Phil Robertson’s Despicable AIDS Argument Should Be the Last Straw

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Phil Robertson’s Despicable AIDS Argument Should Be the Last Straw

The ‘Duck Dynasty’ star says that AIDS is God’s punishment for immoral conduct. But who will punish him for such ignorance?

Loathe as anyone should be to find serious consequence in anything that escapes the mouth of Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson and makes its way through the mangy tangled forest of beard hair and to our ears, it’s become unforgivably irritating that we are, unfortunately, still forced to.

To the uninitiated—though Robertson and his unkempt brood have become sadly ubiquitous thanks to their penchant for being allegedly charming while massacring fowl on reality television—Robertson is the star of Duck Dynasty, an A&E series that was at one point the most-watched nonfiction series in cable TV history.

As is the case with reality TV personalities, Phil Robertson is popular because of just that: he is a big personality. His big personality, however, just happens to be one of an ###. That’s only half a joke, because the fair description of Robertson is really tricky to navigate delicately.

Phil Robertson and his family are extremely morally conservative Christians, and their faith is a great part of their appeal to the millions of people who watch their TV show each week. It is actually a wonderful thing that the Robertsons are so unabashedly Christian, and it’s pleasant and refreshing to watch a reality TV family rise to fame on a series where you can tell they truly love each other and their behavior is kept in check by faith and a moral code. Moral commandments, you might even say.

But as great as it is that the Robertsons entertain us with talk of Jesus and not Jaeger bombs, a side effect of their status as entertainers is that their “talk” is given a major megaphone. A megaphone that their fans listen to. That they are influenced by, as sad as it is to think that we are influenced by things that reality TV stars say. (But hey, if we can get up in arms that Laguna Beach’s Kristin Cavallari is an outspoken anti-vaxxer, we should take seriously what the Duck Dynasty stars are mumbling from beneath their beards.)

And with lessons about family, God, and buckshot, there is a whole lot of ignorance coming out of Robertson’s megaphone. Dangerous ignorance. Despicable, inexcusable ignorance. And the latest instance might be the straw—or perhaps stray beard hair—to break the camel’s back. Why are we still giving this man a megaphone?

In an interview promoting his new book unPHILtered: The Way I See It,Robertson said recently that, the way he sees it, AIDS and diseases of its kind are God’s punishment for immoral behavior. Of course, that’s me rewording Robertson’s statements into English that makes sense—well, as much sense as retrograde, bigoted statements can make. Here’s his actual remarks:

“Now to me either it’s the wildest coincidence ever that horrible diseases follow immoral conduct, or it’s God saying, ‘There’s a penalty for that kind of conduct.’ I’m leanin’ toward there’s a penalty toward it.”

Should there be any sort of confusion, the “immoral conduct” he is referring to is being gay.

“God says, ‘One woman, one man,’ and everybody says, ‘Oh, that’s old hat, that’s that old Bible stuff’ and I’m thinking well, let’s see now,” he said. “A clean guy, a disease-free guy, and a disease-free woman, they marry and they keep their sex between the two of ‘em, uh, they’re not gonna get chlamydia and gonorrhea and syphilis and AIDS. It’s, it’s safe.”

If you’ve read this far, I’m hoping it’s because you believe, or perhaps even know, that this is total bullshit.

And rather than piece together my own answer for why, I’m going to do the gayest thing a gay person could possibly do in this day and age, and instead quote Designing Woman’s Julia Sugarbaker—patron saint of right and wrong and fabulous shoulder pads—on the topic, from her searing and brutally honest torch monologue from the 1987 episode “Killing All the Right People.” (Again, this was written in 19-freaking-87.)

A client of Julia’s finds out that she is planning a funeral for a friend who is dying of AIDS, and the woman chastises Julia for helping out an immoral person, telling her that his disease is “killing all the right people.” Julia sets her straight:

“Get serious! Who do you think you’re talking to? I’ve known you for 27 years, and all I can say is, if God was giving out sexually transmitted diseases to people as a punishment for sinning, then you would be at the free clinic all the time. And so would the rest of us.”

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/16/phil-robertson-s-despicable-aids-argument-should-be-the-last-straw.html

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

And crickets...

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Phil Robertson - who really gives a rat's patoot about that fraud?

Edited September 16, 2014 by Mr. Big Dog

[Pooky 3,809]

Phil Robertson - who really gives a rat's patoot about that fraud?

Who is he again?

Some beardy weirdy on reality TV?

[Rob L 3,811]

“Now to me either it’s the wildest coincidence ever that horrible diseases follow immoral conduct, or it’s God saying, ‘There’s a penalty for that kind of conduct.’ I’m leanin’ toward there’s a penalty toward it

Poor Phil....he just cannot open his mouth without sticking his foot in it. For a person who apparently strives to walk a Christian life, his immature theology falls short of understanding his own faith. He does not understand the nature of suffering and illness as outlined in the new or old books.

"As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him"

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

He's just a douche.

[Rob L 3,811]

He's just a douche.

Phil Robertson / anagram/ Throbs Per Loin

coincidence?