Congrats to Harrison Butker, this week’s national villain. He went from “not-widely-known Chiefs kicker” to “national laughingstock” in a matter of days following his wildly misogynistic and homophobic commencement address at Benedictine College. Butker told the young female graduates that they should not get jobs, their place was in the kitchen and raising a family. What followed was widespread condemnation, including condemnation from the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs, and the internet doing a deep dive into his life, including some very loud rumors that Butker hooked up with men when he was an undergrad at Georgia Tech. Wild.
Us Weekly pointed out that Butker had a similar (but less misogynistic) message during his 2023 commencement address at his alma mater, Georgia Tech. He told those students that they ALL should prioritize marriage and starting a family, that the “ring” he’s most proud of is his wedding ring. Which is a very conservative message overall, but it wasn’t pointed solely at women. As for the graduates at Benedictine this year, one of the young women has spoken out:
Finally a female student who just graduated from Benedictine college and was in the audience for Harrison Butker's commencement speech shares what it was like to hear his speech pic.twitter.com/gkR8jioHoy
— LilShadow (@Ms_LilShadow) May 16, 2024
I feel sorry for all of the graduates, but especially the young women who were basically trapped there, forced to listen to his unfortunate speech. I hope this young woman does whatever she wants with her life. Meanwhile, there’s a group of unmarried, childfree women who took issue with Butker’s message: nuns.
Providing a Catholic organization’s perspective on a college graduation speech that stirred controversy over the weekend, the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica weighed in on what they heard from the Kansas City Chiefs All-Pro kicker Harrison Butker Sunday at Benedictine College.
“As a founding institution and sponsor of Benedictine College, the sisters of Mount St. Scholastica find it necessary to respond to the controversial remarks of [Butker] as commencement speaker,” the group said, establishing their motive for weighing in on the speech.
The sisters of Mount St. Scholastica established that they “do not believe that [Butker’s] comments in his 2024 Benedictine College commencement address represent the Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts college that [their] founders envisioned and in which [they] have been so invested.”
“Instead of promoting unity in our church, our nation, and the world, his comments seem to have fostered division,” the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica said. One of our concerns was the assertion that being a homemaker is the highest calling for a woman. We sisters have dedicated our lives to God and God’s people, including the many women whom we have taught and influenced during the past 160 years. These women have made a tremendous difference in the world in their roles as wives and mothers and through their God-given gifts in leadership, scholarship, and their careers.”
The sisters expanded on what the Benedictine community’s view in regard to the role of “homemaker.” “Our community has taught young women and men not just how to be “homemakers” in a limited sense, but rather how to make a Gospel-centered, compassionate home within themselves where they can welcome others as Christ, empowering them to be the best versions of themselves,” the sisters said. “We reject a narrow definition of what it means to be Catholic. We are faithful members of the Catholic Church who embrace and promote the values of the Gospel, St. Benedict, and Vatican II and the teachings of Pope Francis.”
Speaking on the wider faith community the sisters touched on the importance of inclusivity. “We want to be known as an inclusive, welcoming community, embracing Benedictine values that have endured for more than 1500 years and have spread through every continent and nation. We believe those values are the core of Benedictine College,” the Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica said.
Yeah, I know that there are different kinds of Catholics and that many Catholics are very conservative and anti-woman, but I was genuinely surprised that Butker gave this message to a Catholic college and to Catholic students, because younger Catholics absolutely are more liberal and open-minded, and in general, I find that Catholics (on the whole) are not down with Butker’s message, which I would associate more with Southern Baptists and Evangelicals.
Meanwhile, I’ve spent this week trying to figure out where Butker “fits” on the MAGA scale. Yesterday, I honestly thought “he reminds me a bit of Josh Hawley, especially regarding the whole ‘protect the masculinity’ sh-t.” Guess what? That’s exactly where Butker fits. He and Hawley have such Flaccid D–k Energy.
Never more proud to call Harrison Butker my friend pic.twitter.com/JVT8oXhl34
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) May 16, 2024
Photo courtesy of Avalon Red.
Isn’t Hawley also rumored to be closeted? Two peas in a pod.
And they’re friends! Very special “friends”.
Based on that picture, they would not look out of place headed to the Manhole for a drink together.
