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[Bob White]

Ah, I see the light now because of this video. With it's many out of context quotes and ominous music. Bill is a fucking dick. Absolutely. But the religion can be oppressive as shit to little girls (seen it with my own eyes, not on the internet) so I'm all for him taking shots at this non modern religion.

He needs to dial way the fuck back on "so many muslim people" though.

 

[Stabbing Robot]

If you watch the show he makes it pretty clear that he doesn't consider himself a liberal or progressive, as he calls them out on their "bullshit" often. Also, he makes it clear that he is first and foremost a comedian, not some kind of political pundit.
I watch for the panel discussions, guest interactions and the comedy. Sometimes I agree with things said, sometimes I don't, no big deal.

 

[BrutishMrFish]

Why is it that Maher's bigotry gets a pass from some of the same people who say that anyone with ties to Wall Street isn't really a liberal?

 

[mnz]

He also challenged Obama's blackness and manhood. He thought he was buying an angry negro.

I highly doubt that. Got any proof?

 

[AstroNut325]

Question: Would you folks support a candidate with these views towards religion and transgender people if the candidate supports other left wing policies such as free college education, equal pay for women, mandated paid maternity/paternity leave, and more?

 

[Billy_Pilgrim]

Maher just apologized for discriminatory conservative beliefs that run contrary to liberal core principles last Friday. And agreed with them.

That's true of course but has absolutely nothing to do with what I was musing.

 

[Toxi]

Question: Would you folks support a candidate with these views towards religion and transgender people if the candidate supports other left wing policies such as free college education, equal pay for women, mandated paid maternity/paternity leave, and more?

Is Bill Maher a political candidate running against a worse political candidate?

Because yes, I would vote for him in that case.

But he's not. He's a talk show asshole who can go fuck himself.

 

[mr stroke]

I have no problem with Mahr, I don't agree with everything he says, but he nails a lot-GOP, religion, the environment, etc..

As for him slamming Islam it's not different than him slamming Christians (which he does all the time)

 

[gutter_trash]

As a secular Liberal, I find it perfectly reasonable to be critical against organized religions that are anti-liberal.

Organized religions that are misogynistic, homophobic, anti-science, and have ultra-conservative belief systems.

Why would a liberal defend a religion that segrogates gender?

Lol

Gender equality >>>>>> religious beliefs

 

[LionPride]

Question: Would you folks support a candidate with these views towards religion and transgender people if the candidate supports other left wing policies such as free college education, equal pay for women, mandated paid maternity/paternity leave, and more?

Fuck no. Because they are still an out and out asshole despite having some common sense

 

[ffejeromdiks]

The video is clearly trying to assassinate Maher but it features segments that are clearly just him delivering his writing team's material, pretty amateur way to smear someone.

Don't necessarily fully agree with Maher, but this is just cheap rabble-rouser bullshit.

 

[The Kree]

It's worth pointing out that there probably aren't enough angry atheists in America to sustain a guy who makes a few million a year from TV and stand-up, which probably means there are people in his audience who don't agree with him in lockstep. He champions the vast majority of liberal stances and is generally right about most things. His debate ability is lacking for a political commentator and he's got a smug attitude, which would be OK if he were just a stand-up. In short, he's not perfect, and he's old, so it's probably harder to sway him on some things now that it would have been 20 years ago, but he's generally alright. I don't wanna hang out with the guy on anything, but he's much closer to sane than his conservative counterparts so that's gonna have to be enough for me.

 

[The Technomancer]

Listen, I'm not a fan of Maher but that video was mostly him bashing religion, specifically Islam. Maher is not kind to any religion, but he especially hates Islam give it's repressive attitude towards women and homosexuals as well as the violence it tends to inspire. You can dance around it all you like but Islam, at the moment, is the most violent and repressive religion. Yes, some lone Christian nut might blow up an abortion clinic or shoot up a school. Yes Catholic priests we know didlly dally with little kids. And yes, the Church has certain restrictive views when it comes to birth control. But, nothing with regards to other religions are close to the scale of consistent violence and repression found in Islam in our current global society.

