[quote]SSC wrote:
Fuck Duck fucking Dynasty. I grew a big ass beard recently and I swear to god if I had heard one more stupid fucking “Hey bro are you from Duck Dynasty / Boston Red Sox?” line I probably would’ve snapped.
Not that I’ve ever seen this dumbass show, though.[/quote]
I got to the 5-minute mark of one episode. It seems that any asshat can get on TV provided that: They are as unkempt as a bowery wino, have a pudgy untalented ugly-as-the-back-of-my-balls daughter, have neck tattoos, are Amish and not liking it.
I’d watch a show that had all the aforementioned elements combined though.
[quote]SSC wrote:
Fuck Duck fucking Dynasty. I grew a big ass beard recently and I swear to god if I had heard one more stupid fucking “Hey bro are you from Duck Dynasty / Boston Red Sox?” line I probably would’ve snapped.
Not that I’ve ever seen this dumbass show, though.[/quote]
I got to the 5-minute mark of one episode. It seems that any asshat can get on TV provided that: They are as unkempt as a bowery wino, have a pudgy untalented ugly-as-the-back-of-my-balls daughter, have neck tattoos, are Amish and not liking it.
I’d watch a show that had all the aforementioned elements combined though.
Rob[/quote]
Besides being unkempt Duck Dynasty has nothing of what you described.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
What you really mean is they preach tolerance for only people or things that agree with them, which is exactly the same as what they people they label “intolerant” do. Pretty much everyone ever is tolerant of people who agree with them. In what sense then are they any more in favor of tolerance than anyone else?
[/quote]
Bingo.
Here’s the thing…liberals and atheists HATE Christianity and therefore anything Christmas that has to do with Christ. So…you get a HUGE fucking atheist exhibit in the middle of times square telling everyone how Christmas is for idiots,etc…does the media complain? No.
You get a guy saying homosexuality is wrong everyone loses their minds.
You see…liberals see gays as fun and playful stereotypes…they see Christians as out of touch losers. They’re the “fun police”. They get to decide what’s fun. They’ve decided the religious aspects of Christmas aren’t fun.
And this is from an atheist NOT an agnostic. Either believe or don’t.
Never watched the show, but effectively being fired for expressing religious beliefs outside the work place falls squarely under about 100 anti-discrimination laws, so this guy can sue the ever-living shit out of A&E.
Surely they have a legal department that is telling them to reverse this.
[quote]Jewbacca wrote:
Never watched the show, but effectively being fired for expressing religious beliefs outside the work place falls squarely under about 100 anti-discrimination laws, so this guy can sue the ever-living shit out of A&E.
Surely they have a legal department that is telling them to reverse this.[/quote]
It would seem that it would be written into his contract that he is a representative of the company and as such can be terminated if he is not representing them as they see fit.
[quote]JCMPG wrote:
From what I had read previously Phil Robertson wanted out after this season anyways, I think this whole thing is a publicity stunt. I do watch the show and my beliefs are very similar to Mr. Robertson’s. If people would read the whole of what he said there was absolutely no reason for everyone to get their panties in a wad, but just like everything else that goes one we here what we want to here and we read what we want to read.
Come on people open up your damn minds, not everyone thinks the same way. We all have the right to our own opinions and have the right to speak them, especially when asked. It just so happens that he hit directly on two hot buttons that the media likes to blow out proportion.[/quote]
He expressed his opinions, and others expressed theirs. He has a right to his opinion, but no right to be free from the reactions his opinions cause in others. The government didn’t step in and squelch either side of the debate. This is exactly how free speech is supposed to work. If he is worried that his opinions might piss people off, he also has the right to shut the fuck up and not state them at all during an interview on TV.
[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
The last time the Duck Dynasty guy made a strong religious statement it worked really well for them. People loved it. TLC stuck behind them and sponsors stayed on board.
The goofy part that I’ll probably never understand is equating homosexuality with bestiality. I know a good handful of gays and none of them go outside of species. Hell, they don’t even go outside of their own gender.
[/quote]
You missed it; he classified it as a sin along with other sins.
[/quote]
Didn’t really miss it. I guess the classification is the part I disagree with or have a hard time rectifying. I can understand the damage adultery can cause to the families of those who commit it. Bestiality seems to require a twist that I find incomprehensible. Although homosexuality isn’t anything I can entertain either, it doesn’t seem to hurt anybody any more than a regular heterosexual relationship can.
Instead of placing them all in the same order of magnitude, at some point I’ve inadvertently created some type of scale based on how they affect people.
On his dismissal, I think that is just plain wrong. It’s not even a matter of people saying something disparaging anymore, it’s more like if you don’t say something nice and pandering some gay rights group will try to destroy your career. The activism groups have taken the responsibility of fairly representing their people and parlayed that into making it everybody’s social responsibility to be overly nice to homosexuals or pay the price.
[quote]UtahLama wrote:
AAAnnnnnnnd Phil has been suspended by A&E after threats by pro-gay groups.
So much for free speech.[/quote]
While I don’t believe he should be suspended, free speech only applies in regards to government intervention. I am not free to spout my views in whatever forum I choose without repercussions.
A&E is a business and have a right to look out for their bottom line. One of my coworkers has a daughter and a gay son. His daughter is an avid watcher of DD. First words out of her mouth were I’ll never watch that fucking show again.
[/quote]
[quote]UtahLama wrote:
AAAnnnnnnnd Phil has been suspended by A&E after threats by pro-gay groups.
