Guess Y'all Better Duck

You gotta keep your head down people.  It's flying everywhere.  And, if you work for A&E, this is the week to take your vacation.  

Raul Ibanez and Ahn Yong
fooling around.  Until someone
ended up crying.

I have not written DTC for awhile because I just haven't had anything too exciting to say or share.  The same old celebrity nonsense didn't seem worth ranting about (but oh my God, Kanye is trying hard to make me notice him). And, besides the arrival of Raul Ibanez and Ahn Yong there hasn't been too much fun/funny going on.

But now I have to pipe in with my thoughts on Duck Dynasty.  I just can't let it go because it is so beyond ridiculous and stupid!  Beyond!  And, it seems like everyone has something to say about it.  There are people in support of Phil's right to say what he wants without punishment and there are those that think he is disgusting and deserves to be fired.  I'm annoyed by the whole thing because this outcome for those statements is exactly what anyone could have predicted.  Why all the carrying on?

If you are not in the know - Phil, the family patriarch on Duck Dynasty made anti-gay remarks in a magazine interview.  For good measure, he also seems to think that black people were happy and had no issue with white people prior to be given the same civil rights that white people enjoyed (like voting and not getting beaten to death for no reason).  He is not in trouble at this time for the comments about black people, but rather for his anti-gay comments about homosexuality being a sin and comparing it to bestiality.

My issue is that I don't see what all the ruffled feathers are about (Ha ha, ruffled feathers, get it?...I didn't even do that on purpose...Really, I am a hoot).  The Robertson family portrays themselves as backwoods ignorant hillbillies.  So why are we all surprised and taken aback when one of them acts like an ignorant hillbilly? 
(note - Phil Robertson and many of his family members are actually college educated and have made a boatload of money running a company selling their special duck calls.  So, ignorant and small-minded, yes.  Stupid, not so much.) 

I have a friend on Facebook who is annoyed that Phil was suspended.  This isn't because she supports what he said but rather because she thinks that he should be allowed to think or say what he wants and that if people don't like it, they can show their displeasure by not watching his show.  Why should A&E be forced to suspend him just to show they are being politically correct?  I agree, in theory.  But, this is all business.  A&E is just doing damage control.

A&E produces a scripted "reality" show that shows us the life and times of coarse, unrefined

Hate the hair.
Cannot even look at
those beards.

backwoods folks who are not affected by all their money (hello Beverly Hillbillies).  These guys totally play up their whole persona (in my opinion).  As long as people watch it, A&E is happy and probably couldn't care less what these people do.  But, they can't risk losing viewers and advertisers from other shows just because of this one.

Now that Phil has thrown a wrench into things, of course A&E is going to react.  How could they not?  Forget what the people who work at A&E might personally think (I'm sure many were appalled).  The company has to do whatever keeps the money coming in.  A&E had to decide which action would appease the most people/piss off the fewest.

People say ignorant and hateful shit all the time.  The way we send the message to them that we don't like it is to stop giving them a platform to say it.  A&E wants people and advertisers to know that they are not going to put money into a show or produce a show that supports people who say and do hateful things (even if it's just because they think that's what the public wants from them).  They didn't tell Phil Robertson he couldn't say certain things, but they have the right to disassociate themselves from him if he hurts the other projects they support.

So, bottom line...you can say and do whatever you want.  You just have to be willing to accept the consequences.  We all make those choices every single day with everything we say and do.  Phil Robertson felt that sharing his beliefs and thoughts was worth risking his show.  He may have miscalculated his worth to A&E, but he didn't say those things without a thought that some people wouldn't like them.  He didn't care.  He wanted to say what he wanted to say.  Good for him.  I bet he wouldn't undo it either if you asked him.
On the plus side, now you know exactly who are you dealing with and you can decide if you want to read or see or hear anymore from him.

Well, isn't that lucky?

What I think would have made this whole story more interesting would have been if Kanye piped in.  I mean, as the next Nelson Mandela he probably would have had a lot of deep and insightful shit to throw into the mix.  I personally am waiting to see what the next thing Kanye does that causes Obama to call him a jackass. Oh wait!!!  No, no, no.  Not Kanye!  We need Dennis Rodman!  When does he get back from North Korea?  He's the guy we need to sort this out.

**Next Up - the new social contract regarding winter holiday.**