Pat Robertson: “Awful-looking� women are ruining marriages

[doggie]

Like we don't know he is a enemanozzle of the stinkiest kind. So no good looking woman ever get divorced?? does the idiot ever involve any logic in is spewing rants?

http://www.salon.com/2013/01/11/pat_rob ... marriages/

It always seems to be the woman’s fault. No really — check this one out.

So, a 17-year-old boy writes in to Maxim magazine complaining that his father never pays any attention to his mother.

“I’m 17 years old and I’ve noticed that there has been a change in my father’s behavior,†he wrote. “He spends too much time at the computer playing a war game. I’ve noticed how alone my mom feels. I just want my father to spend more time with my mom. What should I do? How can I talk to my father? I feel shame for him. Please help.â€

Luckily for this perceptive 17 year old, Christian conservative Pat Robertson [D] is on the case — and his answer is, well, exactly what you’d expect from this radical Christian televangelist.

He starts off with the suggestion that the boy try to get his parents out of the house on some type of romantic weekend getaway.

“The romance is obviously going out of the marriage,†he said.

But then — BAM! Robertson draws the woman-hating card, throws it on the flower-decorated glass table in the 700 Club’s studio and suddenly it’s the mother’s fault.

“You know, it may be your mom isn’t as sweet as you think she is; she may be kind of hard-nosed. And so, you say, it’s my father, he’s not paying attention to mom, but you know mom …†he trails off and offers a spiteful little chuckle.

All great advice for a 17-year-old boy growing up in the United States’ enduringly patriarchal society. But wait — there’s more: Now it’s not only mom’s fault for being “hard-nosed,†it’s also her fault for being God-forsakenly ugly.

He launches into another story: “A woman came to a preacher I know — it’s so funny. She was awful looking. Her hair was all torn up, she was overweight and looked terrible …â€

So far, this story sounds hilarious Pat, Please continue.

“And she said, ‘Oh, Reverend, what can I do? My husband has started to drink.’â€

The hateful punchline is coming. I can feel it. I’m on the edge of my seat.

“And the preacher looked at her and he said, ‘Madam, if I were married to you, I’d start to drink too.’â€

Yes! Of course! Because the woman is so ugly — not to mention hard-nosed, we can’t forget that problem — the man has turned to drinking, or playing computer games all day, or doing any number of marriage-killing activities that are not really his fault because, God, how could he help himself? I mean, seriously, with a woman like this, who needs enemies?

Can I get an amen and a Hallelujah?

So, obviously this is a classic example of Pat Robertson saying something that sounds absurdly misogynistic when it’s on television but is something that millions of men across the nation secretly think every day. Those women, with their nagging and ragged hair, are ruining marriages.

In fact, you don’t need to always turn to fringe male misogynists like Robertson to find examples of these women-blaming credos. As Alternet’s Lynn Parramore recently wrote, “The Huffington Post ran a front-page piece just this week with a headline that would make any old-school patriarch proud: “Women: Five Reasons Your Divorce Is Your Fault.â€

But if you look at the data (instead of the Bible or silly self-help books), socio-economic factors, sexual violence and lack of access to education are the main reasons for divorce — not a bad haircut.

As Parramore writes:

Finger-wagging at women usually comes along with the oft-cited statistic that women file for divorce twice as often as men. What we hear less often is straight talk about the social and economic factors that drive the engine of divorce. The fact is that college-educated people are more likely to stay together, and there’s a higher risk of divorce for people with lower incomes and less education. When people are struggling to pay the rent and keep a roof over their heads, the marriage problem isn’t likely to be some kind of deficiency in managing intimacy. Given the fact that divorce is expensive and often leaves women financially insecure, the stressors would have to be pretty severe to lead women of few resources to divorce.

Back to Robertson, one of his few data points to back up his insane claims is that his advice “comes with 58 years of marriage, so I know what I’m talking about.â€

Then again, considering that he gets paid heftily to espouse this women-hating b*llsh*t, at least we know that economic stress hasn’t been a problem in his relationship.

[Closed Womb]

:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

[Dark Matters]

I can't believe CBN still allows this guy on the air with all his loony pronouncements. Not exactly a great advert for Christianity IMO.

[Bloo]

I could prove this all wrong with two pictures: one of my mother (a lovely woman- I sincerely hope I can look that good in my forties, much less almost sixty as she is!) and one of my dad's current mistress (a wrinkled hag who looks 15+ years older than her real age).

[lovefromgirl]

Oh, lawd, yes. My mother is stunning at sixty and the woman I have nicknamed Nitwit, at thirty, could pose for Faces of Meth. The After shots. Dire, I'm telling you. So it ain't looks. Best guess from everything I've been told? My mother started caring whether sweet fellowship was any good for her, or even not-painful.

[ILoveJellybeans]

If you are shallow enough to love someone only on looks, you should probably not get married.

Looks change, if you love someone enough to marry them, surely youre thinking "We are going to grow old together" instead of "I will divorce her if she gets fat or starts to age"

Also beauty is relative, nomatter what you look like, there is someone who is going to find you attractive.

[doggie]

We don't need any arguments about how it is not true. I mean this shows an extreme lack of though about the subject. Hell it even goes against christian beliefs. the only reason and thing that holds marriage together is looks is so stupid and so poorly thought out I think the old fuck is slipping into dementia

It shows he does not think out anything he says.

[Jinger_Cat]

Please don't hit me.

As abhorrent as Pat Robertson and this whole argument is, I can sort of see the point.

Don't we constantly criticize fundie wives, like Zsu and Ma Kellar, for looking old and frumpy?

I'm not saying that attractiveness is the most important quality, or that it is ever a good reason for a marriage breaking up. But I can see how a woman ignoring her appearance and ignoring basic maintenance (hairstyle, skin, etc.) could put a strain on the relationship.

[slickcat79]

Please don't hit me.

As abhorrent as Pat Robertson and this whole argument is, I can sort of see the point.

Don't we constantly criticize fundie wives, like Zsu and Ma Kellar, for looking old and frumpy?

I'm not saying that attractiveness is the most important quality, or that it is ever a good reason for a marriage breaking up. But I can see how a woman ignoring her appearance and ignoring basic maintenance (hairstyle, skin, etc.) could put a strain on the relationship.

Um, why? :? And why would it not apply equally to a man, if all you look for in a relationship is outward appearance?

Also, there is no "we" when it comes to snarking on the appearance of fundie wives. Some people make it a point to not snark on appearance, full stop. Others call people out for snarking on appearance. Even those who do find appearance fair game have never suggested that fundie wives need to look better just to please their husbands. In fact, most of the time the fact that a fundie wife may look older and more haggard than she once did is entirely the fault of a husband who keeps her barefoot and pregnant, raising his overstuffed "quiver" without any help. And of a patriarchal society like the one Pat Robertson represents, which tells her she should be able to do that without allowing the strain to show because that is A Woman's Place.

[PennySycamore]

Please don't hit me.

As abhorrent as Pat Robertson and this whole argument is, I can sort of see the point.

Don't we constantly criticize fundie wives, like Zsu and Ma Kellar, for looking old and frumpy?

I'm not saying that attractiveness is the most important quality, or that it is ever a good reason for a marriage breaking up. But I can see how a woman ignoring her appearance and ignoring basic maintenance (hairstyle, skin, etc.) could put a strain on the relationship.

What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. I can't see that asshat excusing a woman's lack of enthusiasm by saying that a man should take care of his looks and that it's his fault if she is not interested. He's already said that a man may cheat on his wife if she has Alzheimer's

[NotALoserLikeYou]

That story about the overweight wife with the drunk husband is viciously cruel!! I do think that people should take care of themselves, but when my husband left me, I would have been pretty devastated if someone had said "Well I would have left you too!" because of my appearance! :(

[Bloo]

Pat's no prize himself.

