Bill Maher
Bill Maher is performing as a “comedian” to entertain audiences at Colonials Weekend, a weekend that is meant to showcase our university to parents and “is an ideal opportunity for the GW community to celebrate together” according to the Colonials Weekend website.
So here is a question for President Knapp and other university administrators: Why is someone who is hateful towards people of faith being paid to entertain families on a campus that celebrates diversity? And how are people of faith supposed to “celebrate together” when someone critical of their beliefs is headlining the weekend? Senior Vice Provost Robert Chernak thinks that “Maher will fit right in with the engaged nature of our campus and community.” Really? Does the nature of our campus and community include profane narrow-mindedness against people of faith?
This University does a lot to make it appear that it is for diversity. It supports a Multicultural Students Association to promote diversity, a LGBT Resource Center to promote diversity, gender-specific swim hours to promote diversity. So why does the University not promote diversity when it comes to religion, as is evident by bringing someone who openly bashes religion to represent our campus to our parents? It appears that for this weekend the administration has had no problem putting diversity aside.
Would the University still invite Maher if he were to disparage homosexuals or African-Americans, groups which the administration says it supports?
Don’t worry, Maher did that too. On his show, he said “I thought when we elected a black president; we were going to get a black president…you know, where he lifts up his shirt so you can see the gun in his pants. ‘We’ve got a motherf***ing problem here’,” insinuating that Obama should act like a gang-banger just because he was black.
Is that the type of diversity the GW wants to promote? “Diversity” that thinks of African-Americans as thugs? “Diversity” that thinks the name Mohammed is alarming? “Diversity” that insinuates that people of faith have neurological disorders?
Bill Maher is a hate-filled individual who goes against every “commitment to diversity” the university claims to support. It is clear that Steven Knapp and GW administrators are committed to diversity to lure students into paying to come to GW, but don’t actually care about diversity or about all students being represented. They are fine spending money on “Multicultural Services” but then bring someone like Bill Maher to speak who is an makes insensitive and hateful comments about religion.
In inviting Maher to speak, they have excluded any student from Colonials Weekend who finds his inflammatory comments unacceptable (which should be anyone who values diversity). If university administrators appreciated diversity, they would bring a real comedian, not someone who makes money by disparaging religious groups.
Any student who believes in the diversity of ideas should not support bringing and paying Bill Maher, someone who has openly and adamantly demonstrated a blatant disregard of views different from his own. And in the future, we should expect more from our administration in inviting speakers who stand for the ideals of this university.
You’re right. Bill Maher was a poor choice because he’s bitter, divisive, and spiteful (and not a real comedian). But isn’t it at least somewhat funny that someone from the GW Patriot (a publication that is only popular because it toes that line) is so easily offended by what is at least a somewhat funny joke?
I’m not defending Maher, but I will say that your offense to his joke about a gang-banger is petty and just trying to score points in this argument. As a person of faith, I completely disregard 99% of what Bill Maher says because I know where he stands on people like me. But, there’s no use being offended at everything people say and letting the hate-filled speech get re-printed and make news again (ie this opinion article).
Just let people like him go on and be crazy. But the university should feel more than welcome to choose anyone as a speaker, regardless of their past, to potentially bring in a different (and perhaps unwanted by many) perspective. If people don’t appreciate it, they won’t go and the university will know it was a failure.
Finally something worthwhile coming out of the Patriot this year.
I think it is also very telling that the University could hardly sell out the one show this year where as in previous years there has always been two shows and at least one if not both sold out.
Please, it’s not like this is a one way thing. It’s not like Athiests critisize people’s beliefs for no reason. It’s when laws are made based on people’s faiths, or those in power to make a particular faith the basis for their choices.
Let’s look at what he said. ‘People of faith have ‘neurological disorders’.’ Well maybe I wouldn’t go that far, but they believe in things which don’t go into the rational bounds of science.
‘He is “alarmed” over the popularity of the name “Mohammed” in the UK’ – Again, this could be as much of a comment of the lax immigration laws in the UK, which has meant that the UK has lost a lot of its culture to foreign influences.
‘He has said the Pope was a Nazi’- Well the pope was part of the Hitler youth. Whether it was voluntary or not, that’s still a fact.
‘there is a name for people “who hate charity and love killing – Christians’ – I don’t know what the context of this was, but while Christians don’t ‘love killing’ they’ve been as guilty as any religion of mass genocide based on their beliefs – the crusades anyone?
As the other commenter Chris said, for a publication that pushes the envelope with its humor, to get upset at a joke made a comedian seems a bit odd. And what happened to the ‘freedom of speech’ that is so important? And when have YAF ever cared about the threat to on campus diversity?
Hugo, the quotes above from Maher were not jokes. They weren’t taken out of context, nor from a comedy tour. Those comments truly express the way that guy feels about religious people and other minorities; if you agree with him on those comment, thats a different story.
Also, can you please tell me of an event that YAF has held that somehow shows that the organization is against diversity?
Much of what he does is an on-stage/performance character, anything said on any of his shows or in performance can’t be attributed to his personal beliefs, whether a joke or not. He has to be extreme to be popular.
When has YAF ever made diversity a priority, except for this one case when it suits their political agenda?
YAF disapproves of prejudiced policies promoted by this university which favor certain individuals over others purely on the grounds of race. It is the biggest proponent of diversity on campus. If YAF’s “political agenda” is equality, then everyone should be supportive of the organization.
Ann coulter was here for an event sponsored by YAF last year, correct? She made a LGBT youth cry, and has said jews are imperfect christians.
Also, the article would be ten times more respectable if the author announced his positions in CR and YAF before writing.
