Bill Maher sucks. Playboy liberalism sucks.
I don’t think there’d be any possible way for me to exaggerate about how much I hate Bill Maher. In fact, people I know often ask my opinion about him, pretending not to know, just in order to see me get all flustered and angry. For some reason I’ve of late received a few queries on what Bill Maher’s problem is, and on what the fuck is wrong with liberal dudes in general (can you believe someone had to ask my opinion on something?), so I figure the time has come for me to explain myself on this matter.
I’ll be the first person to bemoan the lack of liberal messages in media of all kinds, and I’ve had a few well-meaning (har har) associates point out a seeming contradiction between my complaining on that subject and my complaining about Maher and his ilk. They tell me I ought to lay off of liberal comedians and liberal talk show hosts because we have so few of them, and that it’s people like me that destroy the unity of the party.
As if I give a fuck about that. First, I’m not a Democrat. Democrats are namby-pamby pansy-wansy centrists these days, and I’m fairly radical in my political and social views. That doesn’t mean I’m for armed revolution or anything, just that my gradualism looks different from their gradualism, which has been moving to the right since about the late 1960s. Second, liberalism doesn’t allow for anything like the kind of “party unity” we see on the right. Liberalism’s foundation is the free exchange of competing ideas, not “party unity.” Know who was all about “party unity”? Hitler, Mussolini, Chiang Kai-shek, and Stalin. Party unity is the road to a dictatorship, and that’s why a liberal party won’t ever display the kind of unity you see in a conformist, jingoistic, right-wing outfit that simplifies every issue under the sun, no matter what its complexities, into a contest between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. If the Democrats get any more unified they’ll become Republicans. No thanks. Third, how liberal is Maher? I mean, yeah, he’s opposed to the Bush administration and its policies and spends half his show every week verbally licking Bill Clinton’s ass, but what does that mean other than that he agrees with, like, 80% of Americans and is impressed with a dude who is better at convincing women to get naked than he is? Finally, Bill Maher isn’t a comedian. He’s just some talentless asshole who gets paid to act like a smarmy tool on television. I’m not required to pretend that someone who is still telling Lewinsky jokes in 2008 is funny just because we both realize that starting a war in Iraq wasn’t a good idea.
My beef with Bill Maher isn’t limited to his shockingly stupid and derivative material. I’m also nauseated by his general attitude toward himself and toward other people. He’s clearly vainglorious to a degree that would make any rapper blush, and it couldn’t possibly be less warranted. He’s a short, unfunny half-wit who looks like Spuds Mackenzie with Dan Cortese’s hair. There aren’t a lot of grounds for arrogance there. (I mean, Spuds Mackenzie and Dan Cortese are cool, but Maher somehow finds a way to combine elements of two cool things to make something astoundingly uncool. Think of it like mixing BL Lime and Pinkberry.) I suppose he can be boastful about the fact that he’s got a show on HBO (whatever) and a large collection of sports coats, but Bob Costas can say the same thing and he’s not nearly as arrogant as Maher is.
His demeanor is so repulsive that I can hardly bear to watch his show at all, but when he starts interacting with other people it really comes out, especially if those other people happen to have vaginas. I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen Maher look straight through a female guest and dismiss what she’s had to say despite the fact that it was more insightful, informed, and interesting than anything he himself could have come up with. He makes no attempt whatsoever, when discussing women in the news, to disguise his utter disdain for women and their humanity, and he routinely dehumanizes women in his stand-up routines and on his show. He’s constantly harping on and on about the “pussification” of American men, which is what he calls the “trend” toward men treating women like human beings and taking their partners’ feelings into account (if only). And when he’s not complaining that men aren’t all out hanging out at the Playboy mansion while their wives are at home cooking pot roasts and hanging around in Frederick’s of Hollywood gear for their men to come home so they can suck their dicks, he’s making obvious, unclever, derivative, and adolescent “jokes” about sex and the “differences” between men and women.
So Bill Maher’s an asshole with no talent who gets paid a thousand times more than what he deserves to spread sexism all over our faces. Who cares, right? I care because he’s the world’s number one Liberal Dude and because he’s a perfect example of what’s wrong with the world of comedy.
Let’s talk about comedy for a minute. I know it doesn’t matter as much as feminism in the grand scheme of things, but my life basically revolves around finding things to laugh about, and the world seems to be conspiring as of late to keep that from happening. It’s now become virtually impossible for me to be entertained in the sense that anyone intended. I suppose that makes me some kind of asshole, but it’s true. I mean, is there on this planet a single comedian that doesn’t spend half his time talking about shitting, his balls, his disgusting attitudes toward sex, and “what’s wrong with women”? It may be a problem with the audience, but it seems pretty clear that there’s no such thing as a comedian/comedy writer who won’t stoop to that shit in order to get laughs out of the kinds of people who think ranch dressing improves any dish.
