Topic: 'Duck Dynasty' star on hiatus for anti-gay comments

[Highwind Dragoon]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2013/12/18/glaad-slams-duck-dynasty-for-vile-remarks-in-gq/4108551/

Personally, I think he should've kept his mouth shut on those matters.  A&E did what any other TV network would've done in it's place.

[X]

Agreed. This is the 21st century and not the medieval era or any other era that openly practiced any forms of racism, predudism, sexism and stereotyping. These people have got to get it through their egocentric minds that this form of behavior is not acceptable. We will never truly move forward as a race so long as we continue down this path of fear; fear of what's different then they are, and the fear due to lack of knowledge and understanding. If that red neck truly follows the teachings of Jesus then he wouldn't have said such things and he would also know that god loves everyone and everything no matter who or what they are. And he would also know that there is simply no such thing as sin because we were all created to be this way; free thinkers.

[KaZudra]

You know, I really hate when this shit happens, someone gets offended and bitches and whines until someone loses their job.

Personally, he didn't mean any harm in that shit, and people should shut the fuck up.

[Highwind Dragoon]

Really?  He "meant no harm"?  Then what is this? 

WATCH: In 2010, Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson Called Gays 'Insolent, Arrogant, God-Haters'

HE WAS UNDER CONTRACT, KAZ

AND HE VIOLATED THE TERMS, SO HE GOT SUSPENDED.

The first amendment only protects you from the government, not private businesses.  He can say whatever he wants, but their are consequences for his words that he will have to face.

And dude?  People don't have to "shut the fuck up", If they don't like what someone else said they have the right to disagree and attempt to prove that person wrong.

TL;DR: If you say stupid shit while being recorded/talking to a reporter covering the story, you will face real life consequences for it.  That's life, basically.

[Ratty]

It's always frustrating when people complain about "freedom of speech" in these situations without understanding what that actually is. Freedom of speech is not freedom from criticism. That would by its nature be a limitation on the freedom of speech/expression of one group or another. Person or group X is free to say whatever they want, every other group is free to express their opinions as well.

As for A&E kicking him from the show, look at it this way. Ultimately the remarks this guy made aren't that much different from him wearing a KKK shirt to work. (He actually did make comments in the same interview about how the black people that he saw during the Jim Crow era south were "happier" and "godlier" than black people today. I suppose he never saw the lynchings and beatings.) Now, he and you are both welcome to wear KKK shirts to your job, it's not illegal. But your employer is equally allowed to fire you for associating them with a message they don't wish to be associated with.

[theANdROId]

Very well put Ratty.  Unfortunately, it seems that our constitution is changing to "freedom of speech unless someone disagrees" or something like that. :-/ 

Although, I guess a flip-side is that he is quite a public figure, and they (public figures) are frequently targeted and mocked on just about everything! :-P

[Claimh Solais]

You know, I really hate when this shit happens, someone gets offended and bitches and whines until someone loses their job.

Personally, he didn't mean any harm in that shit, and people should shut the fuck up.

I don't know. Calling them insolent, arrogant, god-haters, heartless, and faithless seems pretty harmful and offensive to me. He's essentially looking at them and insulting them, so I think gays have every right to "bitch and whine" about it.

Anyway, he has the right to speak about his views, but he did make A&E look bad. I don't know much about that, but that does violate contract, doesn't it? And he's giving them somewhat of a bad rep with it, I'd guess.

[Neobelmont]

What? The dudes a sexist and a racist? The nunchuck fu^c! I did not take him for that. 

Also what's this about black people I'm interested in this.

[EstebanT]

Very well put Ratty.  Unfortunately, it seems that our constitution is changing to "freedom of speech unless someone disagrees" or something like that. :-/ 

Although, I guess a flip-side is that he is quite a public figure, and they (public figures) are frequently targeted and mocked on just about everything! :-P

Thats not right, why are we even bringing freedom of speech into this. He's not going to jail, nor is anyone silencing him. He can say whatever he wants, but the company he's working for can also do things like fire someone who makes them look bad....

[Bloodreign]

Here's what they could do with this, fire him, and all his friends on the show, cancel it, then cancel every other reality series out there and replace it with actual TV shows (no more cop and crime dramas though, ugh). Let it all snowball to the point reality shows are gone forever.

[KaZudra]

I'm sorry, TmZ has no Credibility to anyone with common sense...

Even if that were 'solid' evidence, the video describes 2010, Duck Dynasty premiered in 2012, and the anti-gay issue is present in 2013.

In this era where 90% of TV is shitty reality shows, what fucking morals is there?

They are all colorful characters, some actually did some terrible shit, but if you hate blacks or gays you are hated.

Long live 'merica

[Highwind Dragoon]

I'm sorry, TmZ has no Credibility to anyone with common sense...

Even if that were 'solid' evidence, the video describes 2010, Duck Dynasty premiered in 2012, and the anti-gay issue is present in 2013.

In this era where 90% of TV is shitty reality shows, what fucking morals is there?

They are all colorful characters, some actually did some terrible shit, but if you hate blacks or gays you are hated.

Long live 'merica

Cracker Barrel disagrees with you:

http://tv.yahoo.com/news/cracker-barrel-pulls-duck-dynasty-products-190130045.html

[Ratty]

Thats not right, why are we even bringing freedom of speech into this.

Sadly freedom of speech always gets dragged out by people who don't understand it when a celebrity is exposed as racist or homophobic. Just look in the comments of any news story (or Fox news coverage) following this event, or Paula Deen's racism before this and on back.

They are all colorful characters, some actually did some terrible shit, but if you hate blacks or gays you are hated.

Yes, being a backwards bigot earns rightful scorn. Really these companies could keep supporting duck dynasty and make a tidy profit from the many, many people who agree with Phil's racist and homophobic viewpoints. But most companies don't want to be remembered as being on the wrong side of history in 20 years. Surveys show that the emerging Millennial generation (basically anyone in their early thirties and below) are much more supportive of equal rights for gays, and these people are the customers and voters of the future.

Also what's this about black people I'm interested in this.

He said that he never saw any unhappy black people in the 1960s south when he worked with them as a sharecropper, and that they were all happy and godly and "nobody was singing the blues". Despite the fact that blacks were still regularly lynched for outrageous acts like trying to vote, and weren't allowed to use the same facilities (from schools to movie theaters to water fountains) as whites.

[JR]

His comments were pretty dumb, but I'm not at all surprised he said something like that. I mean...just look at him.

[PFG9000]

Here's the actual article, so that you can see what you're commenting on:

http://www.gq.com/entertainment/television/201401/duck-dynasty-phil-robertson

Phil Robertson is expressing his opinion.  Stating his personal preference.  He says that he prefers a vagina to a man's anus, following it up with, "That's just me."  Those sound like awfully bigotted, gay-hating words right there.     A&E is shooting themselves in the foot.

As for violating his contract, I don't have it in front of me.  Feel free to link to it here if that is a legitimate reason for his suspension.

For the record, I also prefer a vagina to a man's anus.  But that's just me.  Did I just offend anybody?