I enjoy The Bill Maher show great guest stimulating conversation. Still, there was a time I stopped watching because It seemed clear to me that there can be no denying that his comments regarding Islam are at best the stereotypical misrepresentations of a group of people who number over 1.5 billion worldwide by ill-informed individual and, at worst the crazy ranting of a bigot.
I eventually eased back into the show, because let’s be honest, I liked it. But there was Maher on Friday letting slip yet another racial comparison when he asked Rep. Will Hurd from Texas, a black republican congressman, why he’s a member of the Republican Party … especially since he came from the CIA. Hurd replied, “I was in the CIA for almost a decade. I was the dude in the back alleys at 4 a.m. collecting intelligence on threats to the homeland,”… to which Maher commented, “That’s where they’d collect them, huh?” then added … “Wow, by the Popeyes chicken.”
It’s not the first time a comment has come from Maher that has made me think, hmm, that came out so naturally what other racist comments he makes when the cameras aren’t rolling?
As liberals, we continuously call out those on the right for their use of inflammatory rhetoric. We cannot simultaneously expect to pass to those we believe are on our side when they engage in similar tactics.
As as I have said in the past, words are compelling, and when spoken by someone with the celebrity of a Bill Maher, that power is multiplied tenfold.
While I don’t believe Maher is a bigot, I again am at a crossroads. Do I continue to watch his show? After all, I believe that bigotry large and small and those that preach it must be ignored, and Maher continued slips of the tongue causes me much pause.