I don’t even care as much that those topics are gross or offensive as much as I do that they’re fucking stupid and not funny. Dave Chappelle, who every white dude in the world loves for all the wrong reasons, might be the perfect example of what I’m talking about. He’s a fairly intelligent and liberal dude who has some interesting perspectives on the world, but even he resorts to ball jokes and overt misogyny for half his material. Have you ever seen his special For What It’s Worth? It sucks. He makes about three semi-insightful and quasi-funny comments in a half hour, then spends 30 minutes telling ball jokes that are about as entertaining as getting Rick-rolled. He, David Cross, and Greg Giraldo (both of whom are also gynophobic douchebags) might be the only three semi-funny liberal stand-up comedians alive, and all three of them are guilty of it. There’s no hope.
That could be called a digression, but liberal dudism isn’t a problem that’s limited to the world of comedy.
Liberal Dudes abound. Who are they? Liberal Dudes are guys who will jump up and down to tell you that they’re all about equality and prosperity for everyone, but then tell you about the strip club they were at the night before or about the awesome anal porn site they last jerked off to. Liberal Dudes are ready to welcome us into the boardroom, provided we’re still willing to dance on the conference table at the employee party. Liberal Dudes love “sex-positive” “feminists” because Liberal Dudes support women’s freedom and “rights,” up to and including our “right” to strip and to suck dicks for money. Liberal Dudes love to see women embracing pornorific behavior like pole dancing, pube waxing, porn watching, thong wearing, chick kissing, and boob flashing as a means to “empowerment,” because that’s exactly the kind of power they want us to have: the power to give them boners. Liberal Dudes like to compare themselves favorably to conservatives because conservatives are anti-abortion and want to restrict women’s “freedom” to fuck random Liberal Dudes willy-nilly style. Liberal Dudes, on the other hand, support women’s freedom of sexual expression (as long as our sexual expression looks like a reasonable facsimile of their porn fantasies) and are pro-choice, because being pro-choice means they can pressure women into having abortions when they don’t want to take responsibility for impregnating them.
Liberal Dudes, in short, are willing to give us equal pay, let us have abortions, and let us have half the government jobs, provided that we’re fuckable, we don’t try to make them treat us like we possess the same measure of humanity that they do, and we don’t try to impose any limits on their “right” to use our bodies in person or via video. Sweet deal for us, I know.
Liberal Dudes like to make a big show of what egalitarians they are by blathering about their support for women’s “rights” and “equality,” but you’ll see just how sincere their concern for women’s issues is when someone brings up date rape (dude, chicks these days are scandalous and get fucked up a lot), when someone points out the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in the workplace (dude, why can’t chicks take a compliment?), when someone mentions any aspect of the systemic sexism in our culture and social structures (dude, why can’t chicks take a joke?). The gendered insults start flying when anyone suggests to a Liberal Dude that women don’t deserve to get groped, ogled, verbally harassed, date raped, or treated like idiots just because we have vaginas.
Liberal Dudes think they’ve done us a favor by being willing to tolerate our presence in public life. When we ask for any more than that, they think we’re a bunch of ungrateful bitches and start telling us we don’t know how lucky we are, that we’re hysterical, we’re crybabies, we’re weak, blah fucking blah. My personal favorite Liberal Dude line is “You women want equality but then you can’t handle it.” (Maher brought that one up constantly with regard to Hillary Clinton. He claimed she got her chance to run with the big boys and then acted like a pussy when things didn’t go her way. You know, because she faced absolutely no obstacles being the first viable female presidential candidate we’ve ever had.) Is there anything more offensive and obscenely entitled than the attitude these dudes take toward women wanting to be treated like human beings? They basically come right out and say, “We’ve given you a few of the rights and some of the status we have, so shut the fuck up. You’re lucky you even got that. Just think, you could be wearing a burqa.”
I think I’ll have more to say about that last bit shortly, but for now I’m going to go listen to some Scandal and drink a Zima Gold.
69 Comments
September 20, 2008 at 1:59 am
Dang, that was impressive. I agree about the liberal dudes but thankfully have little knowledge of Bill Maher (just one of the many perks of living in Australia).
I swear, if I hear one more liberal dude saying they support my right to be a lesbian, then ask if I want to make out with a girl in front of them, I will make sure they never jack off to anything ever again. Assholes.
September 20, 2008 at 2:12 am
Thank you!!! You’ve done it again, Nine!
And for the record, giving a guy a boner is not a ‘power’. It’s not difficult. It’s like they’re telling me that flipping a lightswitch gives me power over electricity. That ain’t it.
Treatment as a human being. Wish I could find that on Ebay.
September 20, 2008 at 7:50 am
Bill Maher is way more smug than any human being has the right to be. I can hardly stand watching him. Half the time I don’t even make it through the episode.
