ... some of these guys put up a fight. Mega-LMAO!
Chuck Norris (and Michael Landon) were golden age role models for young men. Strong but thoughtful, firm but compassionate, and deeply principled but also practical. Yes, these were acting roles but they picked those roles for a reason. Rest in peace, Chuck.
Whatever the reason, it wasn't because his characters were "openly maga and a homophobe and a transphobe," because they weren't. Bruce Lee movies and Texas Ranger didn't address those issues at all.
And in spite of his flaws, it's possible that he had some good qualities as well, or at least aspired to them. So maybe those other qualities were what he looked for in the characters he played.
Doesn't seem like he aspired all that hard, since instead of expressing empathy for people who weren't like him, he continued to be a bigot in nearly every aspect. But sure, if you were a white cis straight guy I'm sure he was perfectly kind.
You either die a hero, or you live long enough to become a Faceboot psychosis villain. It's basically the political version of "Why is everything so cold?"
I think you forget that Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act and put in the policy of “Don’t ask don’t tell” and Obama supported it originally.
Of course they both had a change of heart- was it true change or they saw the direction of the political winds? Who knows?
I don’t know Chuck Norris’s views on LGBT. But if he was a self proclaimed “born again Christian” and a rabid Trump supporter, I can only guess. But I no more expect people who were insulted by what he said (which I personally don’t know) to give him more grace or reverence than I do is a Black man who couldn’t give two shits about a dead racist podcaster.
Other people no more need to “contextualize” homophobia than I feel a need to “contextualize” the racism of a dead podcaster.
DADT was a significant improvement over the status quo of "we ask, you tell, and then you get dishonorably discharged". Considering it evidence of homophobia is revisionism. Did it go far enough? No. Was it a good step towards where we wanted to go? Yes.
> It passed both houses of Congress by large, veto-proof majorities. Support was bipartisan, though about a third of the Democratic caucus in both the House and Senate opposed it. Clinton criticized DOMA as "divisive and unnecessary".
Again he still signed it. It’s like Susan Collins who always has “serious misgivings” about things that her fellow Republicans do and then votes the party line anyway trying to stay in her party’s good graces while at the same time not pissing off her liberal constituents
It was gonna be law either way; signing it removed a political weapon from the folks pushing its passage. Arguing this is something Clinton did to gay people is counterfactual.
That’s a really poor excuse to sign on to something that you disagree with. I would not sign a petition for making the “Confederacy Day” law if I lived in Mississippi just because it would become law anyway. You have to stand for something.
Would you think it was okay if Tim Scott signed such a law just so his fellow Republicans couldn’t hold it against him in the primary? Well actually I wouldn’t be surprised if he did…
Imagine having a lot of people you once admired and looked up to as role models, from actors all the way to even your parents, suddenly all within a decade or so take their masks off and reveal that they are actually villains.
I don’t age. I level up.
I’m 86 today! Nothing like some playful action on a sunny day to make you feel young. I’m grateful for another year, good health and the chance to keep doing what I love. Thank you all for being the best fans in the world. Your support through the years has meant more to me than you’ll ever know.
God Bless,
Chuck Norris
While normally making jokes after a person's death would be socially questionable, in this case Chuck Norris himself loved the Chuck Norris jokes. For me at least, a good sense of humor is maybe the most endearing personality trait. RIP
Fundamentally, I'd argue that very little should ever be unreasonable or out of bounds to make jokes about; what is important is that it's good humour.
> Fundamentally, I'd argue that very little should ever be unreasonable or out of bounds to make jokes about; what is important is that it's good humour.
On a personal level, I couldn't agree more. I do hope that culturally we get to that point at some time :-)
I can only assume Chuck has decided to relieve the grim reaper of his duties, leaving us all here to meet our own end not with a scythe but a roundhouse kick.
If you're referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_a_Velvet_Cloak - note that it was written a couple decades after the prior books of the series, for a different publisher, to a different length. Those would be yellow flags with almost any author.
He was a hero in tech and science as well. I recall during my PhD studies, we always create new memes on our field that Chuck can finish things in no time. In loving memory of Chuck Norris.
