Hat tip Daily Californian
As I have said before on this site, I am no fan of Bill Maher. I think he is an arrogant jerk. He has said many things that I find offensive and that have offended my values. However, I have never disputed his right to say them-in any venue.
In the wake of his dust up with actor Ben Affleck on the topic of Islam, an uproar has ensued. That uproar has gathered new steam at UC Berkeley, where Maher had been invited by a student club called the Californians to give the upcoming December commencement speech. Of course, it didn't take the club long to buckle under to campus pressure by Muslim groups and rescind the invitation. That would have been the sad end to the question of free speech at the school that is congratulating itself on the 50th anniversary of the Free Speech movement, but for the intercession of the normally cautious chancellor, Nicholas Dirks. He said, "No dice." Dirks says the invitation stands and Maher will give the commencement address no matter how controversial his views may be. That has unleashed a new firestorm as evidenced by the reader comment thread in the school newspaper, The Daily Californian. Even at this bastion of political correctness, there is a spirited debate going on in the student body, and it seems that the Maher supporters are carrying the day against a very vocal minority. Even yours truly has jumped into the thread
At this point, Maher says that he will go to Berkeley and speak. I hope he sticks to his guns on that. The issue is now much bigger that Bill Maher, the second rate comedian. It is about whether free speech really exists in academia. To date, Maher, in spite of his obnoxiousness, has shown courage in speaking out on Islam. He never risked anything but his fan base when he was insulting Christians and our military. This is different. Now he has put his life on the line. I hope he will continue to follow through on this courage and go to Berkeley.
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5 comments:
Oh, he should definitely go. Never let the chattering classes exercise a veto.
Be interesting to see if Maher has the huevos to show up if it holds together and no one caves. Any chance of a beheading here??
Is that a threat, elwood?
Reactionary son of a proud union member, trampling on his heritage and the good fortune conferred on him by the labor movement, threatens to behead iconoclastic media personality under cover of BDS denunciation.
Are you a fan of How To Get Away With Murder?
(Note: This is sarcasm. I don't really believe elwood is capable of beheading anyone. But he left himself wide open for this one.)
Siarlys--I meant by the Muslims, as is being done constantly elsewhere, which was quite obvious, as you should have recognized and probably did. As a result, and as usual, your sarcasm is wasted.
Your thoughts were muddled elwood, even taken into consideration what you probably meant.
Ever read a Chicago alderman's comment on unfavorable coverage of Mayor Richard J. Daley? "It was a damn bad job of reporting. They should have reported what the mayor meant, not what he said."
(Source: by Mike Royko.)
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