Saudi Arabia as a country exists. UAE as a country exists. Yemen. Syria. Qatar. Etc. These are all countries that enforce Islam to a strict degree and are among the worst human rights abusers on the planet. It's understandable that Maher, a smug Atheist, finds such a religious practice despicable. He doesn't really deny that moderate Muslims exist it's the notion that the majority of Muslims in the world are totally tolerant that he disagrees with, because as he sees it the evidence is clear that they are not. Take Maher to task for Milo walking over him, but his arguments against Islam are not out of nowhere.

Yeah man its horrible the conditions people are sometimes forced to endure, if only they could flee to a saf-

“Their cultures are not like ours,” Maher said, justifying the exclusion of Syrian refugees from the West. “They [are] worse!” he said of Muslims, branding Islam as “the only religion that acts like the Mafia.” Maher claims Muslims “bring that desert stuff” to the West

Maher's anti-refugee stance (sorry, refugee "skepticism") is very revealing. And no, I don't take his softball criticism of Trump's Muslim ban as particularly indicative of anything until he explicitly refutes previous things he's said

 

[Capra]

This might be a good thread to bring up that Bill Maher defends pedophilia along similar lines to Milo...

I have a feeling Bill might get into some trouble in the next few days.

"How can a woman rape a man?"

What the fuck.

 

[commedieu]

Ah, I see the light now because of this video. With it's many out of context quotes and ominous music. Bill is a fucking dick. Absolutely. But the religion can be oppressive as shit to little girls (seen it with my own eyes, not on the internet) so I'm all for him taking shots at this non modern religion.

He needs to dial way the fuck back on "so many muslim people" though.

Yep. There is the difference. He can shit on religion all day. Bravo to him, as it's his opinion. I don't mind Gervais insulting religion.

But when it comes to Islam, it turns into hate. And that hate is very familiar. He has the same disdain for Muslims as a Sean hannity or a rush Limbaugh. I don't see him seething with rage and using Republican like propaganda when it comes to Christianity, or Judaism.

That's the biggest difference.

 

[Back-In-Black]

Hey its almost like these brutal dictatorships woth zero tolerance for dissent are using religion to keep their populations in check.

It works doesn't it? Dictatorships only persist if the people at least somewhat agree with their oppressors. For every one person in Saudi Arabia trying to buck the religious police you'll find ten that would willingly stone that person to death for running afoul of the Prophet. I don't know how you fix that other than just hope and wait for Islam to sort itself out like Christianity did after the Crusades and the Reformation.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

This might be a good thread to bring up that Bill Maher defends pedophilia along similar lines to Milo...

I have a feeling Bill might get into some trouble in the next few days.

Uh...jesus christ...

He can weasel his way out of those other things,but this is beyond defensible.

 

[Kthulhu]

I think his meeting with Milo killed any desire to watch his show for a lot of people, including me.

 

[Slayven]

You mean this?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PISmF0LAClY



Don't think so. He called at least Gary Johnson "He's a fucking idiot".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JA5T7aBUi1A&t=3m40s

I highly doubt that. Got any proof?

This

https://youtu.be/UeDPWaLWKCc?t=74

 

[jph139]

That's 90% of what this video covers. What's the problem here, then?

No problem with that. My issue is with the "hopefully he's next in line" sort of rhetoric, the "I always hated his guts" drivebys. The idea that everything he's said should be disregarded on principal, he should lose his job, and no one should hear from him again.

Maher is not Milo. There's a universe of difference between the two. And that's part of the left I'm seeing lately where, if someone isn't 100% on board, they're the enemy, just as bad as the Republicans and the white supremacists.

We need a lot more nuance and tolerance than that. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

 

[WhiskeyKnight]

This is fucking ridiculous. Find me one muslim on gaf who will condone this.

Dude, c'mon. The Muslims who condone that list aren't on GAF. The Muslims on GAF are by and large secular westerners who like video games. Cool people in other words.

But that list is terrifyingly accurate if you live in certain theocratic societies. The Muslims who live by strict sharia law live in the rural parts of countries like Yemen, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. They probably don't have internet access. But there are MILLIONS of them. And just because forcing women to wear bags is part of their religion, doesn't make it right. Liberals have to admit that there are very ILLIBERAL aspects of fundamentalist Islamic belief.

 

[kingslunk]

The mutilation thing is an african practice and is a cultural thing. Most muslims live in South-South east asia and dont do that at all.
.

Indonesia requires any woman joining the military be a virgin and they do the two finger test to check the state of the hymen - which proves fucking nothing about whether someone has had sex or not. Those countries have backwards thinking too.

