If you thought that this Duck Dynasty nonsense was going to be over in just a day or two, you are sorely mistaken. Now the cable news shows have gotten a hold of the story, and everyone is like “FIRST AMENDMENT!” and “CHRISTIANITY!” and “OPPRESSED!” and other people are like “Oh, for goodness sake, the first amendment doesn’t entitle every bigot to their own cable show.” There was a huge panel discussion about it on Morning Joe this morning and it made my head hurt to hear all of these conservatives who are like “Phil Robertson has been fired for being a good Christian! RED STATE!” Well… Duck Dynasty was a popular show all over the country, not just in red states. And millions of Christians were offended by Phil’s GQ interview too.
Anyway, there’s a lot of stuff to cover, so I’m going to try to put it in some kind of order. First – Sarah Palin wasn’t the only “politico” type to Stand With Phil. Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal has been going off on his Twitter – you can read his tweets here. The gist is that we’re all being “intolerant” of Phil’s right to be an intolerant, offensive bigot and that A&E is going to be sorry they ever oppressed the great martyr known as Phil Robertson.
Yesterday, it looked like A&E was just trying to wait until the dust settled before making some big change to Duck Dynasty, but that’s no longer possible. Even though some advertisers – like Under Armour – are saying they would stick with Duck Dynasty regardless, A&E didn’t back away from suspending Phil. Yesterday, we thought that Duck Dynasty would just go on with the other dudes, but now… not so much. The rest of Duck dudes have announced that they would not go on without Phil:
We want to thank all of you for your prayers and support. The family has spent much time in prayer since learning of A&E’s decision. We want you to know that first and foremost we are a family rooted in our faith in God and our belief that the Bible is His word. While some of Phil’s unfiltered comments to the reporter were coarse, his beliefs are grounded in the teachings of the Bible. Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Phil would never incite or encourage hate. We are disappointed that Phil has been placed on hiatus for expressing his faith, which is his constitutionally protected right. We have had a successful working relationship with A&E but, as a family, we cannot imagine the show going forward without our patriarch at the helm. We are in discussions with A&E to see what that means for the future of Duck Dynasty. Again, thank you for your continued support of our family.
If A&E ends up canceling Duck Dynasty, there will be hell to pay from certain demographics. But if A&E is all “Whatever, offended people, we want to keep this Duck Dynasty cash cow going as is,” there will be hell to pay from another set of demos. Plus, not ALL of this is A&E’s decision – not only is the network probably in talks with the Duck Dynasty people, they’re also talking to all of their advertisers about whether or not those advertisers want to be associated with the (now tainted) Duck Dynasty brand. This is very much like the Paula Deen situation – the Food Network had to deal with not just Paula’s racism-tainted branding issues, but they had to deal with angry advertisers who no longer wanted to be associated with Deen.
By the way, I’m aware of A&E’s unclean hands in all of this. While Phil Robertson’s views came as news to me (because I don’t watch the show, nor had I ever read anything about them before this week), A&E knew who Phil was and what he believed. I believe A&E probably edited around Phil’s more controversial statements on the show, but they’re mostly mad at Phil for going on the record and off the leash with GQ.
Photos courtesy of Parade.
I wonder if this means that the other duck dynasty boys are just as bigoted, but hide it better?
i am sure they believe that homosexuality is a sin as well, since they are all part of the same faith community, but i doubt they would have said anything as offensive as what Phil said in public. i hope not, anyway. Jase especially has done a lot of public speaking on his faith, and i don’t think i’ve ever heard that he’s condemned homosexuality in public.
as a gay person speaking only for myself, hearing ‘my faith doesn’t condone homosexuality’ is a lot different than hearing homosexuality being lumped in with bestiality, etc. i would still have stopped watching the show as soon as he confirmed that homosexuality was a sin, but i wouldn’t have been nearly as offended. they can of course believe whatever they want to believe. but his comments and the subsequent martyrdom created by far right Christians are not very helpful in a world still very much full of teen gay suicides and violent acts against gay folks.
I agree with everything Erinn said.
He is entitled to his faith and his opinion. However, he really did cross the line into hatred.
So yes, A&E had the right to fire him, but the rest of the members have the right to quit as well. A&E will lose a lot of money appeasing the left on this one.
So I have mixed feelings. I don’t think someone’s personal views should cause everyone to get so freaked out. Igniting him and giving no weight to his words would have been better. And refusing to watching the show and causing loss of revenue to the network would have been more of a statement.
It isn’t appeasing “The Left.” Lots of conservative-minded folks are pro-LGBT rights, including my very Republican father, grandmother, and aunt.
Also, he made some really despicable racist comments, and I don’t know why they aren’t getting the same press. I think because, even in this day and age, some people will brush off anti LGBT remarks, but know they can’t do that with racist comments.
sapphoandgrits , Yes, I know self-identified conservatives who are socially liberal.
Yes. I’m from the deep South and have both liberal and conservative relatives. Most of the conservatives (in my family) are pro gay marriage and some are even pro abortion (shocker!). I really wish we’d stop trying to force people into only these 2 little boxes. I’d like to think most people are more complex than this and are capable of thinking for themselves. This media led culture war between Republicans and Democrats is why we can’t get a damn thing done in Washington. I, for one, am sick to death of it.
EXACTLY. It wasn’t just that he said homosexuality is a sin, it was that he said it in the most offensive way possible.
Add in the whole African-Americans were happier working in the fields under Jim Crow laws thing, and just… no. STFU
I wonder why that part hasn’t really been addressed? I mean the anti-gay thing was bad enough but why are people acting as if that was the only thing he said? I get why his defenders are ignoring it, but why the detractors not calling him out on it?
My understanding is that all the guys work for Phil’s business? So even if they didn’t support his views (though I think they probably do to some extent), it’s in their interests to stay on his good side.
Willie and his wife actually own the company from what I understand. And they actually have a son that is African-American so I would bet they don’t agree with Phil on those comments.
It is what it is. Someone will be mad no matter the outcome.
I thought his son was CEO (or something along those lines) but it’s still Phil’s company (it’s built around the product he created afterall). Unless he gave it to his kid.
“I wonder if this means that the other duck dynasty boys are just as bigoted, but hide it better”
Yep they are. They damn near admitted to it when they said they stand behind Phil and his beliefs. They said they have the same beliefs so if that’s true they are bigoted as well.
What they are trying to do with their canned PR statement is to reframe the statements as coarse, for sure, but religious speech from a man who is all about the love and tolerance. I don’t know if the rest of these guys are as bad as he is. For some reason I doubt that they are, although I’m sure they think gayness is a sin.
I wonder if they all spent some time in prayer after homeboy’s interview came out in GQ and they saw what he had to say.
I hope not as one of them adopted a african american child. If all the adults are as bigoted as this guy, I feel for that kid.
“Junior, it’s time I tell you about your great great grandfather, who lived during a much simpler, Godlier time. White folks worked side-by-side with black folks and everyone got along just swell. Slave days, or as I like to call it “the good ol’ days”.
sorry, but I can’t not say this. I think it is hilarious everyone is bringing up the black boy they adopted over discussions on Phils homophobia. Thats comparing apples to oranges. The kid isn’t gay, therefore why is this being brought up? Furthermore, I am against bringing the rest of the family into this. This is about Phil and what he said, not about all the other family members, we don’t know what goes on behind closed doors, there is no proof that everyone else in the family has these thoughts. If I were judged based on my crazy grandmas racist remarks, I’d be very upset along with my ENTIRE FAMILY. My grandma is homophobic too, yet nobody else in the family is and my cousin came out as a lesbian a few years ago and nobody in the family cared or had any sort of reaction to it, other then my grandma.
So I feel for the family because I can relate.
And you know the family made those statements via PR, and they have to say it to protect their money and business, and I honestly have ‘t read any of the families statements that everyone is talking about.
Anyways what I’m trying to say here is judge Phil, but don’t persecute his entire family. Its not right.
Edit: I just realized that he apparently made racist comments but I still stand firm on my thoughts of not judging the family based on the grandpas thoughts. Case in point, my sister married a black man and my grandma is racist and was pissed off about it, but nobody else in the family is racist and therefore it was a non-issue to us.
Well as long as that Black child doesn’t turn out to be gay he might be fine. Remember Phil beileves that Blacks in the south were happier than a pig in shit before that Civil Rights thing got in the way. He said some dumb ass crap about Blacks but his main issue was homosexuality.
A tight family clan is always uniform to the rest of the world. Their battles are behind closed doors.
@Meaghan if the family said they stand behind Phil and share his beliefs, then yeah, they are also saying they believe homosexuality is a sin and people who immerse in this kind of behavior will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
I didn’t read any statements either but I heard it on NBC News.
Okay, I read the family statement. I retract what I said. However that SUCKS for the family that doesn’t believe his bullsh*t because the PR person did a blanket statement for everyone in the family, and you know not everybody in the family would believe that. There has to be a few free thinkers.
I just got so mad reading the attack on the entire family because all my life I’ve feared of people judging me and my family based on my crazy grandma who I disowned years ago.
@Meaghan I’m sorry you had to disown your grandmother, that must still weigh heavy on your heart. I do understand that her racial ideology must have been extreme to make you feel that you had to distance yourself from her.
One of my closest friends is Italian and her grandmother hated the fact that she dates Black men. When she would bring her boyfriend home we would always say if grandma made one racist comment we were going to lock her in the basement for the remainder of his visit (we weren’t being literal, just joking). She has come around a bit now that she has a biracial great grandson who she adores but we still keep grandma on a short leash. Someone her age is not going to completely comform their beliefs. She had no problem with me being Black because I’m only the friend, not someone who was going to perhaps one day marry into the family.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of blacks who would agree with Phil’s statements on homosexuality being a sin. I agree that homophobes are capable of not being racist. It is comparing apples to oranges. A black acquaintance just liked a Facebook group supporting Phil. She is a Christian and believes homosexuality is a sin. There is a lot of homophobia in the African American community. They might vote Democratic due to other reasons, but many are still socially conservative and align more with right wing Christian beliefs.
@Meaghan – actually, if you read the entire interview, the tripe that spewed from Robertson’s mouth was not just the attack on homosexuality. There was quite a bit of revisionist history including that there really was no discrimination during the Jim Crow days because he worked alongside all those black folks and none of them complained about white folks to him. He also pretty much shaded everyone who is not Christian and implied we are more likely to commit sins like murder because he could identify 4 groups that committed lots of murders and the thing they had in common was no Jesus (included in those 4 groups were the Nazis and, while the grand poobahs of nazidom may not have been practicing Christians, the rank and file Nazis were Christians).
@ol cranky
It is a fact now that the official churches in Germany as well as the Vatikan played a very shameful role during and post nazi time.
Jase and his family voted for Obama. Wonder as if in a lot of families the kids are more liberal than the parents? They said they supported their father but made no comments about the actual statement. Who knows but most of us love/support our family regardless of some of their whacked out beliefs.
I understand they voted for Obama but would they have voted for him if he was a gay man running for President?
I wasn’t just referring to their statements about supporting their father. Throughout the course of their show they have more than once said they pretty much all share the same beliefs and values. IDK, maybe they were just saying that to save face with Phil, he is the matriarch. It’s Phil’s business and they all work for him.
I agree, their vote has little to do with hard core evangelical beliefs and they could still hold very conservative cultural beliefs. It does indicate though at least one of the sons dares to be somewhat different from the patriarchy. Think a lot of people would still side with their parents & support them, even if they have radically different views.
I wouldn’t condemn the family for having the same faith and ideas( to an extent) though. Religious people are allowed to believe that being gay is sin and will lead you to hell. It just depends how they go about it. My mother doesn’t believe in being gay, she thinks it is wrong and goes against god, but she also believes that it’s their life and they should be able to live the way they want. It’s gods job to judge and punish, not hers. She believes they should have the right to marry, as it doesn’t effect her or her marriage. She just views it as being morally wrong and that’s her right. It doesn’t mean my mother is some crazy hating bigot. So the other duck guys may think being gay is sin and leads to a life in hell, but that doesn’t mean they are mean spirited towards gay people.
