# Bill Maher stirs controversy with Tim Tebow tweet **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 28, 2011, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655 "2011-12-28T19:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/281 "2011-12-31T17:24:57Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > Maher’s free to tweet away as well. And to extend that, everyone is likewise free to think Maher’s an ass and that it’s silly that some of the atheists on this board are inexplicably acting in a butthurt manner over a guy praying. (Oh, I forgot, this is _intense_ douchebaggery, so it’s to be expected that atheists would be irritated by a guy wordlessly praying to an entity they don’t believe in.) > > Land of the free here, ain’t it grand? And Tebow’s free to kneel on the football field, and I’m free to think he’s an ass, and you’re free to get butthurt about that. World without end, amen. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/282 "2011-12-31T17:26:05Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > And Tebow’s free to kneel on the football field, and I’m free to think he’s an ass, and you’re free to get butthurt about that. World without end, amen. > > Seriously, you’re freakin’ hilarious. One difference, sweetheart. I haven’t gotten butthurt over anything. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/283 "2011-12-31T17:26:08Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > And Tebow’s free to kneel on the football field, and I’m free to think he’s an ass, and you’re free to get butthurt about that. Please see above. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/284 "2011-12-31T19:00:00Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Brian Wilson (closer for the Giants) makes a religious gesture at the end of every game he pitches. Nobody seems to mind that. > > I find it incredible that so many people on this MB are so intolerant that they think Tebow should conform to their ideas of what behavior is acceptable and what is not. And who the hell knows what he does in private? You think it’s intolerant for someone to make jokes about Tebow? That’s the issue: making fun of Tebow’s excessive displays of religiosity in public primarily during sporting events. He exceeded the norm, people notice and some make jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/285 "2011-12-31T19:02:40Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > One difference, sweetheart. I haven’t gotten butthurt over anything. God Almighty! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/286 "2011-12-31T19:11:00Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > You think it’s intolerant for someone to make jokes about Tebow? > > That’s the issue: making fun of Tebow’s excessive displays of religiosity in public primarily during sporting events. > He exceeded the norm, people notice and some make jokes. No, there are a million ways to make fun of Tebow for the reasons you gave. Maher was just being a dick and people called him on it. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/287 "2011-12-31T19:58:48Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > No, there are a million ways to make fun of Tebow for the reasons you gave. Maher was just being a dick and people called him on it. I agree, Maher seemed kind of over the top, too emotionally invested, the SNL thing was much better. But **John Mace** appeared to be saying that it’s intolerant to say anything. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/288 "2011-12-31T20:01:15Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > You think it’s intolerant for someone to make jokes about Tebow? > > That’s the issue: making fun of Tebow’s excessive displays of religiosity in public primarily during sporting events. > He exceeded the norm, people notice and some make jokes. I think it’s intolerant for you to decide whether he is being “excessive” or not. That’s between him and hid God. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/289 "2011-12-31T20:02:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That’s between him and hid God. And the 20 million people watching him on TV. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/290 "2011-12-31T20:04:08Z")
Gah. Stoopid laptop. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/291 "2011-12-31T20:06:37Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think it’s intolerant for you to decide whether he is being “excessive” or not. That’s between him and hid God. But that position basically says that social norms don’t matter. That anyone exceeding any kind of social norm should be “tolerated”. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/292 "2011-12-31T21:19:48Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think it’s intolerant for you to decide whether he is being “excessive” or not. That’s between him and hid God. Oh please. He’s being made fun of on Twitter and a message board thread. Calling that intolerance is a disservice to actual intolerance. Oh, and I neither know nor care what his views are. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/293 "2011-12-31T21:51:43Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I think it’s intolerant for you to decide whether he is being “excessive” or not. That’s between him and hid God. If it was just between him and his god he wouldn’t be doing it during a public event. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/294 "2011-12-31T22:02:34Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > If it was just between him and his god he wouldn’t be doing it during a public event. No, that’s what makes it public, not what makes it excessive. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/295 "2011-12-31T22:12:33Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, that’s what makes it public, not what makes it excessive. > > Regards, > Shodan I think you just agreed with **Acsenray**. He stated it’s public (not just between him and god) and you agreed it’s public. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/296 "2011-12-31T23:13:59Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > I think you just agreed with **Acsenray**. He stated it’s public (not just between him and god) and you agreed it’s public. No, he agreed with you, and I pointed out that you are both wrong. Your idea that tolerating what Tebow does is abandoning all social standards is equally wrong, to the point of being grotesque, but I think everyone knows that already. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/297 "2012-01-01T01:08:27Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > > [@Shodan](#): > > > > I wasn’t aware > > I know. This is not a flagrant violation of the “no tampering with quotes” rule, but it really looks like your toenails are over the line, even if your toes are on the line. . Let’s avoid this sort of thing. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/298 "2012-01-01T01:14:44Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, he agreed with you, and I pointed out that you are both wrong. He stated it’s public, you stated it’s public. Is that not correct? > [@](#): > > Your idea that tolerating what Tebow does is abandoning all social standards is equally wrong, to the point of being grotesque, but I think everyone knows that already. > > Regards, > Shodan That’s not a very accurate rephrasing of my response to **John Mace**. There is a subtle yet substantial distinction between what I posted and what you posted. Nobody said anything about what it means to tolerate Tebow’s actions. Any individual can choose to tolerate it or not. But to classify an objection to it as “intolerant” legitimately raises the question as to why that particular behavior is exempt from being objected to. Clearly it exceeds social norms, I think few would debate that. So if objecting to this situation that doesn’t follow social norms is “intolerant”, how do you defend objecting to other types of behavior that exceed social norms? Regardless of how you feel about Tebow or religion, you do see the issue with categorizing an objection as intolerant, right? I guess there is the literal sense of intolerant in which any objection could be considered intolerant, regardless of the behavior being objected to, but that’s not really an interesting position to take. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/299 "2012-01-01T01:23:44Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > _I just scored in a game! Watch me kneel like a knight! Watch me be super-duper-fucking pious! Aren’t you impressed with how supplicant I am?_ — Tim Tebow _I can read Tim Tebow’s mind! I know what he’s thinking as he kneels!_ - **Lobohan** ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655/300 "2012-01-01T12:42:09Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > He stated it’s public, you stated it’s public. > > Is that not correct? You claimed it was “excessive”, he agreed with you, you are both wrong. > [@](#): > > Nobody said anything about what it means to tolerate Tebow’s actions. Any individual can choose to tolerate it or not. What do you propose to do if you choose not to tolerate it - lynch him? Whine about it like Maher did? > [@](#): > > But to classify an objection to it as “intolerant” legitimately raises the question as to why that particular behavior is exempt from being objected to. Clearly it exceeds social norms, I think few would debate that. So if objecting to this situation that doesn’t follow social norms is “intolerant”, how do you defend objecting to other types of behavior that exceed social norms? This appears to be related to an earlier post, where it was alleged that there was no substantive difference between public prayer, and rape or dog fighting. It was ridiculous then, and is equally ridiculous now. > [@](#): > > Regardless of how you feel about Tebow or religion, you do see the issue with categorizing an objection as intolerant, right? No, there isn’t any issue. Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-maher-stirs-controversy-with-tim-tebow-tweet/607655.md?page=16)