Maybe Phil Robertson has finally gone too far.
At a recent prayer breakfast, Phil Robertson told a now-viral story about a theoretical “atheist” and his “little atheist wife and two little atheist daughters” wherein the daughters are raped and killed, the wife is raped and decapitated, and the man’s genitals are cut off.
When the predictable outcry came, some conservative media sources defended Phil Robertson, saying that he was just trying to prove a point.
“He is using an extreme scenario to drive home an important point about right and wrong, and where the notion of moral relativism can ultimately lead. Robertson is telling a parable, a graphic parable, but still a parable using shock value as a way to bring home a perfectly valid point about a Godless world in which there is no Ten Commandments and by extension no basis to judge right from wrong.”
But not everyone in the Conservative camp is willing to back the Duck Commander up on this one. In fact, some say it’s time to cut Phil Robertson loose.
Writing for the iconic Conservative outlet The National Review, commentator and comedian Katherine Timpf titled a recent piece: “Stop Defending Phil Robertson — You’re Embarrassing Yourself”
“Phil Robertson is an embarrassment, not a hero,” Timpf writes, “and the socially conservative movement needs to distance itself from him immediately. … Phil Robertson is an ignorant buffoon, and that many of his comments — despite the fact that he does have every right to make them — are not ones that anyone should ever want to be associated with.”
Timpf commonly writes on topics related to sexism, racism, and environmentalism for The National Review. Her material often ridicules over-sensitivity and rampant political correctness, like her lampooning of colleges for cracking down on themed parties for fear of offending some people:
“Come on. This is 2015. We need to be vetting even the most seemingly innocuous things for the possibility that something about them might be offensive so we don’t ever hurt someone’s feelings. Only then will the world be a better and more fun place for everyone.”
But even a “get over it and grow up” crusader like Timpf thinks that Phil Robertson is just bad news for Conservatism.
“Do you really want a dude who is going to publicly ruminate about the gruesome rape, murder, and castration of a man and his ‘little atheist wife and two little atheist daughters’ to be an official face of your #brand? And he is an official face. He spoke at this year’s CPAC, where he also received a free-speech award named after conservative legend Andrew Breitbart.”
Can't disagree with @KatTimpf that Phil Robertson has become an embarrassment, not a hero. http://t.co/pfZ2uxjWbM
— Patrick Brennan (@ptbrennan11) March 27, 2015
Timpf nailed what the rest of the world is saying about Phil Robertson’s comments in a single sentence.:
“His detailed hypothetical about the brutal rape, murder, and castration of an atheist family was disturbing, and his underlying point that only a Christian could understand why these activities were wrong was ignorant.”
As expected, her comments are not going over well with Phil Robertson’s fans and defenders. Phrases like “freedom of speech” and “Constitutional rights” are being tossed around. Timpf has no problem answering that.
Unless I'm calling 2 have Phil arrested for what he said, this isn't a 1st Amendment issue. B4 u put "Constitutionalist" in ur bio, read it.
— Katherine Timpf (@KatTimpf) March 27, 2015
Here is the full Phil Robertson “parable,” in case you missed it.
“Two guys break into an atheist’s home. He has a little atheist wife and two little atheist daughters. Two guys break into his home and tie him up in a chair and gag him. And then they take his two daughters in front of him and rape both of them and then shoot ’em. And they take his wife and then decapitate her head off in front of him. And they can look at him and say, ‘Isn’t it great that I don’t have to worry about being judged? Isn’t it great that there’s nothing wrong with this? There’s no right or wrong, now is it dude?’ ”
“Then you take a sharp knife and take his manhood and hold it in front of him and say, ‘Wouldn’t it be something if this was something wrong with this? But you’re the one who says there is no God, there’s no right, there’s no wrong, so we’re just having fun. We’re sick in the head. Have a nice day.’ If it happened to them, they probably would say, ‘Something about this just ain’t right.’ “