Yes. This. I’d like to believe they are standing together as a family. I didn’t take away from the family statement that they all agreed whole heartedly. It was a collective statement from the family as a whole.
I am borderline Socialist. My Father is Die Hard Conservative. I would hate to be judged by the things that come out of his mouth. As much as I disagree with him , he’s still my father and he has a right to express his opinion. I would stand behind him in his right to do so. Even if I disagree whole heartedly (and I often do). Even if I sometimes think he’s an idiot (and I often do). He is my family. I love him. That’s what’s important. That’s what I took away from this familial statement. This is the core of “family values” – not toeing the Conservative party line, or disowning your family b/c you disagree with their beliefs.
And since this is my first time comment on this clusterf*ck, let me clarify by saying I disagree with Phil. I think there were a lot of factual errors & misinformation in his whole interview . Voting for Romney because he’s “from Utah” & not voting for Obama b/c he’s from Chicago???? Seriously?? It’s hard for me to take someone seriously who uses that logic in the first place. Not to mention, Romney is from MA, not Utah, so it’s pretty obvious the guy is ignorant & uninformed. I don’t understand why anyone is putting any weight into what he says. That said, I support his right to voice his opinion. I also support A&E’s right to protect their investment. Personally, after reading on this for a few days, I wouldn’t ‘be surprised if this was a calculated PR move. Have you read NPRs take on this?
Did people really doubt that other people hold controversial views? We’re all morally ambiguous people. The fact is no one who doesn’t watch the show should be making a hullabaloo over it. I’m not trying to be the PC police of other people. I don’t agree with what he said, but I’d feel just as unnerved if someone tried to get Rupaul’s drag race cancelled who didn’t watch it because they say “tranny”. I love that show. Leave my shows alone. If the Duck fans still want to watch it, then other people should back off.
A&E suspended DD because advertisers were getting so many complaints. Unlike the filth Duck Dude spewed, the word ‘Tranny’ used by gay people on a gay show is not bigoted whatsoever, and this is one of the dumber arguments I’ve seen on this thread. ‘I’m not trying to be the PC police of other people’ is a code phrase for someone who wants to be able to disparage minorities without consequences. Too bad for you the days when people of good conscious would stay quiet while bigots and racists carried on is long gone.
You do sound really put upon though, you poor oppressed thing. So you go on ahead and watch your shows. No one’s stopping you, at least until theyre booted off the air too. Not to worry, there’s always internet sites like ‘Stormfront’ where you’ll always feel right at home.
So, No Rin, we are not going to ‘leave them alone’, we are going to shout “”I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!”” from the rooftops! – (Network – 1976)
Well I’m sorry to hear that Duckies, it’s been a good run. Thanks.
Newsflash, duck dudes: Loving your neighbor as yourself means respecting people not exactly like you and not denigrating them to slave status and acting like they should’ve enjoyed it. His comments do not have any basis in the Bible and do not espouse any positive teachings I’ve ever heard. From any faith.
Thank you for pointing out that he also said RACIST comments as well as homophobic.
He is definitely getting a pass on the racist crap. And its not the first time racism is ignored and when the same guy pulls some homophobic crap, people leap. Alec Baldwin comes to mind. Honestly, the quote I saw on homosexuality was offensive but no where near as bad as to justify the storm. If I recall he says that beastiality, homosexuality aaaand straight promiscuity. I enjoy a full sex life but you dont see me contorting logic just so I can claim that I have been equated to a practiser of beastiality. He is basically taking a black letter interpratation of sexual sin. The race stuff is worse.
I think it’s being ignored for a reason: it’s less socially acceptable to make horribly racist statement than homophobic statements, thus it’s harder to say “His racist views are faith-driven so he gets a pass,” whereas a depressingly large segment of the public will agree with the statement “His homophobic views are faith-driven so he gets a pass.” I’m gay, and as disgusting as his LGBT statements were, the claims that Jim Crow and being exploited and terrorized sharecroppers was just Zip-e-do-dah appalled me even more.
With Paula Deen, the media was focused on the racist statements and actions, and NOT the misogynist statements and actions, which were (imo) much worse, and which is the reason why the manager git a settlement, and why she would have won in court.
“it’s harder to say “His racist views are faith-driven so he gets a pass,” whereas a depressingly large segment of the public will agree with the statement “His homophobic views are faith-driven so he gets a pass.”
I agree 100%. His racist views are being ignored because they are much harder for Fox News to defend.
That’s why the excuse of “I’m following the bible’s teachings” is BS.
I know plenty of people who “follow the bible’s teachings” and they are NOT hateful bigots.
It IS absolute BS and I am infuriated.
True true. There are a lot of teachings in the Bible that are crystal clear – but there are more teachings that are left for interpretation. He is chosing to interpret them in a cloud of hate and negativity.
I’m also infuriated by this jerk for invoking the Bible to back him up in his hate crusade. It is not our job as human beings to pretend to bring the wrath of God down on our brotherhood. If you believe in God, it means God is our only judge. Going around putting everybody on blast the way he has done only outs you as a hateful lunatic. I think this guy should be checked for dementia.
Notice: I know a lot of Christians and none of them would agree with this bile.
The problem is that the Bible is full of a lot of wonderful stuff and an equal amount of awful stuff. Stuff that gets taught in church today as great examples of faith and suffering. So, yeah, he can say he’s following the Bible’s teachings and be completely legit. The worst thing I ever did for my faith was read the Bible.
This! My brother is a huuuuuge fan of the show (and is also – sad to say – more than a little homophobic) but even he was massively offended by the racist comments. I don’t watch this show and I never will so I don’t care if it gets cancelled or not but why anyone would fight for these guys is beyond me.
No one on my FB has made a peep about his racist comments and it’s really annoying. They just want to focus on how they’re being persecuted for their religious believes and how the first amendment should apply to everyone. I don’t know whether I should laugh or cry about the first amendment comments.
I’ve already deleted two people for posting a picture about how they’ve offended the f@ggots.
Isa, I feel the same way. I don’t usually get into political-ish stuff on facebook, as it doesn’t seem to be the best forum for nuanced discussion on serious issues…but it is REALLY hard to read all of these incredibly misguided comments talking about
“freedom of speech” (which isn’t even an issue here) without responding.
You guys are restoring my faith in humanity. I am so glad to see his unrepentant racism being put on blast. The PR flacks of the Paula Deens and Duck Dudes of this world are no dummies, but they’ve underestimated the public’s stomach for their disgusting racist, sexist, and homophobic poison.
Ugh I just noticed that I wrote “believes” instead of “beliefs.”
Amen.
i called this yesterday–there was no way the other DD guys would go one with the show if their leader was booted off of it.
but it almost seemed to me like Phil was tired of the show and looking for an out. he’s not dumb. he must have had some sense of the $h!t storm his GQ comments would create…
He was already considering leaving before the season started. I assume the other guys might prefer he left on his own instead of being booted off.
I’ve never watched the damn show. One look at those guys and you know what’s going on there. Not to dismiss the poisonous homophobia at all but I’m personally more offended by his whole black people loved Jim Crow crap and there isn’t any religious defense he can get behind on that one. Since the press is making it solely about homophobia they are able to gloss over the other bigoted statements.
The media loves to gloss over racial issues, doesn’t it? I also have never watched the show despite my friend telling me how good it is/was because come on, like you don’t know the kind of “Christians” these people are. Just saying. Go ahead and jump all over me for judging a book by its cover but IMO sometimes trusting your first impressions can save you from getting in with some bad people.
Same here.
I am very leery of saved Christians. The ones I met, and actually quite a few, are very uneducated about the lst and 2nd Testament and other issues. And people who want to save and preach, I just can not do with them.
Yeah. THANK YOU, Steph, Dagdag, Merrit, Tracy, gg, and Tiffany:) and all the posters down thread! SMDH
All these fundamentalist types going on about ‘it’s their religion’, how ‘they can relate to them’, and ‘they shouldn’t be attacked just for their beliefs because they are really swell folks’.
C’mon. These down home salt of the earth ‘good Christians’ are the same ones who give their money and their votes to ban gay marriage. These regular Joes are the same ones who cry ‘reverse racism’ every chance they get, who defend every White bigoted celebrity, and yet who utter not a peep when POC are mocked, insulted, or worse. They are the same ‘people of faith’ who vehemently oppose affirmative action and overwhelmingly support every state law that block Blacks from voting and disenfranchises the poor and elderly. These Duck F*cks and their ilk can take their racist, homophobic bile and shove it up their duck blinds.
Thank you Sloane! 🙂
The racism was practically ignored by the media. The one time I saw it mentioned, it was and the end of the new segment. What he said about the pre-civil rights era, was completely revisionist and racist garbage.
Racism is always ignored unless it is about people like Ophrah. And Phil is really offensive, he talks about AA like aliens or oversized children.
I did not even know about the bigoted statements until I sought out the actual article myself. I was stunned by his comments and then amazed how the media has made this only about his homophobic comments.
Maybe GLAAD has been louder than the NAACP but damn, that’s no excuse.
The NAACP released a statement that was very well written and it addressed both the racial aspects of his comments, as well as the LGBT comments.
Good! Take it off the air!
What is starting to bother me in this whole bothersome mess of botheration is that not everything Phil said was about homosexuality and therefore his Christian beliefs. What about his statements regarding how happy black people were before civil rights? That in itself was enough for people to be offended and angry! Oh sure Phil, those people just loved life while Jim Crow laws made them legal second class citizens and they did not even have the right to vote! Idiot.
Right, like they would have felt so free to complain about it to a redneck white man.
Yeah i mean Good Riddance, Don’t let the door hit you in your Camo clad asses!
And says he was white trash working alongside of them insinuating what their station in life was. He is basically saying: How dare these uppity blacks get educated and fight for their civil rights, equality in the work place, desegretation in schools, and actual basic rights like using the same water fountain. Why, they were happy as could be out there in the fields and Godly, too, never a complaint in the world.
Totally, Jayna. The racist comments are just flabbergasting. Much more so than his homophobe comments. Not many are touching on that in the media. This whole idea of how happy everyone was, obviously he thinks we should be like that now.
Every time some idiot talks about their First Amendment rights in response to (a) people disagreeing with them, (b) people boycotting things, or (c) private corporations taking action against them, I want to bang my head against a wall. DID THE GOVERNMENT FORCE YOU TO STOP TALKING? IF NO, THE CONSTITUTION IS IRRELEVANT.
Arghhhhhhhhhhhh.
When you bang your head against the wall, it doesn’t hurt the wall.
Funny how the “free speech” people are ignoring their other favorite rallying cry – it’s a free market! A business has a right to protect its profits, and that’s what A&E is doing. It’s nothing to do with being anti-Christian or anti free speech – or anything to do with the first amendment at all. The Right is being a bit hypocritical right now.
Never saw the show, knew nothing of these guys before the GQ article (who will also now profit handsomely from Duck Dynasty, ironically). Hopefully, this will be the last we hear of this man and his vile views.
“Funny how the “free speech” people are ignoring their other favorite rallying cry – it’s a free market!”
Exactly!
Thank you!!
If someone walked into my office spouting any strongly worded and confrontational beliefs, you can bet my firm of over 300K people would fire them instantly as the action does not represent us well as a whole publicly nor does it promote a congenial workplace enviroment. I know I have to take webinars every year on workplace attitudes and harassment and any violation of the rules is susceptible to termination.
The US Constitution may guarantee you the right to speak your mind, but it does not say that you don’t have to own your words and actions and the consequences they may bring in a corporate structure.
At the end of the day, A&E is the company signing the paychecks to this guy for the show. If he does not play by their corporate standards (by upsetting their staff, advertisers, viewers with hostile words), they don’t have to sign a check. He should have known at the onset of his contract that anything he says while in their employ is a reflection of that company. Pretty cut and dry.