 

[jmdajr]

Week in and week out Maher is going after Trump. Do we only allow people with perfect believe systems to be a voice against Trump? I think we need all the help we can get.

Sure, don't let him off the hook if he offends you with something, but don't pretend he is anything but Team Fuck Trump.

 

[The Technomancer]

No problem with that. My issue is with the "hopefully he's next in line" sort of rhetoric, the "I always hated his guts" drivebys. The idea that everything he's said should be disregarded on principal, he should lose his job, and no one should hear from him again.

Maher is not Milo. There's a universe of difference between the two. And that's part of the left I'm seeing lately where, if someone isn't 100% on board, they're the enemy, just as bad as the Republicans and the white supremacists.

We need a lot more nuance and tolerance than that. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Maher is not Milo, but Maher is vocally on the other side of a lot of things current progressive movements stand for, far beyond just religious tolerance. I'm fine with a new vision of liberalism that doesn't include him.

 

[Inferno313]

This might be a good thread to bring up that Bill Maher defends pedophilia along similar lines to Milo...

I have a feeling Bill might get into some trouble in the next few days.

holy fucking shit

how can people be defending Maher in this thread after watching this:

"How can a woman rape a man?"

What the actual fuck!

 

[Zabka]

This might be a good thread to bring up that Bill Maher defends pedophilia along similar lines to Milo...

I have a feeling Bill might get into some trouble in the next few days.

Oh shit they might cancel Politically Incorrect

 

[The_Hitcher89]

This might be a good thread to bring up that Bill Maher defends pedophilia along similar lines to Milo...

I have a feeling Bill might get into some trouble in the next few days.

Henry Rollins looks absolutely flabberghasted lol

What was that about the British legal system in the OP's video?

Also, you'd have to be an idiot to not understand why the versions of Mohammed have become the most popular name in the UK. Its indicative pretty much entirely of naming conventions

 

[Mr. X]

My first time being shown him was because of his "hardcore" atheism.

 

[commedieu]

I just realized. We are getting trolled.
While I do disagree with Maher, Maher is no milo. I'm seeing in other places this whatabout ism happening.

This is turning into an attempt to have a gotcha moment with libruls.

 

[Arthr2ShdsJcksn]

Bill Maher is amazing and I've heard most of this before, and I agree with him on most issues.

He is funny and provocative without being smarmy, which places him above those who followed in his footsteps (I'm looking at you Jon Stewart).

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Who said it is?

The religion is huge around the world. If just 10% of those people are cool with Sharia law then the religion as a whole should reform if they want to be taken seriously in our secular societies. However, we all know that the percentage of Muslims who are cool with Sharia law is much more than 10%. That should make you angry if you're a free thinker and actually care about human rights.

And stop conflating criticisms of a religion as an attack on all people of that religion. Or that I'm afraid that Sharia law will be used to govern cities and states in the US. I'm simply criticizing ideas that are incompatible with our secular society.

You said "see Sharia Law in X,Y,Z". I asked you where this is happening. Considering there are plenty of muslim populations that don't remotely adhere to this, wouldn't it be far more logical to say that authoritarian governments that sponsor such practices are the ones to blame than the religion as a whole.

You seem rather defensive after I brought up a minor point in your giant post.

 

[Bit-Bit]

This is fucking ridiculous. Find me one muslim on gaf who will condone this. If you think women get treated like that in muslim countries, you have either never been to one or even known a muslim wherever you live.

The mutilation thing is an african practice and is a cultural thing. Most muslims live in South-South east asia and dont do that at all.

The rest of the above are outdated guidelines that were put out 1500 years ago. Aside from eating halal which doesnt hurt anyone, most muslims treat their women right, marry once, and dont fucking kill or try to convert people. What a ridiculous fucking post. go out there and meet some fucking muslims.

You're right. It's hard to find facts on Sharia law without it being muddled with Islamaphobia.

I apologize for the list.

Any Muslims reading this post, please PM me or feel free to reply to this post and educate me more on Sharia law.

 

[jmdajr]

Well Friday's show should be something.

 

[krazen]

Ehh, he hides his bigotry under the guise of being a militant athiest. As a black watcher of his show I also notice he crosses the line with a few of his straight racist jokes under the guise of him being cool with everyone.

