Fox News' Todd Starnes throwing ridiculous tantrum over Duck Dynasty controversy

Todd Starnes

Todd Starnes, a Fox News reporter who goes well beyond the call of duty when it comes to attacking the lgbt community, is furious that A&E has put Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson on indefinite filming hiatus following homophobic and racially insensitive comments in a GQ magazine interview.

Starnes has been firing off vicious tweets regarding A&E supposedly discriminating against Christians including the following choice morsels:

Perhaps @AETV and their minions could provide us with a list of what Americans can say, think and do?

If you want to work at @AETV you need to buy a brown shirt.

Apparently @AETV is run by anti-Christian bigots. Sad.

Duck Dynasty worships God. A&E worships GLAAD.
 
Does @AETV advocate burning the Bible?

A&E says they are strong supporters of homosexuals --- but Christians -- not so much

A&E suspends Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty. The Christian cleansing of American television continues...

Allow me to repost Robertson's comments regarding the lgbt community; comments Todd Starnes is defending as the example of "Christian" speech:

“It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical."

 . . . “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine. Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

Also, you will notice that Starnes has not said a whit about Robertson's racially insensitive comments, i.e. his inference that black people were happier in the days before integration:

 "Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash," he said.  "They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”  

So if I were to imply like Robertson did, I would have to guess that Starnes' version of decent Christian commentary would be one which focuses on talking about anuses, vaginas with a little mixing of Biblical verses and the belief that black folks were happier when they were picking cotton and singing in the fields as second-class citizens under the grip of Jim Crow.

Regardless, the bottom line is this. Robertson has no free speech on A&E. He was hired to make money and his mouth has now interfered with that goal. So now he pays the penalty.

Good ole American capitalism. God bless it.

BREAKING - Duck Dynasty star put on indefinite filming hiatus after racist, homophobic comments

Robertson

This just came in.

 Following a letter from the Human Rights Campaign and the NAACP and strong lobbying from GLAAD, Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson has been put on indefinite filming hiatus due to homophobic and racially insensitive comments he made during a GQ magazine interview:

From GLAAD:

Following calls from GLAAD, A&E Network has placed Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty on an indefinite filming hiatus after he made anti-gay remarks in a recent profile in GQ Magazine. The network said in a statement today:

"We are extremely disappointed to have read Phil Robertson’s comments in GQ, which are based on his own personal beliefs and are not reflected in the series Duck Dynasty. His personal views in no way reflect those of A+E Networks, who have always been strong supporters and champions of the LGBT community.  The network has placed Phil under hiatus from filming indefinitely."

GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz responded:

“What’s clear is that such hateful anti-gay comments are unacceptable to fans, viewers, and networks alike,” said GLAAD spokesperson Wilson Cruz. “By taking quick action and removing Robertson from future filming, A&E has sent a strong message that discrimination is neither a Christian nor an American value."

The homophobic and racial obliviousness of Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson

Robertson

My aim this afternoon was to create a comedy post showcasing a number of music videos focusing on the "butt" in mocking tribute to anti-gay comments made by Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson:

“It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus," (Phil) Robertson told GQ. "That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.” “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine," he later added. “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

But wouldn't you know it? Robertson proceeded during the same interview to compound his vocal faux pas by implying that black folks were happier in the days before integration:

"Where we lived was all farmers. The blacks worked for the farmers. I hoed cotton with them. I'm with the blacks, because we're white trash," he said.  "They're singing and happy. I never heard one of them, one black person, say, ‘I tell you what: These doggone white people’—not a word!... Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues.”  

It's a testament to the greatness of this country that someone as racially oblivious and as homophobic as Robertson has his own television show. He reminds of a character from the novel The Color Purple who was under the false presumption that the black maid who took care of her family actually felt any sympathy or love for her or her parents. She found out that the woman had been forced to work as a maid for her family as the result of a ridiculous offense.