The ignorance in this country is overwhelming at times.
Me too! LOL! It feels good to know I am not alone! Sending my best wishes for your head! 😉
Super. Perfect outcome. Kudos to A+E.
Now they’re have more time to read the Bible. Here’s hoping you find the love in it.
Well put ^ ^ ^
I always thought these “let us peek into the lives of freaky rednecks” shows were a bad idea. Maybe this has brought some things to light that need to be discussed. But I just hate the way it takes a stupid minority and makes it seems that it’s typical of the majority of Southerners. But I give up. This makes me so angry on so many levels I just can’t read any more about it.
Personally, I think this bunch are hamming it up for the camera.
They’re entertainment not “reality.” I never bought Phil’s schtick and I thought they were exploiting a stereotype for ratings/cash.
Now let’s add cry babies to this. Not everyone agrees or admires you. Boo Effin Hoo.
I saw a video on you tube yesterday in which they were being accused of being fake. The person had photos of all of them clean-shaven and looking like preppy frat boys in polo shirts, yuppies actually. So, the question is: when did they all decide to grow all that hair and be rednecks for pay?
LouLou: No clue, but my bet is placed on “when they decided to pitch a TV show”.
Interesting.
Actually, if you read the article or anything about them, this is how they are. They had a hunting series long before they had the A&E show. Just because you are clean shaven doesn’t mean you don’t hunt? Maybe they shaved in the summer before the reality show?
The point is not what they wear when they hunt.
The point that they are employed as entertainers by A+E.
I don’t understand the freedom of speech sentiment. He said what he wanted to say to GQ, they published his words…no one censored him. No one’s stopping him from saying whatever the hell he wants to reporters, and no ones stopping those reporters from publishing his statements.
Freedom of speech doesn’t mean everyone has to agree with what you say, it just means you get to say it. After that, everyone’s free to tell you you’re a disgraceful human being who should stop talking.
excellent summation
Penny, I agree with you. I would only add that freedom of speech only applies to government censorship, so their whole argument is invalid from the start.
*applause*
This is what I don’t get either. He said what he wanted to say. I totally agree that absolutely everyone should say whatever they want — HOWEVER, he’s not just Phil the duck guy from down the street. He’s representing his employer and his sponsors. And I think that’s where the lines are blurred w/his freedoms. I couldn’t say whatever the heck I want at my company’s annual golf outing and not be punished in some way if I said things that don’t jive w/my company’s ethics – or if I said things that are controversial or hateful. I could say those things in my backyard, but not when I’m representing another entity. At least this is my understanding – I could be totally wrong here. But this is why I’m wondering why people are questioning his freedoms. He doesn’t have the same freedoms when he is earning millions of dollars by representing A&E. Too bad, but hey – nobody made him star in a *reality* show.
THIS!!!!
Spot on, Penny.
I agree with emmie_a and everyone above.
I don’t think it’s even a free speech issue. To me, it comes down to the fact that A&E has the right to suspend or fire any employee who makes remarks like this. Imagine if any of you went into your workplace and made comments like this, you or I would be fired. That’s all there is to it.
A&E are hypocrites. You think they didn’t know his views before they gave him a show, come on. I honestly believe this country is headed for a breakup because we can’t live together. We are so polarized and don’t associate with each other.
It is the way of the world. Cruelty and intolerance begin to gather momentum and people of conscience stand up against it, often at great personal sacrifice.
This is going to get worse before it gets better.
It won’t surprise me if some heads roll at A+E too.
According to Deadline, A&E is getting death threats. Figures.
AGREED 100% A&E caused this problem, not the other way around.
You called it, Mimi! A&E knew Phil was hating years before that show that should duck, duck, GO!
http://www.tmz.com/2013/12/19/phil-robertson-2010-sermon-homosexuality-gays-homophobia-a-and-e/
I took a look at A&E’s website. It looks like most of their line-up is reality shows, with the exception of Bonnie and Clyde and the First 48. Anyone see B&C, is it any good? Didn’t they used to air movies and biographies? No arts as far as the eye can see.
Yeah it seems like they’re mostly bad reality TV shows now, maybe because they needed to save dough, or maybe they’re just giving the people what they want (*sigh*).
Wasn’t “I Survived” on A&E and now it’s on Bio?
That’s a really fascinating show.
It is a completely channel now, I used to love A&E but quit watching because all of the reality nonsense. I saw commercials from B&C, might check it out they also have that Mob mini-sereis right? That I did really want to see..
Now I have a shameful admission.. I caught myself watching Gypsy Sisters on TLC last night, I didn’t turn the channel and felt dirty after watching but I watched the entire show.. BOOO on me
You forced me to google “Gyspy Sisters” and for that I will never forgive you, Marie.
the mob mini series, Mob City (if that’s the one you mean) was on TNT.
and I saw parts of it; it was pretty good.
I used to love A & E. Back when it had Amercian Justice and all those others shows, then it added Dog the bounty hunter and other garbage now it’s this crap and hoarders. Smh.
A&E use to be so great. I loved Bill Kurtis, he was the best host ever. City Confidentials with Paul Winfield, Breakfast with the Arts on Saturday. Man A&E, History, Bravo, TLC, and most of the Discovery channels just went down hill.
Anybody watch Investigation Discovery?
I have a really sick addiction to all those shows. I watch them on Netflix because I don’t have cable….
@ OKitt.. I watch them pretty regularly, good stuff. And I am so sorry that you googled that, it really was as bad as it sounds.
and thank you doofus! Hopefully they show it in repeat so I can check it out.
Jinni, I LOVED Bill Kurtis!!!!! Thanks for giving him a shout out!
If anyone cares, here is A&E’s email address. I figure some voices of reason should contact them, and not just the folks saying that his comments were filled with love.
aefeedback@aenetworks.com
And A&E stands for Art and Entertainment. It would be funny if it wasn’t.
I want someone to ask Governor Jindal if he also believes, like Robertson, that blacks were much happier pre-civil rights. I know my parents were not.
The revisionists are using the same arguments that the architects of Apartheid used to defend their BS. It is racist through and through.
@neely Ditto. Whatever you believe, it’s completely inappropriate for the sitting governor of Louisiana to even wade into this issued knowing the history of racism in the state (Plessy vs. Ferguson which set the stage for nationwide separate but equal laws that weren’t overturned until Brown v. Board, etc.). Yet blacks aren’t one if his core constituencies so I guess he could care less if he offends them…..
He’s a moron. He’s doing it because he thinks his poll numbers will rise.
Thanks for bringing this up. It’s completely baffling why his statements about Jim Crow are being ignored in the media debates. Let’s just revisit them, shall we?
“I never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once. Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash. We’re going across the field…. They’re singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!… Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”
Why is this quote not being talked about by either side in the debate? Any ideas?
“I’m with the blacks, because we’re white trash….They’re singing and happy.”
I’m gobsmacked. Absolutely gobsmacked. Racist cretin.
I was more offended by the black statements. To paraphrase him; “I worked along side the blacks in the field, we were white trash…” what the? That was the most obscenely offensive thing he said. So basically he is equating all blacks to white trash. I am not black but if I were I would be really REALLY pissed.
Everyone was all up in arms about his “right to free speech” and I was confused as to how that applied here because he wasn’t thrown in jail he was suspended from a job, a job that has every right to discipline an employee for inflammatory remarks that could bring negative attention to the business. That is how the real world works. Finally after reading multiple articles I came across one from msnbc that basically reiterated what my thoughts were on the whole free speech debacle. He is protected from the persecution of the court of law but not the court of opinion.
I was also struck by his comments about the south and civil right’s as well. Even more so knowing he has a grandson who is African American (I think half, I am not sure—not a huge fan or viewer but I have seen him).
My husbands great uncle is from Georgia and has said his family was so poor they lived near the black Side of town in the 30s and that when times were hard it was the black families that offered a helping hand because he was too white trash for the good Christians to help out without getting dirty. To this day he still keeps up with those families and their kids because he considers them his blood bc they kept him alive. Its crazy how far we’ve come as a country in 100 years.
Shows where the humanity was, doesn’t it.
Think they were a more nauseating as well. However, right wing media/supporters of DD won’t even address this statement because of the racist tone. Their ‘outrage’ is about assuming the role of victim and self-martyrdom. When the discussion becomes about race then they are the perpetrators rather than the victims. So they won’t even touch the racist remarks and will only speak about homosexuality, because it keeps them at victimized level.
It is because the right wing supporters realize they have nothing to justify the racial remarks. They fall back on the Bible with regards to the homosexuality remarks. So they are just going to ignore the black remarks and take the “hope it goes away” approach
There are Bible verses that say a slave should be obedient to their masters and can’t recall any verse depicting slavery as wrong? In history slave masters have used the Bible to support their use of slaves. Since they are so keen on using Bible verses about homosexuality, wonder why they currently don’t bring the slavery ones in as well?
@Isabelle
During the time the Testaments were written, slavery was common and legally confirmed, Human Rights are rather new. Very complex and interesting subject and, I think, nothing for Bible thumbers.
I had never really heard of this show before the other day. But the mere fact that Jindal is defending it, tells me everything I need to know. A & E should cancel the show.
HAHA! Good point!
HA!
and now it’s become a freedom-to-practice-my-religion issue.
and, yet again, NO ONE, INCLUDING THE GOV’T, IS PREVENTING YOU FROM PRACTICING YOUR RELIGION. go ahead, practice your warped view of Christianity and your worship of Jesus as your savior.
but I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t say anything about gay people. In fact, as a person who mostly hung out with marginalized and persecuted members of society, I think he’d probably embrace the gay population. What would Jesus do, indeed…
A&E is caught between a rock and hard place. The show is their biggest cash cow, so they can’t exactly cancel it outright. But they couldn’t just let Phil go on unpunished. The family now seems like they’re poised to potentially just walk away from the show over it, which will royally screw the network if they do.
I still can’t wrap my head around how the network just allowed Phil, who must be under contract, to do such an unrestricted interview. No media handler present, no pre-screening of the questions, no parameters, it seems like. I think the family’s consevativism has been known for some time, and that Phil is an evangelizer. What did they think he’d say? I can’t support A&E here, only because it seems like they behaved so recklessly with their major cash cow.
I don’t think it’s the cash that will keep them from shutting this down. It’s the contracts.
But if the cast says, hey we quit, they’re playing onto A+E’s hands. They have to eat the cash to keep their themselves out of danger. They’ve acted very quickly……
I think the cast hanging together is actually forcing A&E’s hand. If A&E chooses to keep Phil off the air, they lose the whole juggernaut $$$. If they want to keep the show, they have to keep Phil. Actually a very smart maneuver.
No way condoning them at all. I think Phil’s statements were beyond the pale offensive. Just saying strictly strategically, it was smart of the DD people.
If they threated to quit, A+E will just say “OK.”
A+E would ratherl say good-bye to DD rather than risk their network brand.
They are VERY replacable. It’s not like it’s rocket science or like these people have any actual skill and talent. There are producers and faux yokels just lining up to fill this spot.
The Food Network is fine without Paula Deen.
It seems like there is basically nothing on A&E other than this type of reality crap. So their livelihood relies on that specific demographic. Upon reflection, I can’t imagine that they will sever ties, unless they are attempting to move in a new direction with scripted programs like Bonnie & Clyde, but I haven’t heard any real buzz about it.
I don’t think they can just walk away. They’re contractually obligated to stay on for a so and so amount of years.
Wouldn’t a morality clause release them from that obligation?
@ Shannon
What??? How in the world are they being asked to act in an immoral way?
Mich, I think his statement was immoral. It certainly doesn’t sit with my moral values.
Hey Bluhare! I agree but I think Shannon was positing that the Duck guys could claim they are being forced to act in an immoral way to get out of their contract.
Derp, Mich! That’s what I get for PWI (Posting While Infuriated)! 🙂
Actually, I’m sure the DDs are contractually obligated to act in alignment with A+E’s corporate values as most of us are. Phil’s on hiatus, because they don’t want to be associated with his comments.
