# More Pat Robertson assholishness **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 27, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835 "2012-08-27T17:00:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/1 "2012-08-27T17:00:58Z")
This time he offers up a few bits of wisdom on adoption: > [@](#): > > In a recent episode of Robertson’s The 700 Club, a woman who had three adopted children from three different foreign lands wrote in asking for advice about why she’s having a hard time dating. Robertson’s answer? Of course no dude wants to deal with this lady and all her “weird” ethnic kids. > > “A man doesn’t want to take on the United Nations, and this woman’s got all these various children and blended family. What is it?,” said Robertson. He then relayed an anecdote about a “dear friend” of his who adopted a child from Colombia who turned out to have brain damage. “You just never know what’s been done to a child before you get that child,” he said. “What kind of sexual abuse, what kind of cruelty, what kind of food deprivation, et cetera.” [http://gawker.com/5938144/old-monster-pat-robertson-warns-people-against-adopting-children?post=52208725](http://gawker.com/5938144/old-monster-pat-robertson-warns-people-against-adopting-children?post=52208725) I suppose this is nothing new coming from him. Just sickens me that some people apparently still take this clown seriously. ---
**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:** [August 27, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/2 "2012-08-27T17:15:58Z")
Does this mean he’s coming around on abortion? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/3 "2012-08-27T17:25:59Z")
Just keep the receipt, I always say. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/4 "2012-08-27T17:35:11Z")
I haven’t watched the video, but based on the quotes I’d say that Pat Robertson, while an asshole of the highest order, is probably right about guys being reluctant to date a woman with three adopted “ethnic” kids, and has a fair point that it’s hard to know what foreign adoptees went through before they were adopted. I’m sure he said these things in the most sneering, condescending way possible, but they don’t sound like his usual complete untruths like “Katrina was God’s punishment” or whatever. Now I’m off to have a four-hour Silkwood shower and I pray that’s the closest I EVER come to defending that camera-mugging piece of regurgitated dogshit again in my lifetime. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/5 "2012-08-27T18:24:43Z")
Well, my favorite part is when he says > [@](#): > > You don’t have to take on somebody else’s problems. because isn’t the idea of taking on somebody else’s problems kind of a thing in Christianity? Jesus could suffer and die for our sins, but dating a lady with adopted kids is too much work or something. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/6 "2012-08-27T19:21:18Z")
I hope his ‘dear friend’ drowned that little Colombian bastard in a bathtub. That’s what Jesus would have done. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/7 "2012-08-27T19:27:59Z")
Robertson is actually correct about adopted kids. My daughter’s best friend in grade school was adopted from Columbia, and while a sweet kid did turn out to have behavioral problems. (His brother, also adopted, didn’t.) But you’d think that a so-called Christian would say how wonderful it was for someone to give kids the kind of a chance they never would have had if they hadn’t been adopted. I’d say the guy is a Satanist, but I don’t think Satan is that bad. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/8 "2012-08-27T20:25:12Z")
To be fair, Pat is trying to explain why an _eligible fella_ might balk at the prospect of a single lady with adopted kids… To which, no explanation should be necessary. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/9 "2012-08-27T20:25:14Z")
Pat Robertson’s brand of Christianity: Hate and fear everyone (except who Pat tells you), help no one (except who Pat tells you), send money to Pat so he can keep telling you who to hate and fear. Rinse and repeat. It is so complicated trying to understand who to hate and fear, why not let Pat do that for you? On the scale of Pat Robertson assholery, I’m going to give this one a 3 (out of 10.) After 9/11, I saw him with a beautiful, huge relief map of Iraq pointing out where we should be dropping the nukes. That was an 11 on the PRA scale. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/10 "2012-08-27T20:31:24Z")
Maybe he should be an advice columnist like Dear Abby instead. I agree that he is correct on this issue. Existing biological kids are bad enough in the dating world but adopted ones, especially from the 3rd world, are a kiss of death. That is her personal life choice and she is probably going to have to go through alone to the exclusion of lots of things other people can do. She probably should have figured that out on her own however. It is pretty obvious. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/11 "2012-08-27T20:42:56Z")
The woman asking the question explicitely mentioned that men rejected her when realizing that there was no child support coming (since they don’t have a known biological father) So, the original issue wasn’t solely about the kids being foreign born, but also (mainly?) about finances and having to support those kids. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/12 "2012-08-27T20:45:46Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Robertson is actually correct about adopted kids. My daughter’s best friend in grade school was adopted from Columbia, and while a sweet kid did turn out to have behavioral problems.. Biological kids can turn out to have behavioral problems too. There’s no guarantee either way. I’m not sure how this anecdote makes PR correct. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/13 "2012-08-27T20:46:34Z")