Thing is, liberals arent BURN EM ALL DOWN when it comes to contrary views despite what the right wants to paint us as. Why I like Maher is that he backs his views up, even the shitty ones, and doesnt hide behind imaginary facts, a moral high ground, etc.
..which makes his shows more infinately watchable then something on foxnews. My fav is when he saves one of his converative talking heads who rely on the aforementioned or other straw men counter arguments.

 

[BlazinSkatinAxel]

Maher is a stain.

The dude is a liberal White Supremacist. Not all racist people are Republican.

 

[The Kree]

Yep. There is the difference. He can shit on religion all day. Bravo to him, as it's his opinion. I don't mind Gervais insulting religion.

But when it comes to Islam, it turns into hate. And that hate is very familiar. He has the same disdain for Muslims as a Sean hannity or a rush Limbaugh. I don't see him seething with rage and using Republican like propaganda when it comes to Christianity, or Judaism.

That's the biggest difference.

If this were the 1400's he'd be shitting on Christianity with the same fervor. It's just who he is. The circumstances matter. Anti-Islam sentiment is high and he lives in a country that tolerates it more. But he refers to pedophilia in his stand-up act as "You know, Catholic shit" which usually generates some boos.

 

[mnz]

This

https://youtu.be/UeDPWaLWKCc?t=74

Well, guess you were right

 

[The Albatross]

Liberals and Leftists celebrate Maher when he's passing harsh, unfair generalizations on Christians and Jews. Liberals and leftists are then appalled when he does the same against Muslims who liberals in the US rightly believe are a discriminated group.

Maher passes unfair generalizations on all religious people, it's just that he used to target Christians more forcefully than other religions, and so he went from a hero of the left to an embarrassment because he also targets Muslims.

And yet, that rhetoric still appeals to a lot of people on the left who think that the threat of religion is greater than the threat of discrimination against Muslims.

If this were the 1400's he'd be shitting on Christianity with the same fervor. It's just who he is. The circumstances matter. Anti-Islam sentiment is high and he lives in a country that tolerates it more. But he refers to pedophilia in his stand-up act as "You know, Catholic shit" which usually generates some boos.

Maher's criticism of Catholics garners far more cheers than jeers. His criticism of the Pope, the Catholic Church, and generalization of Catholics in America has almost always been greeted with applause on his show.

 

[Back-In-Black]

holy fucking shit

how can people be defending Maher in this thread after watching this:

"How can a woman rape a man?"

What the actual fuck!

And yet, you still have idiots that believe this. We had that whole South Park episode just a while ago that covered this and the whole, "Nice" reactions from men any time a underage boy gets with an adult women. I should hope Maher's views have evolved since then.

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Who said it is?

The religion is huge around the world. If just 10% of those people are cool with Sharia law then the religion as a whole should reform if they want to be taken seriously in our secular societies. However, we all know that the percentage of Muslims who are cool with Sharia law is much more than 10%. That should make you angry if you're a free thinker and actually care about human rights.

And stop conflating criticisms of a religion as an attack on all people of that religion. Or that I'm afraid that Sharia law will be used to govern cities and states in the US. I'm simply criticizing ideas that are incompatible with our secular society.

ROFL

I just did a google search on that list, nice source, really filled with information.

Real A+ effort with that one.

Edit: He removed the list for obvious reasons

 

[Iksenpets]

Maher is an ass who uses his supposed liberalism as a shield. Any time someone tries to accuse him of being a bigot, he's all "I can't be a bigot, I'm a liberal!" And then he gives cover to conservative bigots by making it so that even the liberal Bill Maher agrees with them about bigotry! He's seriously like the the conservative caricature of the hypocritical, sneering liberal brought to life.

 

[Bit-Bit]

ROFL

I just did a google search on that list, nice source, really filled with information.

Real A+ effort with that one.

I know , it's funny and sad at the same time.

Again, I apologize!

 

[Salty Rice]

This

https://youtu.be/UeDPWaLWKCc?t=74

Its almost like he is a comedian.

 

[old manatee]

I can't stand Bill Maher. My dad and brother watch his show a lot, so I've sat through it many times, and even ended up seeing him live when he came to town and they bought me a ticket. I think he's condescending, disingenuous, out of touch, vain, and apparently he's supposed to be a comedian but I've never laughed at a single thing he has said. He's just Dennis Miller with an audience. Gag me with a spoon. I would throw him under a bus full of children, even if it put the children at risk.

