What is this, Offensive Joke Month? First, Late Show host Stephen Colbert came under fire for calling Vladimir Putin Donald Trump's "c*ck holster." Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte made a rape joke, saying if his troops raped women during his martial law, he'd cover for them. Comedian Kathy Griffin did a photoshoot which featured a picture of her holding a bloodied doll head resembling President Trump. Then just last night, Real Time host Bill Maher engaged in the following back-and-forth with Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse:
Sasse: "We'd love to have you work in the fields with us."
Maher: "Work in the fields? Senator, I am a house n***a (-er?)."
As I've always said, when looking at the level of offensiveness of a joke, I try to analyze both the context and the intent. With Stephen Colbert's joke, the CBS late-night show host was ironically poking fun of two anti-LGBT politicians whom seem to have a serious bromance with one another, so I didn't consider it to be homophobic. The Philippines president's joke, like any rape joke, was in extremely poor taste, and he deserved the criticism he received for it. Kathy Griffin's photo, while stupid due to how ill-timed it was (it was in response to a 2-year-old quote), wasn't intended to pose as any kind of threat. It did, however, cry of desperation. As for Bill Maher's "joke," it was offensive, simply not funny, and may have been the final straw for the HBO host.
I'll probably receive some blowback from my liberal brethren for my opinion regarding the matter, but we can't continue criticizing right-wing figures for racist rhetoric while turning a blind eye to similar rhetoric from self-described progressives. If Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, or Ann Coulter made such a comment, I can all but guarantee you most of us would be offended and calling for their firing. Just because a person claims to be a liberal doesn't give him or her a get-out-of-a-racist-comment free card. We have to be seen as consistent so as not to be deemed hypocritical, and while I tend to enjoy most of Bill Maher's comedy and commentary, between his anti-Muslim rhetoric and now this, I think it's coming time for him to leave Real Time and find himself another outlet. Hopefully such a punishment would teach him a lesson from which he'd learn in order to improve himself in the future.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/06/03/bill-maher-racial-slur-real-time-ben-sasse/102453092/
Sasse: "We'd love to have you work in the fields with us."
Maher: "Work in the fields? Senator, I am a house n***a (-er?)."
As I've always said, when looking at the level of offensiveness of a joke, I try to analyze both the context and the intent. With Stephen Colbert's joke, the CBS late-night show host was ironically poking fun of two anti-LGBT politicians whom seem to have a serious bromance with one another, so I didn't consider it to be homophobic. The Philippines president's joke, like any rape joke, was in extremely poor taste, and he deserved the criticism he received for it. Kathy Griffin's photo, while stupid due to how ill-timed it was (it was in response to a 2-year-old quote), wasn't intended to pose as any kind of threat. It did, however, cry of desperation. As for Bill Maher's "joke," it was offensive, simply not funny, and may have been the final straw for the HBO host.
I'll probably receive some blowback from my liberal brethren for my opinion regarding the matter, but we can't continue criticizing right-wing figures for racist rhetoric while turning a blind eye to similar rhetoric from self-described progressives. If Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, or Ann Coulter made such a comment, I can all but guarantee you most of us would be offended and calling for their firing. Just because a person claims to be a liberal doesn't give him or her a get-out-of-a-racist-comment free card. We have to be seen as consistent so as not to be deemed hypocritical, and while I tend to enjoy most of Bill Maher's comedy and commentary, between his anti-Muslim rhetoric and now this, I think it's coming time for him to leave Real Time and find himself another outlet. Hopefully such a punishment would teach him a lesson from which he'd learn in order to improve himself in the future.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/06/03/bill-maher-racial-slur-real-time-ben-sasse/102453092/
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