Want to beat your wife? Move to Arabia! Says Pat Robertson.

[Sabby]

Because we need to crack down on this somehow. I mean, divorce is a Sin! D= So how else should we go about it?

Pat Robertson Tells Man to Beat his Wife, Move to Saudi Arabia

Mitt Romney this weekend stumped alongside televangelist Pat Robertson, not minding Robertson’s legacy of incendiary, insensitive, heartless and apocalyptic rhetoric that has gotten him in trouble in the past. Apparently, Robertson’s own CBN has become aware of Robertson’s problematic statements, and may even be editing his controversial claims out of episode archives.

For example, today on the 700 Club’s “Bring It On” segment where viewers ask Robertson questions, one man wondered how he should go about repairing his marriage with a wife who “insults” him and once tried to attack him.

“Well, you could become a Muslim and you could beat her,” Robertson responded. “This man’s got to stand up to her and he can’t let her get away with this stuff,” Robertson continued, “I don’t think we condone wife-beating these days but something has got to be done.”

He later said the woman is a “rebellious child” and pondered if she has psychological problems. Robertson told the viewer that since he “can’t divorce her according to the Scripture, so I say: move to Saudi Arabia.”

Remember guys, women who beat their husbands are just children who are crying out for discipline.

[gaggedLouise]

Ugh.  >:(

Edit: Seriously, it's almost as lousy as Akin's rape/abortion talk. Robertson is joking a bit, but he seems to be completely condoning the idea that men have a default authority over their wives that, under pressure from the (immature) woman, would make a good motive for beating her hard in order to shut her up. And no, we're not talking about s/m spankings here...

[Oniya]

Erg.  I was hoping this was an overstatement by someone.  He was helping Mittens campaign this past weekend, so this is going to get loads of attention.  (Not that I'm really complaining, but seriously?  Can we open the Fletcher Memorial Home yet?)

[Pumpkin Seeds]

And people just can't grasp why Mitt has such a hard time getting that female vote.

[Oniya]

It's sad when a heathen like myself knows the Bible better than these preachers.  Pat would never have swayed my vote positively, but you'd think he could manage to avoid chasing more people away.

[Stannous]

Pat Robertson, to put it as nicely as possible, is probably one of the slimiest assholes I think I've ever seen. The diamond mine scandal involving him was pretty sickening to read about, among a legion of other things.

[Callie Del Noire]

Pat Robertson, to put it as nicely as possible, is probably one of the slimiest assholes I think I've ever seen. The diamond mine scandal involving him was pretty sickening to read about, among a legion of other things.

Diamond Mine?

[Stannous]

Diamond Mine?

If I remember right, the president of Liberia gave him rights to mine for diamonds in his country. Robertson then told his TV show viewers to donate to his charity, which he said was to give relief to the victims of the Rwandan genocide, but he used the money to bring diamond mining equipment and slave labor to the mines.

That's the really simple, dumbed down version of it. Just Google "Pat Robertson diamond mine" and you'll find a slew of information on it.

[Callie Del Noire]

If I remember right, the president of Liberia gave him rights to mine for diamonds in his country. Robertson then told his TV show viewers to donate to his charity, which he said was to give relief to the victims of the Rwandan genocide, but he used the money to bring diamond mining equipment and slave labor to the mines.

That's the really simple, dumbed down version of it. Just Google "Pat Robertson diamond mine" and you'll find a slew of information on it.

Wow.. when I thought he was a major tool.. it seemed to be that I was understating it.

[Oniya]

It was back in 1995, and a lot of the links reference an article that's long since been archived (The Virginian-Pilot, 2 June 1999.)  I was able to find something on Google Groups that claims to be the text of the article itself:  https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/misc.activism.progressive/3KA8QBJFDgw

Two pilots told The Virginian-Pilot in 1997 that airplanes sent to Zaire by Operation Blessing, Robertson's tax-exempt humanitarian organization, were used almost exclusively to ferry equipment for the diamond venture.

You might be able to find better in a brick-and-mortar library.

[Callie Del Noire]

It was back in 1995, and a lot of the links reference an article that's long since been archived (The Virginian-Pilot, 2 June 1999.)  I was able to find something on Google Groups that claims to be the text of the article itself:  https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/misc.activism.progressive/3KA8QBJFDgw


You might be able to find better in a brick-and-mortar library.

He's got his own 'contreversies' page on wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Robertson_controversies

[Oniya]

You know you've hit the big time when that happens.

[gaggedLouise]

You know you've hit the big time when that happens.

I remember two ministers around here (cabinet ministers, not altar ministers) who sat for less than ten days* before they both had to resign under a fire of scandals licking their butts. By that time, the "Controversies" part of their pages on the local WP took up more than half the pages.  ;)


*Yes, that's a tenure record.

[Sabre]

You can also go to Saudi Arabia and divorce your wife.

Just saying.

[TyKing]

'For everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required.' I think Pat has forgotten the last part of that verse. I don't even know why they bothered to ask him the question, his 'advice' was all over the place and incoherent.

[Callie Del Noire]

'For everyone to whom much is given, of him much will be required.' I think Pat has forgotten the last part of that verse. I don't even know why they bothered to ask him the question, his 'advice' was all over the place and incoherent.

Me? I'm just amazed he's dodged the bullet as long as he has.. he's eaten his foot enough times I'm sure that things would end for him.. Guess when you're the only media source your audience trusts... it's easy to survive with verbal snafus.

[TyKing]

Me? I'm just amazed he's dodged the bullet as long as he has.. he's eaten his foot enough times I'm sure that things would end for him.. Guess when you're the only media source your audience trusts... it's easy to survive with verbal snafus.

Ah you forget, there is also the vaunted Fox Spews..er News. ;)

[Callie Del Noire]

Ah you forget, there is also the vaunted Fox Spews..er News. ;)

I know a lot of folks that think that Fox News is too 'corporate' and that folks like Robertson are the only ones 'telling the truth'. (I grew up in the bible belt portion of the Carolinas)

[TyKing]

Interesting. I grew up in the buckle of the bible belt and they are all about Fox News. I'll be surprised if there isn't a life-sized statue of Glenn Beck next to the baby Jesus nativity scene this Christmas.

[Callie Del Noire]

Interesting. I grew up in the buckle of the bible belt and they are all about Fox News. I'll be surprised if there isn't a life-sized statue of Glenn Beck next to the baby Jesus nativity scene this Christmas.

Different folks different spins. Most of the folks I talked with were off the beaten path types in the Carolinas.. (they were usually praying for my Episcopalian soul)

[Ironwolf85]

*sound of wistling* BOOOM... *sound of burining wood*
ladies and gentlemen, lovers and fighters alike Pat Robertson has yet again made an out of hand incendary statement, and again most of the fallout will be friendly fire, this time former governer Mitt is likely standing too close to the impact zone and will likely be burned at the polls among both Non and moderate christians, of course he doesn't have to worry about leftist christians as they were not going to vote in his favor anyways. The Double R's (Rural & Right) are also looking at him leery due to his background as both big bussness, and being the mormon equivilent of an arch-Bishop.
All in all this statement comes as no shock to anyone who knows Pastor Pat or the 700 club, and likely is more bad PR for both romney and the religious right (I wonder if they are mascocists sometimes)

[Teo Torriatte]

Isn't Pat Robertson the guy who blamed 9/11 on homosexuality?

Yeah...

[Oniya]

He's been pushing the WBC threshold for some time now.  I don't think he's gone out with silly rainbow colored signs yet, but I think that's because he has his TV show to stand in for him.  (And that WBC practice just struck me as seriously ironic.)