If they all threaten to quit, A+E can just agree. Face it. DD is now a liability not an asset. Why would any network want them?
I wonder, though–can the rest of the cast just say ‘we’re not doing it’? Don’t they have contracts? I mean, it’s all very well to take a stand for their “patriarch” (*eyeroll*), but I am sure that A&E has contracts which give the network almost complete control–they can fire whomever they like, but the actors (or whatever you call them) have to do what they’re told.
Ah, if only they walk out and A&E just sues the whole bunch of them for millions–that would be sweet!
I was never a huge fan and I only recently started watching this show but knowing what I do now of Phil’s beliefs and the gospel he wanted to spread via the show and via A&E I am no longer interested in supporting them.
There is no condemning gently and lovingly. It’s condemnation and it comes with consequences. His talking out like this is completely irresponsible and disgusting.
This hits home as well and is very personal. My family suffered a horrific loss and in a brutal fashion and it’s Christians like this who helped our family’s tragedy along and I dare say they were some of the first to line up and proclaim that our family, and our dearly departed loved one, had it coming and it was deserved because they lived in sin.
It’s 2013, time to get over it and let people live in peace.
I am so sorry for your loss, vv. These despicable people that hurt your family are beyond.
There is a certain segment of the population that think they are under attack. Us heathens are attacking their christian values and we hate Christmas and on and on. It’s just an excuse to get up in arms about something. That said, the Duck dynasty folks are already very wealthy people so if the show get cancelled it probably doesn’t make any difference to them. I’m sure they liked the exposure the show brought, but they aren’t going to go hungry that’s for sure.
“There is a certain segment of the population that think they are under attack.” – FingerBinger
Those ‘christians’ who loudly claim to be under attack are projecting their own hateful condemnation of everyone around them. It’s the classic defense mechanism of unconsciously rejecting his or her own unacceptable attributes by ascribing them to objects or persons in the outside world. Just like a cheater who’s paranoid about their spouse cheating.
Conservative Christians are masters of projection.
It doesn’t have to be a case of “I was more offended by _______”
You’re allowed to be equally offended by racist and homophobic comments.
On a personal level, I’m really disgusted with his intolerance of other peoples’ beliefs. I would NEVER talk about religious folk the way he talks about atheists. Imagine that? No God in my life and I still manage to respect my fellow man enough to not condemn him for believing in something I don’t.
But this is incredibly hate-filled:
“First they say, ‘There is no God. Get him out of your mind,'” Robertson said in a rambling speech. “Then they bow down to birds, animals and reptiles, and each other. And the first thing you see coming out of them is gross sexual immorality. They will dishonor their bodies with one another, degrade each other. Uh, is that going on in the United States of America? Look around. God’s not there… And boy is there some immorality going on around here. Does it get worse?”
“Women with women, men with men, they committed indecent acts with one another, and they received in themselves the due penalty for their perversions,” Robertson continued. “They’re full of murder, envy, strife, hatred. They are insolent, arrogant, God-haters. They are heartless, they are faithless, they are senseless, they are ruthless. They invent ways of doing evil. That’s what you have 235 years, roughly, after your forefathers founded the country. So what are you gonna do Pennsylvania? Just run with them? You’re doing to die. Don’t forget that.”
Yeah……WE’RE the “heartless” ones…..
This made me laugh my ass off. You wretched heathen, you. Also, I do bow down to birds. They are amazing creatures who can fly and who add much needed beauty to the world.
I know…whatever will I do when I’m sent to Imaginary Hell?
I LOVE birds. I have a bird motif in my apartment-bird pillows, bird-themed side tables…. um, it’s actually more tasteful than it sounds.
Anyway, I thought Christians were supposed to love all of God’s creatures?
Um, did you even read her comment? How the f did that make her a wretched heathen?
EDIT: I’M SORRY I TOTALLY MISREAD YOUR COMMENT all forms of sarcasm is lost on me when it comes to this “scandal,” seeing as how SO many people are defending Phil. AGAIN I’M SORRY PLEASE DON’T HATE ME
I think the bird motif sounds nice…Heathen. 🙂
@tifzlan, your comment made me laugh too, no worries.
TOK, do you watch Portlandia?
“put a bird on it” is one of my favorite bits.
@tifzlan-I’ve done that so many times you don’t even know 😉
Thank goodness we have the option to edit!
@doofus-no but a good friend of mine who is (not so coincidentally) from Portland told me about the “put a bird on it” skit, precisely because she knows my apartment! I still have to watch that show-it’s on my list.
They’re disgusting. Never seen the show but after reading his comments I felt vindicated for my personal aversions. lol I’m thrilled with the firestorm. I ‘pray’ all literal fundamentals speak loudly from mountaintops so I can avoid them like the plague.
Thank you for posting my comment (better!) for me, TOK!
“Women with women, men with men, they committed indecent acts with one another, and they received in themselves the due penalty for their perversions,” Robertson continued. “They’re full of murder, envy, strife, hatred. They are insolent, arrogant, God-haters. They are heartless, they are faithless, they are senseless, they are ruthless. They invent ways of doing evil. ”
That’s one hell of an indictment. The logic is ….not there. Geez, I can’t believe people like this have a platform. Especially, given the obvious deficit in their IQs. Must be the cretin credo.
It all makes me weep. That a hominid like this gets a platform to spout something that only knuckle draggers would spout.
This is in NO way about the Bible. NO way. The bible, a really smart and wise book, does not exist to justify or elevate the intellectually challenged.
If they feel that strongly about their beliefs, then they should walk and not accept anymore money from A&E.
Without all that money how are they supposed to defend themselves during the war on Christmas? Paychecks for Jesus!
With their cut of all the crappy DD merchandise out there.
There was a op-ed that I read that covered the whole ‘FIRST AMENDMENT’ BS aptly.
1) “try walking into your boss’ office and call him or her a big fat idiot with ugly children. Then see if “freedom of speech” helps you keep your job.”
2) “The Federal Communications Commission did not send officials into the office of Nancy Dubuc, president of A&E Networks. The FBI did not threaten to put Robertson away, and the Internal Revenue Service didn’t freeze his bank accounts.
This is what the First Amendment protects us from — laws being made that restrict freedom of religion, the press and/or speech. It does not protect us from how society responds to the expression of one’s religion, the press or speech.”
Perfectly said. Shuts the whole invalid argument down.
A&E has killed the duck that lays the golden eggs. First amendment doesn’t apply to non-government entities, the network as well as the family can do business with whomever they want. Next picket line: the gay show where a participant points out that he finds vaginas gross.
Meanwhile back to “Pregnant Teenager Babysitters” for A&E’s programming.
lol!
Good riddance – A&E should have never given these racist homophobic a-holes a platform in the first place.
I don’t think his comments were racist, they were stupid. Implying that Black people were happy picking cotton was just dumb. The gay comments on the other hand were just hateful IMO.
Oh my word. You think he was saying was that black people were happy picking cotton? No. He was saying that ‘the blacks’ were happier when they had no civil rights, were not allowed to vote, were not allowed into ‘white’ businesses, lived in constant fear lynchings and other forms of intimidation, were denied access to a good education, could not sit where they wanted on the bus, and more.
He made this comparison:
Black people were “godly” and “happy”, pre-entitlement, pre-welfare.
He is saying that post-welfare, they are now UNGODLY and unhappy.
I think that is pretty dang racist.
I am not gay or a person of color and I was pretty offended
His comment was racist. What do you think racism is about?
No. The “Blacks just loved them some Jim Crow” statements were racist and offensive and hateful. And, as my moniker shows, I’m a lesbian.
Agree 1000%
Anyone who claims to have a direct line to God, or who has such an intransigent, muddled and intolerant belief system, is one step away from being as dangerous a fundamentalist as a radical Islamist. They’re like two sides of the same coin. Shame on A&E for promoting this crap, shame on them. Between A&E and TLC (The Learning Channel, that’s rich) they are a huge part of the problem of dumbing down society by promoting such voyeuristic and idiotic programming.
PBS anyone??
PBS, yes. A little too many concerts on there for my taste, but the documentaries and Frontline are exceptional. The animal shows and news too. The chefs featured are much better than the food network.
You forgot Nova!
And, this is really looking back ( I wish they’d bring back reruns), Bob Ross. Lord, I loved his show. So awful and so great.
Opps, I was remiss on Nova. I’m sure there’s a lot I’ve left out. Don’t care for Bob Ross, but we can’t all like the same things.
I know what you’re saying about Bob Ross, Kiddo, but he was so awful he was great. Mr. bluhare and I used to watch his show all the time. Mr. bluhare, being artistic and all, to yell at the screen and me because I loved hearing about his Happy Trees and all that. Ah, the good old days . . . . . 😛
I’m a Nova junkie. Has anybody seen “Inside the Superstorm” about Sandy?
It’s fascinating…
PBS is truly the last bastion for educational and informative tv. I wish they’d get more programs from the BBC ( I watch them on youtube now because TLC and the History channel no longer show any new ones) just like they get their Masterpiece Theater shows from England.
Yes, yes, yes! I eat that stuff up. More please. The BBC blows Hollywood away. Being a European history buff, I waited in anticipation (and dread) for the Realm series on CW. Good grief what a cheap farce. Far worse than I could’ve imagined. Cheap, modern style costumes, silicone boobs and lips, modern makeup, modern dancing, rock music (?wtf?) … The Beeb would NEVER have massacred a story like this.
I will go back to boycotting all the crappy American-produced series like before, no matter what excuse of an historic story they claim to be telling. Including anything with Matthew Rhys whatzizface who I also hold accountable. The Tudors was insufferable.
So it’s back to nature, documentaries and BBC for me. Not much interested in cheap dramas. They’re all the same to me.
The Tudors was good for some man ass candy and costumes. That is all. BBC is way better, loved living there for the good shows alone.
I don’t really watch TV, some news and sports only. The rest I watch on netflix or hulu.
IMO, reality tv destroyed everything. It is horrible and scripted, just awful stereotypes and dumb story lines.
Yes-PBS. My husband works in TV and he was just saying that they’ve seen ratings rise at PBS and attribute it to people tiring of reality TV. Being a southerner, I have had it with these reality shows that seem to glorify a lifestyle that most people are working very hard to rise out of.
Love PBS. A channel that doesn’t assume its viewers are inanimate morons.
@Jaded
This Phil person is not ‘one step away’ from being a dangerous fundamentalist or radical Islamist, he is an AmeriTaliban through and through.
Love that expression “AmenTaliban”!!!!
Twitter was going OFF yesterday, with more bigoted white folks coming out of the woodwork to defend Phil and his comments. Many of them said pointed out to the part of the interview where Phil says he would “never treat anyone with disrespect” as though equating homosexuality to bestiality, spitting on “societies without Jesus,” and defending slavery wasn’t disrespectful at all. These people are truly clueless! Is it a wonder they twist and turn freedom of speech to spew out all this garbage from their mouths?
No, it doesn’t surprise me. On some level, I don’t believe Phil when he says he’d never treat anyone poorly because they are gay. He obviously feels very, very strongly about the topic. It’s hard to believe that he could treat a person who he believes to be “heartless, arrogant, full of hatred” with any level of respect. He’s not fooling anyone. I’ve met people who personally are uncomfortable with gay topics or acts, but they don’t let their personal discomfort get in the way of treating people equally. I don’t think Phil is one of them.
I don’t believe him either. Even if he doesn’t heckle them or assault them, small micro aggressions are still considered disrespectful to me and i can totally see Phil being THAT person asking a gay person, “Do you know that homosexuality is a sin?” type of questions. Aside from the homophobia, the racism also bothers me quite a bit. But the fact that literally hundreds of people are defending this ass is undoubtedly the worst part of this entire situation.
I actually saw them on Deadline.com in droves. That website is mostly for entertainment industry professionals, and the Phil defenders showed up out of nowhere. It was pretty shocking.
