Don't make Robertson a Free Speech Martyr

I was thinking to myself about the notion of actually doing a blog about the whole Duck Dynasty fiasco that occurred this week. I was torn between the idea of getting my thoughts out there, and giving them more publicity.  I have to say, Duck Dynasty got more press this week alone then I think they’ve gotten throughout the entire run of their program.

And then I saw the comments defending Phil Robertson for what he said. How it was protected by the first amendment, and we have zero right to criticize him under any circumstances. And as I read these comments, I wasn’t taken aback by them as affirming that would he said about homosexuality was right, or how easily his comments supporting Jim Crow laws were glossed over. I more and more was annoyed on how his supporters tried to present him as a defender of free speech. He’s not on that level, nor will he ever be.

Anyone who thinks Phil Robertson is a martyr of denied free speech needs to seriously google the name Lenny Bruce. Until the emergence of Lenny Bruce in the 1960’s, mainstream comedy was very bland. You have one liner like Henny Youngman, or toed the line of being edgy, without ever coming close to going over it. It was very bland, and Lenny Bruce changed that. He attacked religion and the brutality tendencies of the police.  He attacked the KKK, and spoke out about the inequality between the races. He found himself being stalked by the Federal Government who arrested him several times. He found himself on trial for use of the word “Cocksucker” and was banned for life from Australia for opening with the line “What a great Fucking Audience.”  Shortly after he said that, he was dragged from the stage, and quickly arrested.  A 1964 performance was viewed by undercover police, and after uses of the words “Shit” and “Fuck”, he was arrested. He was found guilty of obscenity, and sentenced to jail. He ever really served the term however, as he died during the appeal process.

So, let that sink in for a second. He was arrested for saying in public, words like “Shit” or “Fuck”. These words weren’t protected as free speech, and it wasn’t until 40 years later that he would receive a posthumous pardon. Comics that would follow him, George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield, Bob Saget, Bill Hicks, Lisa Lampenelli, Richard Pryor, and Chris Rock would never have been allowed to perform their material if it weren’t for Lenny Bruce.

Another example of a real champion of free speech is Larry Flynt. Larry made his fortune publishing Hustler magazine, and was often being arrested on charges of obscene materials, even though magazines such as Penthouse and Playboy were allowed to publish without impediment.  Larry Flynt was shot and paralyzed one day while leaving court. A few years later, in a case that would find its way to the Supreme Court, Larry Flynt ran a parody ad about Jerry Falwell having a sexual encounter with his own mother. Falwell, citing hurt feelings and the need to protect his image in public, sued, won a defamation case, which was later overturned, because the act of parody was protected, and that people who are in the public eye are not exempt simply because they have an image to protect.

You see, that is what a warrior of free speech. It’s not spewing a bunch of BS from the bible. And by the way, I am curious about something. Considering that the Duck Dynasty family is all about adhering to the   bible, I wonder how many of their shows have been filmed on the Sabbath. After all, that would be a violation of the Ten Commandments, considering that neither Phil Robertson, his wife, son, daughter, son in law, etc., etc., would not be allowed to do any work of any kind, that includes the filming of their show.

His comparing homosexual relations to bestiality were narrow minded and dim whitted. The same thing was said about allowing inter-racial marriage and inter-faith marriage, which were both frowned upon the way same sex marriage is today. And guess what, inter-faith and inter-racial marriages were allowed, and there was no man bringing Fido to the court demanding that their right to marriage be allowed.

And somehow, in all of this, his view point on race relations has been lost in the shadows. He said that blacks around him were happier in the Jim Crow era, and they never complained about the White man. Well, either he’s romanticized his youth, or he’s simply ignorant.  Here’s what usually happened to southern blacks who complained about their treatment: they were either beaten, or found themselves on the wrong end of a lynching. And that is the truth, undisputable fact.

 

I wonder how defenders he’d have if he didn’t use the protection of the Bible to base him views on same sex marriage to cover his ignorant views on race. Don Imus got fired for making a joke in calling the Rutgers women’s basketball team a bunch of “Nappy-headed Hoes.” No one defended his right to say that, they all clamored for him to get fired and after decades of being on the same radio network, he was fired, and his career was pretty much over.  Rick Sanchez saw his career at CNN end after he made a rant about Hispanics being lock out of top spots in the “Jew controlled Media”  Mel Gibson’s career was derailed for making comments against blacks and Jewish people alike. Everyone wanted Eagles player Riley Cooper banned for life after a video of him drunk at a Kenny Chesney concert saying “I want to kick all the niggers’ asses.” went viral.

I guarantee you as sure as I am sitting here, that if the racial comments Phil Robertson made went viral, and not his views on homosexuality, that about 99% of his current supports would be on the other side, and would be applauding A&E’s decision to remove him from the show.  It’s utterly foolish to think otherwise.

Do I support what A&E did? Yes I do. People seem to think that freedom of speech saves you from any repercussions for what you said. That’s not how it works.  I know that for my blogs, I open myself to repercussions for what I write, and I can deal with that.  And guess what, Phil Robertson is in that spot right now. And do you want to know something else, in about six weeks from now, this is all going to be forgotten. No one talks about Riley Cooper’s comments anymore. They talk about how important he’s been to the Eagles offense in the wake of Jason Avant’s season ending injury. Mel Gibson is still making movies. Phil Robertson is going nowhere, and neither is Duck Dynasty.  If they want, they simply can take the show to the internet, and produce it themselves. They’d still make money off of licensing, and they won’t have to adhere to the standards and practices of the A&E network.  So relax people, and just enjoy the freak show. And don’t ever, ever under any set of circumstances, make Phil Robertson a free speech martyr. He’s just a man with a point of view that has been out of step with regular society for the last 50 years.