I encourage you to review your comment and unpack the blatant homophobic trope you’ve expressed. Men who think like Butker don’t have to be ‘closeted’ and gay men shouldn’t be linked to misogynistic view points.
I don’t care if either is or isn’t gay. Love who you love. My issue is that if they are, they BOTH deal with it (in part or whole) by trying to subjugate women. Saying that isn’t me linking all gay men to misogyny (which would be offensive and ridiculous), it is pointing out Butker and Hawley’s very well-known individual public records. They are also outspoken in their homophobia.
@ Marsh–I really hope you’re not saying that gay men are incapable of misogyny because that really isn’t better than saying “gay men are misogynists” —-which was nowhere in OriginalMich’s comments BTW.
He was also squawking about LGBTQIA and pride. When it comes to the gop sometimes the loudest, nastiest voices *are* secretly gay themselves.
Marsh, I agree. At this point, first of all, Harrison Butker is not in any way anything other than a misogynist straight jerk. Indicating that he might be anything other than straight, especially combined with what he’s been saying, is othering him: this is not LGBTQI+ friendly at all. If some of you did not mean it, please be aware that there are many people who are in the closet and look at comments like that and are terrified of coming out.
When nuns come for you, you are done. They do the work and take no prisoners. This dude obviously has never known a nun.
There’s a meme out there that rings very true for me “You can’t scare me, I was taught by nuns”. He needs to watch his back.
It’s very true. I went to school at a convent and the nuns terrified the students. The scariest of all was hearing that you had to go see Mother Superior. If you had to see Mother Superior, you might never come back.
When I was a teenager, my great-aunt (my grandfather’s younger sister) was Mother Superior at a cloistered convent. My father’s most terrifying threat was “I’m going to send you to live with Aunt Maureen for a while.”
My husband had a Business associate that tried to open a restaurant bar around the corner from a Catholic School, well within legal limits of zoning. The nuns came for him: picketing with schoolgirls in their uniforms then had the law changed and grandfathered in. It was both scary and hysterical. My husband, a lapsed Baptist, said Sister Mary Something or Other was downright scary and he was Yes Ma’am-ing her right away.
Years ago I used to work in Healthcare with the Sisters of Charity. They were very progressive thinking, especially when it came to women and education.
Since he mentioned Taylor Swift he’s already getting dragged with “the smallest man who ever lived “memes .
Let put this in Bruh dude talk so this guy understands- just stay in your lane, kick the ball and keep your mouth shut.
The speech reminded me so much of growing up going to Catholic School ugh. I remember the sermon the priest did during my Confirmation. He went on and on about how the boys have to be careful that us girls don’t tempt them into sin basically .. we were like 14. And .. it ended up the priest was molesting some of the boys ffs.
That’s as Catholic a story as there ever was.
Tale as old as time indeed.
Me too. I grew up going to catholic schools all the way through high school. I vividly remember the speakers that would come tell us things like premarital sex would make a vagina shrivel up into a leather pouch incapable of feeling pleasure, the the guys would get STDs and have their penises fall off. There are absolutely some ultra right wing catholic groups that have overlapping values with evangelicals. This idiot is clearly one of them and though he want talking to more of the same. So glad I left that religion.
Felonious monk.
Catholic here and you never ever mess with the nuns they will set you straight.
If Blues Brothers taught me nothing else …
The Catholic Church has brought suffering to every inch of the globe.
From their actual colonization to their mental / spiritual colonization, the eradication of cultures and belief systems, to their propaganda regarding Europe as the bench mark of civilization and their condemnation of entire continents (think Africa, North America, South America and Asia) not to mention their baked and thriving racism and violent misogyny.
I’m so glad I escaped that cult that has caused so much suffering and death. Even just the laundries in Ireland are enough to break a person with an ounce of compassion.
Name one religion that hasn’t. Times change and people change the cultural values and norms that once were accepted. The Catholic Church has been very progressive and liberal since the 60s. They will never support abortion however they do support women in general. Catholic schools have been providing access to education to girls and women around the world for the past 70 years and also access to community that many don’t have.
I don’t understand this desire some people have to pretend that the Catholic church doesn’t have a unique history with more than its fair share of colonialism.
I’m Catholic, and happen to have a abbey of St Scholastica, Benedictine nuns only four blocks away from home. They make amazing chocolate, jams, preserves and all kind of delicious food, as is the Benedictine prerogativa: ora et labora, pray and work.
