Duck, Duck Goose

I am sure by the time this blog is read, the whole Phil Roberston, Duck Dynasty mellow drama will have reached either a fevered pitch or will have started to fade, like my interest in Vanderpump Rules TV show.

First and foremost, for me, Silence = Death.  As a gay, Jewish man, the grandchild of a holocaust survivor I am compelled to stand up, no matter the cost, and fight ignorance and intolerance.  Simply, that is who I am.  I was shocked, saddened and ultimately had my universe expanded yesterday.  It started out innocent enough.  I was sitting staring at the screen and started watching the Duck Dynasty, from this point on called DD, controversy begin to play out.  For those who follow me on Twitter (@mintedroyalty), you know I really don't get involved in all the hubbub over current events very often.  I didn't get involved in the Treyvon/Zimmerman case, the GOP's rape insurance BS, or the other hot button events that rock Twitter from time to time.  I just don't.  I usually state my point of view and move onto snarking at the ridiculous housewives, cracking my Fiona Barnsworth, Hooker To The Stars jokes.  I prefer my activism to be in real life, where I can and do make a difference.

I had some lively debates with a few followers.  I stated while I support Mr. Roberstons' right to espouse his views about homosexuality, the Bible and of racial relations during the Jim Crow years, I found his remarks highly offensive and very ignorant.  Not to mention his very flawed remarks about what is in the Bible.  I also stated I thought his suspension from A&E's show appropriate.  Every action has a reaction.

I consider myself to be enlightened.  I support any speech.  Whether I like it or not.  I also support my right to respond and espouse my views.  In my America, I also have the right to support companies I find fall in line with my social and political views.  This seems to be a different America where Mr. Robertson's supporters are.  They are shocked and angered Mr. Robertson was suspended from the show.  Really?

After dinner, I logged into Twitter and started to see the second wave of nonsense in regards to Mr. Robertson.  By this point my tolerance of the stupid one sided behavior of some had ebbed.  I kept hearing things like, "but he lost his job," "he was quoting the bible," "its his right."  I mean really?  Are you kidding me?  Don't get it twisted people.  The Constitutionally protected right of Free Speech which everyone is thumping for Mr. Robertson is not extended to others who wish to react to his intolerant, ignorant and flawed remarks?  Really?  I find those who always make the claim to free speech are usually those who wish to deny it to those who they don't agree with.

This is a problem for me.  Lets set the record straight (pun fully intended) shall we.  Mr. Robertson attended Louisiana Tech college.  He started a very successful business long before the show.  This family is not living off of hunting in the friggin swamp people.  In fact, they didn't even look like how they appear on the show with those silly beards and fatigues they sport prior to the show.  It was a carefully contrived, well thought out and planned manipulation of the viewing public.  Many bought into that manipulation and I laughed.  It became very evident and clear many were basing their reaction to this drama on the fact they believed Mr. Robertson and his family were poor, white trash (his term, not mine) folks living in a double wide depending on the show and their hunting to survive.  Idiots.

The fact this white, college educated, wealthy, "G-dly" man would by innuendo equate homosexuality with bestiality, claim that blacks were happy before the civil rights movement and he never had a black person come up to him and tell him they were unhappy with white people is typical.  Typical of a person who is intolerant.  He went on to quote the Bible which many were telling me was his right.  Lets discuss this shall we?  I don't know what Bible this asshole is reading but his remarks are not from any Christian or Jewish Bibles I have ever read.  He claimed prior to the Great Flood of Noah, everyone and everything was vegetarian and after the flood G-d made the animals wild and everyone became meat eaters.  I publicly dare this man to find that in any main-line Christian or Jewish Bible.  Dare him.  I have never heard such rubbish.

The fact no black ever came up to him and complained about how they were treated by white folks, in the south, during Jim Crow years, and help me out here Black readers, was simply because he was a white man!  What Black person, in the 1950's south, deep south, would've walked up to a white man and said, "ya know, we Blacks don't like the way Whitey is treating us!"  Really?  Buy the fucking clue you asshole.  The Black person stupid enough to make a remark like that, during the Jim Crow years probably would have become Tree Fruit.  For those of you not from the south, Tree Fruit is, was an expression to politely describe a Black person hanging from a tree.  So really, in an environment of such horrific violence against people based solely on their skin color, Mr. Robertson thinks Blacks were happy?  What a  moron.

I was gobsmacked when some of followers on Twitter started to get pissy with me over what I thought was an easy, slam dunk issue.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I have yet to see any person of color, gay, lesbian orientation come out in support of this man.  I have seen a bunch of middle aged, white, straight women tell me it was this assholes right to bash me as a gay man and tell me about race relations from the white man's perspective.  Shocked, angered and ultimately educated.

For the record, just because this man had the right to say such ugly, hurtful and offensive remarks doesn't mean he should have.  This issue, for me, has become a defining one.  You either find this man's remarks intolerable or you don't.  I am not getting into any esoteric discussion on the nuances of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights.  I am a para-legal and consider myself a "Constitutionalist."  He can say whatever he would like and so can I.  I can also get others who are like minded and force a network to remove his narrow minded, self-serving, bigoted, homo-phobic ass from TV.  Yeah people, that is how it works in these United States of America.

I am tired of some fucking straight, white person telling me, when, where and how I can be offended.  Tell me how a white, straight person can even understand the struggle for basic human rights of the gays and blacks?  How?  Go sit in your comfortable little world straight/white people.  This is an area you have no clue about and never will.  I, I don't even begin to say I understand how it is for a black person, but I can say I find their experience horrifying.

I really think the comments from some of the people I interacted with on Twitter where for me, more offensive than Mr. Robertson's remarks.  The fact they would tweet to me about some assholes right to say things I am telling them offended me made my blood run cold.  It shows just how much farther we have to go to get equal rights and protection under the law in this country for Gays and Blacks.  So much more education is needed.

I think many were pissed when I challenged them about their stance.  As a GAY, JEWISH  man I will no longer beg for acceptance.  I will not ask nicely to be treated with respect and common human dignity.  I DEMAND it.  I believe it was my asserting my rights which pissed these people off and ultimately lead them to unfollow and say very offensive and ugly things to me.  The line has been drawn.  The argument clearly defined.  Mr. Robertson has the right to his views.  He has the right to espouse those views.  I, as a fellow American, by right of birth, also enjoy those rights.  If you do not like, as a direct result of his own actions, than I and many, many others decided to exercise our rights to not like, condone and endorse his views, then your unAmerican and most assuredly someone I don't wish to interact with.

For those who felt the need to unfollow me, I wish you well.  Toddle off into your bubble of white intolerance.  I am happy to have you off of my TL on Twitter.  Your false support of the Gay community and of civil rights for Blacks will not be missed.  You missed your opportunity to stand up and say no to intolerance and instead tried to muddy the waters with some weak claim about Mr. Robertson's right to espouse hate and intolerance.  That was never in question.  The question was did you find his remarks hateful.  Duck, Duck Goose, the egg of intolerance has been laid and its rotten.










Especially those who