r/Maher • u/DonDaTraveller • Nov 25 '24
What is your opinion on how Bill handled the Nick Fuentes Question?
I think this might answer why there is so much hate in the sub. If you take religious extremism Bill's standards has always been the majority should hold a moral responsibility to condemn the extremist and their silence should be treated as endorsement of their actions. Does it feel like that standard was applied here?
Edit: Bill spends so much time taking about the woke mind virus and his dislike of religious extremism meanwhile an unironic Christo-Fascist is rallying young men to act the fool and we have literally clashes in the streets in cities like Boston and there is a tepid response at best. If you think the no name blue hair activist are a bigger issue we are definitely in decline as a nation.
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
I mean let’s not forget that “your body, my choice” is a direct threat that became a meme.
It’s dangerous to all women, and no one should be ok with the guy. He’s a horrible human being for many many reasons, not just this one.
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u/deskcord Nov 25 '24
If you think the no name blue hair activist are a bigger issue we are definitely in decline as a nation.
He doesn't. He thinks they're persuadable to stop acting like lunatics and scaring everyone off.
He's said this a dozen+ times, but progressives never hear it.
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u/protendious 29d ago
He amplifies the voices of Twitter activists on the left and gives them just as much airtime as he does complaining about the extremism on the right. Which even if he says they aren’t equivalent; he gives them both similar weight in how much he addresses each.
He doesn’t do a good enough job pointing out that the center of gravity of left wing extremism is a bunch of unknowns on Twitter whereas the center of gravity of right wing extremism is about to be in the White House and Congress.
Left wing extremism is woke tweets, and he whines about it as much as he does right wing politicians with actual power that have enabled Trump, and Trump himself. Even if he says these things are not the same. It’s enough for his little rants to go viral and the right to go “see? Even the liberal Maher thinks the left is crazy!!”
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u/ros375 Nov 26 '24
What are you referring to?? I didn't memorize the episode, so can you please clarify what you're saying/asking?
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u/Throwawayhelp111521 Nov 25 '24
I remember him saying Fuente's tweet was rapey. It was.
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u/DonDaTraveller Nov 25 '24
I also remember his entire essay on having a Sister Solider moment and calling out extremist. We literally have brawls in Boston over this creepy joy some conservative men feel over thinking now they have some control over women. So I will ask you again clear and simple does that response match the position he held for years?
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u/Throwawayhelp111521 Nov 25 '24
I had no idea what you were talking about. Nick Fuentes came up briefly during Overtime. Next time, you need to set up your question better, tell people exactly what you are referring to and preferably, include a clip.
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Nov 25 '24
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u/Throwawayhelp111521 Nov 26 '24
There are many current events that can be discussed. The question came up on Overtime. Bill answered it and asked the opinion of the other guests.
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u/dam_sharks_mother Porsche Nov 25 '24
I've read and re-read your post three times and I have absolutely no idea what you are trying to say.
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
I elaborated on it up above.
She is saying that he doesn’t call out the worst of the right on a regular basis and instead acts as though ranting about the woke for 4 years straight is somehow as bad as actual very real violence. Where she lives, there’s very real violence and celebration over women losing their rights (and we are and it’s not up for debate) and yet Bill considers words and a bunch of college kids protesting to be the major issue.
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u/AckCK2020 Nov 25 '24
Your values should not change just because a candidate you did not vote for won the election. Anyone telling you differently should be re-assessed using those same values.
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u/Tall_Dragonfruit_367 26d ago
I don't understand how anyone is still unclear as to the fact that Bill Maher is a republican, and has been for nigh eight years now. It's maddening because this idiot just won't go away, even though no one likes him and he has nothing of value to add to anything, is beyond insufferable and the very definition of an unlikable person, and I don't know what's up with HBO that they are still platforming this guy.
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u/DonDaTraveller 26d ago
I strongly disagree, and I think DarkMater2525 did an amazing video recently called "Why I stopped being Anti-Woke?" that covers this well. The issue is that people like Maher are victims of the bad rhetoric about the left. I think most online personalities know they are wrong about the Democrats and liberals but they are two invested in the grift but Maher seems to be genuinely confused.