 

[jmdajr]

And yet, you still have idiots that believe this. We had that whole South Park episode just a while ago that covered this and the whole, "Nice" reactions from men any time a underage boy gets with an adult women. I should hope Maher's views have evolved since then.

For sure he's not the same. I think he's far more left than he has ever been.

 

[jph139]

Maher is not Milo, but Maher is vocally on the other side of a lot of things current progressive movements stand for, far beyond just religious tolerance. I'm fine with a new vision of liberalism that doesn't include him.

If it were Maher against 99% of leftists, sure, I'd be fine with that. But I don't think that's the case. I think we're all sort of inclined to see "the left that's not me" as the fringe opinion, but I don't think a successful liberal coalition is possible without people on his wavelength.

Throwing out all of the people who are occasionally assholes sounds very nice, but I think a vast majority of people are occasionally assholes. Can't build a society without them.

And I imagine you agree - that there's a level of shitty opinion you're okay with before you throw someone out. My bar is probably just lower - but I think most people should be lowering their bars. The US is hostile to leftist thought, and we can't afford it.

 

[TyrantII]

Someone with an axe to grind cherry picking quotes out of context from hour long panels is pretty disingenuous. Especially from someone thay ran a show called politically incorrect. Just sayin'

That said he does have so pretty dopey views on some topics that are motivated more by emotion or fear. Being a public figure and probably getting death threats constantly from both the left, right, and muslims extremists probably doesn't help.

His fellating of Milo was a low we haven't seen since he made Coulter a bastion of right wing snowflakism. As long as you know there's an obvious quid pro quo within his group of friends, you can make distinctions yourself.

 

[Doc Holliday]

"liberal white supremacist"

A few more threads and Bill Maher will be a Neo-Nazi according to some you.

Funny,,he got fired from ABC because he said the 9/11 hijackers weren't cowards.

He's a Liberal White Supremacist, Muslim Terrorist sympathizer and a pedophile

 

[Red Blaster]

this is like finding out its spelled the berenstain bears for some of you

maher has been trash for years and exclusively appeals to r/atheism simpletons

 

[SlimySnake]

As a secular Liberal, I find it perfectly reasonable to be critical against organized religions that are anti-liberal.

Organized religions that are misogynistic, homophobic, anti-science, and have ultra-conservative belief systems.

Why would a liberal defend a religion that segrogates gender?

Lol

Gender equality >>>>>> religious beliefs

Because if you watch the videos, he is criticizing muslims, not just islam. He's painting an entire religion with the same brush. he thinks we all come from the desert. he thinks we all segregate our women and treat them like shit. if he wants to criticize Saudia Arabia. Fine. They are nuts. But most, 99% of the muslim countries dont segregate women. women and men work together. men dont have multiple wives. women divorce men all the time.

He thinks that muslim men getting laid will fix all problems which is fucking insulting. Orlando and San Bernadino attackers were both married. the Nice attacker was married and divorced. Several of the paris attackers had girlfriends.

Bottom line is that the islam he criticizes is only practiced by Isis and to a lesser extent SA. Even in the cities they were enforcing these laws, the residents celebrated them leaving by burning hijabs. again, he doesnt realize you cant lump muslims into one big box. they are not a monolith. An American muslim is much more liberal than a muslim in Saudi Arabia. A Pakistani muslim is much more moderate than a shiek in Qatar. a Turkish muslim in Istanbul is much more liberal than a turkish muslim in east turkey. Would you say all white people are racist? would you say all white americans are racist? or even all southern whites are racist? these blanket statements of hate spread hate. watch the video and see how he contradicts himself. He's essentially saying every muslim in the u.s believes in that crap. he's afraid of muslims naming their kids mohammed. why? it's like Mike or John. generic fucking name. doesnt mean he will turn out to be a terrorist one day.

If he wants to criticize women not being allowed to drive in SA, fine. Do that. But dont pretend that they arent allowed to drive in 99% of the other muslim countries. Dont make blanket statements and undermine millions of liberal american muslims who consistently vote for a candidate championing women's rights, abortion rights, LGBT rights, and literally just helped rebuild a vandalized jewish cemetery. What bill maher does spreads hate. It tells people that their muslim neighbors dont believe in the same things you do. It divides people. It creates distrust. It's irresponsible and flat out racism.