Ironically, their posts on freedom and tolerance were some of the most intolerant and offensive dreck I’ve read.
It depresses me, it does. I’m discouraged too.
I laugh every time he claims to never treat anyone with disrespect; he treats his grandchildren with nothing BUT disrespect. Anyone who has a different lifestyle than he is a “yuppie”, and he is constantly calling his grand kids yuppies and telling them what they SHOULD be doing (hunting and working the land). I’ve never thought of him as a tolerant person.
It’s his opinion, his faith, his beliefs. There is nothing anyone can do to change them. Never watched the show but he is entitled to them. Doesn’t mean he is politically correct in the way so many people on this site and the country are but ultimately: Why waste time complaining about someone (and others) that believe what they want and you know they won’t change it? I accepted long ago that people have different views but it doesn’t stop my day from going on, others need to accept that as well.
Lashing out at the “politically correct” crowd is the code phrase for someone who wants to be able to disparage minorities without consequences. Sorry, those days are long gone in America.
Yes, i understand that we are all entitled to our own views and beliefs but when one uses those views and beliefs to hurt and disrespect others, then i’m going to have a problem with that.
Can’t you all see what’s really to blame in all this? Clearly the issue at hand is the homosexual loving liberal media out to lynch this paragon of truthiness and compassion for attempting to show us heathens all the light of our horrible sinful ways. It’s our own fault for buying the revisionist history that says the world wasn’t a rainbow coloured paradise of gay bashing, where those uppity black folk knew their place [happy under Jim Crow], and homosexuals stayed in their closets only taking breaks to spend long periods of time alone in the wilderness with other men in a duck blind….I for one am so happy to have my eyes open to how oppressed wealthy white men are in the US of A…I feel like we need a telethon…where’s Bob Geldolf?
Bob Geldoff is a heathen too, please! You are gong to hell in a handbasket. /s
So not the topic, but I love that Band Aid Christmas song. 🙂
OMG, you comment is so funny!
The naughty side of me is sooooo tempted to post this segment for my friends back home for whom it would have special meaning:
“homosexuals stayed in their closets only taking breaks to spend long periods of time alone in the wilderness with other men in a duck blind…”
LOL!!!!!!
For some reason I double posted so I cancelled my first post – see below.
What I think people don’t get about this whole debate that this whole situation is actually powerful white men fighting powerful white men. He said some crude and rude things about African Americans – but that is really not getting any coverage? No. If his only rude statement in this interview had been about African Americans A&E would not have done anything. Because – let’s be honest that group is not seen as powerful. However, since these statement were made about LGBT individuals A&E had to cave to their wishes. Why? Power – let’s be honest people can be racist, be horrible and call women “sluts” etc. and they stay on television. However, you say anything about the gay lifestyle and generally you are fired within hours. The gay movement is full of powerful white men. The organizations they run have power written all over them. They act exactly like the “Phil” just on the other side. I think however that when they took on this man they did not realize what the backlash would be. I think people in general are tired of the gay movement agenda and don’t want it pushed down their throats anymore. What I find interesting is that people who support this organization of powerful white men truly believe that they are supporting the underdog. Um- not so.
Except when Paula Deen’s incredibly racist comments came to light, she lost her entire empire so there goes your theory about “evil white gay men” only caring about their own interests.
“I think people in general are tired of the gay movement agenda and don’t want it pushed down their throats anymore.”
Yeah! How dare those gays fight for equality! They should just shut up and be content with oppression.
Additionally, they’re really messing up my white privilege.
(PS The “gay movement agenda”?? Uh….)
A group of people who are powerful enough to have individuals fired over comments made about them are not oppressed. Check again what oppression means. GLAAD is an organization of powerful white males who have massive powers and major money behind them. Let’s not pretend that they are some poor oppressed people living in poverty who have no say.
The problem with your statement is that this *powerful group of homosexuals* that you perceive to be running A&E doesn’t really exist.
Additionally, any “group” of people who don’t have the same inherent rights as others (for example, the right to get married) are indeed OPPRESSED.
A&E’s CEO is a woman, Nancy Dubuc. Whether she’s gay or not I have I no idea, nor do I see how that’s even remotely germane to this discussion.
Dual citizens? Why are they a danger?
giddy: I’m with Mich. And I’m not even a dual citizen. I’m an ALIEN!!!!!
I think the black and gay communities have been oppressed in our country for a very long time, but for very different reasons.
Addressing your comments about white men and power: Gay marriage is only legal in 17 states. At what point to you consider people who have rights in all 50 states to be more oppressed than people who are treated as 2nd class citizens in 33 states?
Exactly, Tiffany.
…and I know the troll is gone, but those comments kinda cracked me up. I’m a dual-citizen AND an atheist (!!!)
In other words *deep, ominous voice* I’m pure evil.
“In other words, I’m pure evil. ”
I’m right there with you! I’m an atheist who has been living in sin with my bf for many years now. I just have to work on my evil cackle, and maybe I will finally be granted my horns? What other benefits come with this membership?
What a ridiculous post.
Please tell me about this “gay lifestyle” I live? *waitingwithbatedbreath*
Ooh is this the ‘gay mafia’ I keep hearing about? *eye roll*
Where do I fall? I am a straight woman that supports equal rights for ALL and I supoprt the LGBT community whole heartedly. Does this mean I am a gangster with the gay mafia? If so, I haven’t received my membership card yet!
Equality isn’t an agenda. Equality isn’t a conspiracy. It is keeping the promise of our country and its founding ideals.
Well, Sue. Thank you for sharing your ignorance and intolerance with the class. Your post is as nonsensical and ridiculous as blaming “the Jews” and/or “the takers” and/or “the Illuminati” and/or “the immigrants” and/or “the [Muslins]” for all the ills in society.
Sue, Sue, you’re on a Phil rant. Back up and check what you said. What’s your actual agenda – are you brave enough to come out and say it?
+100,000,000
Instead of point fingers at people that have no authoritative power in declaring a marriage valid, we all look at the politicians. THAT is the power that should be referenced in mentioning anyone being oppressed. They have the power to legalize it and yet haven’t. Some man with a horrible beard and probably smells like moth balls has no power whatsoever over that. He had an opinion and gave it, that’s all. His voice does nothing in the grand scheme of things over a group being oppressed.
“Instead of point fingers at people that have no authoritative power in declaring a marriage valid, we all look at the politicians”
The politicians that consistently vote against granting gay people their human rights are VOTED INTO OFFICE by people like Phil and those that think like him—– they don’t just magically appear.
“He had an opinion and gave it, that’s all”
…sounds a lot like what everyone here is doing. He exercised his First Amendment rights and we are too. *shrugs*
Um, the politicians that people vote for? The politicians that Phil throws his fame behind electing? Politicians don’t get into power on their own and your comment makes no sense.
Sorry, I’m not one of those people that really put hard strength in believing that the votes of the people dictate who goes into office and doesn’t (my opinion). I believe it’s fixed from the start but that there are ways in which people can fight for their voice to be heard. And there should have been a *should look at the politicians in my original reply so my apologies for missing that word.
If my comment doesn’t make sense I’d suggest re-reading it. However let me put the watered down version for you Mich since you didn’t grasp what I said. The politicians are the ones that continue to shut down the GLAAD communities rights, not some ill looking celebrity that does something with ducks (haven’t watched the show). And for that matter if a person does decide to vote for someone based on what celebrity is endorsing the person rather than looking at what they ‘stand for and oppose’ then well, I guess you can see how we got into this mess that is our economy.
Aaaaaand A&E is having a Duck Dynasty marathon this weekend. I just checked after seeing someone mention it on FB – starts at 6pm tonight.
And the proverbial tree falling in the woods, as far as I’m concerned.
And now people who have never watched the shows who have heard about this, are going to get curious…
And then they are going to get sucked in and A&E’s ratings will be through the roof this weekend and then Phil and everyone will be back.
Hate to say it but that’s the way this shit works…
Ratings, media, money.
Not this person who’s never watched their show.
Yep, not making a sound in my apartment. How all this brouhaha would actually serve to promote this pile of used rubbers and clogged toilet paper is beyond me.
I don’t even have cable but even if I did, I would never watch this crapola.
Let’s be honest. They may be laughing all the way to the bank, but don’t a lot of people watch the show to laugh and basically feel superior to them? They’re what most people call “white trash.” They seem to have ” family values” but scratch the surface and they are bigoted, racist homophobes. The scary thing is that many people in this country think this is what Christianity means.
I really don’t see how any of this is a big surprise. Phil makes his views on women very clear on the show: They should be barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen cooking up the stuff he shoots. That’s it. He’s a huge misogynist and of course that’s cute and funny to the A&E editors. It isn’t too much of a stretch to think that a guy who thinks so little of women also thinks very little of anyone that might be different from him. I will say that from what I’ve seen, I think the son Willie, the guy who is running the company, is a pretty shrewd guy. I am going to guess that while the rest of them may be “let’s stand with Phil” Willie is trying to figure out how to minimize the damage and keep cashing in.
Phil had an issue with the network editing out his prayers before dinner on the show so for them to act surprised at how serious and literal he takes his religion at all is weak.
I didn’t hear any right-wingers supporting Martin Bashir’s right to free speech. Or supporting Alec Baldwin’s right to free speech.
Typical right-wing hypocrites. Everything they do is a just a pretext for covering their racism, misogyny and general abject hatred for pretty much everyone.
No more Christian Sharia, thank you very much.
Why I think his racist comments are being glossed over: I think it’s being ignored for a reason: it’s less socially acceptable to make horribly racist statement than homophobic statements, thus it’s harder to say “His racist views are faith-driven, so he gets a pass,” whereas a depressingly large segment of the public will agree with the statement, “His homophobic views are faith-driven, so he gets a pass.” I’m gay, and as disgusting as his LGBT statements were, the claims that Jim Crow and being exploited and terrorized sharecroppers was just Zip-e-do-dah for Blacks appalled me even more.
With Paula Deen, the media was focused on the racist statements and actions, and NOT the misogynist statements and actions, which were (imo) much worse, and which is the reason why the manager got a settlement, and why she would have won in court.
I haven’t even heard the racist remarks. All I’ve seen was his opinion on gay marriage. But then again this is one of those stories I’m just rolling my eyes at.
The DailyMail apparently has an even more damning anti-gay rant from this guy from 2010.
I love how they pick and choose from the Bible to justify their bigotry. Like we don’t see right through them.
Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of this show. Buh-bye!
Has anyone seen this? He is filled with hate for the gay community and is conveying that in public forums. I have no issues with people having different views, but this goes way past that and what some people don’t seem to get.
“Astonishing video has emerged in which Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson attacks gay people as ‘ruthless’ and ‘full of murder’ – charging them as ‘arrogant’ and liable to ‘invent ways of doing evil’. Administering his deeply controversial views in the fervent manner of a preacher, the stark 2010 footage (left) of Robertson, 67, from Louisiana, sees him equate homosexuality with bestiality as he bellows that ‘they bow down to birds animals and reptiles and each other and the first thing you see coming out of them is gross sexual immorality.’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2526838/Is-end-Duck-Dynasty-Robertson-family-rallies-round-embattled-patriarch-anti-gay-rant-claim-imagine-going-forward-without-helm.html
Frankly his comments on working with African-Americans pre-Civil Rights were just as bad, if not worse.
I agree
There is just so much backwards values in this country. Not once, anywhere yesterday, did anyone come down on Phil for beating a husband and wife years ago yet failed to even have the decency to apologize. They all had his back about hateful, racist comments because the Bible “says” homosexuality is a sin but not one peep about violence and treating others like you would want to be treated. Love, compassion, and tolerance win EVERY time.
On different forums, lots of people came down on him for his history of violence and his nonchalance about being ‘forgiven’.
Here is a great rant on it and the rest of his garbage: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/20/1264135/-My-Facebook-Note-Re-Phil-Robertson
Troll on Aisle 1, Troll on Aisle 1!!
