Why I can't handle watching Bill Maher anymore

[mythyc]

Run time: 02:20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zx2o9C12yo   Posted on YouTube: November 06, 2006 By YouTube Member: lfcolo Views on YouTube: 132444   Posted on DU: June 09, 2008 By DU Member: mythyc Views on DU: 1762

 
this clip killed it for me... completely

thought, is he really saying..., oh shit he is., then a reaction from to and

[amitten]

1. I can't view...what is he saying? n/t

[mythyc]

2. I wouldn't type or say it

try on another computer

[mrreowwr_kittty]

3. Maher is an ugly, hateful jerk.

And he's not even a liberal so I don't get why he has so many fans here. So he's against the war, big whoop. Pat Buchanan is too.

[amitten]

4. Could you tell me a summary of what he said?

The OP doesn't want to.

[mythyc]

7. trying to say why the sexual abuse of children is not so bad in his book

...

[Common Sense Party]

9. (see below)

Basically, referring to Michael Jackson, he said there are worse things in the world than a child being masturbated by a pop star.

[nebula]

15. It was a rant

about tabloid journalism in the media, case in point being the media's former obsession with the Michael Jackson trial. I don't see what the OP is worked up about.

[silverojo]

20. The same thing that pissed off Craig Ferguson

Maher said that it was no big deal that Michael Jackson molested kids. He went on to say that he'd been bullied in his youth (gee, big surprise), and he'd rather be "gently masturbated" by a pop star, than get punched around by kids his own age.

Craig (a real man) started getting really pissed, saying, "You don't like kids, do you?" He went on to say that he had an 8-year-old, and if some pervert had done that to HIS kid...he couldn't even finish what he was saying, without almost dropping the F-bomb.

By the time Maher puked out that "gently masturbated" crap, Craig cut the interview off. Good for him!

BTW, I saw this a long time ago, and it made me sick to my stomach. Maher is a sick pervert.

[goddess40]

29. He said savagely beaten not "get punched around by kids his own age"

Both child molesting and getting attacked by classmates are forms of bullying. He was just saying if he had his choice he'd take the less painful form of bullying.

Both are wrong and he did say that no kid should get diddled with.

I think people want to rank things by how uncomfortable the idea makes them feel than by the real physical pain the act inflicted. People also like to be dismissive of the real crime of bullying - I bet the little bastards that beat Maher got no punishment and probably got a boost in status.

[beezlebum]

32. i was a molestation victim

it's not "less painful," not by any stretch of the imagination, and i'd take the fucking savage beating any day if i could go back and make a choice.

my perp got no punishment either, and i don't know about a boost in status but it sure made that fucker seem pretty powerful- he's been a part of my daily life, when riding bikes with my friends, i was always afraid he was somewhere looking for me, i never felt safe, i thought about him and was afraid every day, every night, every time i was (and am) alone with a man in a casual environment- even male relatives who were there to protect me and who never would have hurt me, every time my own husband touches me, every. fucking. day. since i was 5 years old.

bullying sucks too. i was bullied- never actually hit, but picked on quite a lot, emotionally taunted and threatened daily for two years, and it was terrifying to get on the bus everyday, to walk to class, i still feel the knot in my stomach when i think about it.

neither one is better than the other. both are haunting, terrifying, and bring psychological ramifications that no child should have to endure. but i think what people are offended by is maher's seeming "embrace" of molestation- much as i have seemingly "embraced" savage beatings.

i think this is more about tabloid journalism, and i think maybe maher is being misunderstood just a tad, maybe a bit of an overreaction to hyperbole and his brand of dark humor. i did get rather sick of the michael jackson stuff- it almost made a joke of molestation- and all other 24-7 crap-news.

[melody]

33. Well said n/t

[goddess40]

34. I'm so sorry that happened to you

I think the real error Maher made was trying to compare and contrast the two - pain is pain and each person processes it differently.

Since victims don't get to pick the crime perpetrated against them it isn't logical or fair to compare them. My problem is that society seems to get the harm done by molesters but dismisses bullying as no big deal when it causes harm to the victim to the point that many live with the emotional scars the rest of their lives just as you live with yours. I think instead of trying to rank which is worse we should just deal with each incident as it is and how it affects the victim.

[nebula]

37. I didn't get that part the first time, but gross.

That is a pretty disgusting thing to say.

if it was meant to be nothing more than a joke, it was one made in extremely poor taste.

[Selatius]

He's liberal on some issues, like corporate crime and the war and the environment.

Run time: 02:20 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zx2o9C12yo   Posted on YouTube: November 06, 2006 By YouTube Member: lfcolo Views on YouTube: 132444   Posted on DU: June 09, 2008 By DU Member: Selatius Views on DU: 1762

 
Other things, well, I would say the Michael Jackson case--aside from the fact that it was a complete sideshow with no relevance to national issues whatsoever--is an apolitical topic.

On edit: How the FUCK did I post the video???

[Common Sense Party]

5. I'm glad Ferguson cut it off there.

Nice false dick-otomy, there, Maher. As if those are life's only two choices.

He's a reprehensible little fraction of a man.

[sasquatch]

6. Wow, you're way too sensitive

[mythyc]

8. "you're"

[sasquatch]

12. Thanks, I'm tired and up too late

[mythyc]

14. "tiard"

[Common Sense Party]

10. Wow. You must not have kids.

[mythyc]

11. I was going to type those words exactly, but then figured someone else will within a few minutes....

[sasquatch]

13. Hell no, I hate the little bastards for the most part

[Selatius]

16. I laughed out loud when I read your response. Totally unexpected. nt

[Common Sense Party]

17. I'm sure the feeling's mutual.

But they still needn't be abused by an androgynous pop star.

