Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, recently reinstated by A&E after being suspended over anti-gay and culturally insensitive remarks made in an interview, may find himself in more hot water after a video was uncovered recently showing him speaking at an event in 2009. It appears that he was speaking to the Georgia Sportmen’s Ministry and he used his time to speak about a number of things he held close to his hear. Apparently, one of those things was telling men out there that they needed to marry young women. And by young, he meant 15.
If you have a hard time understanding Phil in the video (totally understandable), below is a quote from his ‘speech’:
“Look, you wait ’til they get to be 20 years old, the only picking that’s going to take place is your pocket. You got to marry these girls when they are about 15 or 16. They’ll pick your ducks. You need to check with mom and dad about that, of course.”
In essence, Robertson is telling men out there that they need to get to girls when they are young and naive so that they can do with them as they please. If you can get to them well before they graduate high school, then you can make sure they don’t understand anything about finances or spousal rights or anything like that. Get ’em young and turn them into your slaves. Also, as he stated in the video, make sure they carry the Bible. Feed them religion, keep them ignorant and you should have a happy marriage.
It isn’t as if this is the only place he has said these things. In his autobiography published earlier in 2013, Robertson pointed out that he married his wife when he was 16 and she was 15. He pointed out that it was best to get married at that young age because he was able to get his wife to go and pluck his ducks. He stated in the book that if he waited until she was 20, then all she would have done was pick his pockets. This book was published a few months ago, so Robertson can’t claim that the video represents his opinions from a few years ago and he’s moved on or evolved. (Not that he believes in evolution anyway.)
Will these remarks bring more trouble to Robertson, his clan and their reality show? Perhaps. But, A&E has already caved to the pressure exerted on them by the religious right, allowing Robertson to come back from a suspension that only lasted a few days. By bringing him back then, they’ve basically stated that he can say and do pretty much anything he wants and he’ll have a home for his reality show on their network. Also, now that he has become a martyr for the Evangelicals and Tea Party, the show’s ratings are most likely going to be higher than ever as they will all make sure to tune in now.
What we’ve learned in the past few weeks and months is that if you say something that conservatives don’t like, then you need to lose your job. However, if you make hateful remarks about gays, insinuate that blacks were happier and better off during Jim Crow and that men will be happier if they marry 15 year-olds, not only should you be allowed to have a reality show, but your 1st Amendment rights are being trampled on if you are prevented from such.
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