Bill Maher drops the N bomb

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New York Times: Bill Maher Returns to ‘Real Time’ on HBO After Use of Racial Slur

Yeah, Maher didn't seem too contrite, and I don't think he really got why dropping the n-bomb was wrong...

I think ice cube and Simon Sanders did a good job trying to explain why it was wrong, and should never be done by a white person... even Bill Maher.

Overall, I think/hope it was at least a good teachable moment.

I agree. It was not appropriate for him to use the word. And I don't think he gets it. He thinks that because the intent was humour that it is harmless, but the word is too culturally charged.

Both Ice Cube and Professor Michael Eric Dyson said they thought Maher is not a racist, that Maher should not need to lose his job over this but Maher kept on repeating that his error was one-time thing, a comedian thing. That makes it look like he does not understand how bad the error was which I find hard to believe. Maher's political/comedian career is based on understanding this.


Personal Note:
Maher is a year or two older than me and grew up in a similar neighborhood. Many words that were innocuous have become offensive and I do have sympathy for my fellow boomers that are getting called all sorts of vile things because they truly do not understand because they do not spend time on threads like this. With maybe a few exceptions (such as saying somebody called somebody else that word) I never heard that word being used by a white person in anything but a hateful context.

As ugly as that word is, as I understand it, Maher had said it in a self-deprecating way, and not directed at black Americans. I'm willing to forgive him, as plenty of African Americans are.

He shouldn't have apologized. He didn't direct the word at anyone but himself, used it in a clearly joking, not hateful, manner and context, and his whole brand is built around free speech and pushing boundaries. His half-assed apology didn't satisfy anyone, the beacons of tolerance and goodness still want his show canceled despite his putting on the hair shirt, and he missed out on an opportunity for a real "teachable moment" about context and intent when it comes to potentially sensitive topics, a sorely needed lesson. I've always thought of Maher as a dick, but an honest one, and this doesn't feel honest, this feels like him trying a appease a certain loud segment of his audience, but in the process, overlooking an opportunity to actually expand it. "Yeah, I said it, deal with it" would have been more his style.

Having Ice Cube on to chastise him was particularly rich, this is the guy who's personally responsible for introducing casual use of n***a and it's variants to a whole new generation of white people; between his musical career and the Friday franchise, I'd say he has more responsibility there than most (I say that as someone who can quote Friday verbatim and doesn't say "n-word" while doing so). If Ice Cube (or any other black entertainer, for that matter) doesn't want white people using that particular slur, they need to give it up themselves, "do as I say not as I do" doesn't really work here, or with pop culture in general.

Everyone says something they shouldn't. And they say a lot more than they shouldn't when they're talking privately (or at least think they are). Let he who has never committed this sin throw the first stone.