Free Speech vs. Hate Speech vs. Corporate Image

Duck Dynasty's
Phil Robertson

You guys know what the difference is between Dan Cathy and Phil Robertson? They both hate gays. Both have publicly spoken out against human rights. The difference is, the former is head of his company, and the other is an employee. Mr Cathy was able to speak with near impunity, because nobody could fire him. Mr Robertson, on the other hand, just lost his job for hate speech.

It's easy to get hate speech confused with free speech. Free speech, or the First Amendment here in the U.S., means that the government will not prosecute you for saying what you believe. This means that all of my Facebook friends who hate Obama and say bad things about him, cannot be prosecuted by the government for saying them. Hate speech is speaking out against (to offend) any Constitutionally-protected people. And saying that homosexuality is a 'sin,' while Biblically correct, is morally wrong. Also, it's hate speech. Implying that using Muppets finger puppet toys is gay because the Jim Henson company supports human rights is also hate speech.

Robertson went on record saying that homosexuality is a sin, which leads to bestiality and marital infidelity. And then the network A&E went on record suspending him indefinitely. Duck Dynasty will go on, supposedly, though I'm not sure how they will continue a show about a family of back woods duck hunters with the omnipresent patriarch nowhere to be seen. It seems to me that he will always be there in spirit, unless they... I don't know... maybe cast one of the guys from ZZ Top in his place?

Now, there are two factors at work here with A&E suspending Robertson. On one hand, A&E wants to support the human rights cause, and having a popular character on a popular show on their network calling it sinful reflects poorly on them; even though he didn't say it on the show, his face is now synonymous with hate, and that isn't the image A&E wants. On the other, A&E has shareholders to answer to, and while Duck Dynasty has been successful, Robertson's comments have triggered a backlash which could result in the network's sponsors being boycotted by human rights supporters, and though I'm not sure that has actually happened yet, since A&E moved so quickly to suspend Robertson, it was and is a very real possibility. Although, that could have gone the other way, as human rights opponents rallied in churches and came out in droves to support Chick-fil-A after their executive's comments sparked a firestorm last year. So surely Robertson could have pulled support from the conservative community, and made Duck Dynasty more popular, but perhaps in any case A&E wished to put their image first.

And again, while hate speech is protected under the Constitution, and Robertson will not be federally prosecuted for what he said per the First Amendment, hate speech is not protected from consequence, and the consequence of publicly making hate speech while working for a liberal media company is that you will be suspended or fired.

Personally, I support Phil Robertson's right to say what he wants about gays. I don't even disagree with him in the context he said it. The Bible does say that being gay is a sin. And as a straight man, I definitely prefer women to men, so his words there rang true for me. However, the Bible is not true, and not everybody chooses to live by it. It is not my intention to debunk the Bible as that generally goes against my personal beliefs, but Google will lead you to others who are more than willing to take on the assignment and have done so thoroughly, if you are interested. My personal belief with regards to the Bible is that it has brought solitude to the lives of many, including Mr Robertson, so while it does contain falsehoods, generally I feel that people who live by the Bible are good people. You just can't take everything it says seriously, and there is worse there than saying homosexuality is a sin. Like stoning people to death (throwing rocks at them until they die from their injuries). "Thou shalt not kill," indeed.

However, words have consequences, and his words got him suspended from A&E. I'm sure he can land a job at Fox. They are a very conservative network and it seems that his views are in line with theirs. Besides, he's been successful selling hunting gear and will continue to be so, even without the show, which will still bring profit to his family, who likely feel the same way but who are less likely to speak up (especially now). I'm sure Mr Robertson will be fine.