But really, he’s not the only option. Stewart and Colbert are both a thousand times funnier than Maher, and they are clearly both liberal. Olbermann is a good option for news and political discussion – I find his treatment of the antics of the Republican party to have an appropriate mixture of humor and seriousness. As for stand-up… it’s hard to get away from gross-out comedy, but I think Lewis Black, Eddie Izzard, and Brian Regan, for instance, would be a good place to start looking. And don’t forget the classics – a good Richard Pryor routine is going to be cleaner than a modern routine but still brilliantly funny.
Also, I do have to give Maher credit for giving airtime to people who are way more awesome than he could ever hope to be. Last week’s panel of Salman Rusdie, Janeane Garofalo, and some idiot Republican jerkweed was, well, let’s say it was two-thirds really awesome.
September 20, 2008 at 10:47 am
Question: Who is worse – Bill Maher for being an egotistical asshole who wants to get laid, or Sandra Bernhard for saying that if Sarah Palin came to Manhatten she would be raped by her “Big Black Brothers”?
Is rape acceptable as a political tool so long as it is a right-wing nut job getting raped?
Yes, I know it is (supposed to be) humor, but what Sandra said is SO far beyond the line of racism and misogny, how can ANYONE accept, let alone defend it?
Theory: Sandra Bernhard is a secret McCain supporter. Or just plain stupid and mean spirited!
September 20, 2008 at 3:00 pm
“Dang, that was impressive.” Exactly.
September 20, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Bill – I vote we kick Sandra out of the club. She’s obnoxious, not funny, and now obviously an asshole.
September 20, 2008 at 4:04 pm
panoptical – I love Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, and I even like Olbermann, although he’s a sexist asshole. As for stand-up, I’m pretty ridiculously picky. I suppose I have absurdly high standards for what’s funny, and most comedians offend me by not being funny way before they even say anything offensive.
September 20, 2008 at 6:23 pm
I vote we kick Sandra out of the club.
Can we kick Margaret Cho out while we’re at it?
September 20, 2008 at 6:25 pm
BTW, I’ve been reading Tim Wise a lot lately. He’s all about showing folks what white privilege really means. He’s taught me a lot already – by telling me what I need to hear.
Now I want to ideologically connect what I’ve learned from Tim with male privilege as well.
September 20, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Margaret Cho sucks. She’s not funny. Most female comedians whose audiences are made up primarily of gay men are assholes when it comes to women.
September 20, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Jim – I like what Tim Wise has to say, but I’m not sure I’m with him 100% on being down with SNCC. I can’t help thinking about Stokely Carmichael saying, “The position of women in SNCC is prone.” SNCC was a great organization until guys like him turned it into an asshole party. Being anti-racism is a good thing, but I don’t see why it means we have to condone (or overlook) sexism on the part of black activists. I’m amazed how it often seems that people choose one -ism to oppose and ignore all the others. But I suppose that’s nitpicking. What he has to say is valuable, so I won’t discount it because of something tertiary.
September 20, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Applause!
“Margaret Cho sucks. She’s not funny. Most female comedians whose audiences are made up of gay men are assholes when it comes to women.”
Especially to this. Lard knows why though.
September 21, 2008 at 12:43 am
Oh, I do love a good rant. You’re good at humor too. I’d suggest stand-up, but I am sure that most of America wouldn’t get it (“hey, is she making fun of me?”).
Maher is a big douche. It’s sad, really, because I love humor of all kinds. Most of the time, I just can’t bring myself to laugh at those assholes unless I’m wasted. That’s not high praise, because I laugh at people farting when I’m wasted.
September 21, 2008 at 12:43 am
“As for stand-up… it’s hard to get away from gross-out comedy, but I think Lewis Black, Eddie Izzard, and Brian Regan, for instance, would be a good place to start looking.”
I’d cross Lewis Black off that list. On an episode of “Root of All Evil”, he made the analogy that the earth is like that hot girl in high school who thinks she’s better than you because she’s hot until she gets drunk someone rapes her on prom night and she is thus knocked off her pedestal. That leaves about three male comedians who have never made a rape joke, by my count.
September 21, 2008 at 2:34 am
WHY do they all go for the rape jokes? I swear to Ceiling Cat, they canNOT stay away. Some part of them thinks it’s okay cause it gets a laugh from the douchebag part of the audience.
Also, I usually like Margaret Cho but her stand-up has gotten too preachy to be funny. I love stand-up that says something, but she’s not making jokes, she’s lecturing half the time, and to a generally-progressive audience. Choir, anyone?
…That said, that Palin post on her blog just made me headdesk. Come on, Margaret! Try and figure out why that ain’t cool, okay?
