You think they’d have learned something from their disastrous boycott of Chic-fil-A.
The thing is, this is not Chic-fil-A. Dan Cathy is free to print verses from Romans or I Corinthians on his place mats because it is his restaurant chain.
It is not Phil Robertson’s TV network. Apparently, Mr. Robertson signed an employment contract to appear in that in that reality TV show that I now have finally heard of, the “suits” at A&E know all about his views on race relations and on gay rights, and he was instructed, as an employee, to “keep his views out of the papers”, which now he famously hasn’t done.
I am in the camp of “it couldn’t have happened to nicer people” regarding A&E losing their cash cow over Phil Robertson being Phil Robertson, and I observed that anti-gay remarks provoke such outrage that Mr. Robertson’s antediluvian views on race aren’t even noticed. But I don’t see this as a free speech issue for Mr. Robertson.
We used to go to Cracker Barrel. It’s a nice place to stop on road trips. The food is more American traditional family. And then finally, they opened up one close to the house.
For lunch, you can go into a Cracker Barrel, and like most restaurants, they offer free breads to fill you up cheaply. I like their biscuits. So when the new place opened, we decided to go there for breakfast. At breakfast, those biscuits, they give to you free at lunch with as many as you request, cost well north of a dollar a piece. And the rest of their breakfast menu was pricey. Then we realized there were plenty of mom and pop establishments that we frequent in the area that served the some type of menu at better prices. So we quit going to Cracker Barrel. This was over 5 years ago.
Now that’s how its done in a polite society. Essentially I’m boycotting Cracker Barrel, because I disagree with their pricing. I didn’t run out and trash them, because their menu is their decision. I simply choose to not go there. And I have no problem if others decide to go there; however I seriously doubt that GLAAD represents their typical patron.
My Schadenfreude regarding A&E is that Mr. Robertson is arguably both a race and an anti-gay bigot, A&E knew this, but they still wanted to hire Mr. Robertson for the entertainment value of depicting his quaint back-woods lifestyle.
They treated him as a primate in a zoo cage, and that caged creature flung something back at the visitors gawking at him. And now they are faced with calls to close their star-attraction exhibit?
Paul, I get you. I only wish others really understand the Schadenfreude being committed by this ginned up outrage by leftist groups.
Now NAACP is calling Phil racist, which is odd because he hasn’t made any such racist remarks and his adopted grandson is bi-racial. So what’s the basis for the claim of racism. Phil said when growing up, he lived and worked with blacks and all were happy together, which NAACP took to mean, “saying that African Americans were happier under Jim Crow laws”. Um no, that’s not remotely what the man said. Alas, we will have a few idiots simply believe what the NAACP tells them, call it the truth, call Phil a jerk, and then demand someone who speaks out against the entitlement and welfare state (which is what the NAACP seems to protecting in attacking Phil) be hidden from public consumption.
NAACP has to accuse this guy of racism because that is how they make money.35000 white soldiers died freeing the slaves. Did they ever bring flowers to their graves?
Another angle is the use of the word redneck. It is a racial slur but the word has different meanings around they country. For some people redneck means poor white people with broken down cars in their lawn. For others, it might be white people in camo. But for a lot of people, redneck means racist white person that wants to kill blacks and/or go back to the days of slavery and Jim Crow. You can throw in other things like stupid, uneducated, inbred, eats roadkill ect.
So when you see people use redneck as a slur, you have to figure out what definition they are using it under. Often, it is the most negative one. Most people don’t realize this. They assume everyone thinks the same way they do. Which is why a white person needs to be careful about referring to themselves as a redneck. One person might think they know a lot about truck tires and someone else might be aghast that they proudly label themselves as a racist.
The people who are upset about Phil Robertson and who use the slur redneck when ranting against him, are probably using the most derogatory definition. And these people also think everyone is like them so when see the term redneck used, they assume the intended definition is the same one they have. Are the Robertson’s racist? Well, aren’t they rednecks?
You may recall an article from six months or so ago about a school that was pressured to cancell redneck day. People didn’t want it cancelled because it racially stereotyped white people. People wanted it cancelled because they thought it was like having a day to dress up like the KKK. The kids who organized it thought it meant everyone wore camo.
Not to disagree with your comments Wodun. Many people I know, who would proudly call themselves Rednecks, refer to their necks being burned by the sun while they work outside with their hands, such as farmers and hunters.
Don’t forget the fishermen 🙂
You can always spot a fisherman by their raccoon eyes. If you see a guy who’s face is tan as can be but is white as can be around the eyes, ask what colors the fish are biting.
