A self proclaimed redneck makes some statements on the record. His comments about "sin" are beliefs shared by millions of Americans. A religious belief is, after all, just that, one's belief. His comments about race displayed a level of ignorance one might not expect from a college educated man like Phil Robertson, but the south is still the south in some places.
Immediately there is indignation on the left. A & E "suspends" a star of it's biggest show. Just as quickly there is outrage on the right. The talking heads of TV and radio go to work. There are hours of discussion on virtually every media outlet. We divide into our tribes of progressive and conservative. The battle is on. Income inequality? Who cares? Duck Dynasty is sooo much more important. Women's rights? Voting rights? What about redneck rights? And let's hear what Sarah Palin has to say.
Phil Robertson may be a backwoods kind of guy, but stupid he is not. He was a college quarterback at LSU. He had a shot at the pros, but chose instead to return to his beloved woods. Fame and fortune found him. He didn't go looking for it. He likes to make duck calls, hunt, fish and live off the land. He got caught in the quicksand of addiction and grabbed the lifeline of religion to pull himself out. Is it a surprise that he clings to and espouses Southern Christian beliefs?
The branding of the Duck Commander empire was more the work of son, Willie, than Phil. Phil has expressed that the exposure from the TV show is of no interest to him and, again, would like to return to his woods.
Now how boring would it be if he simply retired from the show? That might be worth 2 seconds of notice from some media outlets. The shows 9 million viewers might be interested. Would anyone else notice? Probably not. Today you'd have to be living in the depths of a Louisiana swap not to be exposed to the dustup created by these "outrageous" comments.
The end result? Phil will be off the show which he wanted anyway. More viewers than ever will be watching in the future. The corporations that own A & E will make even more money. But most importantly, both the left and right factions of those of us who make up the 99% will continue to argue over stupid crap like this, while the 1% continues to pick our pockets