September 21, 2008 at 6:23 am
“WHY do they all go for the rape jokes? I swear to Ceiling Cat, they canNOT stay away. Some part of them thinks it’s okay cause it gets a laugh from the douchebag part of the audience.”
Well, that would be why. Always need something to fall back on. As long as people are laughing, they’re winning.
Alternatively, it’s because women being raped is funny. I mean, if rape was a horrible, fundamentally unfunny thing, then all those other male comedians wouldn’t be making jokes about it, would they? So it’s obviously ok.
September 21, 2008 at 8:22 am
crankosaur – definitely Eddie Izzard. Of course, there’s the sticker I have on my car:
In case 92 doesn’t allow pics, it says “I poke badgers with spoons.”
September 21, 2008 at 7:54 pm
[...] 21, 2008 at 3:54 pm (Feminism, Random) Awesome post that sums up a lot of what I’ve been thinking but haven’t been able to articulate. [...]
September 21, 2008 at 9:26 pm
What frightens me is when everyone laughs at rape jokes
September 22, 2008 at 3:54 am
Well…”society” laughs at alot of jokes about things that aren’t funny. We all know what the last thing that went through Princess Diana’s head before she died was, after all. We’ve all heard the one about Hitler planning to kill 12 million jews and 4 ballerinas. Don’t forget “dead baby” humour as well.
Alot of people find these jokes funny.
September 22, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I think stand-up comedy had its hey-day in the 80’s, and it has been steadily going downhill ever since.
I remember watching a stand-up routine from someone who was hysterically funny. He was doing a riff on Qaddafi and a bunch of other shit. My mom and I laughed so hard, we almost passed out from lack of oxygen.
The worst part is, I can’t remember the guy’s name!
Some comedians take it up a notch from simply spouting sexist shit. This happened earlier this year. I dunno if you heard about it. An English comedian sexually assaulted a woman on stage:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/01/johnny-vegas-allegedly-se_n_99740.html
September 22, 2008 at 2:31 pm
Well said! I really can’t stand Bill Maher. He is just a jerk, plain and simple. Blah!
I think Margaret Cho is pretty funny, a lot of times. I think she’s pretty clueless about a lot of stuff though, too. And she takes way too long to tell a joke onstage!!!
September 22, 2008 at 10:39 pm
“We all know what the last thing that went through Princess Diana’s head before she died was, after all. We’ve all heard the one about Hitler planning to kill 12 million jews and 4 ballerinas. Don’t forget “dead baby” humour as well.”
I suppose I am one of the lucky few not included in ‘we’.
Although as an atheist I totally eat babies. Ten a day. Like the witch in Hansel and Gretel. :).
September 23, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I guess I might be the case of the regular person who wandered into an eternal war. I am totally dissilusioned. I am narcisstic enough to keep posting. On a ‘radical’ board. Knowing fully the ‘radicals’ are partaking in every pleasure the system they would overthrow has to offer. In fact I bet that if, like us real people who use our real names (nine deuce doesnt care, she will remain nice deuce, probably, because her students, or whoever, might question her authenticity, or transparency, neither of which is a concern for ‘radical bloggers’)
I am just disinterested in gender wars in general. Gender isnt even a real distinction anymore. If you want to waste your friggin life with boy/girl bs, you will waster your life. have at it.
Radical .. and other.. feminists have succeeded at this point only at creating a sub culture. They rail against media creations. While most of America never heard of them. They magnify abortion and rape, while you may as well magnify any other seemy side that will always exist. They kid themselves that human nature will change.
I live in a world where women and men call the shots. Equal will never be definable. But to even spend an hour of your time on this earth arguing for one gender over another, you could perhaps expend that energy better on your own relationships.
I read on some blog somewhere ND is dating a guy with a daughter. She shrouds in secrecy here, yet is transparent elsewhere? what does that tell us. that BLOGS are dishonest instruments to spout agendas, not personal feelings.
I dont know why i havent been banned by ND. probably because Im older than her father.. gare
September 23, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Nothing is shrouded in secrecy here, gare. You don’t have to be an irresponsible idiot to be radical, you know. I may think our social system needs some serious reform, but that doesn’t mean I want to duck out of it and join a commune or something. As fucked as our cultural values are, I don’t dispute the value of learning and knowledge. Hence I go to school and plan to become a teacher. Because this blog delves into some controversial matter, and because I want to be free to express myself as I see fit, I choose not to use my real name. Also, I’d rather not give out my personal info to the many assholes who send me e-mails telling me they want to rape and kill me. Call me paranoid, call me a poser, whatever. I don’t give a shit. The point is to get my views out in the open for people to read and consider, but I don’t need every psycho who comes across my blog knowing my name and where I live and go to school.
