AAI 2009 Bill Maher Accepting Dawkins Award 10/2/09 PART 1/3

[TheAmazingamerica]

xews giving each other awards, you don't want to miss it! LOL can't watch it right now, nauseating.

[Lumby83]

@7strawman7 all religion is the same in the way that it embraces the substitution of reason with superstition

and u seem to totally miss the point of why religion is bad for humantiy. to paraphrase hitchens: with or without religion, good people will do good things and bad people will do bad things. for a good person to do bad things (and feel righteous about it) u need religion

[No1warp9]

This is funny. It's like Nicolas Cage getting an award from the Pope...or Richard Gere getting an award from the Dalai Lama. Except, Dawkins is a self-proclaimed guru of the atheist community. All I can say to all this is..."idiot's delight".

[numbersCH31vs17]

@No1warp9 when did he proclaim himself a guru?

[No1warp9]

@numbersCH31vs17 Most don't outright proclaim themselves as a 'guru'...but Dawkins has certainly assumed the role as one amongst the atheist community.

[plbhl]

The idea that religion is the problem is very flawed logic. If we as people create religion, then human behavior is the problem. If we removed religion from life, we would fight about something else in it's place, as we fight about many things other than religion. The real problem is that we fight about many things. I believe that's just an evolutionary thing we face as human beings, religious or not. So I'm happy to say that Dawkins and Maher are wrong, in the spirit of fighting, that is.

[FatherofMan25]

bill maher is as important as anyone in the discourse of our society. go bill!

[femtoguts]

It's funny that Bill Maher is himself an irrationalist, an anti-vacciner. Dawkins is such a hypocrite.

[markp10311969]

What does Maher mean when he says" Rational people, anti religiousnist must end their timidity, come out of the closet and assert themselves"? What sort of action is he prescribing? Isn't Mr. Maher a comedian? Why would such a great scientist as Dawkins is quote an entertainer? I don't normally look to comedians for insight into the meaning or non-meanind of life. Maybe Dawkins will be quoting Rodney Dangerfield next. Dawkins is a great biologist but he makes a terrible blunder here.

[eggplnt]

@markp10311969 Dawkins is referring to his OUT campaign, something he was pushing throughout the conference. It is similar to homosexuals coming out of the closet, but with atheists. If we all come out, we could become a minority movement that can really get things done.

[markp10311969]

@eggplnt . That still doesn't explain what sort of programmatic change we're looking for. I fully support the idea of coming "out" when someone is proselytizing, but I like most others who are non-believers already do that. Awarding Maher however is just foolish. He has no training in philosophy or science. He might as well give the award to the neighborhood plumber they both have the same level of credibility. Why not award Steven Wienberg, Laurence Krauss or a host of others?

[markp10311969]

@eggplnt @eggplnt . That still doesn't explain what sort of programmatic change we're looking for. I fully support the idea of coming "out" when someone is proselytizing, but I like most others who are non-believers already do that. Awarding Maher however is just foolish. He has no training in philosophy or science. He might as well give the award to the neighborhood plumber they both have the same level of credibility. Why not award Steven Wienberg, Laurence Krauss or a host of others?

[wokkitout]

@markp10311969 // you don't have to be classified in a certain career field to have knowledge in it. the good thing is that dawkins isn't intelligently stuck up to ignore that other people besides scientists have the same view, even if he is an entertainer

[markp10311969]

@wokkitout You're correct you don't need to work in a field to understand it but in this instance Richard is giving an award to someone, who has been influential in changing public opinion in regard to faith. If that the case it's the equivalent of Pastor Rick Warren awarding Kirk Cameron for his work on creationism. Seriously; we need to stop looking at entertainers as fonts of wisdom. Especially when ther are so many, serious minded candidates out there.  Dawkins blundered.

[wokkitout]

@markp10311969 // that's true.. it does seem like you have to be on tv in order to be recognized as a public figure.

[ray38montreal]

@markp10311969 If wisdom comes from ann entertaner why not acknowledge it.

[mikeyo1234]

@markp10311969 Maher made a film called Religulous. Also you seem to misunderstand a basic idea... Maher IS a comedian, but he is also so many other things. Just because someone is famous for something doesn't mean that that is all they are! You seem naive.

