{"id":34501,"date":"2018-01-24T05:00:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-24T09:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=34501"},"modified":"2018-01-23T07:18:23","modified_gmt":"2018-01-23T11:18:23","slug":"pat-robertson-once-joked-that-his-wild-oats-had-outlived-the-statute-of-limitations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2018\/01\/pat-robertson-once-joked-that-his-wild-oats-had-outlived-the-statute-of-limitations.html","title":{"rendered":"Pat Robertson once joked that his wild oats had “outlived the statute of limitations”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

In late 2017, Pat Robertson addressed the escalating allegations\u00a0of sexual assault made\u00a0against wealthy and powerful men. Robertson was concerned. RightWingWatch reported his\u00a0comments as follows<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Robertson began by recounting how a woman who worked for his Christian Broadcasting Network had told him that when she had previously worked in Hollywood, female staff were expected to provide sexual favors for stars and network executives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was standard stuff,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cNow it\u2019s looked on as shocking but, folks, it\u2019s been happening a long time and nobody said anything about it. Now they\u2019re finally wising up, but I just hate to see some of these men\u2019s careers\u2014I mean, guys like Charlie Rose, these are terrific people and I hate to see it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese guys don\u2019t have a trial, either,\u201d he added. \u201cThey don\u2019t have the rules of evidence to force these accusers to come forward with the preponderance of evidence is what you get in a trial. You don\u2019t have that now, so these people\u2019s careers are being ruined and we just hope and pray that these women are telling the truth.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Robertson argues\u00a0that this\u00a0was standard stuff and everyone was doing it, that he hates to see it ruin men\u2019s careers, and that it\u2019s a shame these men don\u2019t get a trial where\u00a0there are specific\u00a0rules of evidence.\u00a0This feels\u00a0a bit like admitting that they did it\u2014because everyone<\/em> was doing it\u2014and that it\u00a0shouldn\u2019t ruin their careers\u2014because everyone<\/em> was doing it\u2014and then turning around and claiming that there\u2019s no evidence that they did it,<\/em> so there.<\/p>\n

It leaves me feeling like I have\u00a0whiplash.<\/p>\n

What about Charlie Rose, whom Robertson mentioned? This past fall,\u00a0eight women accused Charlie Rose<\/a> of harassing them with \u201cnudity, groping, and lewd calls.\u201d But he\u2019s a \u201cterrific\u201d person! Never mind that his apology effectively acknowledged that the allegations against him have merit\u2014Robertson likes him and that\u2019s all that matters.<\/p>\n

What of the lack of trial that Robertson referenced? In many cases allegations aren\u2019t tried in court of law because they can\u2019t be\u2014the statute of limitations has passed. Attempts to reform statute of limitations laws tend to be opposed by conservatives.\u00a0Robertson, I should mention, is aware of the existence of these laws\u2014in 1987, as he\u00a0faced\u00a0allegations of various improprieties, the Chicago Tribune reported on his comments as follows<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Roberston said on Thursday he has admitted on several occasions that he had sown his share of wild oats in his youth, quoting the late Sen. Sam Ervin that \u201cmost of my sins have either been forgiven by the good Lord or have outlived the statute of limitations.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That statement reads like\u00a0an admission that, as a young man, he committed offenses (presumably sexual) that were criminal in nature. His comment\u00a0about the statute of limitations having passed\u2014framed as a joke\u2014is in no way funny. It also rather disqualifies him from complaining about the lack of trail in cases coming to light today.<\/p>\n

Earlier in 2017, Robertson objected to allegations of sexual assault\u00a0levied\u00a0against individuals working at Fox. As RightWingWatch reported then<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Televangelist and Religious Right leader Pat Robertson asserted on his \u201c700 Club\u201d program\u00a0today<\/a>\u00a0that a recent string of sexual harassment allegations involving Fox News personalities are \u201ctotally bogus\u201d and the result of some nefarious conspiracy to destroy the network.<\/p>\n

Robertson was reacting\u00a0to\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Fox News host Eric Bolling has been suspended amid an investigation into allegations that he had sent lewd photos to several female colleagues\u2026<\/p>\n

As Robertson sees it, some unnamed people have probably been sending \u201csalacious material\u201d to women and framing Fox News hosts in order to decimate the network\u2019s primetime\u00a0lineup.<\/p>\n

\u201cEasy to do? Absolutely,\u201d Robertson insisted. \u201cIs it being done? Probably. And the latest attack is against a guy named Eric Bolling, who I think is a straight arrow. He was on this program, he\u2019s a dedicated Catholic, goes to mass every day, a very nice man. They\u2019ve pulled him off the air because somebody sent some pictures ostensibly over his name.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Let\u2019s look at Robertson\u2019s evidence of Bolling\u2019s innocence\u2014he\u2019s a \u201cdedicated\u201d Catholic, he goes to mass, and he seems to Robertson like \u201ca very nice man.\u201d Therefore the allegations must be false. That really is the logic at play here! He does Christian things and seems nice\u2014therefore he cannot possibly have done anything wrong.<\/p>\n

Did Robertson examine the evidence? No. Is Robertson an expert in investigating digital crime (i.e. whether this could have come from someone else)? No. No, he is not. He just happens to like Bolling and concludes that he can\u2019t have done it. That sounds very much like his defense of Charlie Rose\u2014\u201cI mean, guys like Charlie Rose, these are terrific people and I hate to see [their careers being ruined].\u201d It\u2019s the \u201cthey seem like good people to me, so those women must be lying\u201d defense.<\/p>\n

So much for being all concerned about evidence.<\/p>\n

I realize that\u00a0Robertson is old, and that dissecting his comments may seem like picking on him. I get it. The trouble is\u00a0that the Pat\u00a0Robertsons writ large are currently in control of\u00a0our government, and that makes the\u00a0things he says\u00a0a little harder to just brush off.<\/p>\n

I have a <\/b>Patreon<\/b><\/a>! Please support my writing!<\/b><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Robertson’s statement reads like an admission that, as a young man, he committed offenses (presumably sexual) that were criminal in nature. His comment about the statute of limitations having passed—framed as a joke—is in no way funny. It also rather disqualifies him from complaining about the lack of trail in cases coming to light today.<\/p>\n

Click through to read more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":34867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40,25,11,1],"tags":[695,402],"class_list":["post-34501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-evangelicalism-fundamentalism","category-christian-patriarchy","category-politics","category-uncategorized","tag-pat-robertson","tag-sexual-assault"],"yoast_head":"\nPat Robertson once joked that his wild oats had "outlived the statute of limitations"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"His comment--framed as a joke--is in no way funny. 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