Biden Administration misc. activities

[Indy]

I so sick of hearing white straight males complain about woke-ism or 'cancel culture' or anything else that threatens their status of privilege and lack of consequences for their actions.

[3rdside]

I’m fairly sure that isn’t Maher’s angle.

[Nodack]

I think Maher knows Democrats are going to lose seats in the next two elections.

[Indy]

Every party in the white house loses seats in their mid-term elections. I think the only exception of the last 50 years was after 9/11.

But Maher doesn't care either way.

[3rdside]

I think you’ll find he does .. if you think he’s a self sever without a social conscience, you’re wrong on that too.

[Nodack]

I’ve watched every episode of Maher for the past few years. I think he cares a lot. He certainly doesn’t like where we are as a country but, who does? He calls out Republicans and Dems but is a Moderate Democrat. I don’t agree with everything he says. I agree with a lot of it.

[3rdside]

He’s definitely pro democrat.

[Indy]

Read/listen to people of color on Maher.

[3rdside]

Sure, the alt-CRT type I’m guessing .. he dates black women, he has black friends and guests on his show .. if you’re now saying he’s racist you’re wrong on that also (bro take the hint )

[Indy]

How many people of color do you talk to each week? Ask them.

He is extremely vocal about his disdain for brown people from the middle east, which is especially true when it comes to Israel and their treatment of Palestinians. And he conversationally said the n-word on his tv show. Not quoting anyone/anything.

[3rdside]

Sadly the average person in the street - regardless of colour - isn't equipped to deal with the difference between nuance and distinction.

The N word controversy was borderline, but he gave a full apology including having a full debate about it on his show. Kareem Abdul Jabbar came out and said it's pretty clear Maher isn't a racist, and there was no malevolent intent behind his use of the word.

As for Muslims, here's Maher's debate with Sam Harris amongst others .. Harris is the boss don of intellectual argument and it's no surprise Ben Affleck misses his (and Maher's) point entirely, along with most everyone else you're referring to...Again, the nuance is not understood.

[Indy]

Only you are smart enough to get his nuance about racism? He literally said "Islam is the motherload of bad ideas" but sure, he isn't prejudice.

And Kareem didn't say Maher wasn't a racist. He said he didn't have malevolent intent when he said it. That is not the same thing. You don't have to be intent on causing harm to be racist.

[3rdside]

Only you are smart enough to get his nuance about racism?

Where could you possibly have got that from what I wrote? It sounds to me like you're projecting what you think I'm saying rather than what I'm actually saying, and that's a little uncool.

He literally said "Islam is the motherload of bad ideas" but sure, he isn't prejudice.

Absorbing a broad brush comment without critically analysing it is dangerous (as you miss the nuance..). Which one of these Muslim ideals do you think is a good idea?

- leaving the religion of Islam is punishable by death
- jihad vs the infidels (Christians and Jews) is a duty
- homosexuality is punishable by death
- subjugation and discrimination of women, including the quasi-approved use of domestic violence
- no alcohol or drugs permitted
- criticism of (or virtually any reference to) Allah is not tolerated (e.g. Charlie Hebdo, where journalists were murdered)

And Kareem didn't say Maher wasn't a racist. He said he didn't have malevolent intent when he said it. That is not the same thing. You don't have to be intent on causing harm to be racist.

If you're saying Maher is a racist, then we're going to have to agree to disagree - I'd call it more realist than racist, I think, although I can see where he treads awfully close to the line, if not crosses it (but I'd argue that I believe he does so without intent).

Here's a question for you - how do you define what being a racist is?

[Indy]

You said the panel couldn't understand his nuance. Made it sound like you could, but most people can't. Apologies if that is not what you meant.


The rest of this is just you finding anything ever linked to sects of Islam and pretending like that is what the religion teaches or that over a billion Muslims around the world believe that shit. It would be like me saying "so defend why Christianity is so rampant with pedophilia" and similar stuff about defending the christian fundamentalists movements around the world that are very homophobic and anti-semetic. Or how christian doctrine supports incest.


And referring to someone as "more a realist than a racist" or saying he's close to the line but doesn't cross it because he doesn't intend to be racist is, well I am not sure how to respond to that.


As for defining racism--I would say it is holding prejudicial beliefs for a group of people (regardless of it is race, religion, gender, etc.). I realize the actual definition is just limited to race, but there isn't a good word that covers all of it. And EVERYONE is racist in some ways. It is a spectrum.

[In2ition]

Bigotry - obstinate or unreasonable attachment to a belief, opinion, or faction; in particular, prejudice against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.

[Nodack]

I think Maher is ok. It is no secret that Maher thinks all religions are BS. I do too. That makes us both a racist/bigot I guess. I think people hide behind religion sometimes. It allows them to do bad things and be ok with it because they can ask god for forgiveness and release them from their sins.

A religious guy wrote a religious song and wanted record it for his Church. He came to me and I spent two weeks on and off working on his song. After two weeks he liked where it was and asked if I could make a copy for him to take home to listen too to make sure it was what he wanted before committing to it. I made him a copy and never heard from him again. That was a very uncool thing to do and he did it in the name of religion. I couldn’t grasp how someone could be that into God and religion and deliberately screw someone over n the name of God in a sense.

Another guy came to me who was recording a religious album and needed acoustic guitar on it. He told me the album was going to be big, said it had a lot of backing and promised a nice payday for me. I recorded his acoustic guitar and he said he loved it and then he asked if I could record electric on it too and so I did. He gave him all the tracks… and never heard from him again.

I was playing a Corporate gig for some company and one of the prizes for top salesman was a nice set of Ping golf clubs in a nice leather bag. The lead singer was the music director of a church his dad was the pastor at. He decided he wanted that set of golf clubs and just walked it out to his truck and said “God will forgive me”. I have never forgave myself for not turning him in. Doing so would have gotten him arrested and ruined the bands reputation. It was selfish of me. He forgave himself right away because God would forgive him.

These three events reinforced my belief that religion is BS. I don’t believe god wrote the Ten Commandments. I believe some maybe well meaning man/men wrote the Ten Commandments to give man some basic rules to live by and added Gods name to it to give it punch.

I am rambling and have said enough already but, that is my viewpoint.

[In2ition]

Those are some terrible stories with "religious" people. There are a lot of POSs out there, for sure. Who could blame you for thinking that way? Doing bad things in the name of 'God will forgive me' or just because you are religious is one of the very definitions of breaking, Thou shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, imo.

There will be quick judgement for them, when their time comes.

[Indy]

Thinking religions based on deities are BS doesn't make you racist/bigoted, unless you think less of people that are religious.

[In2ition]

I didn't write the definition. I don't think it mentions any difference in it being based on deities, elements, the force, earth, vaccines, science, or nothing at all.

[Indy]

There are a lot of definitions for everything. The main one on google is this:

Religion, noun, the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.