From Reddit: "I heard that the opening 27 minutes of Saving Private Ryan were loosely based on a game of dodgeball played by Chuck Norris in 2nd grade." ;-)
So I guess Chuck Norris has now keys for the Pearly Gates and is the one who gets to pick the heavenly club members. I'm sure roundhouse kicks are somehow part of the process.
Oh wow, coincidentally I watched a Chuck Norris film recently with my (90 year old) grandmother, which resulted in me diving down a bunch of Chuck Norris memes for the first time in more than a decade.
Very cool thread. Middle school jokes and culture wars. I’m so glad we don’t allow political threads on here and can instead bask in the intellectual might of people talking about TV man the did/didn’t like.
Not even every important influential person in tech gets the black bar. You think an actor who is mostly known for low-effort internet memes and pretending to be a cowboy on tv deserves it?
>He was a typical pro-gun anti-abortion homophobic and racist MAGA Christian conservative.
Sure, but let's be real: people here are hardly mourning the man himself, so much as a few ideas of him from media they loved, and the cultural impact of Chuck Norris memes from their childhood and such.
He's not around anymore to bolster any hateful messages. Let people have a moment of nostalgia for memories watching him roundhouse kick bad guys with their grandma, or dumb Chuck Norris memes on the playground. That's what people remember.
> He had some pretty awful views that he was pretty loud about, especially later in life. He also cheated on his wife at one point.
In 1961, in his early 20s. You get ~80 years on this planet to make mistakes and have views that some other people will dislike. If these are the worst things we can accuse him of, while acknowledging all his charitable work, I'd say he fared OK compared to many other role models we have.
There's disagreement then there's being an outspoken supporter of systematically trying to strip rights away from others because of your religious beliefs. It's much deeper than having differing views on fiscal policy.
Disagree? I think it's safe to say that someone who campaigned to ban same sex marriage is more than just disagreeing. He's trying to ruin millions of lives.
He was an Obama birther conspiracist.
He thought gays shouldn't be allowed to join Boy Scouts.
He was a big supporter of Netanyahu.
This aren't things that are even remotely in the same ballpark as disagreement. If someone is using their celebrity status to cause harm to millions or tens of millions, I think we can say a few unkind words about them when they go.
There are good people whose politics I disagree with. If you are using your celebrity status to cause harm to millions on the international stage, systematically attempting to strip their rights, I think it's fair to say they weren't a good person.
Was it the part where he wanted public schools to force the Bible on everyone's children, regardless of their family's faith?
Or was it the part where he attacked the Boy Scouts for lifting their ban on gay members, because he broadly hates the LGBTQ+ community?
Or, likewise, when he staunchly supported Prop 8, because he felt that the government should enforce strict "traditional family values", and deny consenting adults he doesn't like to marry each other?
Or was it when he said that a Black president would bring "1000 years of darkness"?
Or was it when he said that Muslims were going to destroy America with Sharia law, merely for existing?
Or was it the part where he supported aggressive ICE action against anyone perceived to be foreign?
Just trying to understand how someone this despicable deserves the compliment you gave him. The only good version of Chuck Norris I know about is the pretend version from memes.
> Or was it when he said that a Black president would bring "1000 years of darkness"?
I looked this one up. It's true. He's been going out of his way to be a political firebrand and claiming milquetoast Democrats are Satan for decades. It wasn't some offhand comment when cornered on stage. He's pushed white christian nationalism hard for quite some time.
Sad, because it was so unnecessary, divisive, and crazy--a black mark on his legacy.
But it's not true the way GP phrased it. Norris did not say if a black man was elected then there would be 1000 years of darkness, he said it about a specific man who happens to be black. It's silly, but unless you're claiming that black politicians get special exemptions, his race is immaterial to this quote.
That's true. These days it seems the ideal conservative man is more like a caveman eating steak off the bone versus a thoughtful caring Atticus Finch type.
Total Gym XLS has a 1-1.25" carriage bar for adding weight. 5gal bucket weights are the correct diameter to leave a gap between the weights and the floor.
You're probably right, but that's not the usual wording you hear. Of course, when grieving, proper proofreading may not be (nor should it be) at the top of anyone's list.
> Curbing violent crime is still more about what we do than it is about what government does. The answer is still more about nature’s law within us than it is about man’s law outside of us.