My dad is 67 and I doubt you’re older than that. Didn’t you say you listen to Sabbath? No way someone over 67 does that. But that is neither here nor there. I don’t choose not to ban someone because I have respect for age or anything else. If my dad showed up on this blog and wrote ridiculous comments, I’d ban him. If the Dalai Lama did so, he’d be out. I don’t do hierarchies, which means no one gets a pass due to age, gender, or social status. You haven’t been banned because I try to be charitable with people. As off point as some of your comments are, you sometimes seem to want to know what we have to say here, so I don’t ban you. In fact, I only ban the most egregious of assholes.
September 24, 2008 at 5:30 am
I’d cross Lewis Black off that list. On an episode of “Root of All Evil”, he made the analogy that the earth is like that hot girl in high school who thinks she’s better than you because she’s hot until she gets drunk someone rapes her on prom night and she is thus knocked off her pedestal. That leaves about three male comedians who have never made a rape joke, by my count.
Oh, fuck it. I thought I liked that guy, too. Never watched Root of All Evil mainly because I thought it would be taking Lewis Black down a notch, that the concept was undeserving of him. So I’m glad I didn’t see this particular episode, but here I’ve been thinking he’s generally a good guy…when he’s obviously not, if he’s thinking those things.
September 24, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Another member of the disgusting worthless “but I’m on their side” club: Lisa Lampanelli
Her act is nothing but racism, misogyny, and homophobia in extreme, but somehow, the fact that she “bangs the blacks” makes it all right to insult them in the most vile ways.
Supposedly, her routine is supposed to attack prejudice, but no, it doesn’t.
September 25, 2008 at 3:43 am
Gare, are you male?
Because if you are, it’s because of privilege that you think gender “isn’t even a real distinction anymore.” That’s pretty much the root of what privilege is, actually — you’re assumed to be the default, so your gender, race, ability, etc. is nearly completely irrelevant to your identity.
Women have to worry about getting raped, get harassed on the street and in the office, have to deal with all kinds of double standards and binaries (virgin/whore, wimpy crybaby/bitch, ugly and unwanted/exclusively a sex object, bad mother/bad career woman, etc), their personal decisions are constantly scrutinized (with regards to sexuality, partner choices, motherhood, abortion, careers, etc), there’s a strong lobby to force them into pregnancy and to deny them all forms of birth control, they make less than men for the same jobs (STILL!), women make up a very small percentage of upper-level management in business (STILL!), women make up a very small percentage of government officials (STILL!), women’s issues are considered non-standard and are shunted into women’s studies departments rather than being incorporated into the core curriculum, women’s rights are not usually considered under the category of human rights, the major Western religions exclude women from a number of authority roles, and on and on and on and on. I mean, really, do you read this blog?
You don’t know or don’t understand this because you don’t have to. Lucky for you, but it doesn’t mean feminists are getting worked up over nothing.
September 26, 2008 at 3:55 am
Keith Olbermann isn’t a sexist asshole. He’s a violently misogynist asshole. He’s also a boring bag of verbal flatulence who’s as frequently right about U.S. politics as a broken clock is right about the time of day.
And yeah, Bill Maher is a self-important douche who sucks beyond comprehension.
September 27, 2008 at 5:46 am
Tonight Ralph Nader called Bill Maher out on his sexism after Maher called Sarah Palin a bimbo. Nader made some good points, but as usual nothing made it through Maher’s bubble of self-satisfied arrogance.
And, incidentally, Maher also made a joke about the strip club he was in last night.
September 29, 2008 at 2:24 am
Cheers to Nader for having the courage to point that out to him. He made a very cruel joke towards women that basically insinuated that attractive models are superior to the general population of women because they’re more beautiful.
I’m so sick of that guy. Not only is he sexist, he thinks anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to a higher education is worthless. He frequently insults working class Americans on his show to show how sophisticated he is.
October 1, 2008 at 2:54 am
“Liberal Dudes are guys who will jump up and down to tell you that they’re all about equality and prosperity for everyone, but then tell you about the strip club they were at the night before”
THIS!!! My experience with liberal men in a nutshell.
Loved this post! I’ve beyond had it with them. Couldn’t have found this at a better time.
October 1, 2008 at 3:45 pm
It’s sad how the word ‘Liberal,’ which used to denote an ideology of individual freedom, is now supposed to mean something like “equality and prosperity for all.” Leftists have commandeered the appellation of their political opponents (not conservatives, rather their other political opponents, i.e. Liberals) and now the word has taken on a new, disgraceful, meaning. While there are some commonalities that span the political spectrum, true Liberalism has as much to do with the Right as it does with the Left. There’s no such thing as “Liberal” “party unity.”