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Nov 25 '24
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
Men who have a political show and discuss current events should say that Fuentes is a vile human, because he is. It’s not all that hard to say that you think a Nazi who thinks rape is funny and threatens women is a piece of shit.
Because he has a platform and they literally spend the show talking about these things.
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u/Simple-Freedom4670 Nov 25 '24
Absolutely but I don’t remember Fuentes as a relevant piece of conversation, which part was it so I can rewatch?
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Nov 25 '24
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
Cute. The dude is a well known right wing moron who is influencing countless young men across the country, regardless of if he has a proper job.
I’m not some idiot, and if he is going to be brought up on a political show, he should be denounced, end of story. And they’ve talked about him before on the show, because he was doing insane stuff at CPAC and has had private meetings with Trump.
All people in politics want attention, or have you not been paying attention? Doesn’t matter who they are or what side they are on, it’s a universal truth. Further, the Dems really really lost the younger male vote, in part because of people like Fuentes, so it is actually relevant regardless of what you personally believe. It’s not my fault you’re unaware, and because bill’s audience consists of mostly older folks, it would be worth while to discuss who these people are because a fair amount of people are parents, utterly unaware of what media their kids are consuming. A heads up might be worth while.
But you can continue to talk to me like I’m utterly clueless, I don’t really care. I have sound reasoning for my opinions and you are free to think whatever you want. It’d be cool though if you didn’t talk to me like I am some ignorant buffoon, because I’m not and it’s getting really exhausting having everyone here act as though anyone with a different perspective has to be a mouth breather.
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u/Brilliant_Banana_Sme Nov 27 '24
As a young man - Dems did not lose the younger male vote because of people like Fuentes. That's absolutely ridiculous. Dems lost the younger male vote because the Democratic party stopped addressing problems that men face and centered it's message entirely on women, seemingly (to younger men) to the exclusion of men. Men suffer longer prison sentences for the exact same crimes, men suffer more suicides and social isolation, men have historically been forced to fight and die in the millions while women sit at home. I know you feel like in America it's really the women who have it worse but you're wrong. The problems are different. The floor is far lower for men, in that when a man reaches rock bottom, he has FAR less resources available to him then a woman will in any city. Men can be (and often are today) falsely accused of SA which ruins their ability to hold a job and isolates them socially.
I don't know if you recognize any of that or not. Maybe you do. But your (perceived) attitude and (perceived) blindness to issues with men are a reflection of the same in the Democratic party. And that is the reason Dems have lost the young male vote. We all see it. Fuentes is a fucking joke and a sexist scumbag. He is weak and no large number of young men admire him.
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u/shesarevolution 27d ago
I didn’t say that the Dems lost because of Fuentes. I said that he is influential with a group of men. Those men are men who were part of the alt-right movement, as well as others who were going to vote for trump regardless. I did say that Fuentes is dangerous because he is a legit Nazi who let’s not forget, has met with Trump several times.
I actually do know why Dems lost, and sure, younger men have gotten a taste of what it’s like to be forgotten about. As a woman, I have empathy for that, but as far as the movement goes “menninsts” want to take all the gains women have made away from us. I’m on their boards, I started following that shit in 2010 because I knew it would gain traction. It is also part of why there is such a large movement pushing being a trad wife. You can tell me I’m clueless, but I’m not. I’m a woman who is single in 2024 and I’m not Gen z but I’m not a boomer. I encounter more men who say these talking points than not. Which means that it is now a part of wider culture.
Seems to me that all of us are mad about the same things, and our political system refuses to address it. There are many reasons why this is. But it is not men who are the enemy, nor women. It is the extremely wealthy who pay next to nothing, while the rest of us can barely survive, and instead of taking it out on the wealthy/corporations/bought politicians, we instead take it out on each other. As a society, we are all mostly terminally online. And any political discourse that happens online is without fail, going to turn toxic. I would go into why everything online is a nightmare, but I don’t feel like writing an essay.