— Chuck Norris, 2012
What a load of horseshit. Government is "what we do." It's not imposed by alien pod-persons.
There was a period of like 2 years when I was a kid where chuck Norris jokes were all the rage on the playground and I made an iPhone app that listed them all.
Jokes like “Chuck Norris is able to slam a revolving door.”
Anyway, I “built” this stupid app when I was like 13, copy-pasted like 300 jokes in there and a random one would show every time you tapped the screen.
Chuck Norris’s estate blocked the app from going live. I wish I had printed that rejection out and framed it.
It was so funny how that whole thing happened.
For the first time in over a decade he was suddenly relevant in a way. People remembered he existed, and they were playing off his tough guy image.
And what did he do? Try and shut it down and start suing people. Stupid.
It took him a couple of years to come around to it. If it wasn’t for those jokes would he be remembered anywhere as well? Or would he be a much more obscure celebrity by now?
> would he be remembered anywhere as well?
You underestimate how popular Walker, Texas Ranger was. It wasn't pulling ratings like Seinfeld, ER, or Friends, but it was a solid primetime staple for almost a decade.
I never watched it myself, but the 50+ demo loved it.
Maybe for people in the US. Internationally? I haven't watched a single episode of WTR, I don't know anyone who has, but everyone knows who Chuck Norris was.
In France, it was popular enough that everybody knew Texas ranger before the Chuck Norris jokes.
I watched it all the time in Canada.
It was quite popular in France.
I loved that show! I was a teenager. Peak 1990s.
And he would be known by those people. I remember him being famous in the 90s.
Would the people who grew up in the early 2000s, or especially 2010s, know much of anything about him?
I mean how much do younger people know about Scott Baio or the Corys or Candice Bergen these days?
You might be able to argue he was a bigger star than any of them.
His career lasted far longer. He had big movie appearances for 30 years, none of those people accomplished that.
Norris' first movie role was in 1968, first big credited appearance was 1972, Walker Texas Ranger finished in 2001.
The dude was a badass, 6 time undefeated karate world champion (!!!), created his own variant of karate mixed with korean martial arts, was a good friend with Bruce Lee and that scene in Colloseum - probably the coolest thing I saw as a kid growing up behind iron curtain... not many actors can have such a resume on top of their acting career.
Those who cared would/will know him regardless. But obviously those people would be relatively few and far apart.
An immense amount of time, dedication and talent must have went into all those achievements. This requires mastery of body and mind at an exceptional level. Putting aside all jokes and acting roles, the martials arts is where he earned my full respect and that will also stick in my memory about him.
Haha haven’t heard of either of those but I do know that when Chuck Norris does pushups he pushes the Earth down
Chuck Norris made a Chuck Norris joke in one of the Expendable movies, and for that I'm willing to forgive all his indiscretions.
Found out about his passing from my teenage kids. They knew him as some legendary tough guy based solely on the jokes, but had no idea who he actually was. To be fair, looking at some other comments here about his political and personal leanings, I didn't know who he actually was either.
His proximity to Bruce Lee earned him more or less permanent kung fu cinema fame. Walker,Texas Ranger and other work he did definitely boosted it, but the memes clinched it.
Maybe not as well, but between the "Walker gave me aids" clip and Conan's Walker Texas Ranger lever, he'd still have been known well enough.
The quote is “Walker says I have AIDS”
Oh good point.
This post certainly wouldn't be here right now.
Having been near the epicenter, I recall that Vin Diesel jokes (same format) pre-dated Chuck Norris ones. I always found it a shame that the Chuck Norris ones caught on; Vin Diesel is, imo, a better role model.
I bet Vin wouldn't have blocked your app.
The expendables had a scene that was basically the meme in live action, highly recommend. It’s all over YouTube.
I'm pretty sure they were all the rage when _I_ was at school, but that was long before the iPhone.
I'm curious on what grounds they blocked the app.
> I'm curious on what grounds they blocked the app.
The app probably used his pictures or his name, which are easy candidates for copyright or trademark-claims.
(Not the parent poster) I found out about them in 2008-2009, and they were quite popular online and offline.