Liberals believe that discrimination based on sex and/or race is wrong, but they don’t believe that the world will be a better place once we are sufficiently “diversified.” Liberals believe that you have the freedom to do what you please but along with that comes the responsibility to treat others with respect. This means owning not only your achievements but your failures as well. While others are certainly sexist and racist, a true Liberal knows that it’s much worse to do wrong than to be wronged. Therefore, sexists/racist/ and other assorted bigots can not, by definition, be Liberal.
That said, it’s next to impossible to be clear in conversation when you don’t use the term “Liberal” as a synonym for Democrat or Leftist. This is disappointing and a perversion of the true Liberal ideology which makes the United States of America the best nation to ever grace the face of the Earth.
October 10, 2008 at 3:24 am
Wow. Just wow. Got sent here via the Reclusive Leftist and am so glad I did. That was rapturous. Adding you to my blogroll now!
October 12, 2008 at 4:07 pm
And I just made the jump based on Anna Belle’s rec. Your post says it all. Too bad the Liberal Dudes will not get it and will throw their hands up, eyes open wide and cry, “Not me!!!”
I, too, cannot abide Bill Maher. Husband cannot understand, At All, why I no longer can watch Olbermann, Maher, listen to Air America, yada yada.
Once your eyes have been opened…
October 13, 2008 at 7:50 am
Could she please stop patting herself on the back for finding black guys attractive?
I remember a “joke” she once made, long before anyone ever heard of Sarah Palin, how thrilled she’d be to be gang-raped by a bunch of black guys.
What is it with comedians like Bernhard and Lampinelli who like to get real preachy about racial equality and then turn around and associate gang rape with black men? I’d love to see them kicked out of the anti-racism club as well as the feminism club for being full of crap on both counts.
October 27, 2008 at 1:16 am
You had me, but you lost me with the comment about Clinton being the first chance at a viable female presidential candidate.
Bush may be the prez, but I voted for Shirley Chisolm.
October 27, 2008 at 1:23 am
I only meant that she had gained a large amount of popular support and many people believed she would win if she got the nomination. I am a very big fan of Shirley Chisholm.
December 1, 2008 at 3:15 am
When we ask for any more than that, they think we’re a bunch of ungrateful bitches and start telling us we don’t know how lucky we are, that we’re hysterical, we’re crybabies, we’re weak, blah fucking blah.
YES. And then they’ll be all like, “well, you’d better side with me (and suck my dick afterward) because those conservative men will treat you even worse!” Like, dude, are you seriously patting yourself on the back for being a better person than Rush Limbaugh? I mean, REALLY, that’s what you aspire to? Better than that cretin? There are carjackers and bank robbers in this world who are way better people than Rush Limbaugh. Get some standards already.
My other personal favorite is when they use Roe v. Wade as a bat to smack us over the head with. They’re all like, “if you don’t support our latest white male candidate who wants to make it legal to grope your boobies, then a conservative might get it who would help REPEAL Roe! And then you’ll be so fucked, it’ll be like you’re getting raped! Haha, did you hear that? I said ‘rape.’ Me so funny!” And then they wonder why we don’t welcome them as liberators with blow jobs and home-baked apple pies.
December 13, 2008 at 7:44 am
i’m adding a link to your blog from my website. great article!
December 17, 2008 at 7:13 am
Your post about Bill Maher was dead on. I feel brought back to life just reading your thoughts and all the comments. Hard to find these conversations in my own life. Glad you are here.
February 11, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Just want to meddle on a point about liberal dudes’ support for abortion rights. The ones I’ve known are for it in the legal sense, but still think you should feel bad for having one, like for instance the guy involved in my ill-timed pregnancy told me “If I were you I’d do the selfish thing and abort.”
I’ve seen Jon Stewart fit this mold to a ‘T’, telling republicans he can understand their opposition to abortion rights but not their opposition to gay marriage, because “gays are someone’s children” Well guess what Jon, women who have abortions are someone’s children too, dick.
March 11, 2009 at 7:53 pm
It may be a problem with the audience, but it seems pretty clear that there’s no such thing as a comedian/comedy writer who won’t stoop to that shit in order to get laughs out of the kinds of people who think ranch dressing improves any dish.
Brilliant. I wrote something similar (albeit not as good) http://kendallmck.wordpress.com/2008/05/18/file-under-why-am-i-surprised/
But, wait a minute. David Cross is a gynophobe? I feel like I have a pretty good ear for this shit, and I’ve never heard him say anything that strikes me as glaringly sexist – and I’m seriously such a nerd over him that I listen to all his standup (plus bootlegged material) on a constant basis. In fact, he’s the only male comedian I’ve ever heard use the term “women’s rights” in a non-joke/insulting way, as in “Bush is doing all these shitty things to roll back civil rights, women’s rights, etc.”
I’m almost scared to ask you this because I don’t want to stop loving him like a family member, but…what did he do? Please tell me what you obviously know that I don’t, even if it will break my heart.
