There’s been plenty of reaction to last week’s rancorous debate over Islam involving Bill Maher and Ben Affleck. Maher has been accused of bigotry, while others have dismissed Affleck as naive. Now another participant in the shouting match is following up with a barb of his own directed at Affleck
In a blog post published Tuesday, author Sam Harris said he was taken aback by the Oscar-winning actor and director’s “animosity” during last Friday’s fiery panel discussion on “Real Time with Bill Maher.” What’s more, Harris openly wondered if Affleck had been coached by “a fan of Glenn Greenwald.”
So what happened there?
I admit that I was a little thrown by Affleck’s animosity. I don’t know where it came from, because we hadn’t met before I joined the panel. And it was clear from our conversation after the show that he is totally unfamiliar with my work. I suspect that among his handlers there is a fan of Glenn Greenwald who prepared him for his appearance by simply telling him that I am a racist and a warmonger.
How many of the 1.5 billion muslims has Sam Harris met?
Affleck clearly didn’t even begin to understand what Maher was saying before bursting into his rant. Then it was all downhill trying to defend his idiotic position. Certain people should just stop, think, take a breath and then voice an opinion instead of just shooting from the hip.
Sounds like very good advice for Bill Maher. Always and forever. See how HE responds to that. He’s built an entire brand around just that sort of “hip shooting”.
I’ve seen Sam Harris numerous times and I was not thrown by his condescending attitude.
Famous first words: “I am not a bigot, but…”