Let me start this by saying I don’t like Bill Maher. He became the darling of HBO by bashing politicians and religion and is so left wing he tilts the plane. There is a dividing line of when Bill is saying something snarky with intent to pinch and when he is just trying to be trendy and funny and just says something stupid. In case you don’t watch “Real Time With Bill Maher” or haven’t logged into Yahoo News lately, here is his so-called unforgivable crime.
Maher was having a conversation with Rep. Sasse about construction projects. Sasse invited him to “work in the fields” on his project. Maher replied that he is a “ house n—er.” Now just about every Black celebrity has been asked to “weigh in” on the Bill Maher “racist epithet” matter. His friend Al Franken says he should know that white people should not use that word. Others are calling for his job–with a rather large cry disproportionate to his error.
Yes, he used “the word” this magically powerful word that once uttered or written will instantly turn any white person who uses it into a monster, no matter what the context. Bill Maher used it in the context of a bad joke–yeah stupid and tasteless–but he meant no insult to Blacks.Sure we can compare how many times Blacks use that word—in comedy acts, rap songs, artwork, movie lines, protest chants–but one can argue that they are Black so they are entitled to use that moniker anyway they see fit, no matter how demeaning that feels to others of the same race. No problem there evidently.
So instead let’s compare that careless and stupid remark made by Maher to Jamie Foxx’s anti-white monologue on SNL where he appeared to promote his movie, Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained”. He said “I get free, I save my wife, and I kill all the white people in the movie. How great is that? And how black is that?” He didn’t say all the “villains in the movie” or “all the slaveholders in the movie” he said, “all the white people in the movie” and the audience brayed with laughter like a pack of embarrassed hyenas.
Foxx has been rewarded for his racially insensitive remarks with more movie offers and his own TV show, “Beat Shazaam”. Although many white people and possibly some Blacks found his humor in bad taste, it will make no difference to Foxx as it is cool to say horrible things about whites. White bashing is now trendy in fact. On many college campuses being white is akin to being a criminal. Even for those ancestors never owned slaves nor profited by that horrific time in history, it’s open season on whites for insults.
That defeats the goal of judging “not by the color of skin but the content of character.” So now there is a game of “gotcha” where the semantics of a single word is akin to murder, (it’s okay to say “the N Word” but not say the whole word for some strange reason), even when quoting someone using it–if you are white that is. Maher is a comedian. And to excuse Jamie Foxx is to say that comedians sometimes say stupid things in the quest to get a laugh. Maher dates Black women, has black friends, and gives to charitable causes.
Whether or not you like his act, he’s a pretty nice guy. Why fire him just because he tried to identify with being “down with it” but his remark totally missed the mark? He apologized–sincerely–he’s probably feeling pretty awful right now and the internet mob and pundits are piling on as if he were a racist, which is far from the truth.Bill Maher’s case notwithstanding, there is a bigger question.
What will happen if we just demand the job of anyone whose remarks we don’t like? He made a really stupid mistake and is obviously sorry, will that be enough? Is it really possible that In less than a heartbeat a decades-long career can be destroyed? Yes, he said “the N word” but not in the context of hate. If Jamie Foxx is not in the hot seat for his stinging, insensitive anti-white remarks, why are many calling for the head of Bill Maher?
How far will political correctness go? Maher is on HBO for a reason. His show is controversial by brand and it’s easy to just not watch if you don’t like him. I don’t care for Bill Maher; however, I will defend the right for Maher and Foxx for that matter, to keep their jobs. Kevin Hart said it best: he wisely discerned that Maher was “not racist, just stupid”.
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