Yes, the dem party has a smug problem. Yes, the people at the top are clueless and out of touch. If you tell people that inflation has gone down, and prices stay the same while wages are still behind, and have been since the 70’s, you are basically denying the reality of the majority of the country. By ignoring that, and then telling people that they have no clue, people automatically stop listening. It’s not rocket science as to what is going on, and why Dems lost.
The thing is, it’s hard as a person who does have a good grasp on how government works, to see people vote based on the economy (which is how it always is) but not realize that Trump’s economic plan will actually crash both our economy and the global economy. And I don’t smugly tell Trump voters when i speak to them in person, how fucked they are going to be. People will find out on their own, hearing that message from a Dem gets all of us nowhere.
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Nov 25 '24
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
That’s actually not at all what I’ve been saying so maybe you should actually take a moment to read and see what I’m actually saying. Yeah I write a lot because I have thoughts. You are free to ignore it.
So since you mentioned a bunch of things, let me actually reiterate what I said, as opposed to what you decided I said. 1. Nope, I at no point said that I’m smarter than everyone here. I have defended my positions and pointed out how this group is often against anyone who has criticism. 2. I said that most men can’t understand what it is like to be a woman in regards to how women are treated as a whole. I’ve stated that women are being threatened and we are losing our rights. I have said that the vast majority of men do not care about women experiencing these things which is true and that there is a movement that is very vocal that denies women being actual people. I don’t think that you can tell me what I experience and how my experiences have been treated by men who do not know me but sit here and argue and talk over me. 3. I said that punching down on trans folks is not a good look and that’s what happens on the show. At no point have I said that trans people should not be talked about. 4. I don’t know wtf you are talking to in regards to buzz words, and again, your comment about that assumes that I have no points because I used words you don’t like. I am happy to respond to what buzzwords I used and elaborate. 5. I’m sorry but your responses have been condescending towards me and I’m supposed to what, shut up and smile? No. I’m not going to be nice when I’m being spoken to as though I know nothing. And again, you don’t know my continued experience in this sub, so I don’t think you can tell me anything. Look at how the OP was treated for having a different opinion.
Finally, you had nothing to say in regards to the actual topic and my response, instead you decided to tell me I’m some asshole, because you read my comments in that way. The topic was Fuentes and my response is thought out, and I actually have valid points. But why respond to those when you can tell me my views and what I have said. I mean that might require you to actually form a response based on WHAT I HAVE SAID instead of attacking me as a person. I’m not being smug, I’m stating and defending my positions, which is how debate works. 🤷🏻♀️
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u/DonDaTraveller Nov 25 '24
I will hold your hand through it. I am kinda tired of liberals giving the right free passes. Bill Maher is an anti-religious persona and he can't see the concern about Catholics Extremist dropping the pretense of saving babies and celebrating control over women. I am starting to dislike Bill because it starts to feel like if we are not talking about an establishment Dem or a no name blue hair activist it is not a big deal. We literally have clashes between people in streets over religious extremism celebrating end of women's Healthcare. Whatever I am kinda done. I have my bag and I married. I need to go by Carlin arc and just enjoy the circus.
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Nov 25 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/hankjmoody Nov 25 '24
We have one rule in here regarding comments: Don't be dicks to each other.
Comment removed.
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u/MisterFromage Nov 25 '24
I have no idea what you’re trying to say. I’m not sure you do either.
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
She’s saying that bill is a hypocrite for not calling out how fucked up the right wing are. He uses women being oppressed in Afghanistan as a talking point but he doesn’t say anything about how women are losing rights here and that the right wing has become radicalized. He shrugs and is like, yeah Trump is bad. Nothing more than that. He’s spent 4 years now whining about cancel culture and wokeness when the vast majority of people in their daily lives don’t care.
If he is going to continue to criticize the Dems, as if everyone is woke and the far left (which is disingenuous at best) then maybe he should also talk about how the far right are dangerous. Seeing as he’s a “democrat” and all.