CB – not fair. You deleted the post that Bluhare is referring to (something strange about Zionist Christians) and now it looks like she is calling me a troll. And you keep deleting my comments every time I laughingly point it out.
I guess I wasn’t clear enough…I meant that no one supporting Phil for his racist/homophobic comments gave any care to the fact he’d severely beaten a couple and failed to do even the basic thing of apologizing. That is just so weird to me. It’s like some people are so upset about gays in general that they would skip over the fact this is not a good man just because they want to support his other comments.
No no. Bluhare was calling a comment that was deleted by CB a troll. It was something strange about Christian Zionists.
CcCo you were clear. And you are right. None of his defenders seem to care about his history of violence and beating a woman at that!
Coco, you were clear enough. You were in abject disbelief that an avowed woman beater, from the 1970’s no less!!, wasn’t publicly scorned until just now. You were in stunned disbelief that it took Phil Robertson (aka Pat Robertson’s brother from another mother) to out himself as the ugliest kind of homophobic hater and racist in a national magazine to get ANY negative media attention at all. I saw that you were gobsmacked his apologist supporters were not even mentioning his viciously pulverizing a man and his wife, let alone their glossing right over his appalling racism and contemptible bigotry against gays.
I never watched the show, but I can safely say NO ONE (except A&E) knew about him beating that man and his wife until GQ’s article. If the open & benevolent, but too often silent majority of the public knew about his violent yuppie past, they would have roundly condemned him from DAY ONE.
bluhare just read your comment wrong, that’s all. There’s a lot of THAT going around on this thread because we are so absolutely incensed that we’re seeing RED!
Agree with you Kaiser 100%. I’ve never watched or knew anything about them. But A&E HAD TO know what he was all about. For them to just fire him is ridiculous. Goes to show that yes to them it’s ALL about money. They don’t give two s**** about GLAAD or LGBT.
…or decent programming.
LOL.
America has become a place driven by organizations and people with a single minded agenda who regard only their opinions and morality as legit, even if that means they discard the rights of others in a Constitutionally free society.
In short, if you publically declare what you believe to be right and wrong, you will be attacked and branded, your livelihood taken away, and your life ruined. Soon the liberal fascism will be replaced with the conservative fascism and everyone will be crying out the other end of their victimization.
Rita, the right is only concerned because before, they were the powerful organization of a single mind that only regarded their opinions as legitimate. More than that, they actually legislated their religious beliefs, despite the fact that they conflicted with the Constitution’s promise of equality.
Phil is not having his rights infriged upon in ANY way. He is not being fined by the goverment, imprisoned, or prevented from expressing himself. Others are simply engaging their own freedom of speech to disagree. His employer is repremanding him for being completely out of line while representing their product, the show.
What you both said are accurate. Tiffany with the fact that his actual first amendment right not being in violation at all. And Rita with the fact that if you speak out on this politically correct storm that’s engulfed the country then you’ll be labeled a variety of negative words. So he doesn’t support gay marriage, and? No one is being oppressed just because one person said they didn’t approve of it (look to the actual law makers that continue to shut down legal gay marriages to their state if you want to point fingers at those that oppress). That’s his opinion. People can say that they don’t think marijuana should be legal but that doesn’t hurt me now does it? Or that Christianity shouldn’t be brought up in any conversation, again doesn’t bother me (I know my beliefs and where I stand so other opinions do not matter one way or another). Point is: Everyone has opinions though in this day and time if your opinion doesn’t match the thousands then you’re automatically the bad evil closed minded person. I’ve never watched the show but my eyes are open to the way of the new trend that we’re in which I listed above.
If you’re not with the popular opinion you’re damned. But if you are with it and the cool kids then everything is dandy and people love you.
“People can say that they don’t think marijuana should be legal but that doesn’t hurt me now does it?”
But what is a public figure said “People who oppose the legalization of marijuana are people of murder, envy, strife, hatred. They are insolent, arrogant, God-haters. They are heartless, they are faithless, they are senseless, they are ruthless. They invent ways of doing evil”
…….you’d be fine with it?
I mean, you’d have nothing to say at all on the matter?
No opinion whatsoever?
You wrote, “If you’re not with the popular opinion you’re damned. But if you are with it and the cool kids then everything is dandy and people love you. ”
Who are the cool kids in this scenario? Phil and the right are the only ones I see doing any kind of “damning”.
@ OriginalKitten: I grew up in Georgia and a lot of people (that I’ve run into) actually do have those views on marijuana what with their political standing, morals and ethics. If I had been eighteen I would have for sure gone off on how they were all idiots. At this point if a person were to say that I’d laugh, tell them to research and then proudly light my bowl in front of them. Though it’s not fair for me to equate what this guy said to marijuana as the subject is serious. My point in it all was that it is his opinion and people need to just remember that. I’m totally fine with him getting backlash, deserving backlash. I’ve never watched an episode of the show so I don’t know just how vile he is so I’m just going on my thought that hey, it’s his opinion. No where do I say that he doesn’t deserve the backlash he’s getting out, I’m just tired of seeing things everywhere that makes it out like people forget that.
@Tiffany:) Moreso facebook is where I’m seeing it all done. Not saying I haven’t seen it done on this site in particular but that was referencing the ignorance that is on facebook.
*Edit: After reading a comment that was replied to me in one of my other replies I have to say that I’m disgusted with what I read. I haven’t looked into this story at all, I didnt look at the other link that CB posted I think yesterday. But after seeing all the things on FB I decided to comment without knowing the extent to what he said. While it’s an opinion that’s just down right ugly. I see now what you were saying OriginalKitten in some of your other replies to me. I stand corrected by a lot of what I said.
Excellent Onion-like satire.
I agree, A&E knew exactly who this famiily is and what their viewpoint. Of course they are entitled to their religous beliefs, but that’s not the only issue – http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/the-real-em-duck-dynasty-em-scandal-phil-robertsons-comments-on-race/282538/
Is it bad to wish for some leaked photos of this duck guy engaged in some interracial gay love-making?
Yes.
Signed,
Bad bluhare
When I was in high school, I worked at a little steakhouse on the serving line. We had a manager who every time gays would come in would carry on, ooh, they’re gay, just little pansy remarks all the time. Two years later he came out as gay. Sometimes the ones that are so vocal that homosexuality is a sin and gross and go overboard in their comments regarding it are closeted homosexuals themselves terrified someone will find out so overcompensate by their comments.
People, keep in mind that this is just a redneck Jersey Shore, and we know they’re not in the spotlight anymore. Reality shows have a short shelf life [unless they change the cast]. Even shows with talent — Johnny Carson, MASH — end.
So this isn’t such big drama. It’s another guy making offensive racist & homophobic remarks and claiming to be SO virtuous. He admitted to GQ they’d be gone in a few years, and I’d think sooner, even without this. These shows either grow stale w/sameness or screw up by trying to be edgy and controversial and it backfires.
His racist comments are as bad as his gay-bashing ones, BTW, and not getting enough attention.
And if they think they’ll get offers elsewhere, they’ll be more restrictive contracts w/lower salaries and then they’ll wonder if it’s even worth it. So buh-bye duckies.
You know, every thread there’s a comment like this one.
I’m not trying to single you out or anything and I really do hear where you’re coming from..
…. but the issue is a larger one than just this ZZ Top bigot guy and his bird-shooting pals. This man’s statements illustrate the mindset of a very vocal faction of our population that still subscribes to these archaic, bigoted views. There’s nothing wrong with people speaking out against bigotry and racism, on the contrary it’s a very heartening thing (at least to me it is). Disagreeing with others who hold opposing views is not new at all, but it’s an example of the democratic society we live in.
Isn’t that a beautiful thing?
” Phil is a Godly man who follows what the Bible says are the greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.””
Phil’s statement does not represent God’s greatest commandment “Love your neighbor as yourself,” so they need to leave Christianity out of this because God wants you to love ALL people . God doesn’t pick and choose who you should love and who you shouldn’t. People need to stop using God as there excuse to do and say what they want. If the other’s don’t want to be on the show, cancel it!
What about his decision to give the people of Earth free will? It’s his free will that allows him not to view gay marriage the same as all the other people that are politically correct and trying to conform within the crowd. Just because he doesn’t support gay marriage doesn’t mean he’s any less a God fearing man nor does that make him a bad person. Just because he doesn’t agree with gay marriage doesn’t mean he doesn’t love his neighbor or any other person. Stop using all of that you are saying to twist the point.
Well, I think these words from his video show me a hateful man. Many of my relatives, older aunts, and uncles don’t believe in gay marriage, were taught being gay is a sin, but are peaceful people and have never said anything in their lives that is so ugly as below. In fact, even though faithful Southern Baptist members, have become much more open and understanding and some views slowly changing.
My mother, who was the same way as my aunts, would never ever say something like this below or think it ever In fact, she loved my father’s second cousin who was gay and always said great things about him, even if she didn’t understand it at the time. If you think this is loving his fellow man, calling gay people “ruthless and full of murder, and that gays bow down to birds, animals and reptiles,” among other things ,you are living on a different planet than me.
“Astonishing video has emerged in which Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson attacks gay people as ‘ruthless’ and ‘full of murder’ – charging them as ‘arrogant’ and liable to ‘invent ways of doing evil’. Administering his deeply controversial views in the fervent manner of a preacher, the stark 2010 footage (left) of Robertson, 67, from Louisiana, sees him equate homosexuality with bestiality as he bellows that ‘they bow down to birds animals and reptiles and each other and the first thing you see coming out of them is gross sexual immorality
No, I’ll be honest I hadn’t heard any of that. I haven’t watched the show and I don’t know people that do. But those references were god awful. I need to edit some of the comments I made above just now that I’ve been informed.
Funny how “God” always agrees with whatever the person invoking “him” says.
When you start having babies and look how different each child is and what a unique individual your child is…so wonderful and different from yourself and one another, learn to shut your mouth and accept, be thankful for what you were given. You never know what your child or grand-children will become or in my case, a beautiful bi-racial grandson. I feel for the Robertson’s grandchildren, future great-grandchildren. Interesting:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/06/biological_basis_for_homosexuality_the_fraternal_birth_order_explanation.html:
I’m so sick and tired of this in all areas. A&E was playing a marathon of this show just yesterday. Some people just aren’t into gay marriages the way that some people are. He stated he doesn’t hate them but just doesn’t support the piece of paper that says they are now binded by a state to be as miserable as straight couples. I personally don’t care either way if a gay or straight person wants to wed the person they love. No opinion of it whatsoever as long as I’m not involved in it. People caught up in this uproar need to find other things to busy themselves with than a person’s own personal belief.
There are actual events that do stomp all over our amendments and this is not one of them. His freedom to speech wasn’t repressed, the studio has a right to suspend the guy. He said it and wasn’t locked up, mind you, but was only suspended due to the bad publicity A&E can get due to it reflecting upon them. Everyone up in arms, read the news. You’ll find things such as police brutality upon citizens, citizens being turned down for help while the illegal immigrants have been catered to, peaceful protests being turned into stages of protestors beings sprayed with various things by government officials as well as being brutalized. Bills being put into place that infringe on our privacy, reproductive organs, and the like.
Don’t waste your time being bothered by a television persona when the real issues remain to be ignored due to situations such as this.
It might be easy to dismiss opinions such as Phil’s if it WAS just a harmless opinion. However, in 33 states, our LGBT citizens are being denied their rights on a daily basis. I am fine with people having their opinions. I am NOT fine with those opinions being made into law even though the Supreme Court has called marriage a “fundamental right of man” and “a basic right”. People ARE having their rights stomped on…but it isn’t Phil.
“view gay marriage the same as all the other people that are politically correct and trying to conform within the crowd. Some people just aren’t into gay marriages the way that some people are. ”
You talk about support for gay marriage like it’s a fad, the “latest craze sweeping the nation”….
