Quack Attack

I swore to myself I wouldn't write about this.  This is one of those mindless, completely pointless things that gets flung up by the media from time to time so people on both sides of the political aisle can clutch their pearls and cover themselves in outrage and light up Facebook with mindless arguments that go precisely nowhere and escalate into nasty, personal attacks far to quickly for my liking.  However, since this stupidity won't die and people insist on talking about it, I figured, why not join in the fun.  So, are you ready?  Good, because here's what I think:

I don't care.

No seriously.  I have not a single fuck to give about this situation and, here's why:

This isn't a family of noodly Episcopalians from Poughkeepsie. These are fire and brimstone flavored Christians from rural Louisiana.  Expecting them to lead a gay pride parade is a little naive, I think.  I mean, what was everybody expecting?  Seriously.  They've never hidden their beliefs.  It's been out there- it's just that Phil was a little too blunt about it and now people are pissed.

And yes, people have a right to be pissed.  People have a right to boycott, sign petitions, rage on Facebook and express themselves however they like.  Free Speech, y'all.

And yes, he had a right to express his beliefs.  I don't agree with them, but he has a right to say them.  If you don't like them, say so.  Change the channel.  Boycott the station.  Don't buy the merchandise.  Free Speech y'all.

And yes, A&E has a right to fire him for expressing those beliefs.  The First Amendment protects our speech but not the consequences of it.

But, to complete our little rage circle, people also have a right to be pissed at A&E for firing him. (And to boycott, sign petitions, rage on Facebook, etc, etc.)  Free Speech y'all.

So, pretty much it's a glorious example of how messy living in a free country can be and not something I'm going to expend too much of my time on.

B-b-b-but what about the persecution of Christians in this nation, Tom?  Oh, I'm sorry, have we started feeding Christians to the lions again?  Because if Jack Hanna starts doing that on Letterman, I'd watch Letterman more often.  Are Christians being beaten, tied to a fence post and left for dead in the cold? Sorry, folks, but I'm not buying into that one.  Republicans trot that one out to motivate voters and for a lot of people it works.

But I do think that the cultural elitists in this country, many of whom are very, very liberal do sneer at Christianity quite a bit.   When an artist dips a Crucifix into a jar of piss on smears elephant dung on a portrait of the Virgin Mary, people (Christians) who find that offensive and start yelling about it, get told to 'Shut up, because it's art.'* When One Million Moms Against Boobies or whatever its called launches another crusade against whatever shit show is on MTV or TLC or whatever, they get told 'Shut up, change the channel, FREE SPEECH.' And when it comes to free speech, I don't think we should have double standards depending on your political affiliation.

Yes, it was offensive.  No, I did not in any way, shape or form agree with him.  If you don't like it, change the channel.   You can't change minds or alter attitudes on issues like this by insisting that people don't have a right to speak their minds.

*Art is tricky, because it's subjective- everyone has their own definition of what it is.  But, I think if you create something purely for shock value and publicity and not out of any genuine creative desire/aspect you wish to explore, you're a cheap hack and an attention whore.