OPINION:
Bill Maher is a national disgrace. Yet, even by his own low standards, the leftist TV comedian has gone beyond the pale. He recently did the unthinkable: mock the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. His latest comments deserve not only to be condemned, but should compel HBO to finally drop his show. It’s time to organize a boycott of Mr. Maher.
On April 15, two Chechen Muslim terrorists committed the bombings, which killed three people — including an 8-year-old boy — and wounded 264 others. Many of those were maimed, having lost limbs and other body parts. For example, the attacks permanently crippled the two sons of Liz Norden. Her boys will never walk. Police Officer Sean A. Collier, 27, was later killed in an ambush by the jihadists. His family will never see him again. I was in Boston that fateful day. I will never forget the blood, carnage and limbs that littered the finish line, the crowds fleeing to safety and the bravery of the first responders rushing to aid the wounded. The Islamist war on America had come home.
Hence, when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series, the city — my city — celebrated not only a great baseball triumph. We also remembered the victims of that terrible, evil day and their family members. This is why during the Red Sox’ World Series parade players draped a “Boston Strong” jersey over the trophy and placed it at the marathon finish line. Players, fans and marathon survivors sang “God Bless America.” The Red Sox had won not just for Boston; they won for the victims, symbolizing the city’s bond with those whose lives were destroyed.
Not for Mr. Maher. On the Friday telecast of HBO’s “Real Time,” the host openly mocked and insulted the victims and the city’s outpouring of patriotic support.
“I also saw, so the Red Sox won the World Series, congratulations Red Sox,” Mr. Maher said. “So the parade, they go to the place where the marathon bombing took place, they put the World Series statue there, and they sing ’God Bless America’ and they say ’Boston Strong’ and they chant ’USA,’ you know. It was again, a bad day, three people died, that’s terrible. More were maimed, that’s horrible, but unfortunately that happens every day, in car accidents and everything else. I mean, your city was not leveled by Godzilla.”
He should be ashamed of himself. The April 15 bombing was more than a “bad day.” It was the most successful terrorist assault on American soil since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. To compare the deliberate, premeditated massacre of innocent civilians to daily car accidents reveals the mind of a twisted, moral degenerate. Mr. Maher is essentially saying that the Boston bombings were no big deal: a couple dead, a handful maimed — a typical day in America. Therefore, for the comedian, honoring the victims is a pointless, almost narcissistic exercise. He is spitting on their memories. He is turning their tragedy, grief and loss into a punch line for his adolescent show. No, Godzilla didn’t level the city; jihadists simply unleashed a bloodbath. In the real world, this is called murderous and sadistic, not banal and ordinary.
Mr. Maher is an example of America’s cultural rot. He is a typical limousine liberal — a hypocrite who champions class warfare while raking in millions of dollars. He bashes the wealthy and Republicans while living in swanky Beverly Hills with a bodyguard and driver who takes him everywhere. He donated $1 million to the 2012 Obama presidential campaign. Mr. Maher is an admitted stoner, who routinely uses dope. He brags about his stripper girlfriends and lavish parties. He has called Sarah Palin vulgar names, including references to her sexual organs. He praised the Sept. 11, 2001, al Qaeda terrorists for not being “cowards.” He has insulted World War II veterans, claiming they are the “stupidest generation.” Mr. Maher is a textbook case of the severe damage drugs do to the brain.
On a deeper level, however, he reveals the seminal idea animating secular progressives: hatred for America. For years, there has been a massive double standard in public discourse. When Rush Limbaugh called Sandra Fluke a “slut” because she wanted taxpayers to pay for free contraception, the left denounced the conservative radio host and demanded that advertisers boycott his show. Yet, when a liberal hate-peddler, such as Mr. Maher, calls Mrs. Palin something worse or praises mass-murdering terrorists or mocks victims of bomb-throwing jihadists, there is only deafening silence.
Mr. Maher has the right to be offensive. We also have the right to be offended — and respond in kind. We should not allow his libelous smear of the victims of the Boston bombings to go unanswered. Every decent person — in Boston, Massachusetts and America — should join me in boycotting Mr. Maher. A good start is to cancel your subscription to HBO until his show is removed from the schedule. This hate merchant needs at last to be taught a lesson — one that he will never forget.
Jeffrey T. Kuhner is a radio host on WRKO AM-680 in Boston.
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