Break a leg

Phil Robertson has done it again.

Phil is the patriarch of the "Duck Dynasty" Robertsons. He founded a business making and selling duck calls, expanded it to include deer calls and other outdoor supplies, made millions of dollars, and now expounds on his beliefs on religion and family on the popular TV show centered around his family. He has raised the ire of many by his frank comments, most recently by what he is alleged to have said to his granddaughter's boyfriend.

Sadie Robertson is the adorable 17-year-old daughter of Phil's son Willie, the CEO of Duck Commander/Buck Commander, the business Phil started. Sadie has recently gotten a lot more attention by the conservative clothing she wears while competing on, "Dancing with the Stars," and for what she revealed about her Papaw Phil.

Sadie was being interviewed for the Boston Herald and was asked about trying to live up to the Robertsons' family values.

She commented, "Every time you bring a boyfriend over, Papaw Phil says, 'Hey, nice to meet you.' Then he says, 'Keep it in your pants, brother.' It's so awkward."

I can only imagine how embarrassing that would be for a teenage girl to hear her grandfather say that to a prospective suitor. But it was what Phil said to Sadie's current boyfriend that has angered some.

Sadie explained in the interview what Phil said to Blake Coward, who is 18. "My boyfriend lives in Alabama, so Papaw Phil has only met him a couple of times. The first time, the only thing he said to Blake all day was, 'You hurt her, I'll hurt you. I'm watching you like a hawk, and I'll break your legs if you do anything to her.'"

Blake's wise response was, "Yes, sir, all right!"

Many of my media brothers and sisters and their readers were horrified! This grandfather was threatening violence against a teenage boy! I've read comments about how Phil should be brought up on charges, arrested, jailed, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

In this day of absentee fathers who produce babies then have nothing to do with their rearing, Phil Robertson is being vilified for expressing his love and concern for his granddaughter!

I know many people out there don't like (read: hate) Phil for expressing his love for God and his family. My gosh, he had the nerve to tell the producers of his popular television show that they could cancel the show before he and his family would quit praying on every episode! When he was suspended from the show for expressing his views on homosexuality, his family refused to go on with the show without him. That got a LOT of press.

What didn't get as much press was that Phil said he and his God love homosexuals. Phil has also been vocal in admitting the mistakes he has made in his own past: drugs and alcohol and womanizing, but many in the media spun that to emphasize that he had done some of the things he now disapproves of, rather than pointing out that he wanted to show others that people can change.

Now, I don't agree with everything that Phil Robertson says and I don't particularly like "Duck Dynasty", although I do think it is head and shoulders above some of the other popular shows on television right now, at least as far as showing that families don't have to constantly fight, curse, and worse.

I've been threatened by girls' fathers before and I'll bet that Blake only took Phil about half seriously, about as seriously as Phil meant what he said.

I have four beautiful granddaughters. They are still several years from dating age. When they do start to date and if I ever get to meet their prospective boyfriends, will I threaten to break their legs if they hurt my grandbabies? Heck no! That's not my style.

However, the expressions, "bloody and beaten" and "skin you alive" do come to mind. Or maybe I'll just sit there, quietly cleaning my shotgun, then fix the boy with a hard look and say, "You remind me of a guy I knew in prison. That was a fight I'll never forget."

You go Phil!