# A&E suspends Phil Robertson over anti-gay remarks **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 19, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747 "2013-12-19T18:37:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/341 "2013-12-23T12:09:53Z")
> [@Steely\_Dan\_Fan](#): > > Of course it does. His expressions of hate both facilitate and encourage not just outright violence, but also cultural stigma that deprives LGBTQ persons of access to material resources, political participation, and social integration. > You’re right, it’s astounding the degree of real-world harm that expressions of hatred can do. > If by “delusion” you mean “recognizing real-world social dynamics rather than performing a superficial pseudo-analysis based on the assumption that every variable is closed off and isolated from everything else,” then yes. This is absurd. According to you, no one should be allowed to express a negative view of any group. Do you really want a world like that? The real deal here is not what you claim, but the simple fact that some in that group were offended. To them I say, big fucking deal. Get over it. There’s no civil right called “Freedom from being offended.” ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/342 "2013-12-23T12:54:40Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > You’re wrong if you think that is what he said. He said he did not see those things happening. This is such a weak defense. It’s the equivalent of a German civilian saying after WWII “I never saw the Jews suffer, they all seemed happy to me”. That’s an implicit denial of the Holocaust, just as Robertson was implicitly denying the brutal oppression of Jim Crow. And there’s as much evidence of the brutality of Jim Crow as for the Holocaust. If Holocaust denial, even implicit Holocaust denial, is anti-semitic, then implicit Jim Crow denial is probably racist. It’s incredibly ignorant as well, obviously. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/343 "2013-12-23T13:13:53Z")
It does my heart good to see the right wing so vociferously defending someone’s right to employment. They’re actually defending an employee over his employer. Be still my heart! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/344 "2013-12-23T14:14:53Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > A&E just discovered that when it comes to homosexuality Phil Robertson is agin it? That must have hit them like a ton of bricks. Who could have known? Thank goodness the rest of the family have solidly progressive views! I keep hearing this line from Fox News viewers on Facebook, and it’s such bullshit. Newsflash: he didn’t get fired because his bosses were _surprised_ about his views. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/345 "2013-12-23T14:22:11Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Whatever you might have posted a few days ago, your persistent mischaracterization of the meaning of his words makes you look like you are championing his cause, now. > If you do not like the message that you convey, stop being disingenuous in describing what he said, (or stop reading at the fourth grade level and up your game to that of an adult). Bullshit. You have mischaracterized what was actually said, not me. Saying homosexuality is a sin is not homophobic no matter how much you desperately wish it were. Saying he did not see the abuses of Jim Crow is not racist. Falsely accusing me of “championing his cause” is disingenuous. I don’t think homosexuality is a sin. ---
**Author:** ![Falchion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Falchion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Falchion)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/346 "2013-12-23T14:29:48Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > He does not appear to have been asked about any of this stuff. Do we know what he was asked about civil rights (or anything else)? My biggest problem with the GQ article is that there tends not to be much context to the quotes. There’s a big difference between: “Tell me if you believe life in the South was bad for blacks” and he gives a narrow technical response about his own personal experiences. And the question: “Tell me about your personal experiences with race relations growing up” which invites that sort of answer. (I have the same reaction to the fact that when asked about sin, his focus is on sex. That’s a bit odd and somewhat significant. However, if the conversation went: Q. What’s your opinion about homosexuality? A. The thing about anus-logic and sin being illogical. Q. What else is sin? A. Homosexuals, fornicators, the Welsh, and the on into drunkards, etc. It makes a bit more sense) ---
**Author:** ![Karrius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71c47a/32.png) [@Karrius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karrius)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/347 "2013-12-23T14:30:18Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > This is absurd. According to you, no one should be allowed to express a negative view of any group. Do you really want a world like that? The real deal here is not what you claim, but the simple fact that some in that group were offended. To them I say, big fucking deal. Get over it. There’s no civil right called “Freedom from being offended.” Agreed. Sarah Palin and her ilk really need to get over it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/348 "2013-12-23T14:32:16Z")
Look, we’re seven pages into this thread and no one has changed anybody’s mind yet. Let’s step back and try a thought experiment. Everyone close your eyes, and think about when the Dixie Chicks were banned from all of the Cumulus Radio and a lot of the Clear Channel stations because they said President Bush made them ashamed that he was from Texas. Do you remember how you felt about that? And if it’s different than the way you feel now, what prompted the evolution of your attitude? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/349 "2013-12-23T14:37:21Z")
It’s not really an apt analogy. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/350 "2013-12-23T14:57:11Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > Look, we’re seven pages into this thread and no one has changed anybody’s mind yet. Let’s step back and try a thought experiment. > > Everyone close your eyes, and think about when the Dixie Chicks were banned from all of the Cumulus Radio and a lot of the Clear Channel stations because they said President Bush made them ashamed that he was from Texas. > > Do you remember how you felt about that? And if it’s different than the way you feel now, what prompted the evolution of your attitude? I don’t recall having much of an opinion on the matter, but [it seems that history repeats itself.](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/945498/posts) First, the conservative outrage. > [@](#): > > Lewis Dickey, CEO of the 270-station Cumulus Broadcasting group, recalled during the hearing, ‘‘There was a groundswell of negative reaction by our listeners against the band. We had never seen anything like it before. Calls were coming in … from our individual program directors across the country, saying there was a hue and cry from our listeners regarding those remarks that was unprecedented.’’ And then a gross misunderstanding of constitutional law by public figures. > [@](#): > > [John] McCain called the Dixie Chicks moratorium ‘‘an incredible, incredible act,’’ explaining: ‘‘I was … as offended as anyone by the statement of the Dixie Chicks. But to restrain their trade because they exercised their right of free speech to me is remarkable.’’ Not just incredible and remarkable, McCain told Dickey, but unconstitutional: ‘‘Because if someone else in another format offends you, and there’s a huge hue and cry, and you decide to censor those people, my friend, the erosion of the First Amendment in the United States of America is in progress.’’ Unfortunately the stupid didn’t stop at Republicans. > [@](#): > > Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., likened Dixie Chicks boycotters to Nazi book burners and ‘‘communist dictators’’ who ‘‘strip out all the works of art that they don’t agree with.’’ In case that was not enough to scare you, both McCain and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., summoned up the most nightmarish scenario they could imagine if, heaven forbid, radio stations started routinely responding to the demands of their listeners: What if a senator said something offensive, and a chain of radio stations decided to keep him off the air for a month? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/351 "2013-12-23T15:01:06Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Bullshit. You have mischaracterized what was actually said, not me. Saying homosexuality is a sin is not homophobic no matter how much you desperately wish it were. Saying he did not see the abuses of Jim Crow is not racist. > > Falsely accusing me of “championing his cause” is disingenuous. I don’t think homosexuality is a sin. This. Seriously, this really nails it. I’m not religious, but I accept the fact that many people are. We live in a country where 45% of people think homosexuality is a sin. Are all these people homophobic? Are they all filled with hate? This is a case of two groups talking past one another. Phil probably doesn’t get that his remark is offensive to gay people, some of whom have to live in fear of getting fired or beaten up simply for being who they are. But the liberal left doesn’t seem to get that Phil isn’t hostile to gays. He thinks it’s a sin the same way he thinks two kids having sex in the back of a car is a sin. He doesn’t hate the sinner, he is simply preaching what he thinks is right according to his beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/352 "2013-12-23T15:06:07Z")
The Dixie Chicks analogy is a failure, BTW. It doesn’t work because the Dixie Chicks angered their core audience with their comments. Country music fans tend to be conservative and support Bush. By making those statements they offended many of their fans. Phil Robertson on the other hand doesn’t have a huge gay following I wouldn’t imagine. His fans seem to agree with his religious views. So the boycotts and refusal to play Dixie Chicks music made sense. This is what the fans wanted. Many people didn’t want to listen to them because they were angry. Meanwhile the decision by Cracker Barrel to pull out backfired and offended more fans than just staying put would have. That’s what makes this situation so absurd and the decision by A&E wrong. They are in the minority. They just don’t realize it. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/353 "2013-12-23T15:06:49Z")