If you're curious, maybe you can look into Chuck's lawsuit against Penguin's book of Chuck Norris facts. He would eventually "co-author" his own book. The obvious guess here is trademark infringement (over use of Chuck's name/likeness) and/or copyright (if some of these facts were lifted from his book).
Interesting. I get the likeness thing, but surely one could publish jokes about anyone they wish and that would be satire or fair use or something?
Facts and copyright is an interesting one, because I'm surprised a fact can be copyrighted, unless it's the wording specifically.
For better or worse, in the US you can pretty much sue anyone for anything. A court certainly requires more evidence to declare liability than Apple would to remove an app.
As far as copywriting facts, are you really under the impression that Chuck Norris is the only man who can factually slam a revolving door? :)
In India, we have Rajni (Rajnikanth) jokes that keep increasing in number and are still pretty popular...
I remember reading 'The Vinci Code' in college which was very popular those days and getting a SMS from a friend almost the same day, "Rajnikanth gave Monalisa that smile!".
Was this before or after Mike Huckabee started publicly offering Chuck Norris as his solution to "border security" on the campaign trail?
I printed out all the jokes on my dad's home office printer and sold copies at school. This was pre smartphones.
I'm still enjoying the Nolan jokes / memes, but in a weird way because of course, via https://www.reddit.com/r/CroppedNorrisJokes/
John Wick wears Chuck Norris pajamas. RIP to a legend.
i created a Facebook App that did something similar, it posted random jokes on your wall
This was like 2005-2006
Death had to take Chuck Norris sleeping, for if he had been awake, there would have been a fight.
they were better when they were Vin Diesel jokes.
The Vin Diesel jokes I remember had an absurd quality to them beyond "He's really tough." One I recall fondly was "Vin Diesel writes Donkey Kong Fan Fiction."
Chuck Norris jokes were making rounds well before Vin Diesel was even born.
Is this a joke?
Haha, good one.
I will have to steal this one for my upcoming valedictorian speech.
The crowd is going to love it.
I believe it's stolen from a quote said about Teddy Roosevelt
https://markloveshistory.com/2018/01/06/death-had-to-take-ro...
Except is was said by Vice President Thomas R. Marshall upon Theodore Roosevelt’s death and co-opted as a Chuck Norris joke.
It's a kickass obituary, no matter the subject!
I agree!
It is funny because you usually think of Death as something inevitable and people just accept it but then ... some of these guys put up a fight. Mega-LMAO!
Chuck Norris (and Michael Landon) were golden age role models for young men. Strong but thoughtful, firm but compassionate, and deeply principled but also practical. Yes, these were acting roles but they picked those roles for a reason. Rest in peace, Chuck.
He was openly maga and a homophobe and a transphobe. I wouldn’t consider these qualities for a role model.
Many like myself did not know this as a kid in the 80s-90s. Some of the movies he made like "sidekicks" left a positive impression at that age.
In the 80s-90s his positions would have aligned fine with the center left.
Save it for reddit
GP said "these were acting roles." They were talking about the characters, not the actors behind them.
But then he said he "picked them for a reason" implying that he chose those characters based on the characteristics he shared with them
Whatever the reason, it wasn't because his characters were "openly maga and a homophobe and a transphobe," because they weren't. Bruce Lee movies and Texas Ranger didn't address those issues at all.
And in spite of his flaws, it's possible that he had some good qualities as well, or at least aspired to them. So maybe those other qualities were what he looked for in the characters he played.
Doesn't seem like he aspired all that hard, since instead of expressing empathy for people who weren't like him, he continued to be a bigot in nearly every aspect. But sure, if you were a white cis straight guy I'm sure he was perfectly kind.
You say openly maga like half the country didn't vote for Trump, myself included.
Like others have said, take this level of conversation back to reddit.
You either die a hero, or you live long enough to become a Faceboot psychosis villain. It's basically the political version of "Why is everything so cold?"
I think you forget that Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act and put in the policy of “Don’t ask don’t tell” and Obama supported it originally.
Of course they both had a change of heart- was it true change or they saw the direction of the political winds? Who knows?