March 11, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Let’s just say that his attitude toward women in his personal life is gross. It’s not as if I expect anyone with a smidgen of fame not to start making use of that fame to use women like objects, but it’s still kind of disappointing (I, too, am into his stand-up, though my estimation of his genius has dropped since I found out he’s still a Liberal Dude). I’m sure he’s down with “women’s rights” as far as abortion and equal pay go, but I’m not sure he thinks it’s our “right” to have our worth as human beings determined by something beyond who wants to pork us. He’s a third-waver, basically, which I think means he’s all about Riot Grrrls who like to huff dong. He might even object to objectification (and alliteration), but it doesn’t translate to his own personal behavior. Oh, and he likes some really lame bands. I just realized that if even David Cross can’t get a pass, people might start accusing me of hating men. Oh, wait.
March 12, 2009 at 1:59 pm
I totally believe you. God, it’s such a shame where they don’t put their dick where their mouth is.
That being said, if you fucked him, I’m really, really jealous. He may be a piece of shit, but I’d still hit it.
“Huff dong” is genius and I’d probably be unable to keep myself from using that phrase everyday even if I tried.
March 12, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I’m not into bald guys. I just know that via some personal gossip among people I know in Atlanta.
(Ha! Does that sound like I’m bragging because I know people in Atlanta? I think I’ve just stumbled upon some new material!)
If he put his dick where his mouth is, would he be blowing himself?
I’m a big fan of “huff dong.” It makes an excellent song-lyric replacement. Think of that song “Headstrong” that people who are into UFC seem to like so much.
April 2, 2009 at 9:13 pm
Thank you. I keep thanking people for saying the challenging things that need to be said, and I don’t mean to sound trite. But, as someone who considers himself pretty radical in some dimensions, I know that I need to be challenged on those and others. What I’m saying is that males need help. It is easy to get sucked into liberal dudeness, when you’re always surrounded by it. So thank you for being a challenging voice and reminding us how uncool it is.
Because honestly, and I’m sure you know it, it’s hard to undo all the things you’ve been trained to like, and it hard to deconstruct all the constructions you’ve been encouraged to make on the hardware you’ve got, when society wants you not to so badly.
I’m not the only person that should be thanking you, but I don’t think I can speak for them so…
May 10, 2009 at 10:49 pm
[...] well, and in any event I haven’t blogged about it. Here is an excerpt from the author’s entry on Bill Maher, who I have always disliked for the very same [...]
June 19, 2009 at 7:29 am
re. SNCC therefore, wouldn’t that make tim wise one of the Liberal Dudes? until i see evidence otherwise, he’s right up there with chris rock and his ‘white women’ rant:
http://snltranscripts.jt.org/06/06orock.phtml
June 19, 2009 at 8:37 am
amen, saltyC–
have dated similar Dude, and you have my sympathy.
stewart promised long ago that he would hold the next (presumably democrat) president’s feet to the fire, as in ‘equal treatment’– i’m still waiting…
maybe he just assumed he’d get to roast hillary; i guess i should feel sorry for him, because now all he has is material on how much he wants to have a micro-brew* with barack.
*would have gone blue there, but didn’t want poss. homophobic faux pas to detract from my point: jon stewart is a philistine, a hypocrite, and a lying liar who lies. i wish to slut-shame him for being a suck-up. good godzilla! the emperor has no clothes! who farted!? — just another good ol’ boy POTUS with 99 problems, that’s who. he’s got 99 problems, but stewart ain’t one; he’s got 99 problems, but colbert ain’t one…
September 16, 2009 at 1:23 pm
I just happened across this site while looking up “Bill Maher sucks” on google. Man, if I met more actual liberals like you, I think I would be liberal myself. I couldn’t even tell you what I am, besides that I’m male. Seriously, the hypocrisy among “Liberal Dudes” is what makes me hate this crock they call being liberal and a democrat and so forth. Now, conservatives and republicans are obviously another issue altogether, but for the sake of this article I’m only talking about liberal dudes. these assholes all around me at college want you to sign up for their “democrat club” where the poster says “F**k yeah I voted for Obama!” and I get to hear them talk about how hot this chick is, and “dude, I think she’s a lesbian. sweet! I can’t wait to watch Jon Stewart tonight.” ugh. it seems like the new pickup line for males is “I voted for Obama. Wanna ****?” who the hell cares. instead of trying to get some head, try to actually stop being a self-serving asshole acting like you care about women’s rights when, indeed, you just want to be able to have an abortion to escape responsibility. I’m telling you, being around backwoods redneck morons and liberal dude morons, the only real difference is McCain/Obama. Other than that, they enjoy getting hammered and gawking at women making disgusting jokes. now why can’t real liberals and conservatives just put an end to that shit and have actual discussions about things that really matter?
