‘You’re Talking About Hatred!’ Bill Maher Panel Ignites over Garland

Bill Maher and his panelists really went at it tonight over the Garland shooting, with Maher and Will Cain standing firm on the free speech argument. Maher called Pamela Geller a “loon” but said, “This is America, do we not have the right to draw whatever we want?”

Maher brought up Charlie Hebdo and said he’s a little disturbed by the whole “soft bigotry of low expectations” when it comes to that magazine’s critics assuming that “Muslims aren’t able to control themselves.”

MSNBC’s Alex Wagner asked, “Isn’t the whole point of free speech not to judge people?” Cain shot back that when people threaten to kill just for expressing opinions, “it becomes virtuous to offend that person… [and] you need to shock them out of their horrible position.”

RELATED: Beck: ‘Murderous Psychopaths’ Are After Us, Stop Scolding About Hate Speech

Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee said, “You’re talking about hatred!” Maher found that a little mind-boggling in a conversation about people who kill for free speech. He said everyone should be on the side of Muslims who just want to live their lives and don’t draw attention to people mocking their faith.

Wagner and Cain threw down over the appropriateness of the Charlie Hebdo award, with Wagner arguing that journalists who travel the world and put themselves in danger are “practicing courageous acts” moreso than cartoonists.

Watch the video below, via HBO:

[image via screengrab]

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Follow Josh Feldman on Twitter: @feldmaniac

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