# Pat Robertson has prostate cancer ... and I'm glad! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2003, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921 "2003-02-13T21:28:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/41 "2003-02-14T00:57:46Z")
I think they see a difference between a mass murderer and some one who’s political/religious views they disagree with. YMMV ---
**Author:** ![Witch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/258eb7/32.png) [@Witch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Witch)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/42 "2003-02-14T00:59:52Z")
Spiff…you make me fucking puke. Obviously you’ve never had cancer touch your life. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ace_of_Swords)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/43 "2003-02-14T01:02:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Witch \* > \*\*Spiff…you make me fucking puke. Obviously you’ve never had cancer touch your life. \*\* Especially not the ultra-dangerous ass-cancer, which is the third leading cause of ass-killing in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/44 "2003-02-14T01:02:59Z")
What was that famous saying … hmm … something about criticizing the mote in your neighbor’s eye, and taking the beam out of your own, first … hmm … I’m sure it’ll come to me eventually. Some of you “morally enlightened” people frighten me. You’re engaging in the very behavior you find reprehensible in Robertson. I personally think he’s an idiot, but I will stop wellllllll short of hoping he has cancer, or rejoicing in his disease. ---
**Author:** ![grendel72](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/91b2a8/32.png) [@grendel72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grendel72)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/45 "2003-02-14T01:04:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tygr \* > \*\*Hmm. > > :: Bookmarks thread as potential answer to “What is soooo evil about being a liberal?” thread…:: > > Thanks, Spiff! \*\* Hmm… what would give you the idea that the OP is a “liberal”? If you label someone as a “liberal” because of their disgust at bigotry, what exactly would that make a “conservative”? Once again, I am not glad to hear of this. In fact, I really feel sorry for the OP to have such hatred for someone. That said, provoked hatred is a sad and damaging, but ultimately _human_ response. The unprovoked hatred of Robertson’s ilk is purely **evil** and in no way comparable to the OP. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/46 "2003-02-14T01:05:38Z")
Oh, good _night_, must we all be so goddamn _nice_ to people who don’t deserve it? I want PR dead, as painfully as possible. There is a most delicious irony in the obscenely malignant dying of an obscene malignancy…of course, I’m as likely as any to go in that way, but in the meantime, I’ll enjoy it in someone I hate. And it’s not for lack of witnessing long, painful deaths in people I love, either. Sometimes I do catch myself saying things like “I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy.” I’m wrong. I _would_, with every fibre of my being. Hatred of a _group_ is worth condemning. Hatred of an _individual_, particularly when it’s based on that person’s own conduct toward others, is not. It isn’t merely pleasurable - it’s necessary, to enforce codes of behavior. Spare us the kum-ba-yah, the recitation of how much better you are than those whom you abhor. No, you are as touched by the corruption as they, because it is essential to our humanity. Don’t kid yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/47 "2003-02-14T01:06:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I know, Coldfire, I just thought that “ass-cancer” sounded funnier. \*\* Oh, sure. Cancer’s quite a laugh alright. Tell you what: leave the gallows humour to the ones who’ve actually got the tumors inside of them. THAT I can laugh at. **Badtz** , I wouldn’t wish cancer on Bin Laden either. If he’d die because he got shot by CIA agents who tracked him down and shot him in the ensuing gunfight, then I’d be the first one saying “he had it coming”. But I don’t wish a slow death like cancer upon _anyone_. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/48 "2003-02-14T01:08:02Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Badtz Maru_ > Wishing death upon our enemies and revelling when those wishes come true is part of being human. If this is part of being human, it’s not the kind of human I strive to be. In cases like Hussein and Bin Laden, I think these guys have to die before they kill even more people than they’ve already killed; in other words, it’s not so much that I wish death on them, as that I think killing them is the only way to stop them. But Robertson? A meatpickle of the highest order, to be sure, and yes, I do chuckle when hypocrites like him get caught in scandals of their own making, but I do not rejoice in his illness! ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/49 "2003-02-14T01:09:41Z")
**Coldfire** : Think about what you said for a second. I for one can think of a situation where I would want someone to die slowly of cancer. I’m thinking of my family. I’m not going to desribe a particular situation, but thinking about it, did you really mean that? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/50 "2003-02-14T01:11:05Z")
You mean so you can have them with you longer? I’d rather not see them aching at all, is all I’m saying. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/51 "2003-02-14T01:11:51Z")
Just wanted to add this: I would certainly NOT wish cancer on Robertson. For a start, he has done nothing personally to attack me or my family. That’s the only reason I need to not wish it upon him. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/52 "2003-02-14T01:14:42Z")
**Coldfire** : Sorry, was your last post directed at me? I didn’t really understand what that was in response to. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/53 "2003-02-14T01:19:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ivylass \* > \*\*…I can understand celebrating if Jeffrey Dalmer had cancer, or Hitler, or Osama bin Laden. Those people did evil things. Robertson’s done nothing but spout off. He’s a narrowminded prig, I will grant you that. But he hasn’t killed anyone. \*\* Dahmer was mentally ill. So I guess it’s okay to wish cancer on him and say a hearty “fuck you” to his family and friends who were unaware of his condition. I certainly didn’t condone his actions nor do I support the OP. I dislike (not hate) Robertson as much as the next person-with-an-IQ and I certainly won’t miss him when he’s gone, but even I wouldn’t wish cancer on the idiot. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/54 "2003-02-14T01:21:06Z")
For all those who are flaming **Spiff** , i have a question: How much of a distinction would you draw between the following two sentences: a) Pat Roberston has prostate cancer…and i’m glad. b) Pat Robertson has prostate cancer…and i don’t care. I have no particular axe to grind here; i’m just curious to know people’s viewpoint on the issue. ---
**Author:** ![samarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4da419/32.png) [@samarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samarm)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/55 "2003-02-14T01:23:21Z")
It gives you an insight into the kind of person you are. a) Pat Roberston has prostate cancer…and i’m glad. means you a sadistic bastard b) Pat Robertson has prostate cancer…and i don’t care. means you are not sadistic bastard ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ace_of_Swords)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/56 "2003-02-14T01:26:32Z")
A slow death, eh? I don’t buy the distinction. If someone assassinated Robertson – that would be better because it’s a quick death? Prostate cancer has good survivability rates – it isn’t bone cancer; with any hope, he’ll be alive and humbled by the close brush with God’s hand. And if he mouths off again, we can all use Pat-Logic: tell him prostate cancer was partially his own fault for being a jackass. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@The\_Ace\_of\_Swords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ace_of_Swords)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/57 "2003-02-14T01:29:38Z")
Here, for the lazy: > [@](#): > > Doctors said the cancer does not appear to have moved beyond the prostate, he said, and they expect him to be back on a full schedule by the beginning of March. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/58 "2003-02-14T01:38:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samarm \* > \*\*Coldfire: Sorry, was your last post directed at me? I didn’t really understand what that was in response to. \*\* Yes, it was. ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/59 "2003-02-14T01:39:49Z")
I won’t claim to know who Pat Robertson is Spiff but let me tell you I think I like him more than you. ---
**Author:** ![Estilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/848f3c/32.png) [@Estilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Estilicon)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921/60 "2003-02-14T01:42:28Z")
Oh God!!! What have I done? Now I am going to bed because either I am a complete moron who doesn’t know how to type or I just made the most obvious statement in the history of the SDMB. Before leaving, Spiff… Sorry, no words. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pat-robertson-has-prostate-cancer-and-im-glad/154921.md?page=4)