Duck Dynasty brouhaha

[Eric83]

I knew this would happen. I will continue not watching or buying his things. Him and his family will be irrelevant soon enough.

[chicklitsandfantasies]

Denying racism exists seems to be the new racism.

[Roman]

Bigotry and racism on American tv is something I will never applaud. It seems there are a few people in this thread who should look at themselves when they speak of a double standard. All hate speech is wrong and disgusting, period, and i don't have to watch any network where hate is the all mighty dollar.

So A&E and any other network won't be getting my viewing. It's the same garbage when Dog made those beyond racist remarks and A&E let him back on the air in 8 months.

[marceline]

There's so much hypocrisy going on in this situation that I can't even keep track of it all.

I love how Robertson compared gays to adulterers, idolaters, male prostitutes (because female prostitutes are just fine, I guess) as well as "the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers and the swindlers." Even though he's nothing but a greedy, slandering, swindler who prostitutes himself on television and is worshipped by a bunch of idolaters.

A&E is part of most basic cable packages correct? So they know that they aren't really going to suffer for putting this bigot back on the air. It's not like people are going to get rid of their cable subscription but now A&E has firmly placed their brand in the same category as Chik-Fil-A, Walmart, Cracker Barrel and other right wing cause celebres. I'll be interested to see if it works out for them in the long run.

[DRW50]

True believers will never fully forget or forgive A&E, although they'll keep shelling out cash for Duck Dynasty stuff.

A&E has screwed themselves both ways. They likely believe this will all fade in time. I'm sure it will to most people.

Something else that I can't believe is the hostile, bigoted comments toward other religions - very ignorant comments too.

If anyone ever had any doubt that an old white "Christian" man can say whatever he wants and get rewarded for it, especially if they have money, wonder no more.

[All My Shadows]

No one will care about this show within a year anyway lol Remember Swamp People?

[DRW50]

This has become a religious crusade for some people, and a political cudgel. It will probably have a presence for a while for that reason.

[Max]

Throughout this entire matter, A&E has acted in its own, selfish interests. The primary reason A&E banned Robertson was not disgust over his comments, but rather because the network wanted to avoid the backlash over being associated with an extremist. But, when the tide turned--and those who supported Robertson outnumbered those who opposed him--A&E reversed course. Again, it's not because the network agrees with his extreme comments, it's simply because A&E is choosing the option that will make it the most money.

By the way, I don't think that The Food Network is any less "pro-bigotry" than A&E is. Actually, both networks care far more about the bottom line than about a specific social issue. It is just that in the case of Paula Deen, public sentiment remained strongly against her, so it was in The Food Network's best interest to keep her show off the air permanently.

On a slightly different matter, those who have read my previous comments will recall that I thought that A&E should apologize for airing Duck Dynasty because they knew about Robertson's extremism, and will also recall that I was angry at A&E for immediately banning Phil Robertson so the network could minimize its losses. (The apology was going to come later, after airing the show for several more months and then cancelling it. Obviously, when I stated what I thought A&E should do, I was expecting Robertson to become even more unpopular than Deen.) Please note that none of these sentiments are applicable in the case of The Food Network, because it almost certainly had zero knowledge of Paula Deen's racial beliefs prior to hiring her.