# 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:** 22
**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, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/421 "2013-12-23T18:58:34Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Yes, 45% of people in the US are homophobic. What does the percentage have to do with anything? You think something stops being bigotry if enough people agree with it? What percentage of people in the US in 1940 thought Jim Crow was a good idea? If it was 45% or more, does that make segregation not racist? > > Are they hate filled? No, probably not. But who said they were? You don’t have to be Fred Phelps level crazy to be a homophobe. You just have to think that it’s worse to be gay than it is to be straight. Everything else is just a matter of degree. So let me ask you: Does it matter? Is there any reason to treat the 45% of people who think homosexuality is a sin different from the Phelps family who hate gays? Should we just treat them all the same? In for a penny, in for a pound? Are both deserving of equal scorn? My point is that rather than talking past each other I wish both sides would listen to each other and maybe just maybe learn something. Those 45%? They’re not going anywhere. Not for a long time, anyway. Rather than shouting them down every time they voice their opinion and accusing them of bigotry and hatred for their beliefs maybe you should try talking to them. Look at it this way: Are Phil Robertson’s kids and their religious friends in Louisiana more or less likely to share his beliefs after the way he’s been treated recently? What might be a better way to get them to open their minds? I honestly think you’d have gay marriage in every state already if you were pushing for it the right way: With a plea for tolerance and acceptance rather than an accusation of bigotry against all those who disagree with the gay rights movement to any degree. ---
**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, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/422 "2013-12-23T19:00:03Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > Why do you have to go that extra step to make up things that I didn’t say? I actually quoted the article VERBATIM. But hey, you got it all wrong. You should be proud or something since “good work” snark was taken by you. I didn’t realize you were quoting the article. But in that case you are guilty of repeating falsehoods rather than creating them. Congratulations. ---
**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, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/423 "2013-12-23T19:01:09Z")
Please quote to me the part of the bible that says homosexuals are murderers. Please quote to me the part of the bible that says homosexuals are full of envy. Please quote to me the party of the bible that says homosexuals cause strife. Please quote to me the part of the bible that says homosexuals are full of hatred. Please quote to me the part of the bible that says homosexuals are arrogant. Please quote to me the part of the bible that says homosexuals are heartless. Please quote to me the part of the bible that says homosexuals are ruthless. Please quote to me the part of the bible that says homosexuals “invent ways of doing evil”. If you can’t do that, it isn’t a matter of his religious beliefs. It’s a matter of his bigotry and hatred. This is stuff he came up with. You’re just making excuses for bigotry, trying to accuse it as being “OK”, because a hate filled religion claims a book says something it doesn’t even say. You don’t get to hide behind your holy book, _especially_ when we’re able to read it and see that you’re lying about what it says. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/424 "2013-12-23T19:03:42Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I didn’t realize you were quoting the article. But in that case you are guilty of repeating falsehoods rather than creating them. > > Congratulations. You are aware that you’re not in the pit, right? And you realize that accusing someone of lying is not allowed in Great Debates. I eagerly await your apologies. ---
**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, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/425 "2013-12-23T19:04:04Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I posted a video of what was said before and after what was quoted above. It appears to me he’s talking about morality in general. It doesn’t make sense that he attributes all the ills of the world to gay people but that he lumped what he believes is an immoral life style into the list. Yeah. Watching the video he starts off with atheists and goes on to list lots of things he thinks are immoral about people. Homosexuality is prominent, but not the only thing he’s talking about there. It’s much the same as the GQ quote. People here a list that has a bunch of items on it and fixate on the gay part and make a bunch of inferences. People are definitely looking to be offended. An atheist could feel just as attacked watching that as a gay person could. ---
**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, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/426 "2013-12-23T19:05:22Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > You are aware that you’re not in the pit, right? And you realize that accusing someone of lying is not allowed in Great Debates. I eagerly await your apologies. I’m not accusing you of lying so no rule has been broken. The statement that you posted, or quoted, is false. For me to make that statement of fact is allowed under the board rules. The “no lying” rule isn’t meant to allow incorrect statements to go unchallenged. ---
**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, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/427 "2013-12-23T19:06:23Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > If you can’t do that, it isn’t a matter of his religious beliefs. It’s a matter of his bigotry and hatred. This is stuff he came up with. You’re just making excuses for bigotry, trying to accuse it as being “OK”, because a hate filled religion claims a book says something it doesn’t even say. You don’t get to hide behind your holy book, _especially_ when we’re able to read it and see that you’re lying about what it says. I assume you’re asking me? What religion do you think I am? ---
**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, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/428 "2013-12-23T19:09:28Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I assume you’re asking me? > > What religion do you think I am? The “you” is anyone who claims that it’s “just religious belief”, but it was more specifically aimed at Magiver, who claimed that Robertson doesn’t hate anyone, because he religion tells him not to! Mind you, Magiver’s arguments are already obviously full of holes and make no logical sense with even a passing look (“lesbians are evil because of anal sex!”), so it’s really just pissing in the wind. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/429 "2013-12-23T19:09:33Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > An atheist could feel just as attacked watching that as a gay person could. So, how in the world is that a defense? I can be offended if someone attacks gay people AND offended if that same person attacks atheists. You know, like you could be offended if someone said “Conservatives, Republicans, Conservative Independents, Tea Partiers, gun owners, people who drive pickups, white men, straight men, and people who use George Foreman grills are all losers and should be punched in the face.” You don’t have to be every single one of these things to think someone just suggested you be punched in the face. The black, gay, liberal woman who drives a Prius but uses a Foreman grill has just as much right to take offense at this as the person who is the conservative Republican Tea Party gun owning pickup driving straight white guy. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/430 "2013-12-23T19:10:57Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > Please quote to me the part of the bible that says … I don’t think he’s saying this. He’s lumping a bunch of sins together STARTING with homosexuality and not the RESULT of homosexuality. ---
**Author:** ![Steely\_Dan\_Fan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de053/32.png) [@Steely\_Dan\_Fan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steely_Dan_Fan)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/431 "2013-12-23T19:11:48Z")
> [@Falchion](#): > > Fox News quip aside, I think this is what bothers me about A&Es action here. They have a reality TV star who is openly evangelical christian He’s not a Christian at all. Evangelical Protestants are book-worshippers. Christianity is Christ-following. The two are totally incompatible with each other. ---
**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, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/432 "2013-12-23T19:13:14Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t think he’s saying this. He’s lumping a bunch of sins together STARTING with homosexuality and not the RESULT of homosexuality. You also seem to think it’s ok to think lesbians are sinners because they have anal sex. Why exactly should I care what your interpretation is again, when it seems to contradict how everyone else is reading it? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/433 "2013-12-23T19:14:11Z")
> [@debaser](#): > > i’m not accusing you of lying so no rule has been broken. > > The statement that you posted, or quoted, is false. For me to make that statement of fact is allowed under the board rules. The “no lying” rule isn’t meant to allow incorrect statements to go unchallenged. reported then. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/434 "2013-12-23T19:17:07Z")
> [@Karrius](#): > > Mind you, Magiver’s arguments are already obviously full of holes and make no logical sense with even a passing look (“lesbians are evil because of anal sex!”), so it’s really just pissing in the wind. I never said anybody was evil because of anal sex. In fact, I was quiet specific when I said people should stick whatever they want wherever they want. ---
**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, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/435 "2013-12-23T19:22:25Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > S > You know, like you could be offended if someone said “Conservatives, Republicans, Conservative Independents, Tea Partiers, gun owners, people who drive pickups, white men, straight men, and people who use George Foreman grills are all losers and should be punched in the face.” Sure. I get what you are saying. But for this analogy to work all of those people would have to say “Meh” and not be offended by the comments. All except for one group, let’s say straight men, who are only a few % of the population, yet get so worked up about it and have so much clout that the person who made the statement gets fired. It would be valid in that case to point out that other groups were included as well and they didn’t seem to react the same way. I’m an atheist and I wasn’t offended by his comments. He’s a bit nutty, sure, but harmless. I’ll still watch the show. I guess as a conservative I’m used to it. If I stopped watching media every time a person said something I disagreed with I’d have nothing left. I can enjoy the Shawshank Redemption even though Tim Robbins is a pinko. 😛 ---
**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, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/436 "2013-12-23T19:32:45Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I don’t think he’s saying this. He’s lumping a bunch of sins together STARTING with homosexuality and not the RESULT of homosexuality. Not in this interview. The problem is, he’s given other interviews previously, and now those are being brought to light: [Quote=King of DD in 2010] “Women with women, men with men. They committed indecent acts with one another, and they received in themselves the due penalty for their perversions,” Robertson said. “They’re full of murder, envy, strife, hatred. They are insolent, arrogant, God-haters. They are heartless, they are faithless, they are senseless, they are ruthless. They invent ways of doing evil.” [/quote] ---
**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, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/437 "2013-12-23T19:38:07Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I’m an atheist and I wasn’t offended by his comments. He’s a bit nutty, sure, but harmless. I’ll still watch the show. Phil Robertson was apparently a guy who, after getting a public education and a free ride to a public university because he could throw a football, became an alcoholic and a criminal. He’s a guy who should have been convicted of a felony, who used to hide in the woods to avoid the law. He was abusive to his family, maybe not physically but he apparently used to kick them out of his house. He was, by his own account, an awful human being. And then he found Jesus and straightened his life out. Good for him, but now he thinks that anyone who hasn’t accepted Jesus as their savior will naturally behave just like \*he \*did before he’d found Jesus. That’s the gist of everything he says; if we tolerate gays and atheists and adulterers and other sinners, god will punish America. As an atheist, you may not find this attitude offensive, but it’s not harmless. Not only is he a voter, but he’s a public figure. This is a backwards, incorrect idea and it has no place in modern society. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/438 "2013-12-23T19:43:45Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > This is a backwards, incorrect idea and it has no place in modern society. I know. He’s in definite need for reeducation. Maybe in some kind of a camp? ---
**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, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/439 "2013-12-23T19:44:44Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Not in this interview. The problem is, he’s given other interviews previously, and now those are being brought to light: You are only quoting part of it. In the clip I saw he clearly started with Atheists. I think he said “non-believers” or something. Then he goes on to that list. Of course, most news sources are snipping that off since it doesn’t fit into what they are looking for. ---
**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, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747/440 "2013-12-23T19:47:51Z")
> [@Terr](#): > > I know. He’s in definite need for reeducation. Maybe in some kind of a camp? I was thinking maybe a public dialog. Or YouTube comments. But I guess Hitler something something. Amiright? :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747.md?page=21) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-e-suspends-phil-robertson-over-anti-gay-remarks/676747.md?page=23)