Bill Maher closed Real Time on Friday by denouncing not only New York City police, but police unions in general for fostering tension between officers, residents and elected leaders.
"This is why Americans hate unions now," Maher said. "It's why Republicans have been able to make 'taking on the unions' an applause line. Because union bullsh*t that people see on TV made it easy for them to make it about crybabies and entitlement. Which is a shame, because with a record wealth gap, we need unions now more than ever."
When the U.S. had a vibrant middle class, he argued, one in three workers belonged to a union. But now that number is down to one in ten.
"It's not hard to do the math," Maher said. "Except in this country, because we can't fire teachers."
Meanwhile, he said, union leaders representing both the NYPD and Cleveland police insist on pushing the narrative that police can do no wrong and every arrest is "by the book."
"Put six slugs into an unarmed man by the seat of your car? 'By the book,'" he explained. "Strangle a handcuffed guy to death? 'By the book.' Kill a 12-year-old who had a toy gun? 'By the book.' Maybe they need to get a new book. Who wrote this book, anyway, George Zimmerman?"
If police needed to be reassured that the public loved them under threat of a "tantrum," that was more like being in a relationship than a public trust, Maher said.
"Right now, honey -- I mean, officer -- I'm confused," he said. "Yes, you have a tough, dirty job. But you volunteered for it. It's like a proctologist coming home every night and saying, 'I can't believe I have to look at a*sholes all day.'"
Instead of refusing to do their work to get back at Mayor Bill de Blasio, Maher argued, the NYPD should stop acting like every Black person they meet will either run away or shoot them.
"Believe it or not, there are Black New Yorkers who won't run and can't shoot," he said. "They're called the Knicks."
Watch Maher's commentary, as posted online on Friday, below.