[flumberg]

@mikeyo1234 yeah, pretty stupid to not want to learn something from everyone.

[markp10311969]

@flumberg You misunderstand. I never said that you can't learn something from Mr. Maher, he's incredibly bright and engaging. I'm arguing that he was a poor choice to receive this award when there are so many other, serious and talented individual to whom the award could have gone. Once again; Bill Maher is to atheism what Kirk Cameron is to Christianity, a celebrity with no serious credentials.

[flumberg]

@markp10311969 aah...I dont know Bill that much to make that assumption. Kirk Cameron hahhaa thats harsh. But yeah I'm sure there were much better choices

[ScottBrown666]

@markp10311969 You're a douchebag.

[markp10311969]

@ScottBrown666 and you're not very smart, for a "bright".

[TheRadicalLiberal]

@markp10311969 Well why not? The best news in the USA comes out of "The Daily Show" which is a comedy.

[markp10311969]

Respond to this video... 

[markp10311969]

@TheRadicalLiberal If John Stewart were dead he'd roll over in his grave at your comments.

[ebottle2000]

i love the 10 minutes of looped black and white people clapping lmao

[queenastilon]

Re "religion must die" it's a nice ideal. Here's the problem.

Any religious person is concerned with, to varying degrees

- ingratiating themselves with some deity

- ingratiating themselves with clergy and/or fellow believers

- working to ensure for themselves and loved ones a blissful eternal afterlife

- persuading others to do all the above

This means their first concern is NOT what's right. They should never be trusted in any public office.

[christo930]

The idea that "religion must die" is absolutely stupid. What do we want to do, make theism against the law? What needs to be done is people need to learn critical thinking and demand evidence for their beliefs. Dogmatic atheism has produced atheistic theocracies every bit as bad as Saudi Arabia.

[eggplnt]

@christo930 I couldn't disagree more. Killing religion doesn't mean making it illegal... the idea is just to give people accurate information so that they can decide for themselves. I have never heard Maher, Dawkins, Hitchens, Harris, Dennett, or any other prominent atheist even suggest outlawing religion. That is like saying that if we allow gay people to marry the logical conclusion is that we will have to let people marry animals... killing religion can be done without the help of the law.

[christo930]

@eggplnt "Religion must die" is a pretty bold statement and to me, at least, sounds like a call for suppression of religion. I myself am an atheist and I agree the world would be a better place without religion, but only if it is voluntarily rejected because of critical thinking and rational discourse. You can't force people to use their head.

[RELIGIONmustDIE]

@christo930 Who said anything about using force. I think religion must die for humanity to move forward faster and live in a safer, and rational society.

We can sway people with our superior technology and intellect :) lol

[queenastilon]

@christo930 You can't force people to use their head but you CAN lead them to question things more. For example, when someone states "I'm a christian" we usually either ignore it or say "ok, I understand that..." We should instead perhaps stare at them and say "You're what? WHY??" It might annoy them a lot but at least it's brought the subject to the forefront of their consciousness for a while.

[NederlandsFalen]

@eggplnt What should be illegal is child indoctrination of false information.

[pmathies]

@eggplnt well yes it's not like flat earthers had to be legislated against. but of course the belief has died. and rightly so given the evidence.

[queenastilon]

@christo930 "Dogmatic atheism has produced atheistic theocracies every bit as bad as Saudi Arabia." Dogmatic atheism?? There is no such thing.

You can only call for instance Stalin's regime a theocracy in that it was about blind faith and obedience but atheistic only insofar as the devotion demanded was to HIM & communism instead of a recognised deity. That was THE way to hold power in a land crammed with stupefied superstitious peasants (believed the Tsar was divine).

[christo930]

@queenastilon What I mean when I say that is that if you simply create propaganda that there is no god and make that assertion and outlaw religion, you will get something like a religion. People in USSR didn't use reason and logic to become atheistic, they used propaganda and force. People who say there is no god and we must destroy religion are dangerous. We should say, there is no reason to think there is a god other than wishful thinking.

[mistereveready]

thanks for posting this.

[19cohen]

I AM SO SORRY but i think the religion should stay,eventhough im an athiest.the only problem i have is religion mixed state,this is one scary shit,but religion itself can be tolerated .

