If their side says something racist, they claim "free speech".

[Initech]

If our side says something racist, we're forced to apologize and they get us run out of town. The republicans apologize for nothing. We apologize for everything. What's wrong with this picture?

[JimGinPA]

1. They Never Apologize

No matter how wrong they are, as it may be perceived as weakness. Which only shows weakness.

[Initech]

3. Trevor Noah brought this up on the Daily Show last week.

He cited Trump's locker room talk incident as an example of their horrible behavior. He was right on.

[bettyellen]

28. Maher always said that- now look at his sad ass. LOL

[Grassy Knoll]

2. This

[Gravitycollapse]

4. One of our strengths is that we apologize.

[still_one]

5. Yes, it isn't right, but let me present a different take, assume Maher didn't apologize, what do

you think would happen?

I suspect the story would continue to be in the headlines, and to some that would be a distraction from where we should be focusing.

The other argument is that we should be standing up to this, and use this vehicle as an opportunity to point out the double stand that exists.

There are republicans who have pushed a racist an bigoted agenda for years who are coming out saying how offended they are by Maher's use of the word.

In Georgia's 6th district there are republican ads trying to associate Kathy Griffin with Ossoff. It is bullshit, but it was similar to what they used against my Max Cleland with OBL, trying to falsely associate him as being "weak on terrorism"

Maher and Griffin are free agents, entitled to their own views, but I definitely see no advantage to a Democratic politician or candidate coming out to defend Griffin and Maher. Fair or not, it would be a losing issue, and 2018 is too critical.

Our illustrious media is definitely viewing those celebrities in a negative light. It is not a coincidence that both Maher and Griffin came out an apologized. AOL/Time Warner owns HBO and CNN, and no doubt, at least for Maher, he was mostly likely pressured by HBO to apologize if he wanted to keep his job.

[Generic Brad]

6. They also say their threats were just jokes

Apparently when we are threatened with death or violence it was done in jest and we are just too damned stupid in their view to understand that. I have never heard a Republican apologize for these humorless "jokes".

[Initech]

8. There was an editorial on The Hill today that really pissed me off.

It was essentially blaming liberals for starting and inciting violence at rallies and tv. Those Antifa assholes? They're not liberal. I don't remember a liberal murdering two bystanders trying to defend innocent Muslim girls, do you?

[bettyellen]

29. To be fair that's the party line here on Maher this weekend.

Repulsive, yes. But that's the consensus here.

[MiltonBrown]

7. Disingenuous

That one word sums up the entire Republican party.

OUTRAGED over Bill Clinton having an affair WHAT WILL THE CHILDREN THINK!, Trump a complete cave-man- no prob! Anderson Cooper is a SEXIST! If combating sexism is important to you Kelly Anne then resigning immediately and going somewhere to wash all that ick off of you is clearly what you need to do. DISINGENUOUS.

The other word that really fits the R's these days is PROJECTIONISTS. Lie, cheat and steal is what they do thus they figure that's what others do as well.

It's like their voters are under some sort of a spell. The twisted logic and mental gymnastics it takes to follow R's in lock-step in 2017 makes me think that about 25 percent of America are under some sort of hypnotic trance. Right isn't right and wrong isn't wrong, first one must check WHO is involved before making that judgement.

[Initech]

11. The republicans get away with the most vile, evil shit known to man.

Disingenuous, I like that. If there was one thing Trump was right about, is that he could shoot someone in the middle of Manhattan, and it wouldn't affect his poll numbers. Not only that, the conservative pundits would be trying to justify it! We are fucked.

[pnwmom]

18. Does that mean WE should? Does that mean we should deliberately offend

a whole group of other Democrats? Are we nuts?

[Initech]

20. Oh hell no.

We definitely need to be better than them.

[ProudLib72]

9. The right wing controls the narrative

plain and simple. Gianforte body slams a reporter; good on him for standing up to the liberal media. Kathy Griffin poses with an obviously fake head; oh no! she is evil. We need to gain control of the narrative. We need to shut down Faux Nooze, Rush Limpdick, Infowhores, and all other right wing media that has an impact. We need a war room of our own, NOW!

[dalton99a]

10. You look at them the wrong way, they run to the Internet and demand an apology

How many times has Donald Trump apologized for ANYTHING in his life?

[Lyricalinklines]

12. Accepting responsibility for behavior is key to apologizing.

They won't apologize because they don't consider they've done anything to apologize for.

Do we play their game?

[SaschaHM]

13. Their side isn't dependent on the votes of folks affected by racist language. Ours is.

I hope you remember that the next time you go all "why us" when someone on the left has to apologize for something racist. If Democrats want the same amount of the Black/Latino vote that their side gets, then please continue on, but don't expect black & latino activist and progressives to stand in solidarity w/ you if accepting responsibility for racist behavior is the straw that breaks the camel's back.

[trentwestcott]

14. I kinda agree with you, but...

...can you remind me of the last time that there was a prominent voice on the right who used the n word on cable TV?

Trent Lott apologized.

Carl Paladino apologized.

Mark Kirk apologized.

Michael Willette apologized.

Doug Lamborn apologized.

Lynn Jenkins apologized.

Gene Alday apologized.

I could go on, but I know that you have google too, so I'll leave it there, but rest assured, there are plenty more, and not one of them was on cable TV saying the n word (like former Senator (D) Byrd), and no one from the republican party or conservative media stood up on their behalf, lest they be labeled as well.