Was there any proof that Mom was neglecting her looks anyway?

[JesusFightClub]

Um, why? :? And why would it not apply equally to a man, if all you look for in a relationship is outward appearance?

Also, there is no "we" when it comes to snarking on the appearance of fundie wives. Some people make it a point to not snark on appearance, full stop. Others call people out for snarking on appearance. Even those who do find appearance fair game have never suggested that fundie wives need to look better just to please their husbands. In fact, most of the time the fact that a fundie wife may look older and more haggard than she once did is entirely the fault of a husband who keeps her barefoot and pregnant, raising his overstuffed "quiver" without any help. And of a patriarchal society like the one Pat Robertson represents, which tells her she should be able to do that without allowing the strain to show because that is A Woman's Place.

YES THIS

People say here, normally, "she's showing the strain" not "She needs to keep herself looking nice for her husband, and she's not because she's an ebil fundie."

[SomewhatFundy]

I am a pretty homely-looking woman. Somehow, my husband has resisted the urge to become an alcoholic due to my unfortunate appearance. :roll:

Pat Robertson seems to becoming continually more obnoxious as time goes on. Even my remaining fundie friends are getting annoyed with him (especially when he said that Dementia was a green light for divorce. That royally pissed them off.)

[Sola]

Because Pat Robertson is so damn sexy... oh wait...

Why do people listen to him? He's like a poe, only he's serious.

[ADoyle90815]

I am a pretty homely-looking woman. Somehow, my husband has resisted the urge to become an alcoholic due to my unfortunate appearance. :roll:

Pat Robertson seems to becoming continually more obnoxious as time goes on. Even my remaining fundie friends are getting annoyed with him (especially when he said that Dementia was a green light for divorce. That royally pissed them off.)

I'm also wondering if he might be showing signs of dementia since he doesn't even think about how his comments might affect people, including Christians. As for snarking on appearance, I've never seen a post here saying that a husband should divorce his wife because of her looks, or that the wife should make more of an effort. After all, some of those husbands would be extremely upset if the wife cut her hair even slightly. After all, when Michelle got a slight haircut, Boob said he hated the shorter hairstyle.

[Artemis]

Oh dear. Twenty five years of being plug-ugly and married.

OH NOEZ Artemis, you're doing it wrong . . .

Quick, someone find my husband a good divorce lawyer.

[cindyluvs24]

I doubt you are "plug-ugly."

[Wolfie]

why was Pat Robertson reading Maxim?

[Dysfundamental]

Pat's no prize himself.

Was there any proof that Mom was neglecting her looks anyway?

No, Pat just assumed that that must be the case because there's no way it could be the husband's fault. He makes no sense, ever.

[gilora]

I'm fat and managed to enjoy some sweet fellowship with Mr. Gilora today. He must be defective if he's willing to put up with a pig like me.

[doggie]

No, Pat just assumed that that must be the case because there's no way it could be the husband's fault. He makes no sense, ever.

the only proof we have is he a senile old man.

[lilith]

That's really sweet of the son to notice, if the letter is genuine.

And the people who comment on how rundown some fundie wives are looking aren't suggesting that they should improve their looks to save their marriage. More like they should leave their patriarchal headships,sue for child support, send the kids to their father every other weekend, enjoy that me time, and they probably wouldn't look or feel so run down anymore.

[CynicMom]

I once saw a fundie friend reading a book on the importance of wifely submission. My immediate response was "if I was married to your husband I'd have a hard time keeping my mouth shut too". He was a jerk. His appearance was pretty nice though. I'd be fine with that sort of joke if it was based on character qualities, not physical qualities.

[Kitty]

Well, now I know what that nasty little voice in my head sounds like now. The one that tells me that I am not lovable at all because my hair isn't always tame able, I have obvious acne scars, rosacea, pale skin, and a big nose, I don't wear any "cute" clothes... That voice sounds like Pat Robertson. Because no guy I have ever dated has ever said anything like that to me.