We’re talking about the right for homosexuals to obtain the legal benefits that come from marriage, not twerking. It’s a very basic HUMAN right (not just a “gay right”) that every person should be entitled to, regardless of their sexual orientation. I don’t mean that to sound rude, but it seems like you’re minimizing something that is very important to so many, that many people are still fighting for.
Phil Robertson beat up a couple because they wanted to raise the rent on a bar he was leasing, punched a woman in the face, and drank himself silly while admittedly cheating on his wife over and over again. I think most of us are just appalled that a man with such a sordid past would think that he’s in a position to judge complete strangers based on their sexual orientation. Couple that with the fact that he romanticizes slavery in the south, it just seems like he’s someone who maybe shouldn’t be given a reality TV show or any public platform that allows him to condemn others for how they choose to live their lives. I will say this though-it’s reality TV and he’s certainly not the first sketchball to get his own show. That seems to be the norm for the genre, so in that respect, maybe he’s simply living up to the very low standards expected of reality television.
I haven’t made up my mind whether I think the guy should be fired, that’s up to A&E and their sponsors. I do think that maybe he should keep his bigoted thoughts private though. We have enough hate in this world, why give this guy a forum to spew more?
I think it’s time to just point and laugh, as if watching some ridiculous performance art. Maybe Andy Kaufman is alive, who knows? A&E is now the laughing stock channel, IMO. A&E is seriously ducked up. You get what you pay for.
On the other hand, people can be concerned about multiple things simultaneously. We comment on celebs here and not world news, ’cause it’s a celebrity site, and that’s why this is being discussed versus some of the other issues mentioned above. But after I read the rant O’K posted, I can’t take anything this man says seriously, he’s mad, like a loon. Or playing a character.
That said, do we really need to kick immigrants?
I honestly posted before I knew the extent to what this guy said and I do have to say that a lot of what I said I am willing to take back as I’ve now been properly informed. His words are ugly and hurtful. I hadn’t looked at anything other than today (this post actually) and didn’t quite grasp what he said or knew fully what he said. After seeing hundreds of shares for his rights being ‘violated’ on FB I grew rather irritated with how people were trying to say that he was violated in that sense. That’s due to my anger when people ACTUALLY have their rights violated, not some jackass that spews hate. Janya posted a response of what he said in comparison to animals and the like and it left a horribly bad taste in my mouth. I did get worked up and posted a lot in the heat of the moment due to my irritation of a lot of people (FB mainly) that see this as a constitution violation (as I was unaware of what ALL he had said). I thought he said something along the lines of reading the bible, being a christian and just not agreeing the same sex should be together. I had no idea the rest.
Thank God.
And I’m sorry for coming down so hard on you, Dommy Dearest. I made some assumptions too.
I thought you knew all about what Dick Dude has done and said and still taking up for this hater. I’m sure this won’t be the first or the last time I’m wrong about something too. This site is really cool about that, and you’ve made me realize I need to tone it down. OK, this is my long winded apology for being all over you like gravy on rice.
It’s fine, no worries. I never take anything personally on this site. Everyone has their opinions and whatnot. I should have done a bit more reading before I commented on everything. 🙂
Okay, I posted this on my facebook, and I’m just going to post it here.
Dear Everyone,
The First Amendment allows us to say what we want, petition the government, practice our own religion, write what we want, and assemble as we wish. It does not entitle a bigot to his own cable show. The way free speech works is that someone gets to talk, and then I get to say what I think of what that person just said. It also allows a company to suspend a person for tarnishing the image of said company with bigoted remarks through a suspension of employment if that person is a public figure representing that company in some way and/or it is written in their contract that they can’t embarrass the company. There are no police raids going through the Duck Dynasty compound and Phil Robertson has not been arrested. His first amendment rights have not been violated. The rule is, say what you want, deal with the real world consequences. That is how it works. Phil Robertson totally has the legal right to be an ignorant moron and claim that pre civil-rights era south was a happy time for black people that was “pre-entitlement”, that homosexuality is akin to bestiality, and that Mitt Romney is from Salt Lake City (which, by the way, should be offensive to conservatives, Christians and Mormons especially since he is stereotyping the former Republican presidential candidate based on his religion. Guess what Phil? MORMONS AREN’T SOME MAGICAL SPECIES THAT ONLY LIVE IN ONE CITY AND/OR THE BROADWAY STAGE. THEY LIVE EVERYWHERE JUST LIKE OTHER HUMAN BEINGS). He totally has the right to say all of those things. Just like I have the right to say Phil Robertson is a bigoted, ignorant moron who needs to have some sense smacked into him and is an excruciatingly poor representative of Christians, Southerners, and Louisianians.
What he doesn’t have the right to is a reality show. A&E is not the federal government. It is a television channel owned by the Hearst Corporation and the Disney-ABC Television group. These are private companies that do not belong to the government and they are legally allowed to dictate terms and conditions for the behavior of their employees, especially when that employee is a public figure that at least partly serves as a face for their company and/or a product of said company. Phil IS one of the faces of Duck Dynasty and he chose to air out these remarks to a wide-release publication like GQ. As a result, he has been suspended from appearing on the air by his company. He has not been thrown in jail. He has not been fined. He has not been brought up on any sort of criminal charge. His rights have not been violated. He has faced a penalty from the company for which he works because he has severely damaged the image of his product.
Stop pretending that McCarthyism is back because some moron got suspended at his job. And stop pretending that this is because he’s a Christian. Fred McFeely Rogers from Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood was on TV for four decades, he was a Methodist minister who spoke of loving God in his interviews. He was a much better Christian than Phil Robertson ever was and lived by the Bible his entire life. No one ever gave him shit and he never got suspended from his network. Do you know why? Because he DIDN’T SHOOT OFF HIS MOUTH AND SAY A BUNCH OF EXTREMELY PREJUDICED THINGS ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICANS AND LGBTQIA AMERICANS. Also, who is Person of the Year for both Time Magazine and The Advocate Magazine, the premiere LGBTQIA publication in the USA? THE FREAKING POPE.
So don’t give me this First Amendment Rights and Christian Persecution bullshit, because that is NOT what is happening here. What happened is that an ignorant jerk said a bunch of stupid, offensive things to a magazine and is dealing with some professional fallout as a result. THAT’S IT.
Sincerely,
WendyNerd
So lets make the most of this beautiful day,
Since were together, we might as well say,
Would you be mine? Could you be mine?
Wont you be my neighbor?
I want to print out your letter and rub Sean Hannity’s face in it like he’s a bad dog. THIS x 1,000,000. Well done, YOU.
I really want you to do that too! 🙂
Me three!
Except I would never do that to a dog.
I’d rather sentence the entire hater staff of ‘commentators’ at Faux News to stand in Times Square necked wearing nothin’ but WendyNerd’s speech on a large billboard. In Winter.
Thank you WendyNerd, that is spot on! It should be required reading.
FYI: ‘Duck Dynasty’: New episodes will include Phil
http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/20/duck-dynasty-return-phil/
Thanks for the link, Kiddo.
“The network also hopes the media and fan furor will ‘cool down’ over the holidays and that tensions over shooting future episodes can then be resolved.”
Yeah. There’s nothing we women don’t love more than patriarchal money grubbin’ network heads telling us to ‘cool down’! I don’t fucking think so. A Bunch of DickNuts just made me dig my heels in harder; no way am I going to settle down, and I pray the rest of you don’t either!
We saw this coming, and a lot of people cynically think this disgustingly vile episode was manufactured in the pursuit of Holy Ratings. – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW343K1-upo
Meh, really. I’m officially done with it. A&E doesn’t care what I think. It only takes one look at the programming to determine that I’m not in their coveted demographic. I might have investigated Bonnie and Clyde, but based on other offerings, I’m just going to assume it’s a pile of poop and not watch/contribute to their bottom line. I don’t think I’ll be missing anything. All this tripe pushes me one step closer to abandoning what little cable I pay for, too.
Don’t pay for cable, Don’t miss it. It’s the download life for me! Argh!
(Disclaimer: That last exclamation is just a sentiment, not a statement of fact.)
It’s been inertia, and other things that take priority. We do also have Roku. I guess the more important point is, if you are offended by what a company is selling, don’t buy any of their products, not one. Until I shut the cable down, A&E is on block. If they can’t figure out that this is detrimental/damaging to certain classes of people, then they are too stupid to even bother contacting. I wonder how many black and/or gay employees they have, who now have the appearance of promoting bigotry against themselves. It can’t be a comfortable place to work.
That must really be hard. You’ve got me feeling grateful for the privilege of not working for bigoted Simon Legrees. In this economy, there are bound to be a lot of people who are stuck with companies that are morally repugnant.
Bobby Jindal supports him? Really? As a minority who had probably encountered racism in his lifetime, he supports Phil? I really hope he’s just doing this to pacify the extreme right (shame if it’s true). I think it’s time that the Republicans splinter off from the Teabaggers because it’s killing their brand. Not going to lie, I’ve voted Republican (mostly state governors) but I’ve gone both ways (Independent). I haven’t voted for a Republican in years though (dating back to Dubbya). The Republicans embracing the extreme bible thumpers and teabaggers haven’t helped matters either.
A&E decided to make money off of a group of somewhat isolated, ignorant hicks, they totally foresaw something like this would happen. I watched 15 minutes of this show once and clearly this people had limited experience in the hollywood-esque circus of a world that the US has turned into with them being the sideshow act, Of course eventually something like this was going to happen. I read an article about a month ago about shows like Duck and Honey Boo Boo hick shows had run their course in popularity and were on their way out, so this may be even how A&E planned it. Its all fun when the knowledgeable elite watch these shows and cackle with their own superiority, but how do they turn like hurt pitbulls when the bumpkins finally stumble on something that they suddenly find offensive. People should just accept people. I don’t even know which side has bigger blinders on or which side is more offensive!
They are neither isolated nor ignorant. They are clean-shaven Yuppies who are worth over $15 million. Their person on DD is just that.
They are, however, bigots who do not follow the teachings of Christ.
There’s a sucker born every minute. Seems that his target audience is happily willing to be bamboozled and will doggedly rationalise the fraudulent front away in the name of a god (not the real one). I would also say that it seems to me that Mammon is the god of these less than ducky fakers.
@bamster,
Give yourself a challenge and follow the links supplied all over this thread, and prove us ‘knowledgeable elites’ wrong. I’m really wondering if you take pride in being uninformed and think book learning is for ‘sinners’? I am asking you sincerely.
@ Sloane W, the fact that you JUDGE me, when you know almost nothing of me, as uninformed, completely proves the point. You provide no actual fact, so my opinion just might be a valid at your if you can actually stop judging. And where does this silly comment about “book learning” come from? You’re not really wondering anything sincerely, just another divider cannot accept someone that thinks so differently than yourself, so you try to intellectualize your put down of others, does it make you feel better about yourself? lol.
I don’t know one person in the real world who has ever watched the show.
Heaven Help me, Kiddo, I do.
I live in a ridiculously conservative area, surrounded by DD aficionados who think Pat Robertson of “The 700 Club” fame is a really swell guy and have Fox running in the background 24/7! After this mind-numbingly soul crushing experience, I thank the Universe we’re moving this Spring with my #1 Criterion being to live in a progressive neighborhood.
But that is their demographic. It’s not like what the commenter was asserting, that some liberal faction was watching the show to belittle it and feel superior. I saw ads for it, and knew it wasn’t for me. But I don’t watch any reality TV, I think it all sucks the life out of culture and entertainment as well as keeping good writers, actors, directors, etc., out of jobs. It panders to the lowest.
@kiddo Fair point, esp. about reality TV, but who are all the these people coming out to complain about a show they don’t watch?
I just find it depressing how many people are rallying behind this guy. He spews hate in the name of the bible. It’s not about the first amendment; it’s about respect for your fellow man. Not to mention that poor 13 year old kid out there who is questioning is sexuality right now, and seeing how many people are rallying against him. Sad.
It hurts my heart too.
No problem. Take Fox with you.
