For Some Reason, Bill Maher Believes Poor Parenting Is The Root Cause Of Police Brutality
Bill Maher sees himself as a provocateur, someone who likes to push buttons and spur conversation on uncomfortable topics. While he is seen as sort of a leader of leftist politics due to his position as host of Real Time and his harsh attitude towards conservatives, he spends quite a bit of time railing against some of the aspects of liberalism and progressivism that he disagrees with. This is why you’ll see him constantly harp about Islamic extremism or political correctness, among other things.
During Friday night’s broadcast, Maher once again touched on those two subjects, criticizing President Obama for not specifically mentioning radical Islamists in the Middle East and pissing and moaning about whiny liberals complaining about inappropriate Halloween costumes. However, besides touching on two of his favorite complaints regarding the left, the 59-year-old single comedian likely surprised much of his audience by blaming modern parenting skills for police brutality against young people.
Discussing the recent story of a South Carolina police officer violently assaulting a young girl while trying to arrest her for disrupting a high school class, Maher told the panel that he believed that this was a perfect example of “overzealous policing and underzealous parents.” In the non-parent Maher’s view, kids today feel like they can get away with anything, especially when it comes to dealing with authority figures like school teachers and police. His belief is that parents will always take their kids’ side regardless of their behavior, and children will take advantage of that.
Now, Maher was careful to say that he wasn’t defending the tactics Officer Ben Fields used earlier this week with the high school student, saying that it was a horrendous way to treat a child. At the same time, he continued to push his idea that the “little brats go home and complain,” leading parents to take it out on the teachers. (Does Maher know that the young girl in question is an orphan?) Meanwhile, panelist Rep. Maxine Waters (D – CA) pushed back against Maher’s theory, saying that perhaps some children take advantage of situations, but it still doesn’t mean you should handle them in a violent manner.
It is possible that Maher was just trying to spur discussion by bringing parenting skills into the discussion, especially considering that the rest of his panel outside of Waters consisted of conservative white dudes. It’s possible. But it does seem that Maher believes a lot in what he is saying. It also would appear he has no frame of reference other than just shaking his fist and saying “these dang kids today!” He has never been married nor had any kids of his own, something that he is quite proud of.
Obviously, there is not a damn thing wrong with that. If you aren’t interested in being a parent or want to be tied down in a monogamous relationship, more power to you. Having said that, who are you to really comment about how parents raise their children today? If you’ve purposely sat on the sidelines when it comes to raising kids, perhaps you should reserve your opinions on this particular subject.
Below is video of the segment:
