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'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

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re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
Not at the time, they weren't.
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One can argue that they were, since the 14th Amendment had been ratified in 1868 allowing for equal protection under law. But that's an entirely different ball of wax, since segregation and "separate but equal" were obviously discriminatory policies and the Duckman not being able to say whatever he wants without repercussions from a private employer is not.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
I see them both "standing up" for what they believe.
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Are you serious? If being an offensive bigot is an example of bravely "standing up for what you believe", then you must think that Klansman are the bravest people on earth.

Blacks were systematically persecuted and discriminated against in the segregated south. In contrast, there are no separate water fountains for Christians. Christians do not have to sit at the counter in restaurants. Christians do not have to send their kids to segregated schools. Christians are not banned from using most bathrooms. We do not have poll taxes on Christians and do not deny their right to vote. It is a slap in the face to black people that were alive under Jim Crow to make the comparison you just made. Christians are not persecuted in this country in any way. Hell, you can't even get elected to office in nearly all cases without claiming to be a Christian.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

In the end A&E will suffer for their intolerance and bigotry.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

Kobie said:
One can argue that they were, since the 14th Amendment had been ratified in 1868 allowing for equal protection under law. But that's an entirely different ball of wax, since segregation and "separate but equal" were obviously discriminatory policies and the Duckman not being able to say whatever he wants without repercussions from a private employer is not.
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And SCOTUS had ruled that the states were allowed to do what they did.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

SouthernDemocrat said:
Are you serious? If being an offensive bigot is an example of bravely "standing up for what you believe", then you must think that Klansman are the bravest people on earth.

Blacks were systematically persecuted and discriminated against in the segregated south. In contrast, there are no separate water fountains for Christians. Christians do not have to sit at the counter in restaurants. Christians do not have to send their kids to segregated schools. Christians are not banned from using most bathrooms. We do not have poll taxes on Christians and do not deny their right to vote. It is a slap in the face to black people that were alive under Jim Crow to make the comparison you just made. Christians are not persecuted in this country in any way. Hell, you can't even get elected to office in nearly all cases without claiming to be a Christian.
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The comparison is that they were both standing up for what they beleive....not the severity of what they were standing up for.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
The comparison is that they were both standing up for what they beleive....not the severity of what they were standing up for.
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I give up.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
The comparison is that they were both standing up for what they beleive....not the severity of what they were standing up for.
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That was weak.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

CriticalThought said:
That was weak.
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It's true. :shrug:

To be fair, I wouldn't have made the comparison, but I understand the reasoning behind it.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
Could they fire you for, on your own time and away from the workplace, practicing your religion?
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We have no gay clients, that I know of. But, if we did, and I went to a trade mag interview and voiced an opinion like Phil did, I would not be surprised to hear a price was to be paid. Being fired would be likely.

Common sense dictates that when you disparage a group of people, whether it's your religion commanding you to do it or not, your employer is going to have an issue with it of it if anyone in that group is a part of their customer base.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

digsbe said:
In the end A&E will suffer for their intolerance and bigotry.
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A&E's actions are neither. It is a private enterprise protecting its brand, nothing more.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
And SCOTUS had ruled that the states were allowed to do what they did.
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Irrelevant to this discussion.

Any comparison between Duckman and Rosa Parks is utterly absurd on an almost metaphysical level.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

What throws me for a loop is the constant gay bashing on the Right. I'm not exactly a fan of gay sex myself, but I also know that gay relationships go far beyond just sex. I guess I empathize with a person or group of them being offended by someone reducing their love for a partner to comparisons between a vagina and an asshole. It's crass, to say the least.

Now, that being said, I can understand why people feel gays are an affront to what is decent and healthy in our society. After all, an 800 lbs gorilla in the room is the Aids epidemic, which we all know was primarily spread--in the USA, at least--through gay sex. When religious people and others complain about the practices of gay men, arguing that such behaviors can take down our society/country/whatever, they should not be discounted out of hand; it's not like the risks there are negligible.

However---and, this is where I draw the line in the sand--every human being has a right to happiness. And, in a free society, that includes having sex and marrying any consenting adult they fancy. If someone is attrated to same sex partners, and they find one--we should not interfere with their happiness.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

calamity said:
What throws me for a loop is the constant gay bashing on the Right. I'm not exactly a fan of gay sex myself, but I also know that gay relationships go far beyond just sex. I guess I empathize with a person or group of them being offended by someone reducing their love for a partner to comparisons between a vagina and an asshole. It's crass, to say the least.
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If anything about this guy's rant "offended" me (and it really didn't, I more rolled my eyes than anything; I don't offend particularly easy) it was this part. Complete trivialization of how attraction, both sexually and emotionally, actually works. You can claim the other stuff is excused by his religion, but this part here was just abject ignorance.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

I am at a total loss and can not fathom how what Phil Robertson and the consequences he has faced is even remotely comparable to Rosa Parks and the civil rights movement. Here you have some guy who said something he probably could have worded in a much less offensive way to a woman who stood up for herself against racial discrimination. Upper class white christian males have no idea what it's like to really be discriminated against. The comparison isn't even close.

