Pat Robertson, a former presidential candidate and all-time religious leader on the far right, had some interesting words for a woman concerned about her husbands flirtations with other women.
CO-HOST: Pat, this is from Anne who says, “My husband has always been a flirt and loves to talk with other women he finds attractive. He says he would never cheat on me but his actions are starting to get to me. What should I do?”
ROBERTSON: Anne, first thing is you need to make yourself as attractive as possible and don’t hassle him about it. And why is he doing this? Well, he’s doing it because he wants affirmation that he is still a man, that he is attractive — and he gets an affirmation of himself. That means he’s got an inferiority complex that’s coming out. And he’s not gonna cheat on you. He’s just playing.
But you need to not drive him away or start hassling and hounding on him, but make yourself as beautiful as you can, as fun as you can, and say let’s go out here, let’s go there, let’s go to the other thing.
"Don't hassle him about it," Robertson said during an airing of his long-time show The 700 Club.
Hmm. That doesn't exactly qualify as sound advice for a woman dealing with a husband of this kind. On the other hand, coming from Pat Robertson, this is not much of a surprise.
Pat Robertson, who supposedly is a Christian commentator and is a former Republican presidential candidate, disgusted people all over this country and perhaps all over the world with his vicious, insensitive, hateful and borderline racist comments about Haiti (in the wake of a devastating earthquake for which the death toll could reach in the neighborhood of 100,000). Robertson’s show, the 700 Club, is his platform to unleash his sometimes hateful rhetoric. Wednesday, as the death toll continued to rise in Haiti and the reality of the devastation suffered by the small island nation begins to come into focus, Robertson took time out of his schedule to take a shot at the Haitian people as he offered his explanation for why the earthquake happened.
ROBERTSON: [S]omething happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. Napoleon the Third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, “We will serve you if you get us free from the prince.” True story. And so the devil said, “OK, it’s a deal.” They kicked the French out, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free.
But ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor. That island of Hispaniola is one island. It’s cut down the middle, on the one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island.
They need to have, and we need to pray for them, a great turning to God. And out of this tragedy I’m optimistic something good may come. But right now, we’re helping the suffering people and the suffering is unimaginable.
So, he blames the earthquake on the Haitian people who were, in Robertson’s own words, “under the heel of the French” and wanted freedom. It’s like Robertson is saying that if the Haitians would have let the Europeans continue to rule over them then perhaps they would not have had this earthquake. This ignorant and stupid even by the standards of Pat Robertson (who once had a decent amount of power and influence but now is a shell of what he once was in this country).
It goes back to the old racist stereotype of white Europeans civilizing the world centuries ago and showing people of color how to live, think and behave (because they know what’s best).
Obviously, some of the Haitian leaders have not served the people well, but the comments of Robertson are hateful and completely uncalled for, but hardly unexpected.
To Pat Robertson, Haiti wanting freedom was making a pact with the devil.
