Bill Maher’s Savage Roast of Political Assassins

Bill Maher’s savage roast of political assassins

Bill Maher spent part of his HBO show Friday night going after the strange, ugly trend of young people flirting with political violence. His take was blunt. These are not serious revolutionaries. They are people acting out, chasing attention, and turning rage into a bad performance. Maher’s point landed because it cut through the usual fog. Too many commentators try to dress up these people as misunderstood rebels or political geniuses. Maher we…

Bill Maher’s newest rule: young people and political violence

This week Bill Maher’s comedy-and-news bit is about the “Assassination Generation,” referring to all the young men who kill or commit arson for ideological reasons. As we know, a big proportion of young people (about 40%) think that political violence is sometimes warranted.  As you might expect, Maher deplores this behavior and the ideas behind it. Given that this is the social-media generation, Maher suspects that the deeds are done in part to…