September 17, 2009 at 5:52 am
I think it’s because the trifecta of sexism, beer, and stupidity is the great unifier among men the world over.
September 28, 2009 at 1:30 am
Oh my, how I agree with you. I hate that almost all the comedians out there are all about degrading sex. Can we launch them into the sun pleeeease?
One comedian I do like is Dylan Moran. He’s really funny, and although I’ve only seen a bit of his material (the Like, Totally special), he seems to respect womin a lot. Even though he doesn’t like vegetarians. And Black Books is a good show he was in.
I also like Sarah Silverman. I don’t find her particularly funny, but I do like that she makes fun of people’s misogyny and racism.
Bill What’s-his-face is a douche. He’s not funny, and he’s just fucking laaaame. Not like hit by a bus lame, where I can actually get pissed off about it, but like stepping in a dried up stain of urine that makes me paranoid that I have piss all over my shoe kind of lame. Fucking hate him. But I think the reason people watch his stuff is because we’re told over and over by the press how bloody funny he is when in reality he’s an ugly boring sod. I should pee on his shoe.
September 30, 2009 at 2:10 am
Great Rant by a gentlemen whose politics I mostly do not agree with. I think Bill Maher is an idiot. He thinks his shit is made of gold, and yours, yes yours, is just plain shit. He fawns over all the blowhards on the left, and thinks that anyone who thinks just a little bit differently than he does is a schmuck. He can blow dead dogs for all I care.
September 30, 2009 at 2:13 am
I’m not a gentleman.
October 8, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I think I’m in love with 9/2….Is my name too offensive?
October 8, 2009 at 8:25 pm
Yes, so I’ve edited it.
October 8, 2009 at 8:37 pm
A word of warning: if you want to comment here, quit saying offensive, sexist shit. And use a different screen name. I don’t have time to edit it every time.
October 8, 2009 at 8:43 pm
Thanks, I’ve come up with a different name….Sorry the other one appears elsewhere, but I’ve posted a couple times before reading your reply.
October 8, 2009 at 8:44 pm
I deleted those other comments because you were making sexist insults.
October 8, 2009 at 8:46 pm
No worries…I forgot what they were already, which, I guess, shows have far have to go….
October 8, 2009 at 9:21 pm
I think you’re in the wrong place, dude. I’m a radical feminist, not a conservative who hates Bill Maher because he’s a liberal. I’m way more left-wing than he is, and I don’t like him because he’s not left-wing enough, not because he’s too left-wing. He’s supposed to be a liberal, but he’s a misogynist, just like conservatives. If you are a conservative and like this page just because I don’t like Maher, you clearly can’t read.
October 8, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Your premise is off. I am a staunch conservative and know exactly where I am. I am not looking for atta-boys here, 9/2, just some good discussion seasoned with a bit of grievance airing.
A little banter back and forth with opposing views is a good thing. Now, my attack on Maher and his sycophantic audience is just a sample. Your idea that conservatives are misogynists is a sweeping generalization. I thought you’d be more careful.
October 8, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Wait a minute. I’m getting my threads confused. I’m going home to sleep it off. I’ll return tomorrow with a gps to help me navigate through the blog. Sheesh!
October 8, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Are you opposed to abortion rights? Are you opposed to an Equal Rights Amendment? How do you feel about government programs that help poor women and children with health care, food, etc.? You’ve already made a lot of sexist comments that I’ve had to delete (see the rules), so I wonder about that misogyny thing. There may be a conservative somewhere that isn’t a misogynist, but I’ve yet to meet him/her (yes, women can be misogynists, just look at Phyllis Schlafly).
November 3, 2009 at 4:42 pm
lol, wow I hate Bill Maher too, but I think you might have beat me in hating him here. I remember one of the things which annoyed me most out of just about anything I’ve ever seen on feministing was a post by someone asking if anyone knew of any others like Maher, because they agreed with him on ‘most social & political issues’…. & then they wondered, in the same post, why Bill was sometimes just a bit, you know….. sexist? Ugh, the stupidity of some people.
November 10, 2009 at 8:52 am
Slightly related, 9/2, have you ever seen Penn and Teller’s: Bullshit? It’s possibly the most arrogant show I’ve ever watched. I literally drained the house of bleach because of all the bottles I poured into my eyes, that’s how bad and fucking annoying those dicks are.
Oh, and you’re awesome. I love you, have a hug with sprinkles :).
November 10, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Well, except when they happen to be attacking something you personally disagree with.
What really annoys me is people that tell me to go watch that show, so I’ll understand why something they were complaining about is wrong. Because if a mime and a comedian don’t like something, it must be wrong.
January 24, 2010 at 4:21 am
Oh this is so true! I actually get angrier at liberal dudes than conservative dudes, because they’re the ones who are acting smug and superior and above it all while being just as sexist and condescending as conservative dudes.