I don’t know Chuck Norris’s views on LGBT. But if he was a self proclaimed “born again Christian” and a rabid Trump supporter, I can only guess. But I no more expect people who were insulted by what he said (which I personally don’t know) to give him more grace or reverence than I do is a Black man who couldn’t give two shits about a dead racist podcaster.
Other people no more need to “contextualize” homophobia than I feel a need to “contextualize” the racism of a dead podcaster.
> put in the policy of “Don’t ask don’t tell”
DADT was a significant improvement over the status quo of "we ask, you tell, and then you get dishonorably discharged". Considering it evidence of homophobia is revisionism. Did it go far enough? No. Was it a good step towards where we wanted to go? Yes.
And the Defense of Marriage Act?
> It passed both houses of Congress by large, veto-proof majorities. Support was bipartisan, though about a third of the Democratic caucus in both the House and Senate opposed it. Clinton criticized DOMA as "divisive and unnecessary".
Sure doesn't seem like a Clinton issue?
Again he still signed it. It’s like Susan Collins who always has “serious misgivings” about things that her fellow Republicans do and then votes the party line anyway trying to stay in her party’s good graces while at the same time not pissing off her liberal constituents
> Again he still signed it.
It was gonna be law either way; signing it removed a political weapon from the folks pushing its passage. Arguing this is something Clinton did to gay people is counterfactual.
That’s a really poor excuse to sign on to something that you disagree with. I would not sign a petition for making the “Confederacy Day” law if I lived in Mississippi just because it would become law anyway. You have to stand for something.
Would you think it was okay if Tim Scott signed such a law just so his fellow Republicans couldn’t hold it against him in the primary? Well actually I wouldn’t be surprised if he did…
Imagine basing your entire opinion on a man about how they feel about that other man.
Imagine having a lot of people you once admired and looked up to as role models, from actors all the way to even your parents, suddenly all within a decade or so take their masks off and reveal that they are actually villains.
Is it revelatory that human beings having a quality you admire aren't the ideal person you projected them to be?
I'd reckon you'd be hard pressed to find a single person that matches every quality/belief you imagined them to have.
"Deeply principled" really doesn't describe Obama birther conspiracists.
Chuck Norris was no role model, unless you want your young men to grow up as fascist Christian nationalist homophobes.
from his instagram for his last birthday ( https://www.instagram.com/p/DVtiSHbETbX/ )
Literally 10 days ago
He was supposed to die last year, but death took a while to muster the courage to call him.
He finally defeated life
While normally making jokes after a person's death would be socially questionable, in this case Chuck Norris himself loved the Chuck Norris jokes. For me at least, a good sense of humor is maybe the most endearing personality trait. RIP
Giving people reason to laugh while you are old and dying is a superpower. I wish i will have it, too.
Fundamentally, I'd argue that very little should ever be unreasonable or out of bounds to make jokes about; what is important is that it's good humour.
Case in point: https://theonion.com/hijackers-surprised-to-find-selves-in-h...
And, as you say, in Chuck Norris' case, it's virtually obligatory.
> Fundamentally, I'd argue that very little should ever be unreasonable or out of bounds to make jokes about; what is important is that it's good humour.
On a personal level, I couldn't agree more. I do hope that culturally we get to that point at some time :-)
I can only assume Chuck has decided to relieve the grim reaper of his duties, leaving us all here to meet our own end not with a scythe but a roundhouse kick.
Shades of Piers Anthony's "On a Pale Horse," Death showed up to take Chuck Norris and Chuck killed him, taking his place.
I loved that series, until the last book. Maybe the novelty had worn off.
It's been a long time since I read it, but didn't the current Death decide to retire and pass the role on?
If you're referring to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_a_Velvet_Cloak - note that it was written a couple decades after the prior books of the series, for a different publisher, to a different length. Those would be yellow flags with almost any author.
I'm sure he'll get better soon
Chuck never dies.
one of my favorite stack overflow questions: Why does HTML think “chucknorris” is a color?
https://stackoverflow.com/q/8318911
Some recent discussion on that one a couple Advents ago:
https://htmhell.dev/adventcalendar/2024/20/ (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42468318)
I fear the crime wave as the thugs hear about this and take the streets back. Be careful out there people.