The fact that Robertson didn't hear any complaints from the black farmers was a testament to them, but not for the reasons he described. I'm a few generations from those farmers and I can remember always being advised by those who lived back then to be careful as to how I behaved and what I said around white people. It was less about racism on the part of African-Americans and more to do with safety. You see, back then, a word or movement by blacks taken the wrong way by whites was the difference between being safe in your bed and swinging on a tree as a mutilated corpse with your "johnson" as a souvenir in someone's pocket. And that included any white person - whether it be the owner of a store, a white woman you walk by on the street, or even the so-called "white trash" who worked the field with you and would probably snitch on you in exchange for more privileges or money from the other whites who could dole them out.

Of course, the big question regarding Robertson's comments is not what will happen to his show. I have never watched it so I don't care what happens to Duck Dynasty.

The big question has to do with the black and gay communities. Will we take Robertson's comments to heart the next time we are fooled into playing the futile game of "oppression Olympics?" Or will we forget that more times than not, some people will put us both in the same boat and while drilling holes in the bottom.

'Duck Dynasty star makes obscenely STUPID anti-gay remark' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

'Duck Dynasty' Star Phil Robertson Says Being Gay Is A Sin - Don't let the headline fool you. He said more than that. Now I have never watched an episode of this show but when I heard the following, I practically swooned like a black woman in church (including making sure that my wig/weave was securely fastened before falling out):

“It seems like, to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man’s anus," (Phil) Robertson told GQ. "That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical.” “Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong. Sin becomes fine," he later added. “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men. Don’t be deceived. Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers -- they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.”

Let's see if Robertson is following the plan of a "celebrity making a homophobic comment"

1. Unfairly accusing the entire lgbt community of engaging in one sex act while omitting the fact that many heterosexuals enjoy the same act - CHECK

2. Citing a Biblical verse to cover up his laughable ignorance of the lgbt community - CHECK

All that's left to do are the final two points:

3. Playing the "I'm being persecuted because I merely spoke about my Christian beliefs" card - NOT YET

4. Being defended by the anti-gay right as a "victim of homosexual persecution" - NOT YET. Although between you and me, in light of what he said, I am absolutely dying to hear how the Family Research Council, et. al. is going to defend his comments without talking about the "anus" and "vagina."

In other news briefs:

 Just in time for Christmas, NOM tells kids of gay parents that they're 'deprived '- Have you ever noticed that for an organization who claims that children "need a mother and a father," the National Organization has never, to my knowledge, put forth any plan to help children in orphanages and foster homes to achieve this dream except for the inference of  "keep them from the homosexuals."  

Why An Anti-Gay Court Decision In Texas Could Become The Next Great Gay Rights Victory - This promises to be interesting.

Lively: 2014 Will See Tide Turn Against Satanic LGBT Rights Movement - That Scott Lively. Always good for a long trip to the toilet.  

Obama’s Sochi Delegation Is A Brilliant Response To Anti-Gay Russia - Come on, lgbt brothers and sisters. Give President Obama his props for this brilliant move.

Mr. Ambrosino, THIS is anti-gay bigotry

I get so sick and tired of the lgbt community and our allies debating the issues of marriage equality and bigotry on the terms of the anti-gay right.

The recent nonsense is coming from Brandon Ambrosino of The Atlantic who wrote a piece entitled Being Against Gay Marriage Doesn't Make You a Homophobe.

Needless to say, Ambrosino's piece has launched a back-and-forth argument which does nothing to address the real issue of anti-gay bigotry. The irony is that he has a point but arguing that point keeps us all from getting down to the real issue of how homophobia fuels arguments against marriage equality and anti-gay bigotry.

Opposing marriage equality doesn't make you a homophobe. Disagreement with homosexuality and even ignorance about the lgbt community doesn't make you a homophobe. It's how you voice that disagreement.  Now this is homophobia:

All of these flyers and mailers are the products of organizations (National Organization for Marriage,  Americans for Truth, The Traditional Values Coalition) who oppose marriage equality and lgbt equality in general. And all of these organizations have appeared on news programs and talk shows.

How many times have these organizations been asked to address these defamatory flyers (as well as their rhetoric regarding the lgbt community) as opposed to the perfunctory question of  "Isn't opposing gay marriage bigotry?"

What we need is an overhaul of the entire process of engaging anti-gay groups.