That said, not all Catholics are like this footballer, we run the gamut of traditions and beliefs and professions. I’m a mother and a wife,yes, and those roles are fundamental in my life, but there are also other things that I enjoy, and get to offer back to the world, my jobs notwithstanding.
He was also bleating about the Latin mass or something. He’s a pre Vatican II , Mel Gibson type. The modern church is too “woke” for them.
Vatican II fired up a lot of the hard-line Church traditionalists. One suspects there’s a connection between that firing-up and the sudden appearance of right-wing Catholics on the Supreme Court.
It started to feel like that he is planning his future in politics. You know he is gonna be the perfect republican candidate preaching to the choir.
Til he gets outed, like Nick Fuentes.
Growing up in an Irish Catholic town and then living in Boston for most of my life, I feel like so many Catholics around here are either lapsed or still maintain a deep belief in God, but don’t go to Church anymore. It’s sort of what happens when you find out the religious institution you devoted your entire life to covered up the persistent molestation and abuse of thousands of children in the care and trust of Catholic priests and leaders.
So it might just be a geographical thing but I would say 85% of the Catholics I know are pro-choice and liberal-leaning if not outright liberal.
Anyway, good on the nuns for setting this douche canoe straight.
This 100 per cent.
Traditionally, Catholics have long been associated with the Democratic party – John F Kennedy anyone? Nancy D’Alessandro Pelosi? My grandfather was an usher every week at his church until he was 80, 83 and you couldn’t have gotten that man to vote Republican if you paid him.
I am from a heavily Catholic city (baltimore) and I was in middle school before I realized the Catholic church was pro-life, because everyone I knew was a Democrat, pro-choice, and considered themselves Catholic. We had a few nuns and priests who half-heartedly tried to push the pro life line but they knew it wasn’t going to stick.
My experience is that people who convert to Catholicism or younger people who heavily identify as Catholic tend to be more conservative.
If people ask me, I loosely identify as Catholic but haven’t been to Mass in decades except for the occasional wedding Mass here and there. I would never send my kids to Catholic school. And clearly I’m not alone, as attendance at those schools even in a city like Baltimore is rapidly declining.
and yes, the child abuse and subsequent coverups and payouts are a HUGE part of that.
“My experience is that people who convert to Catholicism or younger people who heavily identify as Catholic tend to be more conservative.”
That absolutely tracks for me too. I wonder again though..you’re in Maryland and I’m still curious if our experiences are relegated to living in liberal northeastern states and maybe doesn’t translate to Catholics in the midwest or south, ya know?
It would be strange in the sense that the Catholic Church scandal is not limited to one region alone but rather the whole country. But did the scandal hit as hard elsewhere?
@kitten I think the scandal hit harder in communities with a larger Catholic immigrant presence, where it is cultural to view priests as both religious and society leaders, and to never, ever question a priest.
and I think if you consider that, then it is going to be different in other regions because the Southeast, for example, wasn’t as heavily settled by Catholic immigrants as the northeast corridor was. So you don’t have the same culture.
I remember one time going to Mass on Easter Sunday in Nashville (might have been the last time i went lol) in college – my best friend’s dad was a professor at Vanderbilt so we headed up for the weekend – and I was like, this is your cathedral? why is it so small? i think we got there 15 minutes before and we had good seats. She laughed at me and was like “welcome to the Bible belt!”
I also think Hispanic immigration has played a role in how Catholics vote in the US but we know typically more Hispanic communities still tend to vote Democrat, with the exception of the Cuban population in Florida, but I think that is starting to shift now and more hispanics are voting Republican.
Catholicism definitely hits different in red states.
Interesting, Becks1. I honestly cannot imagine a Catholic church being that small LOL. Agree with you about the religiosity of Hispanic communities and how that’s playing out politically. It feels like a definite shift and it’s alarming AF.
I’m a lapsed Catholic, my undergrad alma mater is a Jesuit school (a “sect” of Catholic). You hit the nail on the head, this type of stuff isn’t Catholicism- it’s Evangelical/Baptist/Protestant. The church has some backwards views toward women and their roles, but they do not teach or expect women to be only homemakers and make babies. When even the Catholic Church is more liberal than you, you’ve done something gravely wrong.
