Intolerant to the Intolerant! Phil Robertson Pulled From Duck Dynasty for Stating Beliefs

Last night, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson was suspended by A&E! The star of the ratings giant for A&E has been pulled for the foreseeable future.

Like clockwork, scandal broke when it was revealed that Phil Robertson, of Duck Dynasty, made a series of "anti-homosexual" remarks in an interview with GQ magazine.  In his typical blunt fashion, he declared homosexuality a sin, paraphrased a verse on the matter, and stated that he prefers (and these are his words, not mine) [to have sex with] a "vagina" and not a "man's anus."

As soon as the interview became public, GLAAD decided to chime in calling his words "vile," accused him of "lying," and claimed that he did not represent true Christianity (which was interesting because I'm not sure they get to decide what true Christianity is).

Not surprisingly, online media exploded in coverage of the story, and most quickly to point out how offensive his remarks were.

• LA TIMES - Called his words inflammatory
• New York Daily News - Claims he equated homosexuality to bestiality
• Huffington Post ran this title on their front page, "'Duck Dynasty' Star Makes Shockingly Vile Anti-Gay Comments"
• The Radar Online - Implies he's homophobic for stating his preference for women parts over man parts.

In the wake of the brewing controversy, A&E released the following from Phil:

“I myself am a product of the 60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs, and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other.”

This wasn't good enough for Entertainment Weekly, who commented on his remarks as follows:  

As backtracking goes, Robertson’s statement isn’t very contrite and seems to contradict his previous statements. He would “never treat anyone with disrespect,” yet just cited scripture to compare gay people to drunkards and prostitutes and adulterers and thieves and said they were locked out of heaven. Which sounds pretty disrespectful, no?

Following the media storm that followed, A&E decided to suspend the patriarch for the time being.


If you step back, what exactly is the controversy? What was unexpected in any of this?

Think About It

What he did say:

1. An evangelical Christian stated he believes homosexuality is a sin...not news.
2. An evangelical Christian voiced concern about the possibility that cultural acceptance of homosexuality could lead to more things being considered acceptable...not news.
3. A heterosexual male stated that he prefers girl parts to boy parts...not news.
4. Phil Robertson stated his opinions bluntly and with proper medical terms...not news.

If you don't like his bluntness, that's fair enough.  If you disagree with his position, that's fair enough. But the response to his bluntly stated, but not terribly extreme position (unless saying that something is a sin is an extreme position), are pretty shocking in their own right.

A Culture in Transition

This is par for the course when anyone with a national megaphone makes or previously made comments on homosexuality.

Louie Giglio was selected to give the prayer at President Obama's second inauguration.  That was until scandal broke! It was revealed that Giglio had made anti-homosexual remarks...20 years prior.  I've been listening Giglio for about 10 years, and I don't think I've ever heard him bring up homosexuality. I would guess that I've heard over 50 of his sermons.   That's 50 hours of him talking, and I have no recollection of it ever coming up in a major way.   However, when he was announced to give the benediction, some watchdog group for the LGBT community tracked down a 20 year old sermon that referenced homosexuality.   Not wanting to get wrapped up in a scandal he didn't start, Giglio backed out of the prayer.  The only reason anyone even knows about this long lost sermon is that the LGBT watchdogs tracked it down.  

There has been a massive pendulum shift in our culture over the last 15 years.

When Ellen DeGeneres and her character were revealed to be lesbian, it was an enormous scandal which eventually ended the series.  A TV show starring one of the most likable TV personalities of the last 20 years ended its run due to connections to homosexuality.  At the time, there truly was a bias against homosexuals.  We were fine with adulterers, drug users, and the sexual immoral, but there was a stigma against homosexuals; society singled them out as unacceptable.

Now the pendulum has swung the opposite direction.  If anyone with a national platform doesn't explicitly support the LGBT community, they are labeled as vile, anti-gay, and homophobic.  I'm not arguing that we should return to the pre-21st century way of doing things, but it seems the pendulum has swung very far in the opposite direction.