Chuck Norris promising the USA will have 1,000 years of darkness if Obama wins in 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ae9b-B_EQ0
Chuck Norris once slapped Pi so hard it became rational for a moment.
RIP dude, we’d continue the jokes, may your soul laughs as hard as we do.
Chuck Norris once bet 42 is a prime. He won.
Sorry, but these Chuck Norris jokes are more like Bruce Schneier facts: https://www.schneierfacts.com/
There's not a body inside Chuck Norris's casket, there's just a fist.
He was a hero in tech and science as well. I recall during my PhD studies, we always create new memes on our field that Chuck can finish things in no time. In loving memory of Chuck Norris.
From Reddit: "I heard that the opening 27 minutes of Saving Private Ryan were loosely based on a game of dodgeball played by Chuck Norris in 2nd grade." ;-)
Clickbait. He is not dead, he just decided to retire from the world of mortals.
It's a trick; he will come back unscathed in the next episode.
Chuck Norris counted to infinity. Twice.
So I guess Chuck Norris has now keys for the Pearly Gates and is the one who gets to pick the heavenly club members. I'm sure roundhouse kicks are somehow part of the process.
Why do I feel like an era has ended...
Rest in peace.
The Grim Reaper wished that Chuck Norris had only come to play chess with him!
Chuck Norris dominated WoW Barrens chat back in the day. It was kind of weird and amazing at the same time.
Chuck Norris didn’t die, we simply phased out of his reality.
The only person that can train LLMs with his mind.
Chuck Norris let him win
Oh wow, coincidentally I watched a Chuck Norris film recently with my (90 year old) grandmother, which resulted in me diving down a bunch of Chuck Norris memes for the first time in more than a decade.
RIP
Chuck Norris does not go to heaven, heaven comes to him.
Walker told me I have AIDS https://youtu.be/pQZX0nzvMag
I grew up watching action films in the 80s and 90s. I always like Chuck Norris ones as they had a humour and ridiclousness about them
Films like Missing in Action ,or delta force where the motorbike fires a rocket were just great at the time
I get he had some funny views later in life - but the films were a laugh at the time
Chuck Norris decided to take the final sleep on his own. Death tried years ago, but Chuck didn't feel like it.
Chuck Norris doesn’t die. Death gets Chuck Norris.
Wouldn't be suprised, if he dies back and announces a film for next year.
He made it that far in life, that even if you might disagree with him on all and everything, you would still like him.
Just like Val Kilmer?
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/18/val-kilmer-resu...
RIP both...
Chuck Norris hasn’t died, he summoned the death. RIP.
I remember having a "Chuck" plugin installed on our Jenkins back in mid 2010's. Gave me a Chuckle every time i forgot it was there.
What a legend.
I enjoyed reading the comments here. RIP.
The bucket reportedly didn’t survive either.
Very cool thread. Middle school jokes and culture wars. I’m so glad we don’t allow political threads on here and can instead bask in the intellectual might of people talking about TV man the did/didn’t like.
Oh this guy is a legend. Did he do anything with tech peripherally? I hope we can put up a dark top for him as an exception.
Not even every important influential person in tech gets the black bar. You think an actor who is mostly known for low-effort internet memes and pretending to be a cowboy on tv deserves it?
I guess it’s a generational thing, because I shouldn’t actually be surprised that someone would know so very little about Chuck Norris.
He wa an actor, he starred in cheesy action films and tv. He pretended to get beaten up by Bruce Lee one time.
He was a typical pro-gun anti-abortion homophobic and racist MAGA Christian conservative.
There are lots of tedious memes about him.
There, I summed up literally everything worth knowing about him, and none of it is worthy of discussion here.
>He was a typical pro-gun anti-abortion homophobic and racist MAGA Christian conservative.
Sure, but let's be real: people here are hardly mourning the man himself, so much as a few ideas of him from media they loved, and the cultural impact of Chuck Norris memes from their childhood and such.
He's not around anymore to bolster any hateful messages. Let people have a moment of nostalgia for memories watching him roundhouse kick bad guys with their grandma, or dumb Chuck Norris memes on the playground. That's what people remember.
You must be fun at parties.
Unlike Chuck Norris I'm the life of the party.
nvm just a thought.
First Wade Boggs and now this. Just awful.
