There used to be a time in America when people doing good for their fellow man was viewed as a noble endeavor. This is especially true for good Samaritans who have been blessed with wealth and power choosing to use what they were given to lift up the less fortunate.
But now, in an age in which social media outrage has taken a more prevalent role in society, the voices of those seeking to ruin anything positive in society have been given an even bigger bullhorn. The progressive left, in particular, is chock full of insufferable people whose primary goal in discourse appears to be finding something wrong with everything – especially if it does not line up wholly with their Pharisaical progressive orthodoxy.
Comedian and talk show host Bill Maher, who has been on a tear against the far left lately, highlighted this problem during a recent broadcast in which he issued a scathing monologue against leftists criticizing YouTuber MrBeast and others for helping orphans, disabled people, the homeless, and many others.
RedState's Nick Arama reports:
He pointed out how Mr. Beast devoted some of the money he made to help get cataract surgery for 1,000 blind people. But the woke attacked him for filming the joy of the people getting their sight back. The WaPo's Taylor Lorenz said what "truly needs curing" is society's view of disabled people, and Buzzfeed wrote that Mr Beast seems to regard disability as something that needs to be "solved." Maher described how the people who could now see did seem to think something had been "solved." "You know the expression sh*t or go blind?" he asked the woke critics. "You did neither." Maher said the woke loved "nothing more than being a victim."
He described how Mr. Beast constructed 100 wells in Africa to provide clean drinking water for half a million people. Mr. Beast was then criticized for being a "white male figure" who came along, and his detractors claimed that it was frustrating that he "gets all the attention." "You know what else is frustrating," Maher said. "Dying of thirst."
Mr. Beast also rebuilt an African orphanage. Then, he was attacked for a "classic case of white saviorism." Maher derided that as well, "Ask any orphan to name the worst part of their life, 'Show-offs!'"
Maher opened his monologue by asking what should be the easiest question in the world: Can we at least agree that giving is good?”
He then goes on to discuss MrBeast’s philanthropic work and excoriates those on the left criticizing him, saying, “MrBeast, whoever the f**k that is, just cured [blind people] and you didn’t do s**t.”
Maher ridicules the left’s criticism of MrBeast for digging wells in Africa. “How dare he come in and Bogart digging the wells? That’s so white guy, always taking fresh water and shoving it down our throat,” he said.
The comedian shifted the conversation to homelessness, poking fun at those on the left who insinuate that trying to help these individuals somehow perpetuates the stigma of being homeless.
The woke have even turned the homeless into a political identity group, as opposed to liberals, old school liberals, who just want to get them off the street, which now is seen as judgy, like don't disturb them in their natural habitat.
They're just living their best life under the bridge. The woke think the number one job is to protect homeless people from stigma. I think the number one job is to protect them from rain.
How did we get to this weird place? Telling people who are actually out in the world making a positive difference, "You're the problem." pic.twitter.com/5iX9wW4AKM
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) December 9, 2023
Maher’s monologue, which I would recommend watching, perfectly illustrates a troubling (and annoying) trend among Western leftists who believe it is more important to talk about problems than it is to solve them. What is bubbling under the surface is two important factors. Firstly, if someone takes it upon themselves to solve problems related to disabilities, homelessness, orphans, and other problems, it further underscores the reality that those screaming about the plight of these individuals are doing the least to address their problems.
Secondly, solving these problems would make it harder for progressives to exploit these people for the purposes of virtue signaling. Their entire belief system and the agenda it spawned is reliant on people continuing to suffer so that the activist class can go on social media and in front of cameras to proclaim how much they care about those who are hurting. Indeed, for the progressive types, virtue signaling about particular groups is more important than actually doing something that will help them.
It is these sentiments that fuel the animus progressives have toward people who do good deeds – especially those who are not doing so in the name of their ideology. This is the reason why progressives, despite their performative politics, don’t actually change things for the better. It is not about curing societal ills, it is about using societal ills to grow their power.
