Sunday, December 22, 2013

December Hate Thing, day 22.....





You know what I hate today?  Some of the super ignorant shit being said about the Phil Robertson situation.  I've listened to and have seen all of the news snippets.  I've heard people on social networking sites and the news saying some of the most ridiculous shit.  "His rights to free speech are being infringed upon!"  "Freedom of religion!!!!"


Cries like this are being made everywhere!  Sometimes this shit is being spewed by people I thought I admired. I'm questioning that now.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but nobody's rights regarding "free speech" are being infringed upon, people.... it's just not happening.  The stuff that Phil Robertson said is not against the law.  He can say that shit 100 more times and it still would not be against the law.  Nothing the man said is against the law!  Understand?

If you didn't fully grasp the above paragraph, let me try to further explain.  No laws were broken by what Phil Robertson said, so nobody's rights were infringed upon.  Look, A&E is a big company probably bigger than the outfits you or I work for.  When you go to work for an entertainment company like A&E, you sign a contract or a couple of contracts.  Within those contracts there is all kinds of legal speak.  Within that legal speak you will see things like "terms of employment", "termination clause", "no compete clause" and so on.  Within some of that, rest assured that there are a list of things that clearly state that you may or may not get terminated for.  If you break company code or policy, there are going to be some consequences.  Suspension and termination are also often mentioned within this part of the contract.  Big companies like A&E have lots of lawyers that cover all angles.  Phil signed a contract, apparently went against the grain as far as A&E was concerned and was let go.

"For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".  Is that Newton's law?  It's completely applicable in this case.  Nothing Phil said is illegal, but there are ramifications for everything we say and do.  If you were to walk up to Chuck Liddell and tell him that his brand of MMA is shit and he is a pussy.... I bet Chuck issues you a prompt and swift ass whipping.  (For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction...)  Calling Chuck Liddell a pussy is not against the law, however it is... well... ill thought, and there will be consequences.

"What about "freedom of religion?"  Yeah, what about religion?  A&E is not telling Phil he cannot be a Christian.  A&E is not going after Phil because he is a Christian.  He was a Christian when they hired him.  They knew that.  They aren't stupid.  Phil is being excused, reprimanded, let go or fired because of a clause in his contract.  I'd bet it falls somewhere near "conduct detrimental to the company."  Phil is still a Christian and nobody, nobody is trying to change that.  You can't always run around and say everything you want without consequences.  You just can't and everyone needs to be at least that smart.

In closing I'd like to say that after reading all of the pieces that the news and social media are releasing and constantly playing on a loop, I am not offended by what Phil Robertson said.  I've watched some "special interest groups" do all they could to make this a real issue.  They've taken the things Phil said out of context, put their special twist on it and hoping and preying that it will receive momentum.  These groups are doing everything they can to make this a "gay" or "race" issue, and there are representatives from each group that are saying they didn't find it offensive!

We've got to get over ourselves.  We've got to quit taking offense to everything .

I hate that we as a nation are spending this much time scrutinizing something that a guy on a "reality show" said.  Are you kidding me? 





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