Many residents of West Monroe, Louisiana are supporting Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson, after his

(23 Dec 2013)
"Faith. Family. Ducks." It's the unofficial motto for the family featured in the TV reality show Duck Dynasty and that homespun philosophy permeates nearly everything in this small north Louisiana town.
It's perhaps most on display at the White's Ferry Road Church of Christ in West Monroe, where the Robertson family prays and preaches most Sunday mornings.
The family _ including patriarch Phil Robertson, who ignited a controversy last week when he told a magazine reporter that gays are sinners and African-Americans were happy under Jim Crow laws _ were in a front pew this past Sunday. And standing by beliefs they say are deeply rooted in their reading of the Bible.
The rest of the flock, decked out in Duck Dynasty hats and bandannas, stood by the family and the sentiments Phil Robertson expressed.
Alan, Robertson's eldest son, helped deliver a Christmas-themed sermon. He started off by referring to last week's controversy.
"Hope your week went well," he dead-panned. "Ours was kinda' slow."
He was referring, of course, to the show's forced hiatus: TV network A&E suspended broadcasts last week after Phil's remarks about blacks and gays caused a public uproar.
But the controversy barely resonated above the organ music at White's Ferry Road Church. Son Willie _ the CEO of the multimillion dollar Duck Commander duck call and decoy enterprise that inspired reality show producers to give the family a show _ put on camouflage wader overalls and baptized three people, including one man with cancer.
"Who's going to be the lord of your life?" he asked, before dipping the man back into the baptismal pool at the front of the church.
To the people of West Monroe, this is the Robertson family: honest, family-focused and filled with the love of God and Jesus. It's the family that brought the spotlight to West Monroe, population 13,000, and in doing so put in sharp relief the cultural, political and religious differences that define _ and often divide _ America.
Folks here don't care that Phil Robertson told a GQ reporter that gays are sinners who are going to hell. Or that as a youth he picked cotton with African-Americans and never saw "the mistreatment of any black person. Not once."
They do care that A&E suspended Phil. The move, they say, was unfair and an affront to viewers, to the Robertsons and to Christians everywhere.
"The program and his comments take a snapshot and it doesn't represent the totality of what the guy is all about," said Richard Laban, the owner of Redneck Roots, a downtown West Monroe store that sells some `Duck Dynasty' T-shirts and souvenirs.
"A&E reacted entirely too quickly," added Laban. "They really treated Phil as if he was a terrorist."
With its lakes and rolling hills and pine forests, West Monroe in northern Louisiana is Duck Country USA, a place where Robertson and his four sons built an empire on duck call devices and decoys before becoming wildly popular TV stars.
Politicians have taken a stand on the controversy _ Sarah Palin posted a picture on her Facebook page of her with the reality show clan with the message, "Free Speech is an endangered species." Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also lamented the suspension.
Even State Rep. Marcus Hunter _ a Democrat and black man who represents West Monroe _ issued a statement saying that "the faith and family structure exhibited by the Robertsons on the hit A&E show is part of the allure which makes it so special."
To be sure, not everyone here agrees with the Robertsons.


Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...