Robertson is an evil douchebag, obviously. But he is right in this case. If Angelina Jolie was a normal looking, non-rich actress, do you think guys would want to date her? ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/14 "2012-08-27T20:49:51Z")
I don’t know if there’s really a “correct” answer here. The statement “adopted kids from foreign countries may be more prone to behavioral problems than children raised by their biological parents” should not necessarily lead directly to “run away quickly and don’t look them directly in the eyes lest you be infected.” In fact, I see two different questions here: should a man date a woman with three kids is one, but it’s completely different from should a man date a woman with adopted kids as opposed to kids she bred and birthed. Seriously, if the answer there is supposed to be that the kids she bred and birthed are guaranteed to be free of defect or poor behavior, I say ha. Hey, on re-reading Robertson’s remarks, I found my second-favorite part! > [@](#): > > I’ve got a dear friend, an adopted son, a little kid from an orphanage down in Columbia. Child had brain damage, grew up weird. Well, that’s pretty conclusive evidence there! The kid grew up _weird_! Can you imagine having to deal with that, a _weird_ kid. ---
**Author:** ![sugaree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@sugaree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugaree)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/15 "2012-08-27T20:51:56Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > Robertson is an evil douchebag, obviously. But he is right in this case. If Angelina Jolie was a normal looking, non-rich actress, do you think guys would want to date her? Well, I see normal-looking, non-rich single parents dating and even marrying all the time, so I guess the answer here is yes. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/16 "2012-08-27T20:55:56Z")
I’m more concerned that this woman thought asking Pat Robertson for dating advice was a smart idea. If I had to guess, such cluelessness is why she’s having problems with the opposite sex, not the Columbian kids. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/17 "2012-08-27T20:58:12Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > The woman asking the question explicitely mentioned that men rejected her when realizing that there was no child support coming (since they don’t have a known biological father) > > So, the original issue wasn’t solely about the kids being foreign born, but also (mainly?) about finances and having to support those kids. And that is an extremely valid concern. Lots of people with kids get divorced and remarried. The big difference is that their other parent is usually still around to help pay the bills and spend time with them. If you go out with a woman with three adopted kids, it is pretty clear that you will immediately start to become their parent as well because they don’t have a father. It is worse than dating someone with a biological child who has another deceased or deadbeat parent. At least their are biological dividing lines between the parents and others there. It would just be a free-for-all in this case and very few men would want any part of it. It was all her that did it. Any potential partners didn’t even get to go through the adoption process with her. Those third-world kids are like beanie babies to some people as well. You know they won’t just stop at two or three. They are going to try to find a way to get more. It sounds bad but I have a third-world child collector in my family and she wants all of us to start collecting them now that she is too old to be allowed any more. I try to be as nice as possible when trying to explain that not everyone is interested in them like she is. ---
**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:** [August 28, 2012, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/18 "2012-08-28T00:00:23Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > The woman asking the question explicitely mentioned that men rejected her when realizing that there was no child support coming (since they don’t have a known biological father) > > So, the original issue wasn’t solely about the kids being foreign born, but also (mainly?) about finances and having to support those kids. Assuming a bit here, aren’t we? Even the thirdest third world countries don’t hand over babies to just any foreigner. She’s presumably got enough of her own money to look after the kids. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/19 "2012-08-28T13:35:44Z")
It wasn’t Laura Ingraham phoning in was it? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835/20 "2012-08-28T19:56:24Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > Biological kids can turn out to have behavioral problems too. There’s no guarantee either way. I’m not sure how this anecdote makes PR correct. I don’t know the numbers, but my old town, which was quite well off, had a substantial number of adopted kids, and I’d say 80% had behavioral problems. It is not surprising - some suffered from malnutrition as babies, some had fetal alcohol syndrome. Healthy babies from good parents don’t go up for adoption as a rule. However my other daughter’s best friend was adopted from Korea, and she had no mental problems (to put it mildly!) and the only behavioral problem she had was that she had to try to keep from eating too much, since she remembered being hungry as a baby. None of which doesn’t mean he isn’t a twit. But it is something that those who adopt should be aware of. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-pat-robertson-assholishness/632835.md?page=2)