My alma mater is also a Jesuit school. I think the Jesuits are amongst the most liberal of Catholics though aren’t they?
OMG this dude. He is the most handsome a BIGOTED MISOGYNISTIC HOMOPHOBE brainwashed fool I have ever seen. He is the end result of generational religious grooming done by his environment. He clearly does not belong in the 21st century.
Lolo86lf
I loved how you phrased that (He is the end result of generational religious grooming done by his environment.) I have never heard it put so succintly as that. I am gonna use the heck out of this phrase too when I rant to my husband about MAGA. Thank you!
Well. I was raised Catholic, thought that my upbringing was conservative and I am finding out that, no, there are fricking Catholics out there that sound 100% interchangeable with the highly conservative Moslims (women are incredibly covered up to the point of wearing gloves and men don’t wear Western clothing) that had to close their elementary school in our neighborhood because it was against theDutch constitution. I’m an American and I am seriously shocked that this is not being treated as more abnormal behavior. Not to mention unacceptable! Andrew Tate would love him.
One of my neighbors is a deeply devout Catholic, very conservative Republican (not MAGA tho) who is the kind of neighbor who brings soup to your house if she’s outside and hears you sneeze 😆.
I showed her the article and she surprised me by going off on him and his views. Entitled to his views certainly, but to pull that at a graduation ceremony was at the very least “tasteless and uncalled for. Live your beliefs but let everyone else live theirs”
Methinks he doth protest too much about how happy he is to be married to a woman.
I think your thinking is on the right track.
🎯
That young woman was dropping F bombs like she’s Samuel L Jackson and I’m here for it.
Firstly..why would anyone be DUMB ENOUGH to mess with a group of nuns from Mt Scholastica???! Is that the next DC Universe movie?? My best teachers were nuns. By 8th grade we had read To Kill a Mockingbird, The Heart of Darkness, Hamlet and short stories by Poe, Hawthorne and many more. Those sisters ran our school and I was encouraged to be and do anything. I am so thrilled they spoke out. Perhaps next year one of them will be a speaker at commencement.
You read Heart of Darkness in 8th grade?? TBH, as a college level, I have always noticed a difference in baseline composition skills between kids straight from public school and Catholic school. Nothing but respect for their academic standards
I sent my youngest to Catholic school (the others were educated mostly in DODs schools) and didn’t regret it. There actually wasn’t even that much religion and nowadays about 50% or so aren’t Catholic. She graduated with a 3.9 and had early acceptance to Penn state and James Madison where she just graduated from their highly competitive nursing program.
We did, and everything we read had an exam,a paper, and a presentation. My parents were not religious but they wanted us to have the best education. They couldn’t afford secular private schools. So raise a glass to the nuns of St Mary. Those were some top tier subversive educators. 🖤🤍
Man, he has a “I married a Duggar daughter” face. That’s all I got. Pan to a woman making the cat puking face 🤮
I left the Catholic Church when they refused to have a funeral for my bestie’s dad, who took his own life. The Baptists swooped in and held the funeral for the family, which was nice of them. I imagine when football season starts, everyone will have forgotten about his horrible remarks, but I won’t.
Butker might be closeted gay or bi , i dont know. But as a gayman, i do have to say, i hate the notion that all homophobic people must be closeted themselves. Its taking the blame from straight people and shoving it back to us. Not sure if my point came trough, my englsih has been lagging today haha.
I understood it! Good point. It’s a kneejerk reaction that’s commonplace these days – he’s homophobic = he’s gay but won’t admit it to himself/in the closet.
Nikomikaelx, I understand as well. There are PLENTY of homophobic strait people.
There’s a fair amount of scientific literature to the effect that the most fervent homophobes are closeted.
NikoMikaelX, You stated that perfectly for an English speaker to understand. I agree.
Bisynaptic, My child came out at the age of 13 and it’s been a negative eye-opening experience for me! I thought I lived in an area where non-straight people were accepted or at least tolerated for who they are. Going by your statement, most of my child’s school is full of fervent, closeted gay people. Especially the very Christian and very Moslim people! I do not believe this at all.
@ML I’m sorry your kid is going through this.
