Several
months back, I
wrote about how many, large corporations seem oblivious to the
feelings of millions of Bible believing Christians while
simultaneously being hypersensitive to even the slightest offense
against gays. When one member of the Robertson family on A&E's
“Duck Dynasty” made a comment in support of traditional marriage,
A&E's first reaction was to throw him off the show. A southern
cuisine restaurant chain, Cracker Barrel, pulled Duck Dynasty
merchandise off the shelves. However, the public outcry against both
companies was so severe, they almost immediately reversed their
positions. Both companies offered half-hearted apologies.
Now,
ABC, a subsidiary of Disney, has a show slated to air this fall
called, The Real O'Neals. The show has been described as a
“semi-autobiographical” comedy inspired by Dan Savage – who is
also credited as the show's executive producer. I've
written about Dan Savage on my blog before. His bio champions
him as the founder of the “anti-bullying” movement known as, It
Gets Better. He's more notoriously known for his perverted sex
columns, his incendiary anti-christian comments, his invitations to
GOP presidential candidates to perform oral sex on him, and for just
being an abrasive jerk in general.
So
let's get this straight: A&E wanted to throw Phil Robertson off
their show based on his views on gay marriage while ABC gives a
bombastic theophobe his own show. Obviously, Hollywood has made its
priorities clear. A&E, of course, reversed their decision in the
face of public protest. ABC, on the other hand, has stood firm on
its decision to air the show in spite of the protest it has received.
I've
watched the official
trailer for the show. It begins with the narrator saying, “The
O'Neals are your typical, Irish, Catholic family.” Really? From
the video we see that the parents are divorcing, the older son admits
to an eating disorder, the daughter runs scam fund raisers and
pockets the money, the family priest drives a Lexus - oh, and the main character is gay. Yeah, that's a
real typical Catholic family. //RKBentley rolls his eyes//
In one
scene, a young girl in a Catholic school girl uniform is pressuring
the main character (the gay one) into having sex (how cliché) when
she produces a giant box of condoms. The scene cuts to the boy
standing in front of the mirror admiring a male, underwear model in a
magazine. I guess he's trying to psych himself up for sex with the
girl. He chickens out and flushes the condoms which causes the
toilet to overflow. Desperately plunging the toilet, the boy pleads
to a statue of the Virgin Mary on the toilet by saying, “Come on,
girl. You've got to help me out.” Hmmm. Can't ABC see how this
might be offensive?
Now,
ABC has every right to make the show. But I also have the right to
say I will refuse to watch it. I also have the right to tell
everyone I know not to watch it. I have every right to say I hope
the show fails miserably (which I'm sure it will) and that ABC will
lose millions of dollars just for having produced it in the first
place. I have the right to wish that every company who advertizes on
the show will hear a million protests from angry consumers, all
promising to boycott their products for supporting such trash.
Finally, I have the right to say that I'm sick and tired of
corporations that thumb their noses at their Christian consumers all
in the sake of “tolerance” and “fairness.”
ABC!
You're not tolerant or fair. You're a bunch of anti-christian
theophobes who has embraced the crowned Prince of intolerance.
Savage is a bigot of the worst sort who has nothing in common with
the values once held by Walt Disney. You have made your bed and now
you will lie in it. It's values like this that have contributed to
the overall decline of TV and movie audiences. You habitually offend
the beliefs held by millions of people. ABC, if this show represents
your corporate values, then your viewership will continue to decline.
Maybe later, you'll regret having aired the show. You were warned.
By the
way, I won't accept any apology. My rant is over. Carry on.