An absolute class act of a human. Life well lived.
He had some pretty awful views that he was pretty loud about, especially later in life. He also cheated on his wife at one point.
However, so as not to speak (purely) ill of the dead, I will say that he was an accomplished martial artist with a prolific film career.
> He had some pretty awful views that he was pretty loud about, especially later in life. He also cheated on his wife at one point.
In 1961, in his early 20s. You get ~80 years on this planet to make mistakes and have views that some other people will dislike. If these are the worst things we can accuse him of, while acknowledging all his charitable work, I'd say he fared OK compared to many other role models we have.
The Obama Birtherism nonsense was certainly not in this dude's 20s
Apparently much more recently too:
https://www.thepinknews.com/2021/01/13/chuck-norris-homophob...
Turns out he was a MAGA Christian homophobe. That’s … disappointing. But I guess I was naive to expect something different.
To be fair, you probably have some views some people think are pretty awful.
Oh, for sure. MAGA types think some of my views are absolutely abhorrent. I'm pretty sure there are a few cultures that would kill me for my views.
Just because they hate me, though, doesn't mean I can't disagree with their position.
I don't see how this matters. Whoever thinks I'm horrible is 100% allowed to say this after I'm dead.
Or, another option is that we could all give grace to others, even (especially) if they disagree with us.
There's disagreement then there's being an outspoken supporter of systematically trying to strip rights away from others because of your religious beliefs. It's much deeper than having differing views on fiscal policy.
Who are you granting grace to? Who are you denying it to?
We know the answers to these questions for Norris.
Disagree? I think it's safe to say that someone who campaigned to ban same sex marriage is more than just disagreeing. He's trying to ruin millions of lives.
He was an Obama birther conspiracist.
He thought gays shouldn't be allowed to join Boy Scouts.
He was a big supporter of Netanyahu.
This aren't things that are even remotely in the same ballpark as disagreement. If someone is using their celebrity status to cause harm to millions or tens of millions, I think we can say a few unkind words about them when they go.
Don't give grace to racists who spout birther conspiracy theories. Don't give grace to homophobes.
Me 5 years ago did. I agree with all my views today. Who knows about me 5 years from now
There's a solid difference between 'awful' and just plain 'dumb'.
If I can quote Chael Sonnen, I’d like to say ”you absolutely suck!”
"Don't speak ill of the dead"?
How about "Don't be a bad person when you're alive"?
Something I was brought up to believe was that you shouldn't speak ill of the recently deceased. A courtesy to those in mourning.
I struggle with that rule sometimes.
Great advice. Do you follow it?
Is there one way to be a good person?
Does being a good person also mean agreeing with your politics?
There are good people whose politics I disagree with. If you are using your celebrity status to cause harm to millions on the international stage, systematically attempting to strip their rights, I think it's fair to say they weren't a good person.
My dad was a film reporter in the late '70s/early '80s, and told me that Chuck Norris had been one of the friendliest celebrities he had ever met.
My dad had some antiquated views himself too. People can have/be both, I suppose.
Yeah, his support of the Obama "birther" conspiracy was super classy.
What exactly made him a "class act"?
Was it the part where he wanted public schools to force the Bible on everyone's children, regardless of their family's faith?
Or was it the part where he attacked the Boy Scouts for lifting their ban on gay members, because he broadly hates the LGBTQ+ community?
Or, likewise, when he staunchly supported Prop 8, because he felt that the government should enforce strict "traditional family values", and deny consenting adults he doesn't like to marry each other?
Or was it when he said that a Black president would bring "1000 years of darkness"?
Or was it when he said that Muslims were going to destroy America with Sharia law, merely for existing?
Or was it the part where he supported aggressive ICE action against anyone perceived to be foreign?
Just trying to understand how someone this despicable deserves the compliment you gave him. The only good version of Chuck Norris I know about is the pretend version from memes.
> Or was it when he said that a Black president would bring "1000 years of darkness"?
I looked this one up. It's true. He's been going out of his way to be a political firebrand and claiming milquetoast Democrats are Satan for decades. It wasn't some offhand comment when cornered on stage. He's pushed white christian nationalism hard for quite some time.