What Phil Didn't Say

Just look at the words being thrown at Phil over his comments, and it's clear people are inserting meaning to his words which he did not actually communicate.

Think about all the things he didn't say...

1. I'm afraid of gay people...so he's not homophobic
2. I hate gay people...so he's not a bigot
3. I'm disgusted by gay people...so he's not really being vile

What he said was that he believed homosexuality was a sin.  He listed off many other things he considers sins as well.  Many of those things, he would assign to himself.  He himself is an adulterer.  He was a drunk.  He would call himself a wicked sinner.   He's not standing on a pedestal looking down, he's identifying himself with others as a sinner.

Here's the Problem

If you completely disagree with Phil for what he said and lose respect for him, that's perfectly reasonable.  If you choose, based on his statements, to stop watching the show, you are free to do so. The problem is that our society has shifted so far in one direction that, when any public figure makes a statement against the LGBT community, a mob instantly forms against them.

We aren't talking about individuals expressing their disapproval and their right not to watch.  No, these mobs consist of organizations like GLAAD and other media outlets demonizing anyone that disagrees with them.

Within a day of the interview being published, this is a list of things that happened:

• He was labeled vile
• He was labeled a homophobe
• He was labeled a bigot
• He was called not a true Christian
• He was called a liar
• GLAAD rallied to have A&E pull the show
• GLAAD rallied to have the shows ads pulled
• Phil released a statement where he explained he loves all of humanity
• Phil's apology was called contradictory
• A&E pulled Phil from the show

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Stop and consider this:

CHRIS BROWN

In 2009, singer Chris Brown (as a grown man) beat Rihanna (a roughly 100 pound girl) until she passed out.  While she lay there, unconscious, he took the opportunity to flee the scene.  The story quickly caught the news, and pictures were released.  Based purely on the pictures, it was clear that she had a split lip, bloody nose, swollen face, and other contusions.  

Since that time, he's released three albums, all of which have had the full support of his record label, mainstream pop radio, and MTV. He's been given significant acting roles in multiple films. He's led three well funded national tours.  He has performed duets with multiple top level artists, and he has been allowed to perform for millions of people on the VMAs, broadcast on CBS.

He has never once truly owned up for what he did. Instead, he's recorded a song called, "Don't Judge Me," and wrote a diss towards Rihanna in a song called, "I'm Still."  He's violent, unrepentant, and rewarded for his behavior.

Chris Brown, as a grown man, beat a 100 pound girl until she was hospitalized and unconscious. In response, he was given a national platform to continue making millions of dollars.  

LINDSAY LOHAN

Lindsay Lohan has been in and out of rehab for all of her adult life (about 8 years).  She's a drug addict, a shoplifter, and frequently GETS CAUGHT driving under the influence.  She has been arrested 6 times.  

Since that time, she been given starring roles in indie films and made-for-TV films.  For some reason, they allowed her to host SNL this past year.  She's had supporting roles on multiple TV shows and major studio films. And, just a few years back, she posed for Playboy (they even delayed a jail sentence so she could make the shoot).  At this point in time, she's not famous, she's infamous.  But, she keeps getting roles.  

PHIL ROBERTSON

Phil Robertson is redneck, and he has never claimed to be more.  In his early adult life, he chased women and alcohol.  In the many years since, he has strongly denounced his former life, and instead promoted a life pursuing Jesus.  Likewise, over the last 40 years, his family business has grown into a multimillion-dollar empire.  But Phil hasn't changed.  Unlike many others, fame and fortune have no effect on Phil Robertson. He speaks his mind, and he's honest about his beliefs.  That's why people like the show, which follows his family.  Honesty and blunt language are his trademark.

Recently, he stated that he loved all of humanity, prefers woman parts to men parts, and he believes homosexuality is a sin.  In response, he was suspended from his show, and his personal character and integrity were attacked.

Is the one unforgivable sin to the media "intolerance?"*

What do you think?

* And by "intolerance" I mean the new definition of the word, "Not fully accepting"




Here are more thoughts on the controversy:

If you liked this post, here is a previous post I wrote on Duck Dynasty, WHY I LOVE DUCK DYNASTY!