Hacker News Reader

Comment by jacob2484 | Hacker News Reader

How much woke virtue signaling can one take? Even Bill Maher agrees.

> Even Bill Maher agrees.

Bill Maher is a shallow elite contrarian, not a progressive that it would make sense to say “Even” about when he agrees with criticism of something perceived to be on the left.

I love how now that he disagrees he's suddenly "not a progressive".

I love that now that you encounter a position that I've held and expressed consistently for long enough that it could legally vote if it was a person, and which has been quite common on the Left for at least as long, you act like its a sudden change.

I get that he opposes some things sacred to the Right, and that to people on the Right that makes him Left, but...

Bill Maher back around 9/11 had a slide deck act where he justified racial profiling in airports with a picture of a fundamentalist Muslim in traditional garb going through airport security. He once literally hosted a talk show called "Politically Incorrect"

He has always been "I'm leftist, but I have a politically incorrect anti-establishment edge.". He has been saying things like this for decades.

Politically Incorrect was canned when, in disagreement on teh show, he said the terrorists weren't cowards, that bombing a country (Iraq) including innocents from offshore was cowardice. Referring of course to physical / mortal cowardice, not moral cowardice, in which case he's right.

I mean, he's long been primarily a conspiracy theorist, surely?

No?

He occasionally gloms on to a conspiracy theory, but he's more into shallow hot takes without any deeply consistent factual or ethical theory from one moment to the next.

That's not a new take on Maher, and it's a bit disingenuous to suggest that it is.

He's an actual Liberal, based on what he purports, unlike many so-called progressives.

Well, a guy with a show called "Politically Incorrect" is supposed to be a contrarian.

The Left is so extremist now that it has lost any sense of humor (Maher had to point out the sarcasm to his audience), and it rejects any critical analysis of its agenda/narrative. Mao would be proud.

> Even Bill Maher agrees

Even famously pro-woke virtue signaling TV personality Bill Maher agrees!

Reply on news.ycombinator.com