When considering the implications of Bill Mahers latest antics, it is important to state that Maher has over the years become the trusted media host for black left-wing intellectuals. His roster of guests includes a whos who of the black intelligentsia from old stalwart Cornel West to MSNBC host Joy Reid. So given this history, it would seem surprising that Maher would so readily toss his friends under the bus by his casual on-air use of the n-word.

But if one really considers Maher and his history, a more complicated story emerges. Maher is a liberal prognosticator who exhibits a pretense of tolerance and open-mindedness thereby giving him comedic license to offend.

Mahers latest missive responding to Sen. Ben Sasses exhortation to engage in grassroots field: political organizing in Nebraska with the dismissive remark, Senator, Im a house n***er, is not surprising. But the remark was so out of context that it could not have been anything other than a strategically timed joke one that unfortunately missed the mark.

Read in the context of Mahers irreverent stance on many issues it seems that the use of the n-word was meant to remind black liberal intellectuals that they are the wholly owned property of the liberal elite. It was an open admission of something conservatives have noted all along black intellectuals do not have an actual ownership stake of the liberal establishment, but in fact serve at the pleasure and whim of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party.

Whether Maher, a 61-year-old white guy who has been employed by HBO for the past 14 years, actually considers himself a house negro is not whats significant here. He in fact may identify his job with that of a well-kept slave on the media plantation.

That Maher chose to use the n-word on his scripted talk show (deceptively named Real Time) was undoubtedly a calculated act. This was probably not the first time Maher has used the n-word in the presence of African-Americans. He probably believes that since he allows many of them to come on to his show and debate, and that he sticks up for them against conservative straw boogeymen, he therefore has earned license to use the term. Maher didnt ask any black person for such license of course, yet he assumed it, in the storied tradition of liberal arrogance and privilege of which he is a proud descendant.

It goes without saying that the n-word is a vulgar, disgusting term, with a history fraught with pain. As someone who grew up in the deep South at a time when many parents and relatives were openly and customarily called the n-word by whites, I know first-hand how hurtful it is. The word is an obscene smear created for the specific purpose of putting black people in their place relegating them to second-class citizenship, and alerting the intended victim that he is less than human. I have personally never used the term (nor any form of obscenity), and regard it as one of the most abhorrent terms in the English language. I dont like it when black entertainers use it, and I certainly dont like it when whites use it either. The word has no place in public discourse, much less in the enlightened sphere of intellectual debate.

Curiously, the reaction among black intellectuals to Bill Mahers verbal attack has been typically passive. They seem to have taken it on the chin and let him off the hook. No one has seriously demanded Mahers resignation from HBO, and there has been no organized boycott of his sponsors at the network. Can you image the reaction if a conservative host on Fox or any conservative media channel was caught using the n-word? The black community would be in total uproar, on the warpath, seeking blood, guts and retribution. And yet weve heard barely a peep from the black intellectual elite that polices conservatives speech like a mall cop on steroids.

The reason black intellectuals wont challenge Maher and the reason he still has a show after the incident is because they cant. Maher is smart. He calculates that he can get away with a lot more offense now that Trump is in the White House. With a guy like Trump on the other side of the street, he reasons, where are black folks going to go? They have no choice but to stay on the liberal plantation, no matter how much abuse the liberal elite heaps on them. Sadly, Mahers cynical calculus seems to be correct.

Now that he has gotten away with it, Mahers behavior, despite his tepid apology, is likely to get worse, not better. In the meantime, black intellectuals will undoubtedly accept these betrayals as the so-called price of progress. They will lie to themselves and justify such open racism because at the end of the day, they think it preferable to be kept on at the Democratic plantation than to leave and have to face big, bad Donald Trump on their own.

Armstrong Williams is owner of Howard Stirk Holdings, which owns TV stations in Charleston, Myrtle Beach and other cities. He was the SGA president from 1979 to 1981 at South Carolina State University.

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On the liberal plantation - The Times and Democrat