Questioner
Senior Member
- Nov 26, 2019
- 1,593
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- #1
Just as an example, in a recent skit, Bill Maher commented that some level of "shaming" is useful, claiming that people had been "shamed" out of things such as smoking, and racism.
This of course, isn't correct to begin with, and is arguably highly debatable in regards to serious or intellectual discussions on the topic (some if it may be predicated on archaic and childish notions such as "behaviorism" and other 19th century thought relics, but I'm not really sure that Maher is even on the level to know about or honestly discuss said subjects to begin with).
As an example, Bill Maher himself on at least one occasion smoked marijuana while on live TV (granted, he was in a country were it wasn't illegal) - regardless, he intentionally did this for "shock" value or humor, showing that exaggerated films and "scare tactics" like "Reefer Madness" didn't actually shame him, nor any of the other "kool kids" out of doing it, but in reality had the opposite effect, yet was now claiming the opposite in regards to "obesity", "smoking", "racism" and so forth.
The silly idea that people or anyone for that matter had been "shamed" out of racism to begin with is rather dishonest and anti-intellectual - in reality, I think that individuals such as MLK or Rosa Parks who devoted their entire lives to standing up to racism and discrimination deserve the credit to begin with.
This is why I'm honestly wondering if Bill Maher is just dumb, or if he really just doesn't have as much leeway or control over the childish and silly opinions he hocks; if he's anywhere close to the IQ average of 100, or slightly above that, I would think he would have had the self-awareness to know he was either lying in regards to the "shaming" argument and his own behavior, so this could've just been stupidity or lack of anything resembling common sense.
If not, then it makes me think that the corporate executives whom he serves were just paying him to say this thing one day, or that thing the next day, knowing that it would sell to those with the IQ profile of the average American who watches 34 hours of TV a week, lacking anything in the way of reading or better sources of information, factuality, and honesty than that.
This of course, isn't correct to begin with, and is arguably highly debatable in regards to serious or intellectual discussions on the topic (some if it may be predicated on archaic and childish notions such as "behaviorism" and other 19th century thought relics, but I'm not really sure that Maher is even on the level to know about or honestly discuss said subjects to begin with).
As an example, Bill Maher himself on at least one occasion smoked marijuana while on live TV (granted, he was in a country were it wasn't illegal) - regardless, he intentionally did this for "shock" value or humor, showing that exaggerated films and "scare tactics" like "Reefer Madness" didn't actually shame him, nor any of the other "kool kids" out of doing it, but in reality had the opposite effect, yet was now claiming the opposite in regards to "obesity", "smoking", "racism" and so forth.
The silly idea that people or anyone for that matter had been "shamed" out of racism to begin with is rather dishonest and anti-intellectual - in reality, I think that individuals such as MLK or Rosa Parks who devoted their entire lives to standing up to racism and discrimination deserve the credit to begin with.
This is why I'm honestly wondering if Bill Maher is just dumb, or if he really just doesn't have as much leeway or control over the childish and silly opinions he hocks; if he's anywhere close to the IQ average of 100, or slightly above that, I would think he would have had the self-awareness to know he was either lying in regards to the "shaming" argument and his own behavior, so this could've just been stupidity or lack of anything resembling common sense.
If not, then it makes me think that the corporate executives whom he serves were just paying him to say this thing one day, or that thing the next day, knowing that it would sell to those with the IQ profile of the average American who watches 34 hours of TV a week, lacking anything in the way of reading or better sources of information, factuality, and honesty than that.