Bill’s audience here are absolutely unaware of the very real threats going on for women. It’s not just abortion rights. There is a whole ass movement that has gotten very large and vocal, who don’t see women as people.
Fuentes is a literal Nazi, and he said “your body, my choice.” Which was then repeated everywhere, especially with the younger right wing men. You might think that doesn’t mean anything, but it does. It normalizes rape, and the trump cabinet picks are more often than not, men with charges against them or men who paid women they assaulted off.
All of that makes threatening women permissible, and you can say it doesn’t but you and the majority of the people in this sub are not women, so how would you even know? Do you think the women around you all tell you every time some guy says something out of line, or touches them without consent, or assaults them?
Because I can assure all of the men in here that they aren’t being told everything, and mostly they really don’t care.
You would think too, with bill having a shit fit over Palestine every episode, he might just treat an actual Nazi as someone who is no different than Hamas. And yet, here we are.
It’s not all that hard to understand, and I know my reply here is just going to have a bunch of men telling me I know nothing and I’m “looking for something to be upset about” but none of you have been raped, none of you have to worry about your safety like women do.
And instead of hearing her out, you all just insulted her, because that’s the level of discourse we can expect from this sub.
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u/AckCK2020 Nov 25 '24
I’ve been watching Bill back off of Trump and MAGA for way over a year now. It’s clear that fear of retribution has caused him to drastically tone down his rhetoric. When is the last time he called Trump a “whiny little bitch?” It’s been quite some time. I am sympathetic. Anyone would be afraid and all prominent Trump critics now are. But, the way in which he has been handling it is not something to be proud of. You can tone down criticism without providing a forum for people who are trying to overthrow our government.
Claiming to be progressive, positive and anti-polarization, Bill has been having as guests MAGA surrogates, so that “both sides can start talking again.” Kellyanne Conway & Company have been allowed to rant lies for minutes with only the most occasional fact-correction. I do not recall seeing Bill ever advise viewers that this ranting is a debate tactic used repeatedly by Trumpists to prevent most of their lies from being rebutted within the time allowed.
He has also extremely mellowed in his handling of civil rights issues and the protection of women. I tried to watch the final issue of the season but had to tune it out due to his continuing negativity about the campaign and failure to consider the import of the underlying cultural issues.
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u/MisterFromage Nov 25 '24
I think you and perhaps the OP just hears what they want to hear because I hear Bill calling out republicans in every single real time and club random about all of these things and more. Every single time.
and him calling out the dems is GREAT! Because they have their own bullshit, which he always says is no where near as bad the right and that’s exactly why they can be rescued and can win elections if they get rid of the nonsense. In a competition, would you rather focus on your own shortcomings or your opponents who you actually believe has no hope anymore.
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
I don’t hear what I want to hear, and I think the very real threat of guys like Fuentes and others should be called out every time his name is mentioned.
I think again, it is rich for men to tell us women what we should be worried about. It’s not your ass that is going to be harmed. And dismissing what women on this sub have to say (which literally happens every time I comment, regardless of the fact that I actually say intelligent things) normalizes that it’s ok to treat us as though we are less than and that all of you certainly know more than we do, which is a joke.
I said nothing about the Dems. I spoke about wokeness which FYI is not a damn thing that the majority of Dems participate in. I’m active in the party, it’s not my personal opinion. 4 years of bitching about wokeness when there are very real problems in the world and in this country just shows he has no clue what most people are dealing with. And I’m sorry but I don’t particularly think being out of touch with regular people is some great thing.
The Dems should be called out for multiple things - being feckless, they don’t ever even try. They are god awful at messaging and they don’t define themselves, they react to what the batshit MAGA politicians say. It’s terrible politics. They have basically abandoned the working class and any of the more well known politicians who did stand up for us lost their races. They have completely misread the environment of the electorate over and over again, and they suffer from smug. The party leaders are wildly out of touch and the people they pay an insane amount of money to run things are also vastly out of touch.
