Discussion for article #229386
Berkeley â still a bastion of principle after all these years!
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Good for Berkeley. The world doesnât need another self-absorbed, arrogant blowhard to peddle his bigoted rantings in such a distinguished forum.
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Berkeley has the right to what it thinks.
However, I donât think that Bill Maher is a bigot. There is nothing wrong with a thoughtful and informed discussion of religion. The rules of reason and fact should apply. Individuals, corporations, institutions and societies should be held accountable for their actions and behaviors. No one should to tolerate terrorism, authoritarianism, misogyny beheadings and barbarism just because it is an expression of a primitive faith.
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Maherâs point is that all religions perpetuate a bigoted autocracy that hides behind the skirts of some magical being thatâs better & stronger than everyone elseâs magical beingâŚIslamic fundamentalism being the latest savagery since the Spanish Inquisition for Christ.
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Maher is correct is his assessment of the violence inherent in most organized religious beliefs. For the University student body to try to band him shows their own closed-mindedness to ideas other than those entrenched in their culture.
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Free Speech has consequences.
Bill Maher understands that and wonât care. He is a âstandup comedianâ after allâŚThis is just free advertising for him.
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Thank you for saying what should be obvious to others. Berkeley is showing their own intolerence for new ideas by refushing Maher.
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Pretty soon, Noam Chomsky & Cornell West will be the only commencement speakers allowed to address the prissy little hothouse flowers at Americaâs elite universities.
I hope they both have good agents.
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Anyone who actually listens to Maher on his show knows that he is neither racist nor a bigot. Maybe they should let him talk and hear what he has to say. That being said, the students also have a right to be heard, just as they have a right to not want a winger, like George Will, to speak. I understand the blowback against Maher, but I also think it is mostly due to misunderstanding what he is trying to say. If you canât take a stand against executions for blasphemy or adultery (or even being raped), and against FGM or other crimes against women, you really canât call yourself a liberal. In this country, liberals can take a stand against people who desecrate mosques (or prevent them from being built). That is also a proud liberal tradition.
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But, but, but, âradical Islamistâ is one of my trigger words!
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Bill Maher is unwanted for many reasons, his Islam rant being just one. He shouldâve stuck with weed lingo 24/7, that is where Berkley has been for as long as I can remember.
Plus, Bill Maher for commencement speaker, what were they thinking anyway?
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I would be fine with Maherâs statements if he had simply defined the problem as âFundamentalismâ, whether Islamic or Christian or whatever. I think he ran off the rails by combining and confusing the problematic cultural issues which are part of the Middle East, such as womenâs rights, with the overt political extremism that has been condemned by most of the billion or so members of the faith, who are not extremist. Itâs too complicated to simply make a blanket statement about the entire region and religion.
That being said, at least he is open to the discussion of his opinions, and Berkeley should be willing to hear controversial opinions by a commencement speaker. If they are afraid of hearing a different opinion, it is a little too politically correct for me. The students are free to boycott, or protest, or whatever, but not to try to silence a legitimate voice in the discussion.
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Except he seems to put Islam front and center. I donât hear him talk about violent evangelical christians
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Maher points to surveys that show that the majority of Muslims in many countries (that are often considered âmoderateâ) support many of the worst aspects of Islam, such as stoning, FGM, and support for ISIL/ISIS. In this country, there seem to be far (far) more Christian terrorists than Muslim terrorists. In other countries, though, surveys do show a wide streak of the type of Islamic fundamentalism that is very troubling.
Good. The fact that Maher is willing to call bullshit on aspects of Republican imbecility doesnât make him any less of a privileged dick.
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At this point in history Islam has put itself front and center. Christians got mad at âPiss Christâ but the pope didnât put a hit out on Andres Serrano, try and make a âPiss Mohammadâ and see how that goes over. As bad as Westboro Baptist might be, carrying âgod hates fagsâ signs is nothing like an army of 10,000+ fanatics rumbling across the mideast cutting off heads and stoning women. Islam needs to work this out, decide what it wants to be in the 21st century. If the worst thing Islam was doing today was not covering womenâs birth control, we would not be having this discussion.
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Headline is completely misleading. Come on, TPM. Enough of the propaganda.
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I donât like extremist on either side and I believe Mr. Maher is a extremist regarding religions. I personally agree about religion, however that doesnât mean I can act like a tool and disrespect the believes of good, if naive, people. My friend took me to see Mr. Maher in concert and I left feeling that he was nothing but a bully for my side and I donât like such behavior from anyone. So I gotta side with some of the students on this one, no Bill Maher.
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His opinions are that the adherents of Islam are by identification of their faith alone substandard to him. It is unabashed pre judgement based on self bestowed superiority. The very word bigot deriving from âby Godâ describes a person who self proclaims innate superiority over others based on their own self appraisal and the other persons simple lack of membership in a powerful influential group they belong to, which first was the Christian religious faith.
There can be no doubt that there are Christian and Islamist bigots everywhere, both conscience and unconscious, the thoughts and words to describe ones own bigotry arenât and should never be illegal, not only is it a necessary respect of ones autonomy, thought freedom and dignity it helps non-bigots identify mental deficiencies in others, individually of course. Bill proves that atheist bigots also exist- I believe they (secular bigots) are at least tied or maybe ahead of religious bigots now in anti-social impact, but thatâs showing a little bigotry myself that I need to admit and correct.
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