Biased Against Pat Robertson

The following is the opinion of local editor Adrianne Murchison and not the opinion of Patch and its parent company. 

Yes, I am biased against televangelist Pat Robertson. I think he’s looney. And actually, I wish I didn’t feel this way because deep inside I believe that judging people is non-productive. And how does judging him make me any different?

On Tuesday, July 9, 2013, Cnn.com posted a story on the many societal issues that Robertson objects to and how he wishes that Facebook had a vomit button for certain photos and posts such as gay couples kissing.

This was released on the same day as the thank you video by the Cleveland, Ohio women held captive for 10 years. These women are a concrete example of what the human spirit with the grace of God can conquer.

The nonsense that Robertson spews is a waste of energy.  

I think I come to my objection to Robertson honestly. Actually it’s a double-whammy. 

Back in the ‘80s, I embarked on a nearly 20-year career in the investment industry. One of my early jobs was working as a securities sales assistant to Pat Robertson’s late brother, Tad, at a company then called Johnson Lane Space Smith and Co., at Monarch Plaza, in Buckhead.

Tad was old school and stuck in the past when it came to African Americans. I experienced it first hand and we had many run-ins on race. One day he circulated a petition around the office to get Pat nominated for President of the United States. He asked every one to sign it except for me, yet he wanted me to mail it off. When I inquired about not asking me to sign it, we had one of our many arguments. [I would not have signed it, but that was not the point.] Years later when I lived in New York, he and I nearly walked directly into each other on Madison Avenue. We didn't speak. 

In the late 1980s, my mother lived in Virginia Beach, outside of Norfolk, Va., her hometown. Pat Robertson’s 700 Club and impressive CBN Network is only a few miles from where she lived.

My mom was a devout Catholic that pretty much accepted people with love. If that was a problem for her, at some point she would acknowledge that it had to do with her own issues, and she would eventually overcome them. She visited CBN to inquire about becoming a volunteer but they rejected her after asking if she was “born again.” 

She said yes believing that in a spiritual sense she was constantly “born again.”  They said, no thanks. 

Today, I contrast Pat Robertson's rants and his judgment on what's right and wrong, against Michelle Knight, Gina DeJesus and Amanda Berry’s story.

These ladies’ story bring tears to most eyes. The torture they endured for 10 long years, is incomprehensible. Yet, during those numerous torturous days there was no way of knowing the impact they would have on many lives, and the many hearts they would touch.

These women understand that they matter. Surely there were many days that they thought their lives didn’t matter, because seemingly, no one but their cruel captor, Ariel Castro, knew where they were, and that they were indeed alive.

In my opinion, these women represent hope, love and the grace of any merciful God that people believe in. 

Words such as Roberston’s that suggest walking way from the most vulnerable such as people suffering from Alzheimer’s, or rejecting people because of who their heart leads them to, I find difficult to connect with.