All of that is worth criticizing. But shitting on trans folks every episode is not ok, it’s punching down. Continuing to use the handful of college kids who protested as a talking point is stale because it’s not like those protests are still going on, and anyone with a brain can see that Bibi has gone way too far. Bill tore apart the Bush administration, and this isn’t any different, seeing as we are the ones supplying Israel with weapons.
So no dude, I don’t see what I want to see. I’m not dumb, I’m not a shill for the party and I am a woman who has been assaulted multiple times and raped. And no, I wasn’t being reckless or careless in the slightest and even if I was, men continue to blame me whenever I dare to say that I’ve experienced the very things they don’t care about, because I am “looking for something to be angry about.” Then I hear that I’m damning all men, which I never say because I’m not.
It’d be great if what I had to say wasn’t immediately dismissed by people like you. Because you don’t know anything about me, but you assume you had me figured out. Maybe go through my comment history before you tell me what I think, yea?
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u/hughcruik Nov 25 '24
If you're waiting for Bill and god knows who else to call out people in the exact way and at the exact time you want them to then you're going to be angry a lot.
If you go through this subreddit and calculate all the things people are mad at Bill at for not "calling out" and demanding he do it he wouldn't have time for anything else. I have my own list but I don't get upset if Bill - or anyone - doesn't know what's on it.
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u/DonDaTraveller Nov 25 '24
So for 10 years we were worried about how far left activist had disregard for American values like open discussions and tolerance of different views points. Years from now those far left people are still a fringe group but the far rights had representation in senior GOP offices. A GOP governor pardoned a man who killed a white bystander at BLM protest because right wing media spread a false of narrative of self-defense. The public court documents showed from his text messages he planned a spree but panicked when he saw other armed individuals and fired first because he knew he was outgunned. There is no Democrat version. So when a fellow liberal doesn't rake someone like Fuentes thru the coals but has all the energy for no name blue haired activist yeah I am mad and I am gonna call out hypocrisy of how one side is expected to act vile and the other civil
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u/saintex422 Nov 25 '24
Why should bill not be held to his own standard?
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u/cherry_sundae88 Nov 25 '24
what do you think Bill’s standard is?
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u/saintex422 Nov 25 '24
That the moderates must condemn the extremists
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u/cherry_sundae88 Nov 25 '24
so he needs to spend the show saying every bad thing someone says on the internet is bad? what purpose does that serve? you do realize it’s only an hour show, right?
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u/saintex422 Nov 25 '24
It's his standard, not mine. That's what he demands all groups do.
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u/cherry_sundae88 Nov 25 '24
bill demands things? i must have missed that episode.
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u/saintex422 Nov 25 '24
You must be young
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u/cherry_sundae88 Nov 25 '24
haven’t missed an episode since 2001, so old enough to not take that bait.
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u/saintex422 Nov 25 '24
Wow thats the gayest thing ive ever heard. So you're just playing dumb.
Your claim is that he doesn't demand all Muslims speak out every time there's a terror attack. He's on video saying the opposite. Quite a bit.
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u/shesarevolution Nov 25 '24
Everyone is mad on the internet, and your response shows you are not exactly not bothered. The internet exists these days for outrage.
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u/Bottom-Toot Nov 25 '24
You haven't explained how he handled it
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u/horticulturality Nov 26 '24
Yeah there’s some weird astroturfing here - I recall Bill brought Fuentes up and called him a rapist. OP’s post is at best extremely poorly written, but more likely they have some kind of agenda. Waste of time on their part.
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u/Fishbone345 Nov 25 '24
That Christian Nationalist is a vile, vapid piece of shit. As is anyone that agrees with him. But, he isn’t the problem. The people that think like he does and maintain silence in order to hide, they are the problem. The authors of project 2025, the people now gaining seats on Trumps cabinet. This is happening, so if you are one of the ones saying it’s an overreaction, you can fuck right off and save yourself the trouble of responding to me. We won’t be gaslighted by anyone saying Trump has nothing to do with it. He is surrounded by its creators.