The University of California, Berkeley, has decided to allow TV personality Bill Maher to speak at a December commencement despite protests from people who accuse him of having bigoted, anti-Muslim views.Bill Maher, one of the most far left people out there, doesn't celebrate diversity enough on one issue and hence doesn't pass the Berkeley Purity Test!
In a statement Wednesday, the school administration said it doesn't necessarily endorse Maher's views but he has the right to express them and the invitation stands.
For equal time, maybe for the Spring graduation they can have an ISIS representative speak. Non-white and fighting "the Man", I'm sure that speaker will be a big hit on campus. Would the women, would the homosexuals, would the non-Muslims, would the anti-sex-trade-trafficking people protest? I'd guess not, not at Berkeley.
It must be tough to be a liberal sometimes--at least it would be for anyone who values consistency and logic in thought.
I'd lay odds that some people will scream him down to the point that he won't be able to get a word in. It's not uncommon at Cal (and it's shameful).
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago I went to one session of the FSM 50th anniversary deal at Cal--a panel discussion of free speech rights on campus. I wanted to hear Greg Lukianoff of FIRE speak. I took my 14yo, and did she get an education in Berkeley politics! It was really something. I think Lukianoff was just stunned to hear people talking about the 'heckler's veto' with approval.
I'm glad UCB did the right thing, and is keeping the invite open. He's a good catch. One thing, though -- Bill is an atheist, and regularly makes fun of all religions. And despite the fact that he famously gave the Obama campaign $1,000,000 dollars … he's really more Libertarian than liberal. Left leaning? Yes -- but primarily because he finds Conservative positions on social issues to be horrible.
ReplyDeleteSo -- the students protesting were not 'lefties' per se … some of them were, but this was primarily done by Muslim students upset by recent comments he made on his show. When I think Muslim, 'leftie' is not the word that first comes to mind. Religious conservative does. And others. But not liberal--just look at the common practices in Islamic nation toward women, for example. The comment that enraged these people? I don't have the quote, but basically he said that Islam was the only religion whose followers would kill you for making a joke about or drawing a picture of their God. What part of that isn't true? Even Obama believes that's true, since that's what he and Hillary blamed the Benghazi attacks on ...
Max, if you expand you definition of "lefties" from people waving copies of Mao's little, red book to people who think authoritarianism is a great solution to the problem of people who don't agree with them the problem goes away.
ReplyDeleteThat's the thing, though, Allen … liberals in our country tend to believe that government should not constrain personal freedoms (which I believe to be true,) and ALSO that government should control industry and our financial lives, which I don't believe in. Those most driven by religion? Tend to be conservatives. (the exception, i would note …Jewish people are more likely to be liberal, for whatever reason). So unless we're going to expand our definition of liberal to be "whatever I disagree with" …I don't think you have a case here. Now, when liberal campuses try to stop conservative speakers … I would agree that that's hypocritical. But that's political competition …and conservatives do the same thing -- just look to Darren's rant against Angela Davis and communists speaking on campus. I find the position I take, to let anyone speak on campus and let the market decide, to be refreshing ...
ReplyDeleteJesus, max, can you get anything right?
ReplyDeleteMy "rant" against Angela Davis was in response to her being held up as an examplar on a university campus, not about her being allowed to speak at the university. I'd say there's a world of difference between those two positions.
And you left out Catholics as big-time leftie-voters, and they're the single largest religious voting bloc in America.
Really max? Because I can think of a number of freedoms lefties seem to have no problem with constraining. There's the First and Second Amendments. Then there's due process. I'm sure there are others but it's late and I'm tired so that'll have to do although it sure seems like a pretty expansive list to me.
ReplyDeleteAs for why we're inclined to the left one of the characteristics of the left is the assumption of various sorts of superiority - intellectual, moral, fashion sense - and we're told we're God's chosen people. Try to wrangle "humble" out of that presumption.
Not easy I can tell you which is why we can admire the sentiment embodied in the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence while looking down our noses at all you goyyim.
Fortunately it's a fairly toothless conceit as evidenced by the treatment of minorities in the nation where we are in the majority.
Anyway, late. Tired. Gotta crash. More tomorrow.
Okay, Darren, we can toss in Catholics, as well. But that tends to be true in larger cities states, and they still hold conservative religious positions … concerning abortion, for example. They may vote liberal, but there church doctrine doesn't suggest it. I got your point with Angela Davis, but unfortunately you let your take fall into the idea of killing communists. I can not like Angela Davis' philosophy, and I don't agree with it, but I wouldn't want to kill her for it, and I have no problem letting a communist speak on campus, or being celebrated. Clearly you do, which is fine. I think the best way to discredit communists is to let them speak …
ReplyDeleteNot too subtle. Fairly nuts, though. I don't wish death on anyone who is not going to harm me, and American communists are not that group. Now, if they start actively harming others, and pose a threat? Sure. That why I'm all for fighting against radical Islam. American communists are not any sort of significant threat …and if you just look at the philosophy, it really isn't evil--just not fully thought out.
ReplyDelete