Well that didn’t last long, Cracker Barrel has already back tracked and decided it acted to hasty in alienating its customers. As I said, I don’t think GLAAD represents Cracker Barrel’s average patron, and apparently they have no figured that out. So you can continue to buy your Duck Dynasty (which is the A&E brand name for Duck Commander items) from Cracker Barrel. Alas, I’m still spending my money elsewhere for reason described previously.
OK, I plead to be part of the problem. I thought that Phil Robertson had expressed some Trent Lott-like views on race relations, perhaps innocent on the surface but problematic given our national history on civil rights, but I thought his remarks about the Bible, gay persons, and the technical aspects of his own orientation had obscured that.
Maybe on the racial thing, I am just echoing second-hand accounts and media opinion. I will look to find out what Mr. Robertson really said.
It’s always a good idea to try and find out what someone actually said than to depend on the media and pundits. On the matter of race, he described working in the fields side by side with poor blacks, something many poor southern whites of his generation can relate to, including me. I earned my first dollar picking cotton by hand as a child.
As for his statements about gays, he was speaking about sin as defined in the Bible. He included homosexual acts in a list of sins and also talking about loving the sinner while hating the sin. If you don’t like that, I suggest you take it up with God. Perhaps you can persuade Him to come in line with your more enlightened way of thinking.
You’d think by now that TV networks would have figured out that the people who threaten to boycott them are rarely the people who actually watch their shows and buy the products advertised on those shows.
Ditto for newspapers and magazines.
From Wikipedia “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.”
OK, I would “cut him some slack” because he is saying that as a young person and coming from a working class white background, he worked as an agricultural worker shoulder to shoulder with black workers. He has a lot more “standing” to comment on race relations than the sheltered white elites, myself included. And he is not a United States Senator, who is held to a standard of speaking on behalf of both his white and black constituents. And his comments do not echo broad racial stereotypes as I had heard from the late Reggie White.
But still, the concerns of the NAACP are “lost in the noise” whereas his literal interpretation of the Bible has become a national crisis.
I still find the whole concept of NAACP offensive and anachronism. Referring to a black person as “Colored” has always struck me as a bit off. Even calling them black seems to be a form of segregating them from other races. And why segregate by race if only considering melanin levels? If the organization supported the advancement of people with low melanin; then it would be ostracized. So I’ll dare say it, NAACP is just a counter to the KKK, and neither organization is worth my time. Yep, I just compared the NAACP to the KKK; so quit buying my products and watching my TV shows.
It looks like A&E’s suspension is only temporary – lasting until it’s time to shoot more episodes.
Season 5 is all but in the can. 9 of 10 episodes are already filmed. I’m starting to wonder when the PR people left in charge at A&E for the holidays get canned.
By the way, I’ve been commenting quite a bit on this, mainly because I’ve had time to do so. We watch the show, but it wasn’t until the end of season 3 that we watched our first episode. It’s ok, but like many shows, I can do without it just fine. The thing for me is this; if what these people do and believe offend you, then switch channels. The show is only available on cable, so that means whoever is watching it has at least 50 other options. There’s plenty on cable that offends me, such as the entire Disney channel concept, but I simply don’t watch it.
People, this whole Duck Dynasty blowup is just a distraction. It is meant to take our minds off a government program that will cost the taxpayers north of a trillion dollars and counting, involving a cozy deal with the main contractor, where much of the software is being written, where the software that is written has a flawed user interface, and the operating word is change-the-requirements and patch as you go.
But enough of the Obama Administration’s handling of the Joint Strike Fighter . . . (bass drum thump).
It seems to me that all is proceeding as a Conservative would like:
1) Robertson gets to say whatever he wants.
– I’ve always held that free speech does not necessarily mean you are free from negative consequences of your speech (except for when the government is involved). A man is free to tell his wife that the dress she just finished making, and is modeling for him, is ill-fitting, has a too loud and atrocious a print, and is far too dowdy……………
….but he should be willing to accept the consequences of such an action.
2) A&E is, as far as I know, private company so they get to decide who they want on their channel, and why. Unless, of course, if they take Federal money. In THAT case they MUST be tolerant of all views. If they are not, the Justice Department should go after A&E hard and fast (yeah like that would ever happen).
3) Everyone else free to have an opinion about all of this and voice it.
4) People are free to vote with their dollar and watch A&E or not. And A&E will have to suffer the consequences (if any) of their decision.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see anything untoward about the situation.
