i guess we live on the same planet but the differnce between you and me is:

I am not parroting some stuff others told me without thinking about it and i don't have that selective point of view you have.

Meanwhile it is (not officially) forbidden to criticize gay people in the western christian world or other minorities!Call it political correctness or whatever you want.This thread is just one example of that.

I live in Europe/Germany and when i started my apprenticeship in the 90ies in a small very very conservative valley there were several gays in my company working-i have never ever seen that they were discriminated nor was i though i am also part of a minority(muslim origin).The situation was already pretty well in the 90ies and has improved a lot since then therefore your statement is wrong.eg Gays in the west earn 30-40% more than average people -this won't be possible in a antigay/homophob system.The situation for gays has never been better in christian dominated regions and always was a lot better than in islamic.

Yes-Homosexuals are discriminated in many parts of this world but noone seems to give a shit about that because noone is criticizing eg the situation in muslim countries.They are protesting against Putin because of some 1st world problems(no gay marriage)while completely ignoring the real big problem gays have to face in countries where situation really really need to be improved.There is something really going wrong.

Using your own life as a basis for "this is how the world is" is like having an election with one voter.

I never even watched that show and I have no idea what the hell it's about. I just see those bearded guys every goddam place I go via merchandise. With that said, I don't think the show should be cancelled or that guy, (I'll just call him Ducky McGhee) should be punished for saying his feelings/opinion.

It's reality TV, right? Let someone with a different point of view educate him or let him be an asshole. Forced apologies or being publicly ostracized helps no one. Let's use the Ducky's statement to open a discussion.

Companies are entitled to hold their employees to a standard, with regards to their statements made during shows they bankroll, or when employees are speaking on behalf of the company. Duck Dynasty may target a small demographic of A&E's overall viewership, but negative publicity can fan negative sentiment about a company, and have an effect across it's brands.

Do I think it should be banned? Well, only insofar that reality television is intellectually bankrupt trash, yes. Though, I'm not sure anyone is going to get a warm response when making the homosexuality to bestiality slippery slope argument, ok, maybe on Fox News.

No, because people should be free to expression their beliefs, even if it's not the popular one. If he was verbally attacking a gay person to his face, then that's a different story. I would much rather have people be honest about their beliefs rather than living in a superficial world where everyone has to hide behind a politically correct mask.

People are Free to express their beliefs, that's covered under the 1st Amendment, ala Freedom of Speech.  However, that only covers the Government from infringing upon your free speech rights.  This is a private entity, with their own set of rules, values etc...  and they aren't in the business of simply ponying up the money for air time, so just anyone can use their network as a platform to deliver their beliefs. 

My question is, since we can safely assume this isn't a live show, we can also assume this episode was pre-recorded.  So...which editor is getting fired over this, since they should've caught the objectionable material prior to the release of the episode.

If the boycotts happen, it's too late. They have to act prior to the boycotts. And clearly the managers of A&E determined the risk of boycotts were bigger than the risk that comes with cancelling the show.

And of course more people are upset over him being fired - because A&E chose to fire him. If he hadn't been fired, more people would have been upset over the comments. To most people, I would hope, his being fired mollified their anger over his remarks, because he got his "just desserts".

This is how business works. The management weigh up the options, determine what they consider the best course of action, and take it. In this case, an analysis of the chain of ownership reveals the obvious reason why they did it...

Duck Dynasty is made by A&E, which is owned by A+E Networks, which is half-owned by Disney and half-owned by the Hearst Corporation. Neither of these two corporations would want racists associated with their companies, as a boycott would almost surely result, and these two companies would be devastated by such boycotts. If the management of A&E didn't fire the guy, the management of A+E Networks would have had to fire both the guy and the management of A&E if they didn't, themselves, want to be fired by Disney and Hearst management.

It really is a fairly clear chain of reasoning. I'm not sure which part is tripping you up.

that scripted reality show should go away,just because it sucks. I've seen a couple episodes and it's more scripted then a sitcom.

What exactly was "racist" about the comment he made about gays? Are gays now classified as a separate race or something? He was asked his opinion on homosexuality, and he gave it. It's not like he used the show to launch into an anti-gay rant and force his beliefs onto other people. The fact that this guy was dropped in 2 seconds flat while countless media personalities have said far worse about conservatives / Christians / Republicans etc and still kept their jobs without so much as a peep is pretty telling about what's really going on here...

A&E thought they had yet another cute little "reality show" on their hands along the lines of Honey Boo Boo starring white trash rednecks that people could snicker at, and what they got was a show that people tuned into by the millions because they *gasp* actually like the stars and their values! So now A&E has a conundrum... they've got this ratings machine that unfortunately (for them) features the things the media and entertainment industry hates the most.... bible-thumping, gun loving right-wingers, and it's obviously ruffled some feathers in the industry. So the first chance they got to put down the show they did, and now it's come back to bite them in the ass.

I think people are going a bit overboard on this one (both sides).

No one is taking away his rights of free speech. He is not going to be jailed, or shut up. The network is exercising their rights to not let him back on the show for now.

The offended community knows his views. It is well known what the family believes. This should not come as a shock, not cause a "crusade" against Duck Dynasty.

If anything Id blame A&E for this one. Did they really think sending him to THAT magazine was a good idea? Why was someone from the marketing/production team not there to make sure this type of shit didnt happen? It is no surprise he answered the question that was asked of him (regardless of what you think on gay rights, he went a bit overboard in his answer)

It almost sounds like the family might cut the cord before A&E does.  I still dont know whats racist about his remarks.