NFL Kicker Harrison Butker’s unhinged commencement speech

[Anonymous]

I love Sally Jenkins. Perfect response.

https://wapo.st/3QP6pOP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good grief, OP.

His address is hardly unhinged. He is speaking to graduates of a Catholic College as a Catholic himself.
I understand you don't agree with his beliefs... and there are some things he said that I don't fully agree with, but he is speaking based on his religious beliefs. And, he didn't call the people who use IDF and contraception "disordered."
He said that these things along with abortion, euthanasia, gender ideology stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.
Big difference.

I doubt you listened to his entire address because had you listened - you would hear that he has some hard words for his religion and some of the leaders of the Catholic Church.

DP it’s pretty unhinged when you tell a group of accomplished young women who have just finished their degrees that never mind all that your only real accomplishment in life is being a wife and mother and homemaker. Yuck.

He was speaking at Benedictine College in Kansas. It is one of a handful of conservative Catholic colleges in the country. The kind of people and families that end up Benedictine question whether Notre Dame is actually Catholic or not. His message would be enthusiastically welcomed by an overwhelmingly majority of the people who were in attendance.

Dp- and those people are trying to usurp power, and undermine democracy. No biggie!

Can you recite the Hallmarks of Benedictine Education or discuss the Rule of St. Benedict? You are taking the remarks of one football player and using it to make generalizations for a huge number of people (who find his remarks offensive, by the way). Why do we do this? Why did you choose to post this statement about "people and families that end up Benedictine" without thinking about the harm done by your incorrect generalization?

Before anyone generalizes and denounces an entire group of people, we should do some research. This is a great time to learn something. This football player may have said these terrible things at a Benedictine college, but as the Benedictine sisters quoted early have said, his words and divisiveness are antithetical to Benedictine values. Benedictines are more liberal in their values than the Jesuits. It is a beautiful and incredibly peaceful Order. Obviously Catholic, so on the issues many disagree with (sex and abortion), they will hold Catholic values; but they also live values like this:

Hospitality: "Christ presents himself in the outsider’s vulnerability and calls the monastic to put aside individual plans and pre-occupations in order to let the unexpected person in, to help her get established, to respond to his most pressing needs. ... Within Benedictine educational institutions, we strive to extend hospitality to each member of the educational community, especially to those new to the community and/or coming from other traditions. More broadly, we seek to cultivate curricular and co-curricular ways to recognize the needs and call forth the talents and gifts of persons of differing capacities and dispositions, of diverse races, cultures and backgrounds. The educational community that can result breaks down any residual sense of insiders versus outsiders and manifests an openness to being transformed by engaging deeply with the other – be it an idea, a person or an experience."

Love: "Benedictine colleges and universities seek, above all, to be grounded in love and animated by it. The “love of learning and desire for God,” so celebrated as part of Benedictine culture, make demands on all and are expansive enough to engage the deepest purpose of persons from all backgrounds who desire to teach and to study, to serve and to lead. We call all to pursue a rigorous and disciplined search for truth and to support one another when that quest becomes difficult. We recognize how easy it is for all to hold on to habits of mind and behavior that diminish one’s own potential or impede the development of others. Yet we possess a confidence borne of long experience in the capacity of all persons to grow and develop, to cultivate habits of mind and behavior that are life-giving and contribute to the good of all."

Humility: "They recognize their limitations without losing hope and accept their gifts without becoming arrogant because the measure of their lives is not found in themselves alone. There is always room for additional personal growth, for giving one’s self for the good of others. ... By ourselves alone, none of us can learn what we most need to know or bring to completion what most needs to be done. We strive to engage the insights and expertise of a wide variety of persons in our educational mission so that each of us can discover what we are good at doing and what we need others’ help to achieve. We seek to cultivate the multi-faceted exploration of truth in academic disciplines, confident that in a rigorous and wide-ranging pursuit of academic excellence, all participants are freed to discern and cultivate the gifts they possess and thereby contribute to the well-being of all."

Stewardship: "In Benedictine educational institutions we seek to foster awareness that we are part of a larger ecology and that the environment – human as well as non-human – has been given by God for the sake of all. We encourage the creative and sustainable use of resources and their just distribution for the good of all. We seek to sharpen awareness of noteworthy contributions – past and present – to the well-being of society and the earth itself, trying to keep strong the memory and practice of human creativity and generosity. "

There are more, if you care to learn about them before you disparage the Order and the 1600 years worth of people educated by them.

https://www.anselm.edu/campus-life/spiritual-life/benedictine-traditions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He was speaking to a certain audience. Why do others, not part of that audience, care? There can be many different viewpoints.