Phil Robertson's freedom of speech is not and has not been violated. He is not being censored. He can still say whatever the hell he wants. He doesn't have a muzzle on. But with every action is a reaction and when you're a "celebrity" you're every action is accounted for. He should have known better.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

calamity said:
What throws me for a loop is the constant gay bashing on the Right.
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You are choosing to see that which is not there or, you are inflating and conflating to come to such an opinion.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

CRUE CAB said:
Bull****. I can say whatever the hell I want, and my boss cant fire me for it.
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Find yourself a female co-worker and ask her "hey, whats that useless flap of skin around a vagina called? A woman!" and see if you don't get fired for sexual harassment.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

calamity said:
We have no gay clients, that I know of. But, if we did, and I went to a trade mag interview and voiced an opinion like Phil did, I would not be surprised to hear a price was to be paid. Being fired would be likely.

Common sense dictates that when you disparage a group of people, whether it's your religion commanding you to do it or not, your employer is going to have an issue with it of it if anyone in that group is a part of their customer base.
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You think it's right that they can fire you for practicing your religion?
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

Kobie said:
Irrelevant to this discussion.

Any comparison between Duckman and Rosa Parks is utterly absurd on an almost metaphysical level.
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No. it's not irrelevant. Rosa Parks did not have the right to do what she did in the time and place she did it. Hell, that's why she's important.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

apdst said:
Your mom taught you to lie? Figures!
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You can only respond with a personal attack??? How ahhh CON of you... :roll:

She taught me to mind my mouth, something you should have learned. :doh

Phil could have said many things that didn't cast judgement, he could of focused on his life of sin instead of commenting on other people and their lifestyle. He could have been honest about the pre-civil rights south and just how 'happy' black folks were...

or he could have just kept his big mouth shut.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
You think it's right that they can fire you for practicing your religion?
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Practicing your religion means not having sex with your identical sex.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

I took some heat from some here because I said the show has no appeal to me and is indicative of the IDIOCRACY trend in America.

However, I do not approve of punishing somebody for stating their views as this man did in an interview. That is wrong. Now I know every time a liberal says something offensive - Keith Olbermann for example - the apologists for the far right tell us over and over and over and over again how nobody has a RIGHT to be on TV or radio and they can be fired or disciplined for their comments and it is perfectly legal and fine to do so.

Now this duck situation has become a right wing cause celebre and the shoe is on the other foot. Interesting to see how things change depending on ones perspective for some.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

Excon said:
You are choosing to see that which is not there or, you are inflating and conflating to come to such an opinion.
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Huh? The mainstream Right has not been able to shut up about the horror of society accepting Gays since at least 2004 when the first judge approved Same Sex Marriage.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

mac said:
You think it's right that they can fire you for practicing your religion?
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No one is being fired for "practicing" their religion. They are being fired for verbally attacking a class of people.

Is hiding behind religion the new excuse Christians now use to cover their gay bashing? What stops someone from using religion to bash Jews and Muslims or anyone else not accepting Christ...or is that OK, since its "practicing your religion"?
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

apdst said:
You're suggesting he should have lied?

I think the issue could have been avoided if the interviewer hadn't set him up. He HAD to know how Robertsin was going to answer the question and if he did, he shouldn't have asked the question.

The Libbos might want to temper their outrage. The Duck Dynasty vote has already gotten one United States congressman elected. It would suck for the Libbos if every single member of theDuck block voted against a Democrat, because of the way the Libbos treated Phil Robertson.

Making a big deal out of this is a bad business decision for A&E and a bad political move for the Libbos.
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In the first season of the show A&E used to insert bleeps into the show to make it appear like the Robertson's were cursing when they weren't.

The problem was that A&E crafted "Duck Dynasty" to be a show where Americans tuned in to laugh at some backwards yokels. What they ended up with was a show where millions of Americans admired the Robertson's.
 
re: 'Duck Dynasty': A&E warned Phil Robertson about speaking out too much [W:1111]

tacomancer said:
assuming A&E wasn't stupid enough to make them sign a no compete clause or that they did not retain rights.

I somehow suspect the lawyers weren't that careless on what amounts to routine business practices for a TV network.
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That would put real pressure on the Robertsons. Without A&E they would only have their $400 million duck call business to fall back on.
 
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