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Bill Maher - "Please Stop Apologizing"

BaseballBoomhauer

BaseballBoomhauer

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/22/opinion/please-stop-apologizing.html?hp

I loathe Bill Maher because he spews hate, and I have no room in my heart or my intellect for people who would rather hate than rationally discuss issues with others' points of view in mind.

However, he's right here. Apologies, and demands for them, have gotten ridiculously out of hand. Have you ever felt better after a public apology? The only time I have is when someone rationally explained why they did what they did, why they thought it was right at the time and why they now felt it was wrong. I felt this way when Kanye West went on Letterman after he stormed the stage at the Grammys, and after Michael Richards did the same after his racist rant. I didn't think any better of either of them afterwards, but at least they obviously knew they fucked up and did some self reflection on it.

I've thought Rush Limbaugh said ridiculous and offensive things many times, but I've never cared about his apology. That's because, in my opinion, Rush Limbaugh is a piece of shit, and that's proven by his reluctance to own up to anything. Saying you were "misunderstood" or that you made an unfortunate choice of words, or that you were taken out of context is not an apology - it's a cop out. At least Bill Maher can be a piece of shit and take it for what it is.

Do people like the NAACP or Christian groups really feel any better after these apologies? I think it's great that these lobbies exist to make light of people saying insensitive things, because those things can perpetuate prejudice and stupidity, but I'd rather they make a case for why it was such a stupid thing to say instead of just demanding apologies.

Thoughts on this shit?
 
I avoid political coverage in the news and every talking head/pundit, regardless of political persuasion, like the plague. I have better ways to waste time. So the closest thing I can visualize myself in is when some assclown at work sends a snotty email and cc's every person in the org structure including my boss and all his bosses. If he's dead-wrong, I expect an apology sent to the exact same people saying as much.

But asking for an apology for something that wasn't directed at you personally is ridiculous. My ancestors were Irish immigrants who came to the US in the 1800's- they never owned a slave or shot a Chinese railroad worker. And I don't know a single black person who personally experienced slavery. An apology from me to them about that is as meaningful as a sack of wet mice. It is grounded in nothing.
 
94Deac said:
I avoid political coverage in the news and every talking head/pundit, regardless of political persuasion, like the plague. I have better ways to waste time. So the closest thing I can visualize myself in is when some assclown at work sends a snotty email and cc's every person in the org structure including my boss and all his bosses. If he's dead-wrong, I expect an apology sent to the exact same people saying as much.

But asking for an apology for something that wasn't directed at you personally is ridiculous. My ancestors were Irish immigrants who came to the US in the 1800's- they never owned a slave or shot a Chinese railroad worker. And I don't know a single black person who personally experienced slavery. An apology from me to them about that is as meaningful as a sack of wet mice. It is grounded in nothing.
Click to expand...

This made me laugh. And I agree. The people who demand apologies don't want an apology most of the time, they want outrage on their behalf.
 
a sack of wet mice? is that a normal metaphor that i've just never heard of or are you that random?
 
Great article. I love these two quotes in particular:

"When did we get it in our heads that we have the right to never hear anything we don’t like?"

"I don’t want to live in a country where no one ever says anything that offends anyone. That’s why we have Canada."
 
I never thought I would say this, but I kind of like Maher. I don't necessarily agree with his political beliefs, but I'll give him credit for being entertaining, and calling people on their shit.
 
I was thinking about apologies in general - not just public ones by public figures - the other day. It's kind of crazy how much weight we give them.
 
I think Maher is a hilarious comedian, and a mediocre talk show host. His monologue and the bit at the end called New Rules are the funniest parts of his show. He's got good writers and his smarmy and snarky delivery is funny. His guests are usually pretty good, but when he is hosting the roundtable I find him irritating a lot of the time.
 
The best Maher moment is when he had Hitchens "debate" Mos Def. It was pure destruction, Hitchens started calling Mos Def "Mr. Definitively." It amused me to no end.
 
Maher's op-ed might have carried a little more weight had he directly pointed out that Rush need not have apologized either. He skirts that issue the entire time.
 
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