Sad, because it was so unnecessary, divisive, and crazy--a black mark on his legacy.
But it's not true the way GP phrased it. Norris did not say if a black man was elected then there would be 1000 years of darkness, he said it about a specific man who happens to be black. It's silly, but unless you're claiming that black politicians get special exemptions, his race is immaterial to this quote.
If you look at the wider context, it's harder to deny the racism.
Nah. The part where his name was relevant again because of the jokes and he started the eating and suing people over it.
It was the part where he didn't say things like this about other people.
Except he did worse by his actions. And did say that about other people. Like Obama being born in Kenya. Dude was racist
this is class act for 1/2 of america
This just means we're in a simulated universe. He's respawned elsewhere.
Wishing him speedy recovery! Legend
The Grim Reaper requested permissions from Chuck Norris to take his soul.
My condolences, he was one of my favorite childhood actor :(
He kicked it, but the consequences of his long-standing support of the march toward hatred and division linger on.
The section on his Wikipedia page is helpfully succinct if you want to understand the basis of my not joining in the japes and jokes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Norris#Political_views
Chuck Norris didn't die, Death chucknorried.
Honestly some of the most successful PR ever to paint a conservative religious bigoted homophobic freak as simply a meme of hyper-masculinity.
They're not that far apart, honestly.
That's true. These days it seems the ideal conservative man is more like a caveman eating steak off the bone versus a thoughtful caring Atticus Finch type.
He immediately asked the ferryman for a coin to get to the other side.
Death has Chucknorrised?
Chuck Norris didn't have a near death experience, Death had an experience near him.
Commander Sam Vimes would like a word.
Godspeed. ;~;7
A part of internet dies with him. RIP.
Death becomes Chuck Norris.
RIP legend
he has become death.
Chuck Norris disagrees.
Total Gym XLS has a 1-1.25" carriage bar for adding weight. 5gal bucket weights are the correct diameter to leave a gap between the weights and the floor.
Chuck Norris facts: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Norris_facts
> "Chuck Norris actually died 20 years ago, but Death hasn't built up the courage to tell him yet."
Death finally worked up the nerve.
"The Official Chuck Norris Fact Book" (2009) https://www.google.com/search?q=The+Official+Chuck+Norris+Fa... re: Official Chuck Norris Facts #1 - #101 w/ scripture:
> #1: "Chuck Norris was bitten by a cobra, and after five days of excruciating pain ... the cobra died."
Of this list of martial arts films: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_martial_arts_films
Which are similar in plot and character arc to
"Man of Tai Chi"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_of_Tai_Chi
Which Chuck Norris films are also similar?
> Forest Warrior, A Force of One, The Octagon, Forced Vengeance, Sidekicks,
Which "hacker films" are also similar?
How did he die?
Boredom, last enemy to defeat was life itself.
He was 86 years old
How do you know that? Scientists tried to measure Chuck Norris’ age. The number refused to exist.
The headline is inaccurate. Chuck Norris is alive and kicking in another dimension.
I'm surprised Chuck Norris agreed to this.
“We’d like to keep the circumstances private”
Yes, but now I’m like, super suspicious.
He was defeated by Mr Rogers in a blood-stained sweater. Understandable they're keeping that quiet.
(Ok, ok, technically it was Gandalf the Gray and White, and Monty Python and the Holy Grail's Black Knight)
And Benito Musollini, and the Blue Meanie. And Cowboy Curtis and Jambi the Genie
There is nothing suspicious about a celebrity's family just wanting to deal with death in private.
You're probably right, but that's not the usual wording you hear. Of course, when grieving, proper proofreading may not be (nor should it be) at the top of anyone's list.
They usually don't put it like that, though. It's usually just "please respect our privacy during this difficult time", etc.
> Curbing violent crime is still more about what we do than it is about what government does. The answer is still more about nature’s law within us than it is about man’s law outside of us. — Chuck Norris, 2012
What a load of horseshit. Government is "what we do." It's not imposed by alien pod-persons.
And he opposed marriage equality. What a scumbag.
> What a load of horseshit. Government is "what we do." It's not imposed by alien pod-persons.
On the other hand, when eventually the reckoning for this administration comes, would you welcome the idea of collective responsibility?