[silverojo]

21. You were a kid once, too

So you were a little bastard, by your own logic. Anyone who can hate kids and like Bill Maher is a sicko.

[The_Casual_Observer]

18. He's a half ass stand up comic not a philosopher, and it's a half ass

comedy show. What do you expect?

[mythyc]

19. don't expect much. I've never paid much attention to Maher both because

I don't have cable and because in what little I've seen of him he hasn't impressed me.

That said, I had no strong feelings one way or another about him until I saw the above clip, which I found to be so disturbing and out of line that whatever casual observations I may have had of him here and there became permanently tainted such that every time I see his name or image, these produce instantaneous repulsion. So, that's my reaction when I see clips of his posted occasionally here on DU (like today, on a thread below) or advocation or approval of him, such that I thought this would provide relevant perspective...

Though I would say I do expect a little actually. I expect public figures to be called on sick and perverted crap like he's spouting in this clip, and I expect that the public --especially those who do follow his show or work-- appreciates or recognizes the importance of being made aware of it, especially when the offense is this obscene and loathsome.

[Skittles]

22. he is absolutely digusting

I do not understand his popularity on DU at ALL

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

23. Maher makes his living in the U.S. entertainment...

...industry and he wants to keep it that way. That means some truths are off limits, and some fairytales must be propagated.

And he's just the right man for he job.

[wildbilln864]

35. You got that....

exactly right Mr. J. Maher's a tool and he knows it.

[fasttense]

24. Wow, are those the only two choices?

Maher says if he had a choice of being seriously beaten by bullies or molested by a pop star he would go for the molestation and people should not be so upset by Michael Jackson getting his jollies from kids. Are those the only choices facing a young boy today? I mean why does a child have to endure either one? Shouldn't parents be protecting their children from both?

Maher has seriously lost his perspective there.

Which would you chose rape or a savage beating?

[TexasBushwhacker]

36. My guess is that he was never molested

Anyone who has been molested or raped will say that the effects are long lasting, perhaps for a lifetime. I generally like Bill, but this was a profoundly stupid and insensitive thing to say.

[Amun-Ra]

25. I didn't know Jackson had been found guilty of anything...

Children in most instances deal with a great deal of trauma, some physical some psychological, it is not new. I believe the entire MJ event was another media stunt designed to keep our eye off the ball (and part of the media's mission at the dumbing down of America.) The biggest tragedy to thinking man is the media's promotion of religion, all religion - but particularly western religion. A few generations of thinking men would eliminate child abuse once and for all. Alas one can still dream.

[NOLALady]

27. He wasn't found guilty.

I also thought it was a media circus designed for distraction.

[Buzz Clik]

26. That clip is over 18 months old.

Why the huffiness now?

[ryanmuegge]

28. That's just how he makes his money.

Dark, controversial humor is his brand of comedy. Inevitably, he's sometimes going to go over the edge and offend more people than he amuses.


I thought it was pretty funny. Of course, I don't have kids.

[izquierdista]

30. Why did you drag up this 3-year old clip?

So you could go all over again? Couldn't be anything obsessive-compulsive, could it?

[mythyc]

38. i see you didn't forget to take your bitter pill today.

here's another one to balance it off

[MannyGoldstein]

31. Ugh.

Never been a fan.

[Peregrine]

39. His denial of germ theory

Sealed it for me.

[GrimReefa]

40. A few things about this

1. Maher was talking about the media's obsession with celebrity "news". The Michael Jackson trial was little more than the mass media rubbernecking at another celebrity scandal, which is so much easier than dealing with actual news stories which would keep voters informed and make our democracy, I don't know, work. Even the Michael Jackson trial COULD have been useful, had the media used the event to highlight the problem of sexual abuse of children, rather than just make a circus out of the trial of one alleged offender. But they didn't, of course.

2. He was not saying that child molestation is ok. What he was saying was that Michael Jackson did not rape the kids - which was true - and that therefore this story was being blown out of proportion by the media - which was also true. He never said that Jackson should be allowed to continue his behavior, or that he should go unpunished. What he did say was that the 24-hour Michael Jackson Show on every "news" outlet was unwarranted. Unfortunately, he then went on...

3. The bullying thing he simply shouldn't have said. But that is classic Bill Maher - he just doesn't know where the boundaries are. And he loves to shoot his mouth off about any topic, whether he has any clue what he is saying or if he doesn't. If you are going to watch his show or his stand-up routine, or any of his appearances on other shows, you have to be prepared to roll your eyes when he does that shit. Or maybe you can send him an angry e-mail, if you feel silence is unwarranted.

4. Blowing off his show, however, is a mistake. If for no other reason than because of his guests. Maher routinely has excellent guests appear, whether it's Kos or Matt Taibi or whoever. Even if you're not a Maher fan, he has so many guests on at once that sometimes he struggles to get a word in. Secondly, Maher IS a liberal, and you will find yourself in staunch agreement with 95% of the things he says. Unfortunately, the other 5% - like the clip above - are often completely out of whack and, at times, wholely indefensible. But like I said, he has great guests, who are all too happy to call him out when he goes overboard.