So much for free speech.[/quote]
While I don’t believe he should be suspended, free speech only applies in regards to government intervention. I am not free to spout my views in whatever forum I choose without repercussions.
A&E is a business and have a right to look out for their bottom line. One of my coworkers has a daughter and a gay son. His daughter is an avid watcher of DD. First words out of her mouth were I’ll never watch that fucking show again.
[/quote]
Exactly A@E has every right to suspend or even cancel the show as they are a private business. They could just frame it under the light the comments brought them bad press and thus he was terminated. Has happened to other people as well. Just as you mentioned all about the bottom line.
But what they really have done is pleased a small minority and fucked themselves. They will and have lost so many viewers it will be unbelievable. But that is A@E’s choice which is fine. I am sure they weighed the loss/ benefit ratio.
It is just sad that these days voicing your personally beliefs can get you railroaded so hard. PC police and pussification at its finest.
[/quote]
Exactly.
It really is sad that the groups who shout tolerance from the mountaintops are the quickest to get upset with other people who don’t agree with their views.[/quote]
[quote]JCMPG wrote:
From what I had read previously Phil Robertson wanted out after this season anyways, I think this whole thing is a publicity stunt. I do watch the show and my beliefs are very similar to Mr. Robertson’s. If people would read the whole of what he said there was absolutely no reason for everyone to get their panties in a wad, but just like everything else that goes one we here what we want to here and we read what we want to read.
Come on people open up your damn minds, not everyone thinks the same way. We all have the right to our own opinions and have the right to speak them, especially when asked. It just so happens that he hit directly on two hot buttons that the media likes to blow out proportion.[/quote]
He expressed his opinions, and others expressed theirs. He has a right to his opinion, but no right to be free from the reactions his opinions cause in others. The government didn’t step in and squelch either side of the debate. This is exactly how free speech is supposed to work. If he is worried that his opinions might piss people off, he also has the right to shut the fuck up and not state them at all during an interview on TV.[/quote]
I agree with you, Jack, that the government intervention angle is not present. So what? It’s still “word police” stupidity and…reverse “intolerance.”
[/quote]
I personally don’t care what this guy says or thinks and his opinions won’t make me watch or not watch the show. But it is a hot-button issue and he is a public figure. If he wants to jump in the fire because he believes in his cause, good for him, but I wouldn’t expect jumping into that fire to be consequence free. In the same way, if I was a public figure and expressed views openly hostile to Christianity, I wouldn’t expect masses of Christians to suddenly preach tolerance and beg people to watch my show in the interest of free speech. To the contrary, I’d expect an organized boycott from the Christian right. That’s just the way it works.
[quote]Jewbacca wrote:
Never watched the show, but effectively being fired for expressing religious beliefs outside the work place falls squarely under about 100 anti-discrimination laws, so this guy can sue the ever-living shit out of A&E.
Surely they have a legal department that is telling them to reverse this.[/quote]
It would seem that it would be written into his contract that he is a representative of the company and as such can be terminated if he is not representing them as they see fit.[/quote]
You can’t contract around certain laws in the employment contract, anti-discrimination laws being chief among them.
This is no different (legally) than firing him because he was black.
[quote]JCMPG wrote:
From what I had read previously Phil Robertson wanted out after this season anyways, I think this whole thing is a publicity stunt. I do watch the show and my beliefs are very similar to Mr. Robertson’s. If people would read the whole of what he said there was absolutely no reason for everyone to get their panties in a wad, but just like everything else that goes one we here what we want to here and we read what we want to read.
Come on people open up your damn minds, not everyone thinks the same way. We all have the right to our own opinions and have the right to speak them, especially when asked. It just so happens that he hit directly on two hot buttons that the media likes to blow out proportion.[/quote]
He expressed his opinions, and others expressed theirs. He has a right to his opinion, but no right to be free from the reactions his opinions cause in others. The government didn’t step in and squelch either side of the debate. This is exactly how free speech is supposed to work. If he is worried that his opinions might piss people off, he also has the right to shut the fuck up and not state them at all during an interview on TV.[/quote]
I am not sure where you are coming from on this. I never said his right to free speech triumphs any one elses.
[quote]Jewbacca wrote:
Never watched the show, but effectively being fired for expressing religious beliefs outside the work place falls squarely under about 100 anti-discrimination laws, so this guy can sue the ever-living shit out of A&E.
Surely they have a legal department that is telling them to reverse this.[/quote]
It would seem that it would be written into his contract that he is a representative of the company and as such can be terminated if he is not representing them as they see fit.[/quote]
A & E probably won’t go as far as to fire him - not when his beliefs are part of why he was hired in the first place.
I think the network believes that if they are seen to take positive action against Phil Robertson then it’ll placate GLAAD. They don’t constitute enough of the viewership to threaten a boycott, but they might turn on A & E if they are seen to do nothing.
I agree that it’s a contractual issue. However, if A& E wanted that level of control over his image, then surely they are partly responsible for allowing him to participate in an interview where they had no final approval over the questions asked or his responses.
[quote]Jewbacca wrote:
Never watched the show, but effectively being fired for expressing religious beliefs outside the work place falls squarely under about 100 anti-discrimination laws, so this guy can sue the ever-living shit out of A&E.
Surely they have a legal department that is telling them to reverse this.[/quote]
It would seem that it would be written into his contract that he is a representative of the company and as such can be terminated if he is not representing them as they see fit.[/quote]
You can’t contract around certain laws in the employment contract, anti-discrimination laws being chief among them.
This is no different (legally) than firing him because he was black.[/quote]