Keep it real.

[Initech]

15. Their racism is a lot more subtle than flat out using the N word.

You can see them try to skate around it, but it's definitely there. In the past they apologized, but since the new republican motto seems to be "go fuck yourself", then I wouldn't expect any of them to apologize for saying something racist.

[trentwestcott]

22. Well God knows that I agree with you, but...

if we were in a critical thinking class and you were making that point you'd probably be asked to provide a few examples of that new "go fuck yourself" republican mindset. Can you provide a few examples of prominent conservatives doing something blatantly racist and refusing to apologize for it? I know I can, but I want to know which ones you're referring to.

I know what you mean though, back in the good old days you could get republicans to apologize for just about anything. McCain pretty much apologized for running against Obama all during the 08 election. It was great. Maybe someday we'll get back there, but it's going to take a lot of guilt to get us back to that kind of a situation.

[Initech]

23. There were plenty of examples this week alone.

So his challenger today dropped out of the race due to death threats, and Steve King says that she fabricated this and there's no evidence of it.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/06/04/democratic_challenger_to_iowa_rep_steve_king_abandons_race_due_to_death.html

Or how about Alex Jones who, after the Manchester attacks, blamed "liberal trendies" for going to the concert in the first place?
https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2017/05/23/alex-jones-criticizes-liberal-trendies-who-were-victims-manchester-terror-attack/216603

Or how about Trump wanting to escalate the war on drugs, then cutting the DEA?
http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/334730-trump-backtracks-on-cuts-to-anti-drug-office

Or how about the religious freedom laws being proposed in Texas that would be worse than what Indiana has?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/eyes-trump-texas-may-soon-154645136.html

[trentwestcott]

24. I don't follow you

While you highlighted 4 examples of things that prominent republicans did that were controversial (I'll spot you Alex Jones, but even I know that he's not really a prominent voice on the right. He talks about reptilians and swears that the FEMA camps are manned and waiting for prisoners), none of it had anything to do with race or racism, be it subtle or overt. King's opponent looked as white as the driven snow, "liberal trendies" come in all colors (but I can't stress enough how vile I find Alex Jones to be, overtly racist or not), a war on opioid users would be more harmful to whites than anyone else (they don't call it Hillbilly Heroin for nothing), and so called religious freedom laws that discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community aren't really racist, unless LGBTQ+ is a race, which I don't believe it to be.

Did you really expect King to apologize for the people who threatened his opponent? Or Alex Jones to apologize for...anything? I think if Trump wants to undercut his own idea about a "surge" in the idiotic war on drugs then we should just stay out of his way, and like I said, although I don't think the government should be involved in people's marriages or religious practices (both of which are affected by their new proposed laws) you can't really say they're being racist there.

[LeftyMom]

16. 1. HE'S NOT ON OUR SIDE HE'S A BIGOT 2. FUCK YES WE APOLOGIZE WHEN WE SCREW UP

Fuck the Republicans. We know who they are. Anybody who doesn't hold themselves to higher standards isn't worth a damn.

[Initech]

21. Sometimes I wonder whose side Maher is really on.

I mean one minute he trashes the republicans, next he bashes liberals for not doing enough to stand up to the republicans.

[bettyellen]

27. Thank you.

[pnwmom]

17. Do we accept the N word from Rethugs on the basis of free speech?

No, we don't. We would criticize any Rethug if he laughingly called himself a "house N," -- and that means we need to call each other out for the same thing.

Otherwise we're as big a hypocrite as they are.

[Hamlette]

19. what was racist about it?

just using the word to refer to yourself? That's enough to trash him? Nonsense.

[bettyellen]

30. Plenty. He and HBO know it.

[loyalsister]

25. If they have low standards and lack decency that's their own problem

I would rather the people on our side show enough basic civility and respect to effectively self monitor at least as well as an 8 yr old.

[bettyellen]

26. Forced? Holy shit you don't think an apology is the decent thing to do? WTF?

[Initech]

33. No it's the right thing to do.

But no matter what we do, it's never enough for them. We could bow down and kiss their feet, and they'd complain that we're kissing at the wrong angle. They're like Lucy holding the football, and we're Charlie Brown trying to kick it. They're sadists.

[bettyellen]

36. That's a separate thing. We can't live in spite

[RhodeIslandOne]

31. My mother and I were having a discussion today....

....about Gavin Newsom and his potential as a national candidate. I pointed out he seems to have "women issues" in that he's been in several high profile relationships and affairs that could effect his numbers.

Then we sort of sat there for a bit and both realized at the same time.....Donald Fucking Trump, the biggest fucking womanizer of all time is President, and no one gave two shits and elected his misogynist ass.

Why? Because Republicans can do whatever the fuck they want and get away with it and we have to sit there and choke on it.

[AllaN01Bear]

32. dual standard. these are the same people who feel its o k to go off on a person and never appologiz

john wane mentalitiy , neveer appologiize its a sign of weakness. to me its a sign of strength.

[WhiskeyGrinder]

34. Are you saying a person shouldn't apologize when they say something racist?

[Initech]

35. No they should.

But what I was trying to get at was they apologize for nothing. And no matter what we do, it's never enough for them. The republicans are sadistic sociopaths.