This entire exchange is a brilliant example of gaslighting. Maher didn’t say the things he explicitly said, Sherrerd didn’t say the things they explicitly said, everyone arguing against them definitely said things they didn’t actually say, and everyone is still treating it like a serious conversation.
Yeah, well, that’s sometimes the nature of the Pit, but I just want to clarify that I wouldn’t characterize myself as “admiring” Maher. He can be annoyingly smug, and he’s an idiot about vaccines and medical science in general. My position is that I’ve found Real Time with Bill Maher to be interesting and informative in the more than 15 years that I’ve been regularly watching it, and those who studiously avoid it out of some idealistic principle are missing out on some intelligent conversations with many notable figures.
Here’s a bit more of the Maher monologue, the one with the “keep marching for Hamas, kids”
Like I say, the sauron of straw men. And no I don’t agree that it’s just a matter of people talking past each other.
I was unclear - Maher absolutely said that shit. The gaslighting was Sherrerd insisting he didn’t, when he very explicitly did.
It’s not talking past each other, it’s Sherrerd arguing in bad faith, and everyone else still engaging with them.
Ah sorry, ironically I misunderstood you 
Obviously I don’t agree with your opinion, much less with your slur (that I would deliberately argue in bad faith).
This began with one person guessing, without having heard Maher’s piece on Chappell Roan, that
Having actually heard Maher’s piece myself, I said:
To my amazement this was taken as a Highly Controversial view, not to mention worthy of accusations of “arguing in bad faith.”
Since I don’t believe that anyone I respect would interpret this conversation in the same way you have, I’ll let it go. I will note that the conversation might well have gone differently if we weren’t three weeks out from the horrifyingly-momentous beginning of the Right Versus the Constitution era of US history.
I disagree with you but still respect you because you don’t overlook when Maher is clearly in the wrong. You are entitled to your opinion and if you get entertainment from his show, more power to you.
One joke I liked from the last episode (paraphrasing):
“To Marjorie Taylor Greene: if Democrats can supposedly control the weather, isn’t that a really good reason to vote for them?”
Except it was pointed out Roan NEVER CHAMPIONED HAMAS. Yet you continue to defend Maher making that exact assertion. And yes, “Keep marching for Hamas,” is explicitly saying Roan supports Hamas. Flat out, there’s no other intelligent way to read that. Same with “The same students…were very supportive when Hamas terrorists went on a rape and murder rampage worth of the vikings.”
Of course, if you can find anything remotely close to ‘Israel is evil and its opponents are universally righteous’ from Roan’s statements, I’d appreciate it.
You’ve pointed out that OMG you actually READ Maher’s piece! Did you ever actually read anything from Roan, or are you just regurgitating Maher’s blatantly false assertion?
I wouldn’t want your respect, I’ve seen exactly what you defend.
Listened to. It’s a video, no transcript is evident.
Yeah, that actually got an audible chuckle from me. (Usually I don’t get more than smiles from the jokes on that show; Colbert’s writers are more likely to get out-loud laughs from me.)
This week brought Mark Cuban, whose time is fairly valuable, so he doesn’t always sit down for the 30-minutes-plus it takes to be a panelist on Real Time. I’m not sure I agree with his assertion that Google can’t be regulated in any way because that would let China win the AI race. But he did have a lot of insights to offer.
Maher made a decent point, I thought, with his take-down of the Trump-defender stand-by of accusing people of having Trump Derangement Syndrome. It truly is tired as well as stooopid. It’s as reasonable to be alarmed by the thought of another Trump Presidency, as it’s reasonable to be alarmed by the thought of being alone in a small room with a grizzly bear hopped up on cocaine.
Maher actually had a Young Person on (David Hogg) which somewhat derailed his usual rant about ‘kids these days.’ Hogg comported himself well and undercut Maher’s stance on the young quite gracefully.
Yeah I’ve been a bit meh about Cuban’s recent appearances. I saw him at a rally talking about tariffs, and though I agreed with his position, he spoke for a long time and only really made one argument. I couldn’t help feeling that someone who was pro-tariff prior to hearing Cuban, would not have heard much reason to change their mind.
Anyway, that’s a hijack of this thread. I’m going to see if there’s a tariff thread for a longer rant 
Yeah, he’s not The Great Persuader, though obviously he does have other assets. (Before Harris picked Walz I’d been promoting the idea of her choosing Cuban—partly because I’d have loved the idea of a REAL business success taking down faker Trump. But it wouldn’t have been a good choice, I have to admit.)
Thank God she didn’t. That’s about the stupidest idea I’ve heard in a while.
Just two quick updates.
HBO recently aired a Maher special called Is Anyone Else Seeing This?. I’ve frankly been disappointed by some of Maher’s recent standups, finding them rather dark and cynical, but this one was different. It had genuinely funny bits in which Maher tries to explain himself, that he’s not “anti-left” but anti “extremist-woke”. Even granting that he’s prone to hyperbole, I think he makes a good case. For someone who’s done some disappointing standups in recent years, this is something of a redemption.
He also argues – perhaps too optimistically – that the Orange Fuck is just about as likely to sit around on his fat ass eating hamberders as he is to cause havoc in the world, but I guess we’ll soon see.
It’s a special worth watching, is my only point. Those so allergic to Maher that they couldn’t stand it are excused.
Also, the first show of the 23rd season of Real Time airs this Friday.
If you’re a regular viewer of Real Time, you can skip the special and not miss much; it’s mostly a retelling of jokes and material he’s previously shared on RT.
That all hinges on his definition of “extremist woke” and “left”.
Some people seem to think being anti-rape is extremist woke.
Yep I’ll take a look at the special later, but if “anti woke” is the key theme then my expectations are very low.
Here in the UK, before woke there was “political correctness”. It was, and is, almost always bollocks; heavily exaggerated anecdotes at best, more often outright lies. But it remains incredibly powerful – it persuades the public to vote against their own interests and be intolerant to the most vulnerable people.
I wouldn’t say it’s the key theme, but it’s Maher, so it’s there. He does a fair share of Republican-bashing, too (“They think climate change is a hoax but the weather girl’s tits are real” and “they’re always blaming the under-privileged when they should be blaming the over-privileged, and then they added to that shitty mix tape – they don’t believe in democracy any more; elections only count when we win”.
But yeah, he’s bugged by the “over-sensitivity” of the left. And he has some good points. He is bugged by students demonstrating in support of Hamas and Hezbollah, and he’s not the only one.
Yeah that’s the kind of thing I mean though. I have joined protests for Palestine myself. I genuinely haven’t seen any antisemitism, it’s probable that some bad faith actors have joined at least some of the marches, but this seems a very convenient excuse used in US media (and here in the UK, to a lesser extent) to dismiss the actual reasons for these protests.
Also…whether you agree with the protests or not, it’s frankly insane to give this as an example of oversensitivity. Innocent Israelis have been killed, and innocent Palestinians are being killed, the latter in their thousands.