Duck Tales

I need to first state that I have never watched Duck Dynasty and in fact have no intention of ever watching it. Also, I firmly believe a book should not be judged by its cover but after seeing the promo pics for this show and what the cast looks like my question is why aren’t people more surprised that these folks have been on the air for as long as they have without blurting out the “n” word. So the patriarch of this show about duck hunters living like the Beverly Hillbillies from the fortune they’ve created by selling “Duck Calls” (Ooh, Must See TV) was quoted in an article for GQ Magazine…wait, GQ? Again have ya seen the promo pics? What the hell was GQ thinking or are have their subscriptions levels sunk so low that they’re willing to interview celebrity hillbilly fowl hit men. Anyway, this mallard patriarch, wanna be preacher, Phil Robertson was asked to define sin by a GQ interviewer. Here’s what he said “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there, bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and those men. Sin is sin, and they are no different from people who engage in bestiality or terrorists. But I do not judge them, that is up to God." Ok, let me just say this, we really need to stop pretending that religion is an excuse to be distasteful, vulgar, and offensive. It is both distasteful and vulgar to compare homosexuality to having sex with animals, it is offensive to compare homosexuality to terrorist who kill and maim innocent people. As far as this cherry-picking Bible thumpers claim of not judging, TMZ just posted a video of a sermon Mr. Robertson gave in 2010 at a Pennsylvania church where he calls gay people "shameful, perverse, heartless, faithless, senseless God-haters that are destined for the burning pits of hell." Nope no judgment, none at all.

In the same article this scholar of joyous religiosity was asked for his views on race. He alleges he "never" saw black people mistreated during the pre-civil rights era in his home state of Louisiana and contends that African-Americans were more content under Jim Crow…yep, he said that. Specifically he said "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," because you know there has to be an explanation for him hanging out with the Blacks. Then he said “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.”…I don’t even know where to begin. So in his white trash world, (his words not mine) African-Americans were treated fairly and equally, there were no lynchings, everyone had the right to vote and we all lived in one big beautiful separate but equal world. There we were, African-Americans singing and dancing a jig in the field enjoying that smoldering hot Louisiana sun, not a care in the world and what do you know, along came that pesky Civil Rights movement which ruined all those good times with their unfounded demands for fairness and racial equality. Boy, if more people like Phil Robertson had simply spoken up we may have been spared the likes of Dr. Martin Luther King and his gang of radicals messing up that good thing we had going…seriously, this man is a complete idiot. From where does he think the blues were bred? This is exactly the type of racist person Oprah spoke of when she said "There are still generations of people, older people, who were born and bred and marinated in it, in that prejudice and racism, and they just have to die".

Of course as soon as the A&E network suspended his ass the Right Wing First Amendment Right nuts showed up with claims of his rights being trampled. Note to conservatives: "Free speech" does not mean "free from all response or criticism." THIS IS NOT A FREE SPEECH ISSUE! Free Speech does not mean free from the repercussions of employers or the general Public. The First Amendment protects a person's speech from GOVERNMENT suppression only. Free speech is about whether the government can restrict your speech, not your right to say stupid shit on TV. This man can continue to promote the biblical values of hating a group based on archaic philosophies till the cows come home but he should know that with free speech come consequences. If you make ridiculous ignorant statements denying the degradation of Jim Crow laws and forced segregation and instead envision Black people laboring in the fields dancing and singing, you’re going to be called on it. And for all those Republican politicians who were quick to come to his defense in fact stating they stand behind him and his values, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich and Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal thanks once again for the minority reach out.