Why Phil Robertson is an Idiot
December 19, 2013 at 5:48pm
 An amazing teacher I once had, Mr. Joshua Houy, once shared with our class a quote that still reverberates with me.  This quote declared that we all live in ghettoes of like-minded people.  For that reason, I try to have civil, yet spirited, intelligent debates on various issues, and invite those that may disagree with me to chime in with their points of view.  I believe this free give and take of ideas is a part of what makes our country so great...  The ability to explore outside of those ghettoes.
  Recently, I declared that Phil Robertson is an idiot.  It was a throw away line at the end of an unrelated post, but it was those five words that seemed to generate the most discussion.  I was asked why he is an idiot as he is merely expressing his beliefs like I was.  Please allow me to explain.
  First off, to paraphrase Voltaire, I may disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it.  No matter how ignorant or vile a person's words, we live in a society that treasures the ability to express ourselves almost to the point of inflicting harm upon others.  While I find Mr. Robertson's interview offensive, I agree with many of the pro-Phil crowd that he has every right to share his beliefs.  With that being said, we also live in a society that accepts that there are repurcussions to our actions, and it is not so clear that his words do no harm.
  Second, while I stand by my comment that Mr. Robertson is an idiot, I do not believe him to be an unintelligent man.  By all accounts, he is a well educated, innovative entrepreneur.  He has also raised a seemingly good family and with them, has built a wildly successful enterprise.  We all say idiotic words, and do idiotic actions.  I too have held idiotic ideas in my past.  What Mr. Robertson did was idiotic.  His actions have jeopardized the very empire that he has built, and could adversely impact not only himself, but his family as well.  For that reason, at that moment in time, Phil Robertson is an idiot.
  As far as his removal from the show, Mr. Robertson's employer, A&E, was completely within their rights.  A&E has a responsibilty to their shareholders and their advertisers.  There may be no such thing as bad publicity, but having your product linked to xenophobes and homophobes when you're on the Arts & Entertainment channel probably will not play well for your bottom line.  Both Phil Robertson and A&E have a responsibility to the public.
  Additionally, think about what Mr. Robertson says in his interview.  He blames the attack on Pearl Harbor on non-Jesus loving Shintoism.  He also speaks of "Islamists" and that they have no Jesus (even though Jesus is a very important prophet in Islam) while talking about the ills of the world... All while ignoring the atrocities that so called "Christian" nations have committed.  All of this doesn't even mention the rosy picture he painted of the Segregated South in which the black man was just happy happy happy out there picking cotton.  A little ignorant perhaps?
  Worst of all, he marginalizes a group that has historically struggled through no fault of their own and to this day still fight for equal protection under the law and social acceptance.  Our LGBT brothers and sisters have fought too hard and too long to have a popular public figure disrespect them for the way that they were born.  How many children look up the the Robertson patriarch?  How many of those kids happen to find themselves attracted to members of the same sex?  Do we need a public figure adding to the social stigma?  Adding to the internal angst that many inevitably feel?  We should not allow a public figure to draw lines of separation between us due to who we love.
  But it is his right.  Phil talks about the kingdom of heaven in the interview as if he knows who it is for.  The words he speaks do not sound like those of Pope Francis, of MLK, of Malala Yousafzai.  In my opinion, Phils brand of faith would not please the Jesus he claims to worship.  But it his right.  Along with his rights however, there are repurcussions.