Please notice I wrote “the most fervent” homophobes: ie, for example, the ones who take it upon themselves to physically attack people. As I said, there’s a fair amount of evidence for this, your beliefs, notwithstanding.
Unfortunately there is a growing ultraconservative catholic movement in the US which is trying to usher us back into the 18th century. Look at all the MFers on the US Supreme Court, former AG Bill Barr, who are members of this Opus Dei cult. I was catholic schooled for much of my youth but I guess those who ran my schools were on the liberal side or perhaps not cultified, bigoted wannabe fascists 🤷🏻♀️
I agree. I had 10 years of Catholic education and this is not what I was taught. Free will, do unto others, do not judge, etc. etc. – this was the message I was given. I was never told what I should believe. It was all about thinking for yourself and developing your own relationship with God. What the f*** happened???
Vatican II convinced a lot of Catholic hard-liners that this was war–just as the 60’s fired up evangelical Christians. And they’ve been acting like that ever since.
The only people I see defending him on Twitter are white men. They water down what he said and say “there’s nothing wrong with telling people to get married and have families.” Completely ignoring that these comments were only directed at women.
This movement towards getting women back in the kitchen and entirely dependent on men again is scary. MAGAs will never achieve it though because they also reject any program that would actually make it financially possible for one parent to stay home. They aren’t all making $4 million kicker salaries.
Butker comes from a position of extreme privilege and deserves to be dragged for his misogyny and elitism.
Eheheheh. It’s always entertaining to hear these geniuses swear up and down that if one doesn’t have smartphones, computers, Instacart/Doordash, new cars every year (!!!)), and don’t go eating out/clubbing “every night,” a single-income family can do fine.
Emily, the only way to get the cork back in the bottle is to go back in time before either of the World Wars–particularly World War II–because more women were needed in the work force. Since that time there has just been more and more women working. I can’t believe they actually think they can shove women back into the kitchen and everything will be fine. Women will not stand for it. All of these people are delusional.
In my experience, younger Catholics are not more liberal. Which as a Catholic, terrfies me.
Wait, so he’s 28, and he has already given not one, but two commencement addresses, and one at GeorgiaTech, a rather prominent school? WTF? Do we really have such a shortage of speakers or is he just the cheapest they can find? He’s 28! How much wisdom can he actually impart on people who are like 4-5 years younger? Short of teaching them how to kick a ball?
It’s honestly horrifying seeing so many people low key support him on Facebook. People I am tangentially associated with through groups and friends of friends. They just brush it off ‘he was just saying his wife supports his career’ or ‘he’s not wrong’. The ick is strong.
It’s just another dog whistle to the MAGAs to rally for Trump for the next Presidential election.
Please all hold the line and vote for Biden/Harris!!!
Every religion seems to have a right, left and center. The extremists in every religion have key “values” (homophobia, racism, sexism) that overlap. The evangelicals in the southern USA have a lot in common with extremist Catholics and Muslims, but would rage against any other religious affiliation. Please vote the extremists out.
I was raised Catholic, too. As I mentioned the other day, the church lost me because of the child sexual abuse scandal, and has kept me away because if my queer kiddo can’t marry in a Catholic church, I don’t want to be there either.
That said, I adored most of the nuns who taught me. There were a few jerks among them, but for the most part, they were progressive and hugely supportive of the girls they taught. (My freshman composition teacher at a public university said he could tell from our first essays which students had gone to Catholic school, because our grammar was impeccable.)
My parents used to deliver spiked eggnog to their nun friends at the holidays, and one nun continued writing to my mom for decades. She worked in her later years in central America as a teacher. She was badass.
TL;dr: Don’t anger the nuns.
I disagree extremely about that comment in the above article stating that “MANY Catholics are very conservative and anti-woman”…… I know a lot of Catholics (including my entire family and extended family) and none of them fit that description.
Generalizing and stereotyping is dangerous and doesn’t help anyone or this decision climate we live in….By no means am I defending the church because I am an atheist.
Dehumanizing an entire religion could make one look as bad as Butker.
Came across this deeper response to Butker’s speech today, 100% worth a listen, alarming if true:
https://x.com/Ms_LilShadow/status/1791584560939221188
Saw that, too. I disagree with her that evangelicals are less dangerous, but she’s basically right about TLM.
This is no different than what the Taliban are preaching in Afghanistan…