The Bible also says one should “not keep ones hair unkempt” so the bigoted jackass can suck it. Good riddance
Yeah. And every Christian who goes to church on Sunday instead of Saturday is breaking the 4th commandment. Do these people even read their own holy book?
They don’t want to continue their show? We can only hope! Oh look, right on time, Robertson’s firing has summoned the usual fools in their trusty clown car, racing to “protect” his “rights.” Here’s a nice piece by Matt Taibbi
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/sarah-palins-impressively-incoherent-duck-dynasty-comments-20131219
Mr. bluhare thinks Matt Taibbi is a god, so I just sent him over to read this. I just did and, as usual, Taibbi is right on point. Thanks for posting the link.
The Taibbi article was spot-on. Thanks for sharing the link.
Did you all read on Michael K’s that A&E is getting death threats for the suspension? Also, did you read about the Fluffer movie? How do extreme conservatives become involved with a creator of a show who was associated with gay porn?
Is this an elaborate put on?
Also this, FYI: ‘Duck Dynasty’: New episodes will include Phil
http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/20/duck-dynasty-return-phil/
Supposedly Phil is coming back, so it looks like A&E was in on the fiasco from the get go. Is the (maybe scripted) point to be made that these types of attitudes are stupid?
Here’s an excerpt from Phil’s rant on sin, taken from O’Kitten’s post:
“Women with women, men with men, they committed indecent acts with one another, and they received in themselves the due penalty for their perversions,” Robertson continued. “They’re full of murder, envy, strife, hatred. They are insolent, arrogant, God-haters. They are heartless, they are faithless, they are senseless, they are ruthless. They invent ways of doing evil. That’s what you have 235 years, roughly, after your forefathers founded the country. So what are you gonna do Pennsylvania? Just run with them? You’re doing to die. Don’t forget that”.
So a guy preaching on evil and sin signs up with a guy associated with gay porn, remains on the show, and makes mega-bucks from that association. Is this for real? Come on.
Anything for money. Lie down with dogs, get up with fleas.
Adding to clarify my last comment which hasn’t posted yet, the film was about gay porn, not actual gay porn, sorry, but still. Either he is incredibly outrageously hypocritical, or this is a hoax.
So they basically gave a conservative redneck a show and a forum and then were surprised when he used it.
The free market is the one true American religion. If advertisers pull out, the show will be cancelled.
Cracker Barrel has just said they won’t sell products with Phil’s photo on them, but they’ll sell the rest of their DD stuff. Which is funny to me, because the one instance of racial intolerance this straight white woman ever had was while I was with some friends at a Cracker Barrel, and a waitress did the slow service thing to us.
I’ve heard of Crackle Barrel’s lawsuits. Pray, bluhare, do tell who what why you got the slow or no service thing from these corporate bigots?
So true. Well put.
Yep. 10+ million gay people and their families mean more to advertisers than 1 backwoods bigot.
@d b,
Maybe not, perhaps the advertiser’s demographics are haters. If DD stays on the air, it tells me A&E’s gambit worked and they’re laughing all the way to the bank.
I just hope the backlash swells against these repulsive duck f*cks and this whole racist, homophobic fiasco seriously damages ALL of A&E’s profit stream.
@Sloane Wyatt – Geez, I not, you may be right. Then again- A&E, TLC, (faux)History Channel, etc – they’re all already laughing all the way to be bank with their hate pandering programming
I’ll take freedom of speech any day, because I’m an informed person and that is part of the charm in the country in which I reside. What I can’t abide is arrogant ignorance by a person with a media platform; Phil’s message is encouraging and enciting hatred in the guise of “the teachings of the bible”. Their employer doesn’t agree, because the world has changed since ye olde scribes of the bible mis-interpreted history.
Thank God these people will go back to the swamp and get off of the mediascape. Ugh. Let them shoot ducks for being gay or not being black and happier in the days of slavery; even this is an affront to those poor unarmed ducks. Whatever and good riddance.
Yeah.
Good comment, homegrrrl. I’ve been seeing some rumblings from hunters, of all people, who’re complaining they’re appalled at how disrespectful these Dick Dudes are to the animals they kill. “Not since the Nuge”, they say ruefully, has any TV franchise ‘made hunters look so bad’.
I have to say, even though reality tv is scripted, it does shed light on some backwards sub cultures of America. Jersey Shore, real housewives, the kartrashians, and now the duck people. I guess we have to know these dark convoluted cultures are still thriving despite civil changes and modern education. Hopefully people who reflect these sub-cultures will read the feedback and become embarrased enough to change and evolve.
There are always such educated and socially aware comments over here at Celebitchy that restore my faith in humanity also. Could some of you guys please go over to Fans of Reality TV and post in the Duck Dynasty thread there? Please! Please! Please! Massive bigotry alert over there.
Duck Dynasty thread is under Other Reality Shows at Fans of Reality TV. So many of these comments would be great over there and it would be a total public service!
By all means, be my ‘guest’, and cut & paste all our remarks over ‘there’ under different user names. (If it’s as ignorant as you say, I’m sure there’s no policy against posting under multiple user names like there is here!)
I don’t care what they believe. He didn’t say the gay community was wrong, he just said he didn’t agree with them. Who cares? He doesn’t have to agree! If we all had the same beliefs this world would be a boring place. A and E can do whatever they want…but I don’t think he is evil, wrong or in trouble for anything. I also think in this day with all the broken families and poor values, its pretty cool to see a family saying- if he goes, we all go- simple as that. Loyalty, love and family values. They will be just fine after all this.
This lackadaisical, uncritical attitude towards the vile anti-human stuff that spews out of people’s mouths has me fearful for the future. This is about more than opinion, it’s about beliefs.
And it is *beliefs* that cause wars, oppression, slavery, and the annihilation of large swathes of innocent humanity. Does no one learn or understand history anymore? This wholesale passive “acceptance” of all beliefs as equally worthy is more frightening than anything coming out of that cretin’s mouth.
“This wholesale passive “acceptance” of all beliefs as equally worthy is more frightening than anything coming out of that cretin’s mouth.” – MavenTheFirst
You’ve nailed it! THIS is my worst fear.
Since he thinks gays are murderers, evil, worshiping reptiles and birds, I pray none of his grandchildren are gay and have to listen to his vile sermons preaching hate. Talk about making a young teen suicidal to think your grandfather likens you to a murderer and evil. I could care less about his interview. But that video sermon was disturbing and very hateful. I’ve gone to church forever and I have never seen a minister get up there spouting such vile comments. Talk about giving religion a bad name.
But what was sadder to me was all the posters on sites saying they believed as he did. Mind you, not that he believed that homosexuality is a sin. I don’t agree but that’s his right and theirs. It’s that they argued everywhere they agreed with how he described gays in the video.
Thank God, Joel Osteen came out today and said he would never preach advocating gay marriage because he doesn’t believe it’s in the scripture but he believes in preaching positivity and lifting people up and seeing the good in everybody. Too bad so many of the so-called Christians posting in support of Phil today didn’t say that’s my belief system from church, too, but I don’t subscribe to his over-the-top hateful comments which have nothing to do with being a true Christian, saying such things like calling them murderers, evil. Sadly, no, just high-fiving Phil for his hate-speak sermon in the video
I’m sure there are clauses in his contract that cover this situation and I’m also sure he read and understood them. He was a college-educated millionaire before he signed the contract, despite his folksy talk of being white trash to back up his stories about how happy blacks were before civil rights. They’re all rather fake, playing a bunch of stereotypes and laughing at how stupid their fans are to buy the act and buy their merchandise. But they’re not uneducated and they are certainly not now nor ever have been poor folk.
With you there, @jwoolman. This is either a fake fiasco, or those guys were playing characters for cash.
Bingo!
They made their money off people willing to pay for overpriced (in my opinion) sportsman merchandise before the show started. Now they’ve drummed up interest when the show should have already jumped the shark (which means more merchandise sales for both the show and the sportsman lines). They are SALESMEN, one and all, trying to make more money.
Well, they actually have been poor. His wife lived in a car at one point and at another a one bedroom apartment with all those kids. Not that that matters anyways? Why are we discussing his socioeconomic status? He lives in a mansion, so although they enjoy hunting, wearing camo, etc. obviously they aren’t acting poor. They deserve the wealth they’ve earned. They created a product that has a high demand. I would rather see individuals thrive and make millions, than kim kardashian or a professional athlete. Its funny how people don’t get all high and mighty about an actress making millions on a movie no one sees, but yet- these people are millionaires trying to “trick”? the American people by “acting” poor, I totally disagree.
I have no quibble with how DD made their money, bridget. They worked for it and were wealthy yuppies well before they grew their beards long, exchanged their wardrobe for camo, and compounded their fabulously exponential portfolio. ‘They created a product that has a high demand.’ Indeed.
‘I would rather see [sic] individuals thrive and make millions, than kim kardashian’. That’s a false distinction and a spurious conclusion, nice use of an inductive argument though. Even if both of your premises were true, it is still possible for the conclusion to be false (hard-working blameless Phil has the moral high ground over Lucifer’s Homegirl, for example).
There’s no distinction between these two repugnant greedy families; they are both headed up by a person willing to do anything for money, and the rest go along happily as a pig in sh*t. PimpMomma Kris and the woman beating, hate preaching, race baiting Phil are two peas in an unacceptably immoral pod. No way am I going to line the pockets of the R. Kelly’s, Paula Deens, Phil Robertsons, and the Kardashians of this world, nor am I going to defend the indefensible.
Millionnaires or not, DD is a realty show and one form of entertainment and not about reality. They are getting paid for it and about being poor actors or not, I have never watched a reality show. Mr. Phil made some, to put it mildly, very ignorant racial and anti-guy statemetns while being interviewed to GQ and offended lots of people who voiced their opinions. So what?
“So what?” – dagdag
I haven’t had enough coffee, so would you mind telling me what do mean by that last phrase? Is it rhetorical? It’s flying over my head. *feel stupid*
@Sloane Wyatt
Sorry for the poor phrasing. Here it is five o`clock in the afternoon, I had my share of coffee.
So what refers to the the DD supporters who claim violation of speech and that DD is teaching family values on a reality show. Kardashians do the same.
🙂
Phil’s stories about his childhood indicate that they had to live very simply but he was happy. They had clean water, clothes to wear, enough food on the table. They were pretty lucky even with low income and job problems. They were in a place where they could grow their own food and hunt. He didn’t go hungry or risk dying from simple diseases due to malnutrition and lack of basic medical care. Later on, he made bad choices that resulted in tough times for his family for a while – he had other options. Far more options than most people who are very involuntarily poor and deal with hunger and disease on a level he never has. That’s part of why he lacks empathy and has the illusion that he’s a self-made man. Nobody really is, all along the way we get help and have chances.
Phil “has the illusion that he’s a self-made man. Nobody really is, all along the way we get help and have chances.” – jwoolman
This is so true. I find it scary and also very sad at the same time when someone’s living in a make-believe world of illusions. These folks tend to be very harsh and destructive to those around them. Maybe they’re so angry because it takes so much work to keep believing your own lies?
His freedom of speech has been protected and now the free market (of which he profits) is at work. I’m looking to forward to finding out which advertisers support DD. It will influence my future purchases. What a shame about Under Amour. I have children in athletics that previously wore it. No more. Off to find a new brand.
They aren’t worried about walking away from A&E because the millions will keep coming from another network. Several have offered them a home, including a religious guns-and-Jesus type. They seem interested in proselytizing, since Phil has complained before about scenes with them praying being cut off. So they might well be more comfortable on a blatantly religious channel that will let them preach as much as they want. I’m hoping Phil is the only extreme one in the bunch, though, he’s a nasty demagogue and although he says he’s kindly- his words could easily incite others to violence. Once a particular group of people is identified as subhuman, anything goes. We’ve walked this road many times before.
Others have pointed out that those loudest against homosexuality are often afraid that their own homosexual tendencies may be discovered. Phil also seems especially hung up on bestiality. Just sayin’ ….