Earlier today Pat Robertson was taken to task for his vile comments in which he claimed that gay people in San Francisco have special rings containing HIV that they use to cut unsuspecting people to intentionally infect them.
Robertson’s “700 Club” staff removed the vile and offensive remarks from the video posted to their site, so it would certainly seem even they realized Robertson’s comments were offensive.
(In fact, here’s a Google search so you can look to see how many have already found them offensive.)
Now, Joe Jervis, publisher of Joe.My.God., is reporting that Robertson’s “700 Club” head publicist emailed him a statement in response to the uproar Robertson’s attack generated.
Here is the statement in full, via Joe.My.God.:
“I was asked by a viewer whether she had a right to leave her church because she had been asked to transport an elderly man who had AIDS and about whose condition she had not been informed. My advice was that the risk of contagion in those circumstances was quite low and that she should continue to attend the church and not worry about the incident.
“In my own experience, our organization sponsored a meeting years ago in San Francisco where trained security officers warned me about shaking hands because, in those days, certain AIDS-infected activists were deliberately trying to infect people like me by virtue of rings which would cut fingers and transfer blood.
“I regret that my remarks had been misunderstood, but this often happens because people do not listen to the context of remarks which are being said. In no wise (sic) were my remarks meant as an indictment of the homosexual community or, for that fact, to those infected with this dreadful disease.”
While Robertson’s response is also offensive, let’s take a quick moment to examine it.
First, yes, Robertson did offer his reader valid advice in that she should not be concerned about a risk of contagion.
But then he claims — now — that “years ago” “trained security officers” told him about this supposed scenario. The New Civil Rights Movement could find no record of this type of attack taking place, and Robertson did not on air state it was “years ago.”
Additionally, Robertson in his original story said “some in the gay community,” but in his response he says “certain AIDS-infected activists,” because, apparently, in his mind they are one in the same, as if only gay people get HIV.
“You know what they do in San Francisco, some in the gay community there they want to get people so if they got the stuff they’ll have a ring, you shake hands, and the ring’s got a little thing where you cut your finger.”
So, while we highly doubt that anyone was ever infected with HIV intentionally in San Francisco by a gay person with a special HIV ring, the fact that this is a third hand story from “years ago” that Robertson is stating is both accurate and factual, and happening in the present, is offensive, vile, wrong, and disingenuous at best.
Of course Robertson’s remarks were meant as an indictment of the “homosexual community” — he outright stated, “some in the gay community” were trying to infect “people like him.”
What did he mean, “people like me,” anyway? White? Straight? Christian? Rich?
The mind reels.
Robertson, your non-apology response is not acceptable.