You have one thing right. Every single incident happens the same way. They say something stupid. The GLBT community blows a blood vessel and demands a boycott, or some other punitive action. The Christian Right rushes to support the ones who made the comment. Now, imagine if we had just ignored what he said. Imagine if A&E had not gotten any reaction to the comments?
Because we KNOW how this is going to play out. A& E is going to fold like a house of cards to keep their top rated show. They are not going to stab the goose laying the golden (advertising dollar) eggs. They're going to fold and issue a statement that while Phil's comments do not reflect their own beliefs or the position of the network, they are committed to free speech.
The Duck Dufus' gang makes money. A&E will enjoy an uptick in viewers, based on the controversy, as more people will rush to watch what all the fuss is about. Then what happens? The GLBT supporters will bring it up every few months and complain that the Duck Dufus is using code words to express their homophobia on air.
We know that a majority of the people are homophobic. We already know that. We saw that when we saw Prop 8 pass in California. We see that every time the issue is put on the ballot. So why help them get more press? Why help them keep the issue stirred up. Because we're winning on the issue in the legislatures, and we're winning in the courts. Who cares what a dolt in the woods thinks?
The show had 14 million viewers according to reports. The hair on fire crew just bumped that to 20 million, and the longer it goes, the higher the ratings. Don't play the game. Don't fall for it. When someone says something stupid and the press rushes to the GLBT folks for a statement the best one would be the right one to use.
In this case. "Who is Phil Robertson?" They say the guy on Duck Dufus. We say. "What the hell is that?"
It takes the wind out of their sails, and if they really hope to get the controversy going, they have to get even more outrageous, which drives their (ain't they so holy) fans away. If an idiot is running around screaming look at me, don't play into feeding his ego.
Look at Rush to Judgment Limbaugh. Have any of the calls for boycotts harmed his bottom line? Doubt it. Have any of the protests done anything but drive his listenership up? He's still purported to be the number one radio show, so it doesn't sound like we're doing any good running around with the hair on fire bit. I think I've noticed a pattern. Every few months, he says something especially outrageous, which gets the media in a titter, and they run around reporting all the reactions of people, which fuels the controversy.
Why not do this? "Rush Limbaugh? Is he still on the air? And why am I supposed to care?" It takes the fuel out of the controversy, and then his listeners get bored and move along figuring that Rush has lost it and is no longer cutting edge.
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hahahaha.
