I haven’t watched Bill Maher much over the last few months, but I happened to be streaming it this evening. During the panel discussion, a Trump supporter stood up and started heckling Maher and his guests. I didn’t catch what the guy was saying, and it went on for a bit before security took him off. Maher said “We got your point, whatever it was.......OK, You like Trump. A lot of people like Trump. Then one of his panel guests said this: “Make sure he doesn’t have a gun” That was the day before the El Paso shootings.........
Thats a silly thing to say... if the heckler was gonna shoot folks, they would do it before someone could search them for a gun. Why do you think the panel guest said this? What do you consider 'debate-worthy' about it? (ie- whats ur point?)
Because less than 24 hours later, another far right winger used a gun. No one in the audience knew that was going to happen. But Trump and the reactionary right are trapped by their own hate filled and openly racist rhetoric. The mobs at Trump rallies are there for the race baiting. They eat it up. They yell “shoot them”, and Trump has openly incited violence,and been celebrated for it by his fans. The audience go it. And I’m quite sure most of them remembered it the next day when they watched the horror unfold.
Maher? You mean the preening self righteous twit that shows up once in a while on HBO and spews straw men like a sperm whale spews air through his blow hole after a particularly deep dive? That Bill Maher? The man who has more to damage civil discourse in this country than anyone else? Why would you even bother?
We need to stop trying to place every mass shooter into a blame box. Stop trying to place the blame on someone or some policy that you disagree with. Place the blame on the shooter and demand swift punishment.
If the mass shooter is caught with no doubt about their identity then return to medieval times: Publicly quarter them with four teams of mules pulling each limb to four points of the compass. You can do it if you just open your mind to truth.
It was an opportunity for him to show off how fast he could think on his feet. I'm sure his comment didn't push anyone 'over the edge'.
And 24 hours after that a far leftist did too. Are you suggesting someone had prior knowledge, or are you just marveling at the coincidence?
Actually, the person who made the comment, was inciting a reaction, nothing more. After all, everyone who doesn't think like the left, is apparently a murderer in the making. This drivel is rather sad, that intelligent people have let themselves be conned into the idea that an inanimate object, can actually fire itself, and that the person holding it is not the responsible party.
He can be, but he's nowhere near the worst of them. Indeed often he can be the voice of reason on his panel and he kind of fence sits on political correctness, which I can't say for pretty much anyone on late night talk shows these days. He is a mixed bag.
These last two shooting incidents happened at the peak of political infighting and the rhetoric coming from both sides is way out of line. If what the left is saying publicly is what they truly believe then this country is in more trouble than I ever thought. If it is just politics then the Democrat Party is in more trouble than I imagined.
In no way did him saying that validate anything. People say stupid things every day. And as a decent moderator, he should be a calming influence, not inciting violence.
I thought I made my meaning clear. I was marveling at the coincidence. It says a lot about the current state of affairs. Trump made a fool of himself again yesterday, calling Dayton Toledo (and no, it was not a telepromptor error). We’re all waiting for the next Trump rally. All the old reliable rants and chants define him now, but his audience expects more of the same.
Maher is an MC on a cable show and hardly does his show lead to violence, I will admit his show does induce sleep...
