After the interview was released, A&E made the decision to place Robertson on suspension in response to comments that insulted, impacted and alienated a large portion of society. This decision caused an uproar among fans of the show, conservatives and Christians alike calling the move a violation of the first amendment and more.
I saw the move called a persecution of Christians, unconstitutional, and an attack on religion among other things. The thing is, everything can be perceived from two different sides. I know that there are a number of people who are very offended by the comments, even if they do not personally identify with any of the groups in the widespread condemnation.
Another thing that I feel compelled to point out is that there are a fair amount of Christians who were offended by the comments and who do not see A&E's decision as an attack on Christians at all, but as a move by a company to protect the rights of other people as well as defend their brand.
But the thoughts and feelings of how certain groups reacted to the comments and the actions taken by A&E are not even the real conversations that society should be having right now. The conversations should really be centered around what the first amendment actually means and what it protects.
People always use the first amendment as a blanket statement to claim protection for saying things that are out of line or in some cases, a violation of a contract. The first amendment was not designed to protect people against how society and private companies will react to or respond to what you say. The first amendment protects us from the persecution of the government in regards to free speech.
The first amendment was designed to ensure that the government could not censor its people or tell them that they were not allowed to say certain things.
So, was Robertson charged by the government for his comments? No. He was told by the company that he works for, the one that he gets a paycheck from, the one with whom he signed a legally binding contract with that his actions and words were not acceptable. A&E had every right to suspend Robertson.
They did not do it to attack Christians or because they are bleeding heart liberals or any of the other strongly worded accusations that are being thrown around. They did it because they wanted to take a stand against what they think is wrong. They responded in a way that they thought was proportional to the backlash that one of their "stars" was going to receive.
As mentioned in other columns and articles, and I am going to specifically quote here from one of LZ Granderson's columns for CNN.com in italics below, you simply cannot make comments like that and not expect violent backlash, especially in this day and age.
"You can say some stupid stuff -- whether it's Paula Deen dropping the N-word, Alec Baldwin dropping the F-word, Jesse Jackson using a derogatory word for Jewish people as he talks about New York City -- or Bobby Knight infamously saying, "'I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it.'' -- and the First Amendment will keep you from going to jail. But it is not a get-out-of-jail-free card in the eyes of society."
Our society has been turning towards a more accepting and open-minded collaboration of people. We are more forgiving, more tolerant and honestly, more humane. It is high time that people are told that they cannot hide under rules and laws that they assume will protect them from saying anything they want, no matter how hurtful or bigoted it may be. That just is not the way it works and it is time for people to start taking real responsibility for their actions.