You think they’d have learned something from their disastrous boycott of Chic-fil-A.
The thing is, this is not Chic-fil-A. Dan Cathy is free to print verses from Romans or I Corinthians on his place mats because it is his restaurant chain.
It is not Phil Robertson’s TV network. Apparently, Mr. Robertson signed an employment contract to appear in that in that reality TV show that I now have finally heard of, the “suits” at A&E know all about his views on race relations and on gay rights, and he was instructed, as an employee, to “keep his views out of the papers”, which now he famously hasn’t done.
I am in the camp of “it couldn’t have happened to nicer people” regarding A&E losing their cash cow over Phil Robertson being Phil Robertson, and I observed that anti-gay remarks provoke such outrage that Mr. Robertson’s antediluvian views on race aren’t even noticed. But I don’t see this as a free speech issue for Mr. Robertson.
We used to go to Cracker Barrel. It’s a nice place to stop on road trips. The food is more American traditional family. And then finally, they opened up one close to the house.
For lunch, you can go into a Cracker Barrel, and like most restaurants, they offer free breads to fill you up cheaply. I like their biscuits. So when the new place opened, we decided to go there for breakfast. At breakfast, those biscuits, they give to you free at lunch with as many as you request, cost well north of a dollar a piece. And the rest of their breakfast menu was pricey. Then we realized there were plenty of mom and pop establishments that we frequent in the area that served the some type of menu at better prices. So we quit going to Cracker Barrel. This was over 5 years ago.
Now that’s how its done in a polite society. Essentially I’m boycotting Cracker Barrel, because I disagree with their pricing. I didn’t run out and trash them, because their menu is their decision. I simply choose to not go there. And I have no problem if others decide to go there; however I seriously doubt that GLAAD represents their typical patron.
My Schadenfreude regarding A&E is that Mr. Robertson is arguably both a race and an anti-gay bigot, A&E knew this, but they still wanted to hire Mr. Robertson for the entertainment value of depicting his quaint back-woods lifestyle.
They treated him as a primate in a zoo cage, and that caged creature flung something back at the visitors gawking at him. And now they are faced with calls to close their star-attraction exhibit?
Paul, I get you. I only wish others really understand the Schadenfreude being committed by this ginned up outrage by leftist groups.
Now NAACP is calling Phil racist, which is odd because he hasn’t made any such racist remarks and his adopted grandson is bi-racial. So what’s the basis for the claim of racism. Phil said when growing up, he lived and worked with blacks and all were happy together, which NAACP took to mean, “saying that African Americans were happier under Jim Crow laws”. Um no, that’s not remotely what the man said. Alas, we will have a few idiots simply believe what the NAACP tells them, call it the truth, call Phil a jerk, and then demand someone who speaks out against the entitlement and welfare state (which is what the NAACP seems to protecting in attacking Phil) be hidden from public consumption.
NAACP has to accuse this guy of racism because that is how they make money.35000 white soldiers died freeing the slaves. Did they ever bring flowers to their graves?
Another angle is the use of the word redneck. It is a racial slur but the word has different meanings around they country. For some people redneck means poor white people with broken down cars in their lawn. For others, it might be white people in camo. But for a lot of people, redneck means racist white person that wants to kill blacks and/or go back to the days of slavery and Jim Crow. You can throw in other things like stupid, uneducated, inbred, eats roadkill ect.
So when you see people use redneck as a slur, you have to figure out what definition they are using it under. Often, it is the most negative one. Most people don’t realize this. They assume everyone thinks the same way they do. Which is why a white person needs to be careful about referring to themselves as a redneck. One person might think they know a lot about truck tires and someone else might be aghast that they proudly label themselves as a racist.
The people who are upset about Phil Robertson and who use the slur redneck when ranting against him, are probably using the most derogatory definition. And these people also think everyone is like them so when see the term redneck used, they assume the intended definition is the same one they have. Are the Robertson’s racist? Well, aren’t they rednecks?
You may recall an article from six months or so ago about a school that was pressured to cancell redneck day. People didn’t want it cancelled because it racially stereotyped white people. People wanted it cancelled because they thought it was like having a day to dress up like the KKK. The kids who organized it thought it meant everyone wore camo.
Not to disagree with your comments Wodun. Many people I know, who would proudly call themselves Rednecks, refer to their necks being burned by the sun while they work outside with their hands, such as farmers and hunters.
Don’t forget the fishermen 🙂
You can always spot a fisherman by their raccoon eyes. If you see a guy who’s face is tan as can be but is white as can be around the eyes, ask what colors the fish are biting.
