Petition to get Phil Roberston back on Duck Dynasty receives 250,000 signatures. Update!

Courtesy of Politico:  

A petition calling for the reinstatement of Phil Robertson on “Duck Dynasty” on Friday surpassed its goal of a quarter-million signatures. 

The “I Stand with Phil” petition, which met its target of 250,000 signatures by more than 1,600 as of Friday morning, calls for A&E to immediately reinstate Robertson on the popular television program after he was suspended indefinitely following the recent publication of an interview with GQ in which he made controversial remarks regarding homosexuality and African-Americans. 

“Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men,” Robertson told GQ when asked what was sinful. 

The letter included with the petition accuses A&E of “intolerant, discriminatory, and punitive treatment” of Robertson and says his views are “simply reflective of a Biblical view of sexuality, marriage, and family.” It also calls for A&E to formally apologize to Robertson, his family and viewers of the program. 

All I can think after reading this is that there are a LOT of idiots in the world today. At least a quarter of a million of them according to this.

So to be clear these idiots are defending Robertson's remarks because this is a free country and he was simply repeating a Biblical worldview, and nobody is allowed to be offended by that, and angry at A&E because though this is a free country, they are not allowed to exercise their right to suspend an employee that negatively impacts their image or may cost them revenue.

Oookay.

Update: As others have noted A&E has lifted the suspension:  

As a global media content company, A+E Networks' core values are centered around creativity, inclusion and mutual respect. We believe it is a privilege for our brands to be invited into people's home and we operate with a strong sense of integrity and deep commitment to these principals. 

That is why we reacted so quickly and strongly to a recent interview with Phil Robertson. While Phil's comments made in the interview reflect his personal views based on his own beliefs, and his own personal journey, he and his family have publicly stated they regret the "coarse language" he used and the mis-interpretation of his core beliefs based only on the article. He also made it clear he would "never incite or encourage hate." We at A+E Networks expressed our disappointment with his statements in the article, and reiterate that they are not views we hold. 

But "Duck Dynasty" is not a show about one man's views. It resonates with a large audience because it is a show about family… a family that America has come to love. As you might have seen in many episodes, they come together to reflect and pray for unity, tolerance and forgiveness. These are three values that we at A+E Networks also feel strongly about. 

So after discussions with the Robertson family, as well as consulting with numerous advocacy groups, A&E has decided to resume filming "Duck Dynasty" later this spring with the entire Robertson family. 

We will also use this moment to launch a national public service campaign (PSA) promoting unity, tolerance and acceptance among all people, a message that supports our core values as a company, and the values found in "Duck Dynasty." These PSAs will air across our entire portfolio.

In other words they really don't care about how offensive this  guy is, all they want is for those all capital letter, misspelled e-mails to stop clogging up their inboxes.