HBO's Bill Maher on Friday slammed the left's "cancel culture movement," saying it's white people who appear to be bothered more about racism than African-Americans.
"It's great that Caucasians have finally joined the fight for racial justice in unprecedented numbers but hating racism the most? You can't steal that," he said.
Maher pointed to an example from San Francisco, where Victor Sengbe, a black man, tied ropes in trees to use as exercise equipment.
"Out of the dozen and hundreds and thousands of people that walked by, no one has thought that it looked anywhere close to a noose. Folks have used it for exercise. It was really a fun addition to the park that we tried to create," Sengbe said.
Maher pointed to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, whose virtue signaling typifies the problem.
"Why is this white woman seeing racism where a black man isn't?" Maher asked. "The mayor also said 'intentions don't matter.' They do matter."
"White people need to stop trying to cancel other white people whose heart is in the right place but don't get it exactly right on the first try," the host said.
Maher used multiple examples to show how white people often go after other white people for not "doing the right thing." One of those examples is a recent social media campaign where users were encouraged to post a black square for a "social media blackout." BuzzFeed quickly came back with an article saying, "Influencers: It's A Privilege To Post A Black Square And Then Go Back To Your Usual Content."
"As opposed to what, abandoning your life and just posting a black square every day?" Maher asked. "People got called out for not posting the square, then for just posting it without speaking out, and then for posting it and speaking out but not voicing their support in the exact way that was said in the new decoder ring. They were helping wrong."
"Liberalism should be about lifting each other up, and you don't do that by slapping down people who are trying to say, 'I'm on your side.' No wonder why white people right now are acting like a nervous waiter on their first day, so scared of making a mistake they put a fork in your iced tea and a straw in your salad," he explained. "We don't want to chant the wrong chant or hold the wrong sign. Eek. Please. It's all we can do to clap on the right beat!"
"You want to be a good ally but not too good or you're being a 'white savior.' Use your voice, but don't make it about yourself! But speak up! Unless it's your time to just listen!" he mocked. "And then 'silence is violence!' even though sometimes silence is just someone works two jobs and has three kids. They have baby food on their shirt, not hate in their heart."
Maher said it's important for people to understand the difference between ignorance and racism and using opportunities to teach those who may not be informed. He also pointed to a quote by Williow Smith where she said people are being shamed, which changes nothing.
"I worry that the kind of tension that the 'Guardians of Gotcha!' are creating is going to make people afraid to mingle at all and thrust us back to resegregation of sorts, where instead of seeing a person and not a color, now we're only seeing color," he warned. "Maybe this is old school liberalism talking but I don't think that's the way to go. Let's hang out and if I f**k up, tell me why, not goodbye."
Black people have to demand that white people stop culturally appropriating how mad they are about racism. It's great that Caucasians have finally joined the fight for racial justice, but hating racism the most? #BlackLivesMatter #VirtueSignaling #SJW pic.twitter.com/4snH4vftZa
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) June 27, 2020