Well that didn’t last long, Cracker Barrel has already back tracked and decided it acted to hasty in alienating its customers. As I said, I don’t think GLAAD represents Cracker Barrel’s average patron, and apparently they have no figured that out. So you can continue to buy your Duck Dynasty (which is the A&E brand name for Duck Commander items) from Cracker Barrel. Alas, I’m still spending my money elsewhere for reason described previously.
OK, I plead to be part of the problem. I thought that Phil Robertson had expressed some Trent Lott-like views on race relations, perhaps innocent on the surface but problematic given our national history on civil rights, but I thought his remarks about the Bible, gay persons, and the technical aspects of his own orientation had obscured that.
Maybe on the racial thing, I am just echoing second-hand accounts and media opinion. I will look to find out what Mr. Robertson really said.
It’s always a good idea to try and find out what someone actually said than to depend on the media and pundits. On the matter of race, he described working in the fields side by side with poor blacks, something many poor southern whites of his generation can relate to, including me. I earned my first dollar picking cotton by hand as a child.
As for his statements about gays, he was speaking about sin as defined in the Bible. He included homosexual acts in a list of sins and also talking about loving the sinner while hating the sin. If you don’t like that, I suggest you take it up with God. Perhaps you can persuade Him to come in line with your more enlightened way of thinking.
You’d think by now that TV networks would have figured out that the people who threaten to boycott them are rarely the people who actually watch their shows and buy the products advertised on those shows.
Ditto for newspapers and magazines.
From Wikipedia “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.”
OK, I would “cut him some slack” because he is saying that as a young person and coming from a working class white background, he worked as an agricultural worker shoulder to shoulder with black workers. He has a lot more “standing” to comment on race relations than the sheltered white elites, myself included. And he is not a United States Senator, who is held to a standard of speaking on behalf of both his white and black constituents. And his comments do not echo broad racial stereotypes as I had heard from the late Reggie White.
But still, the concerns of the NAACP are “lost in the noise” whereas his literal interpretation of the Bible has become a national crisis.
I still find the whole concept of NAACP offensive and anachronism. Referring to a black person as “Colored” has always struck me as a bit off. Even calling them black seems to be a form of segregating them from other races. And why segregate by race if only considering melanin levels? If the organization supported the advancement of people with low melanin; then it would be ostracized. So I’ll dare say it, NAACP is just a counter to the KKK, and neither organization is worth my time. Yep, I just compared the NAACP to the KKK; so quit buying my products and watching my TV shows.
It looks like A&E’s suspension is only temporary – lasting until it’s time to shoot more episodes.
Daily Mail link.
Season 5 is all but in the can. 9 of 10 episodes are already filmed. I’m starting to wonder when the PR people left in charge at A&E for the holidays get canned.
By the way, I’ve been commenting quite a bit on this, mainly because I’ve had time to do so. We watch the show, but it wasn’t until the end of season 3 that we watched our first episode. It’s ok, but like many shows, I can do without it just fine. The thing for me is this; if what these people do and believe offend you, then switch channels. The show is only available on cable, so that means whoever is watching it has at least 50 other options. There’s plenty on cable that offends me, such as the entire Disney channel concept, but I simply don’t watch it.
People, this whole Duck Dynasty blowup is just a distraction. It is meant to take our minds off a government program that will cost the taxpayers north of a trillion dollars and counting, involving a cozy deal with the main contractor, where much of the software is being written, where the software that is written has a flawed user interface, and the operating word is change-the-requirements and patch as you go.
But enough of the Obama Administration’s handling of the Joint Strike Fighter . . . (bass drum thump).
It seems to me that all is proceeding as a Conservative would like:
1) Robertson gets to say whatever he wants.
– I’ve always held that free speech does not necessarily mean you are free from negative consequences of your speech (except for when the government is involved). A man is free to tell his wife that the dress she just finished making, and is modeling for him, is ill-fitting, has a too loud and atrocious a print, and is far too dowdy……………
….but he should be willing to accept the consequences of such an action.
2) A&E is, as far as I know, private company so they get to decide who they want on their channel, and why. Unless, of course, if they take Federal money. In THAT case they MUST be tolerant of all views. If they are not, the Justice Department should go after A&E hard and fast (yeah like that would ever happen).
3) Everyone else free to have an opinion about all of this and voice it.
4) People are free to vote with their dollar and watch A&E or not. And A&E will have to suffer the consequences (if any) of their decision.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see anything untoward about the situation.