So I just called a local Cracker Barrel. A lady answered the phone and I said…“A group in my office is considering coming there for a Christmas dinner and we wondered if, today, are you guys back on the Jesus bandwagon, or are you Godless again?” There was no answer for several seconds, and then she replied “uhhh, I’m not comfortable answering this question. Do you want to talk to the manager?” I said “yes, please”. The manager never came to the phone. I had so much fun with that one, I called another location. This time I asked straight away for a manager. He came to the phone, and I asked him the same question. He replied with some rote answer about Cracker Barrel policy basically wanting to please everybody (impossible), and he made a point to advise me that Cracker Barrel is selling all the products that have been popular with their clientele. I let him get all through and I told him I felt bad that he would have to be dealing with all this b.s. that corporate brought down on them. He seemed relieved that I realized that simple fact. This is great. I’m gonna be busy today! 😉 Oh, and yeah. I guess it is immature. And what? [https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/q71/1535399\_10201846003605017\_569996855\_n.jpg](https://scontent-a-dfw.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/q71/1535399_10201846003605017_569996855_n.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/354 "2013-12-23T15:14:22Z")
> [@Mr.Natural](#): > > So I just called a local Cracker Barrel… So much for “I don’t watch the show or agree with his comments, but…” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Natural](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a9adbd/32.png) [@Mr.Natural](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Natural)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/355 "2013-12-23T15:18:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > So much for “I don’t watch the show or agree with his comments, but…” :rolleyes: Cracker Barrel has a show? Oh yeah, and I don’t think I ever said if I do or don’t agree with his comments. Maybe I did say it, but I’m not even sure how I do feel about it, so I doubt it. You can go back and check me out if you want to. I think this is more important to you than it is to me, but I can damn sure how some fun with it. I might even…get this one…play it from both ends. har har har. Get it? Both ends! ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/356 "2013-12-23T15:23:08Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > But the liberal left doesn’t seem to get that Phil isn’t hostile to gays. He thinks it’s a sin the same way he thinks two kids having sex in the back of a car is a sin. He doesn’t hate the sinner, he is simply preaching what he thinks is right according to his beliefs. Man, I would have agreed with you until I watched the 2010 video. Did you watch that? He’s worked up. He thinks America is in the shitter and he blames gays and godless heathens such as you and me. And he’s not just calmly expressing that opinion, he’s _angry_. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/357 "2013-12-23T15:24:46Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I think A&E, if it persists, is going to lose a boatload of money. That’s why it will eventually bring Phil back into the show and continue as if nothing happened. A&E has almost certainly planned to bring him back from the beginning. Hence “suspension”. As I’ve pointed out already, they “suspended” Dog the Bounty Hunter for saying the n-word and then quietly brought him back after three months. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/358 "2013-12-23T15:26:57Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > A&E has almost certainly planned to bring him back from the beginning. Hence “suspension”. As I’ve pointed out already, they “suspended” Dog the Bounty Hunter for saying the n-word and then quietly brought him back after three months. Three months. Is that how long Jane Fonda’s Re-education Camp lasts? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/359 "2013-12-23T15:30:40Z")
> [@Mr.Natural](#): > > Cracker Barrel has a show? Oh yeah, and I don’t think I ever said if I do or don’t agree with his comments. Maybe I did say it, but I’m not even sure how I do feel about it, so I doubt it. You can go back and check me out if you want to. I think this is more important to you than it is to me, but I can damn sure how some fun with it. I might even…get this one…play it from both ends. har har har. Get it? Both ends! Yes, it’s _definitely_ more important to me, the one who’s calling every local Cracker Barrel to bother their staff about… something. No, wait, that seems wrong somehow. > [@John\_Mace](#): > > Three months. Is that how long Jane Fonda’s Re-education Camp lasts? 🙂 I expect it’s how long they can wait before they start shooting the next season, but the Jane Fonda thing works too. ---
**Author:** ![Karrius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71c47a/32.png) [@Karrius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karrius)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/360 "2013-12-23T15:45:16Z")
So Mr. Natural thinks it’s OK to harass people who are likely underpaid workers who have nothing to do with the things they’re upset about, while lying to those workers about why they’re calling? MERRY CHRISTMAS! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747.md?page=19)