Google search, dumbass.
I didn’t cry (ask those who were sitting with me, it’s true). However, for someone with a JD, the fact that Ann Coulter can legitimately believe that de jure discrimination in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment still astounds me. It says a lot about YAF that they regard a woman highly who has said the following:
“The Census Bureau recently estimated that whites already account for less than two-thirds of the population and will be a minority by 2050. Other estimates put that day much sooner. One may assume the new majority will not be such compassionate overlords as the white majority has been.”
“I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate, John Edwards, but it turns out that you have to go into rehab if you use the word ‘faggot,’ so I’m – so, kind of at an impasse, can’t really talk about Edwards, so I think I’ll just conclude here and take your questions.”
“Being a Christian means that I am called upon to do battle against lies, injustice, cruelty, hypocrisy — you know, all the virtues in the church of liberalism.”
Sorry, but I’d take a comedian I don’t even find funny (even though I agree with him on a lot of things) over that nutjob.
My parents are not coming because this guy sucks. I agree bring a real comedian that will appeal to all audiences.
Quite frankly, as a person of faith, I feel bad for Bill Maher. He’s got money, popularity, a lifestyle he likes, and yet he’s still angry. We really can’t do anything about him now, so I say we just let him shout himself hoarse at the rain. He’s not going to change anyone’s mind, and once the university sees they’ve come up short compared to previous years, they’ll start bringing people who appeal to the student body.
“gender-specific swim hours to promote diversity.”
This confused me.
“Also, can you please tell me of an event that YAF has held that somehow shows that the organization is against diversity?”
You are kidding, right? We could start with the “Anti-Affirmative Action” Bake Sale, and go from there.
Jake, since when is opposing special treatment based on race anti- diversity?
Also, it sounds like you are saying that minorities can’t get into colleges without special treatment… Shame!
The message portrayed by the anti-affirmative action bake sale was far more than simply about affirmative action. It made its own value judgements that were hugely insulting to a variety of racial groups. To argue that Native Americans, for example, have the most advantage from affirmative action is COMPLETELY absurd. I could also point out the gross injustices which continue to affect American Indians, African Americans, and Asian Americans, injustices which YAF seems to find irrelevant to a discussion of equality. Equality does not only mean treating
Jake –
While your opinion is to be respected, it is just simply ignoring the most basic foundational FACT of what affirmative action is. It is prioritizing a natural factor (in this case, race) of admission over the academic strength and personal skill for admission into an institution. The Young America’s Foundation put on a simple protest by linking the bake sale which, prioritized race for bake sale prices, to affirmative action. Please show me a piece of fact that says that there was anything but a foundational factual relationship between the two. We can have an argument about Affirmative Action and how it is not the correct way to solve the problems it tries to and how it in fact holds society back from progress, but this article, as far as I and most others are concerned, is about how GWU hosted a blatantly offensive commedian who guises himself as a politicla commentator (and a poor one at that).
to be fair, the last Pope was a Nazi….Hitler Youth to be exact. And Bill Maher is absolutely amazing!!!
Lets be clear, just because every young german was forced to be part of hitler youth does not make the pope a nazi, nor does the pope agree with the ideals of the nazi party. and Bill maher may be “absolutely amazing”, but the way he hates on people is not cool.
I just want to know what gender specific swim hours has to do with diversity.
Well, if you are catering to someones religion by allowing them to have swim hours, you are celebrating diversity. this as opposed to saying screw you and telling them they can swim with everyone else and if they don’t like it to go away. so catering to the minority is what celebrating diversity is about.
Bill Maher’s vitriol would be much easier to accept if he was funny. Since he is not, he comes across as a a hateful, divisive loser.
mr. wassman,
If gw invites ppl like ann coulter to campus, they are right to invite bill maher. you hate him because he’s liberal and you’re conservative (i hope, or im gonna look really stupid), i get it. Just dont waste paper publishing one-sided crap like this when you know that you’re being disingenuous. (not sure if i spelled that right) You had NOTHING positive to say in your article about bill but somehow managed to find some redeeming qualities in the “well-spoken Connecticut native” Ann Coulter. Explain
Anonymous,
GW – does NOT – invite Ann Coulter. The Young America’s Foundation GW Chapter, invited, and paid for, Ann Coulter. The College Republicans invited, and paid for, Ann Coulter. The George Washington University as an entity, did not invite Ann Coulter, and i would be willing to bet will not invite her.
Get your facts strait. Lots of people don’t hate Bill Maher because he’s liberal. They hate him because he is boisterous and obnoxious and makes a mockery of religion, a institution that many of us hold dear.
But, then again, I guess we can’t complain seeing as the University, officially and directly, invited Ann Coulter to give a counterpoint or any conservative for that matter.
Oh wait.
get your spelling *straight
ted dooley sucks
Really all this article was trying to say is “Bill Maher is too liberal and doesn’t like conservatives and he shouldn’t have been invited because we are conservative.”
Diversity is also about hearing from people who think religion is crazy because the Bible says to kill your neighbor if he breaks the Sabbath. If that is intolerant to religious people, consider him the Pope of the Church of Atheism. Christianity is a religion that sends out missionaries to convert the heathens. That seems like anti-diversity behavior to me. (DOWN WITH GW CATHOLICS!!!)
Being anti-God is not the same as being anti-Gay. God, if he does exist, has developed thick enough skin by now to not care about what a comedian says in his act. And I am sure he didn’t hear him, because As Ricky Gervais said, “God must have been too busy giving AIDS to babies in Africa.”
The lesson is: Ricky Gervais coming in 2012!