We have written several posts regarding this matter,
but the problems related to Phil Robertson talking prompted me to write again
about the subject. Some of the remarks of
Phil Robertson resonated in me.
Neil Drumming, a very sensitive, cultivated and sharp African American wrote what I would say regarding this matter; it made me think of culture and triathlon. Can a “Duck Dynasty” member practice
triathlon at a high level? I would say
that the writer of the following article, Neil Drumming, could be a good triathlete because of his sensitivity; except that
his interests are someplace else except triathlon. We need a sensitive and thoughtful person to
get far in triathlon or any real sport but commitment is the key element.
Thursday, Dec 19, 2013 06:00 PM -0600
Phil
Robertson’s true colors: The real “Duck Dynasty” story isn’t on TV
Robertson's homophobic
comments reveal the gap between the simplified, TV version of his life and the
real one
Phil Robertson in "Duck Dynasty" (Credit:
A&E/Karolina Wojtasik)
As has been exhaustively
reported, “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson was suspended yesterday for
anti-gay sentiment he expressed during an interview with GQ. By now, you almost
certainly have read the galvanizing remarks in question and may or may not have
taken offense. Maybe you’ve already called A&E to chastise the network for
not pulling the program altogether. Or maybe you’ve signed the petition to put
Robertson back on the air. As for me, I was initially disturbed when I read the
old bigot’s words. But, now, I can’t stop thinking that I would love to have watched
him say this stuff.
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.
I’ve never seen an episode
of “Duck Dynasty” in my entire life, but I can’t imagine that anything they
capture on camera is more real than this. No disrespect to GQ and a long
tradition of great print storytelling, but this sounds like it would have made
for very engaging TV. Whether or not you cotton to Robertson’s beliefs about
gays or blacks, you have to admit he seems at least earnest, if not passionate.
Don’t worry, I’m not going
to go all Salon-rogue and evoke Sarah Palin’s uninformed free speech argument.
I understand that as a corporate entity with viewership and revenue at stake,
A&E has every right to sanction Robertson in whatever manner the network
deems fit. I’m only taking a moment to lament the definition of reality
as it pertains to the global institution, the reality TV show.
Again, I’ve never seen
“Duck Dynasty.” But if it is, as Wikipedia states, about “the lives of the
Robertson family,” I would hope to see as complete a representation of that
family as A&E is able to provide. That includes Robertson’s beliefs, as he
is the patriarch of said family and the reason for its wealth and celebrity.
The fact that I don’t share his feelings wouldn’t make him less interesting to
me. (Were I interested at all.) In fact, I find his transparency in this
article kind of relieving. As a black man living post-civil rights, I’ve always
been more afraid of closet racism than the overt kind. With the latter, at
least you usually know when it’s happening to you.
Of course, this is not the
A&E that made its bones airing “Biography.” The business of reality
television is not to accurately portray the people it claims as subjects.
Reality TV reduces people to clockwork golems that either please or outrage in
small doses. While Robertson’s comments undoubtedly had GQ writer Drew Magary
salivating like Daffy over the journalistic treasure trove he’d just stumbled
over, such open bigotry is way too polarizing for basic cable. (Kathy Bates
calling Angela Bassett a “nigger witch” on “American Horror Story: Coven”
doesn’t count, silly. Phil Robertson is a real person.)
So, no, I’m not saying put
the man back on. That would trample the superficially sensational but political
correct baseline for reality television that has been established over years of
trial and fantastic error. I’m just saying that on the perfect-imperfect
television of my imagination, there is a place for Phil Robertson to freely
spew his Bible-based conservative rhetoric and room for me to scream righteous
indignation back at the screen — or simply sit back and be fascinated. The
latter is more likely, honestly. GQ made Phil Robertson seem like a pretty
intriguing guy.
As it is, however, I have
never watched a single episode of “Duck Dynasty.” And, now that I know for sure
that I am only getting part of the story — and that part is just about
bearded dudes hunting ducks — I probably never will.
Neil Drumming is Salon's TV
critic. Follow him on Twitter @Neil_Salon.
Let´s see what Phil Robertson says he is:
The 67-year-old "Duck Dynasty" star was suspended
by A&E Wednesday for calling homosexuality sinful — and putting gay people
in same category as terrorists. While those quotes quickly went viral, it
wasn't his only brow-raising statement in the interview; he also implied that
African Americans were happier living under Jim Crow laws…"I myself am a
product of the '60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll
until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior," the TV star said
in a statement. "My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why
I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is
that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat
anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all
created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be
better off if we loved God and loved each other…"
"I
never, with my eyes, saw the mistreatment of any black person. Not once,"
the reality star said of growing up in pre-Civil-Rights-era Louisiana.
"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. We're going
across the field ... 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!"
Robertson
continued, "Pre-entitlement, pre-welfare, you say: Were they happy? They
were godly; they were happy; no one was singing the blues."
I
had an old supervisor whom I loved, Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at SUNY
Syracuse, Richard Phillips, MD, who was my mentor for four years and taught me
American History. He said to me once: “I was born in the South but I
came to the North in a hurry.” “The
white man used to call the black men 'boys,' because the way they behaved; our 'white
boys' used to behave the same way.” “During
the Civil War, white people destroyed the bridges to avoid black people to move
North.” Richard Philips was very conscious about the problem of difference and
slavery, very sensitive. I held myself in training with
my Jewish branch as support (my last name means “wise” in Hebrew). Richard wanted me not to be a boy to be successful
as a psychiatrist because I was in training; he wanted me to be committed fully
to my training. The same thing in
triathlon, we need committed athletes in order to learn; men sensitive to understand the difference to be successful according to planned goals.
Can “Duck Dynasty” have a succesfull person in triathlon if she/he wants to? I will let you with the following video.
