Phil’s just ducky to folks at home
WEST MONROE, La. — “Faith. Family. Ducks.” It’s the unofficial motto for the family in the TV reality show Duck Dynasty and that philosophy permeates nearly everything in this small north Louisiana town.
It’s perhaps most on display at the Church of Christ in West Monroe, where the Robertson family prays and preaches most Sunday mornings.
The family — including patriarch Phil Robertson, who last week said gays are sinners and African-Americans were happy under Jim Crow laws — was in a front pew on Sunday. And standing by beliefs they say are deeply rooted in the Bible.
The rest of the flock, decked out in Duck Dynasty hats and bandannas, stood by the sentiments Phil Robertson expressed.
TV network A&E suspended Phil last week after his remarks on blacks and gays caused a public uproar.
But the controversy barely resonated above the organ at church. Son Willie, CEO of the multimillion-dollar Duck Commander duck call and decoy enterprise that inspired producers to give the family a show, put on camouflage wader overalls and baptized three people, including a man with cancer.
“Who’s going to be the lord of your life?” he asked, before dipping the man back into the baptismal pool.
To the people of West Monroe, the Robertsons are honest, family-focused and filled with the love of Jesus. The family brought the spotlight to West Monroe, population 13,000, and put in sharp relief the cultural, political and religious differences that divide America.
Folks here don’t care that Phil Robertson said gays are sinners who are going to hell. Or that as a youth he picked cotton with AfricanAmericans and never saw “the mistreatment of any black person. Not once.”
They do care that A&E suspended Phil. They say it was an affront to viewers, the Robertsons and Christians.
“They really treated Phil as if he was a terrorist,” said Richard Laban, owner of Redneck Roots, a store that sells some Duck Dynasty T-shirts and souvenirs.
Politicians have weighed in — Sarah Palin posted a picture on her Facebook page of her with the clan and a message, “Free Speech is an endangered species.”
Even State Rep. Marcus Hunter, a Democrat and black man, issued a statement saying that “the faith and family structure exhibited by the Robertsons on the hit A & E show is part of the allure which makes it so special.” Hunter did say he would like to “enlighten” Robertson about the “challenges and triumphs of black people during and after Jim Crow.”
Not everyone here agrees with the Robertsons. John Denison, a former Monroe TV personality who is gay and head of Forum for Equality, a group that advocates for the equality of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights, said he’s appalled by the remarks.
“I want Phil Robertson to know that what he said hurt me and many people,” said Denison, who wrote an open letter to Robertson, asking him to dinner to discuss “not what separates us but what brings us together.”
“I’m a Christian,” said Denison. “No one wants to talk about my Christ, they only want to talk about their brand.”