Day of the Lemur, 32nd of Spring, 525 M.E. (Castor): Let's talk about Bill Maher.

I know, I know - I don't want to either. I think we can all agree that he's a smug, self-righteous, and often unfunny comedian who fancies himself a shrewd pundit and insightful social commenter. I  used to find him humorous and I used to agree with his points of view more often than not. I've followed his television shows, from Politically Incorrect to Real Time, with some interest, and there was once a time when even if I didn't agree with all of his or his guests' opinions, at least it was interesting. The fact that his show was being aired live and unedited gave it all a sort of aerial-trapeze excitement that anything could go wrong at any time, such as when he used the notorious n-word in reference to himself back in 2017. Or the next week when he lost patience after apologizing for his slur on air to Michael Eric Dyson and Dyson didn't immediately let him off the hook and continued to hold him accountable.

I generally agreed with his views on religion but felt his take on Islam in particular and Islamic people in general veered more often than not toward outright Islamophobia. Bill needs to understand that sympathy for the plight of the Palestinian people is not the same as an open endorsement of Hamas, just as criticism of Israel is not by definition antisemitism. 

But my falling out with Bill and his show occurred during the 2020 covid crisis. The lockdown made it hard for performers to make a living, from actors to musicians to stand-up comics, and Bill clearly and vocally resented not being able to perform in front of a live audience during the crisis and took his frustration out on the television audience. It's been said that if understanding an issue interferes with your livelihood, you probably won't be able to understand the issue (think tobacco farmers and lung cancer). The covid lockdown interfered with Bill's show and Bill didn't like it, not one little bit, and couldn't get himself to an understanding of the rationale behind social distancing and mask wearing.

"I was in traffic one day and saw someone all alone in the next car wearing a mask," he once said (I'm paraphrasing, I don't have the transcript). "What does he think he's protecting himself from? Himself? I wanted to punch him in the face!" Bill, Bill, Bill - other people make their own risk/benefit decisions that may or may not be the same as yours, and you had no idea of whether that (probably hypothetical) person in the next car had some sort of autoimmune issue, or was getting in and out of his car all day and after a while just left the mask on, or anything about him at all, other than he reminded you of the problem you and millions of other people were facing. And the anger! "I wanted to punch him in the face!" Intolerant, much?

But even though I disagreed with him, strongly, on Palestine and on the covid response, I could still watch the show. I can tolerate hearing points of view I may not agree on, especially when expressed with some degree of entertainment and humor. But last week, Bill crossed a new line when he described his visit to the Trump White House with his friend Kid Rock. He gushed on and on about how attentive and polite Trump was to him in person, not at all unlike the public persona he expected. Trump laughed at his jokes! He played along with some of his pranks! 

Bill, a conman knows how to turn on the charm when it serves his purpose. Witness Obama laughing and acting all chummy when seated next to him at Jimmy Carter's funeral. At least Obama didn't hold a press conference gushing about what a charming guy Trump really is. The Orange One wanted a positive review from an allegedly left-leaning platform and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker, legitimizing a fascist who's taking apart our government, destroying the economy, stomping all over civil liberties, and empowering white nationalism and racism.  

Maher's "book report" on his White House trip was a disgusting spectacle made even worse when it ended with him calling Steve Bannon on stage for an interview. He did try to hold Bannon accountable to the constitution, I'll grant him that, but the overall effect was to legitimize the views of a man fresh out of prison and looking for a route back into the mainstream public discourse. 

Then, the cherry on top of the sundae, Bill got upset with one of his panel guests who dared to correct something Maher had said. He spent much of the rest of the show trying to ignore that panelist, sarcastically saying disparaging things to him like "okay, give me another lecture" when he finally inserted himself back into the conversation, and calling him a "failed talk-show panelist" or something like that (again, I'm paraphrasing without a transcript) to his face. Bill may have been aware that he just flushed his credibility and his career down the toilet with his "book report" and Bannon interview and was feeling a little cranky, but he came off like a blowhard and a bully with his treatment of his own panelist. It's telling that Maher was more solicitous of a far-right, antigovernment extremist than a left-leaning author and panelist.  

It time - probably long past time - for HBO to find another, younger host for its weekly talk show. Al Franken can be pretty funny and I understand he's available (he and Bill had their own little dust-up on the show a few months back). Maybe move John Oliver over from his Sunday-night show? Raid one of the many talented hosts from The Daily Show? 

I don't know about you, but I'd much rather watch Real Time with Samantha Bee than any more of Maher.