[crabssssss]

Your one of thoser 'I'm an Atheist BUT' people, where the completion of the sentence is almost certain unhelpful, patronizing and nilhistic. Your basically sayin 'I'm intelligent and educated enough to not believe in God but, bless their little soul, those religious people are not as smart as me so I should encourage their ignorance and stupidity because, God darn it, they are so cute in their inncence'. You belief in belief my friend.

[19cohen]

@crabssssss What??again what??do you even know what you are talking about?

[markp10311969]

@crabssssss Please proofread before pressing the post tab. You're point may be taken better if you took the time to craft your message in a more sophisticated manner. " Your basically sayin 'I'm intelligent and educated enough to not believe in God but, bless their little soul, those religious people are not as smart as me so I should encourage their ignorance and stupidity because, God darn it, they are so cute in their inncence'. You belief in belief my friend."

[CondorDM]

@19cohen no god, i do not want children to be told unicorns are real and for them to go on believing it into there adult lives.

This type of non sense really does affect the world even if not your directly, think of people in the world suffering due to these beliefs then maybe you will understand why it should not be allowed to exist.

[gavbag1234]

The missed quote there was, by the way one of my favorites.

If religious extremism really does result in the end of the world or a catastrophe on a global scale. It will be because we learned how to precipitate mass death before we got past the neurological disorder of wishing it. -- Bill Maher

[zenhemmo]

Thanks for this recording, eggpint!

5*

[Raptors09999]

lol at 3:33 to 3:40

[ShewalksNbeauty]

Wish there was a video of this! Thanks so much for sharing the audio. I appreciate the supplementary pictures. :-)

[eggplnt]

@ShewalksNbeauty I did not get much video... I literally walked in from the airport shuttle and hit record. But... I have posted what little video I did get... just a couple minutes.

[AlbertDarwin007]

Thank you for posting this!

[funkskull]

nice work eggplnt, domo arigato.

[gcuellar82]

Did Bill accept he was atheist already? if he did, it was about time

[fomastephanovitch]

Bill Maher's a bit out of his depth, standing up in front of a group of sober, employed people.

He may have to ask Sam Harris to make some zoo noises to put him at ease.

Christopher Hitchens could re-create the aura of a Real Time audience although the problem is that when he starts drinking he gets a reflective sheen on his forehead which may cause Maher to freeze mid-speech and become detained in the same fashion he is in front of his full length mirror every morning.

[johnthekeane]

Sounds a bit like envy.

[fomastephanovitch]

I thought so too, until I realized I might be a candidate for a laureateship next year...

Liberals and awards have always yielded some fascinating scenarios.

[johnthekeane]

...doubt it.

[ruin3r]

I want to go to one of the AAI conventions one of these years and meet some of the greatest living minds.. its a shame this flies so far under the radar and so few know about it, non-religious are the fastest growing group of people in the world and will one day be the majority, so get used to it Christie's!

[CapnKookypants]

I raise my glass in salute, with fond recognition of a point worth making.

[fomastephanovitch]

So sad how these people have started giving one another awards.

[eggplnt]

sorta like the doves, or the Christians for Biblical Equality Awards, or the Christian Web and New Media Awards, or the UK Christian Book Awards, or the Christian Music Awards, or the American Biblical Society Awards, or the Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion... need I continue.

[fomastephanovitch]

Yeah, just like them.

I happen to be an atheist and I think these guys are bloviating wankers in giving themselves awards, just like the religious charlatans you've listed.

It's not conduct that befits those who postulate as the enlightened ones to be driven by the receipt of bright shiny objects.

[Danorsomething]

That misses the point.

Shiny objects and conventions draw attention to the movement. They demonstrate that their is some community among the non/anti-religious. This is important.

While it may seem like a bit of self-congratulatory wank fest - it's that too- it does serve an important purpose in drawing attention to the movement and thereby advancing it.

[mdiem]

thumbs-up for "wank fest"

[nimrodnate]

the sad thing is that we need to. If people didn't hold such childish beliefs than we all be watching something else :)

[rcs823]

great upload thanks!!!!!

[EpicHiroDJ]

excellent, thanks for this .......

[eggplnt]

There are 2 more coming from the convention, but they are quite long and will take some time.