By Taryn
Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson is a walking stereotype. I always say that all stereotypes are based on some sort of truth. Robertson is a 67-year old, duck hunting, southern bigot. Not to mention that it would take the contents of an entire Gillette Razor factory to shape up his two-foot long beard. He recently sparked outrage with his anti-gay comments and beliefs (published in the January 2014 issue of GQ magazine) asserting that African-Americans were happier under Jim Crow laws, As a result he was put on an a brief hiatus from his A&E reality TV show.
Here is some of what he had to say in the GQ magazine interview:
"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!"
While I do not agree with Robertson’s comments at all, I'm not surprised by them. In fact, I'd be more surprised if he felt any other way. Here’s a little background on Robertson for those of you who may not be familiar with him.
Robertson was born in Vivian, Louisiana and grew up with no electricity, toilets, or bathtubs. He played football at Louisiana Tech University and was approached about playing professionally. He declined the offer because it “interfered with his hunting.”
Robertson grew up without any TV, and my guess is that he didn’t have much connection to the world outside of where he lived, let alone Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Robertson is the poster boy for southern bigotry and ignorance. The man can’t even put two grammatically correct sentences together. He doesn’t realize that black people didn’t complain about the white people whom they worked for because if they did they would likely lose their jobs or maybe even die. Lastly, the guy is the star of a reality TV show. There is no reason for anyone to be surprised by his comments. After all, it was only a matter of time before he opened his mouth and and said something stupid.