Because he is a barometer of sorts. You know we’re all not a bunch of mindless heathens, right? We do read things like Reuters and The Economist and learn about trends. There is a big resurgence of strict Christianity or Christian nationalism in response to the rapid social change that’s taking place.

So people not part of that audience care because it helps us gauge what you all are thinking. What else are you going to decry and try to restrict? What other rights are we potentially going to lose because of your religious ideology and influence. Do you understand that? We want to know what we might be facing. And that bearded dipsht is a thermometer.

Have you seen the recently released documentary God & Country? Highly recommend it - the agenda is real and we must resist at all cost, or our children and grandchildren will live under religious oppression.

It's not religion that is seeking to control you.

+1 Why can't people recognize when religion is being weaponized by politicians for political power? They want you to attack the religion instead of the person hiding behind it who uses the distraction to take over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see anything wrong with a catholic person discussing catholic ideas at a catholic university.

Also, his message was, careers are not as fulfilling as family, so think of yourself first as a provider and caretaker and second about ambition. And he said, and I agree, that being a homemaker is s noble pursuit. These are good values.

He didn’t say it like that and you know it. Is he going to tell his teammates that their football careers are not S fulfilling as family so think of themselves first as providers and caretakers and second about ambition, and to consider being a homemaker since it is a noble pursuit? No he directed those thoughts at women. If it’s good enough for women it should be good enough for men.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read the speech. I agree with almost nothing in it, but it was a conservative speech at a conservative school, and the man is an athlete and not a politician so not sure why it’s such an uproar or important at all. Celebrities really are never role models beyond their professional achievements. I thought the Latin mass bit was interesting.

Again, he said similar things to the graduating class at Georgia Tech last year.
https://people.com/harrison-butker-made-controversial-comments-2023-graduation-speech-georgia-institute-technology-8649591

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get some people are all about the woman staying demure and a man leading the family. Some women enjoy being housewife and that is good for them. No prob with any of this kind of thinking.

BUT what he said totally demeans women. He said his wife’s life did not start or meant nothing until she started being a wife and mother. As a woman I take great offense with this statement. I take great offense at the way he expressed what he feels women should be. It’s one thing to suggest someone can live one way, it’s another to suggest there is only one way to live that’s right.

I think he is such a blatantly offensive man whose mom has to be losing her mind!!

WTf? In 20 min he managed to offend most people. It’s not about his views, it’s about how he expressed them.

You are putting words in his mouth. He never said his wife's life "meant nothing." He said that SHE would be the first to tell you that her life truly started when she started "living her vocation as a wife and mother." For most women who have children - this is true, whether they admit it or not.
I remember the old adage that nobody on their death bed wishes they had spent more time at the office. The important thing is relationships - family and friends. Raising children IS the most important job in the world.
I worked outside the home when my children were young. I won many awards. But, today - those awards mean nothing. What is important is that my children are grown, productive people in the world who have strong relationships with THEIR spouses and are raising happy, well adjusted children. This doesn't happen by accident. It is a result of having parents who spend time with them when they are young and serve as good role models.
And, he never demeaned women who choose to work outside the home. Instead, he relishes the idea that his wife love and is good at the role of homemaker. And, that she makes him a better father and husband by keeping him focused on what is important - family.

Are you saying the same thing about men, that they first start to live when they become husbands and fathers? Why isn’t homemaking their greatest goal? Surely it should be something men can and should aspire to.

And what do you say to those who choose the celibate religious life? Are they not living?

+1
Notice he's specifically only addressing the women here. Why not both the men and the women?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Sally Jenkins. Perfect response.

https://wapo.st/3QP6pOP

This is outstanding.
“Actually, here is a more appropriate use of “diabolical”: It describes the thousand-year persistence of teaching that young women are such dumb defenseless prey they cannot discern lies on their own and need a man with medieval monastic face hair to guide their morality and define their happiness. Even if he’s just an NFL kicker.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I get some people are all about the woman staying demure and a man leading the family. Some women enjoy being housewife and that is good for them. No prob with any of this kind of thinking.

BUT what he said totally demeans women. He said his wife’s life did not start or meant nothing until she started being a wife and mother. As a woman I take great offense with this statement. I take great offense at the way he expressed what he feels women should be. It’s one thing to suggest someone can live one way, it’s another to suggest there is only one way to live that’s right.

I think he is such a blatantly offensive man whose mom has to be losing her mind!!

WTf? In 20 min he managed to offend most people. It’s not about his views, it’s about how he expressed them.

You are putting words in his mouth. He never said his wife's life "meant nothing." He said that SHE would be the first to tell you that her life truly started when she started "living her vocation as a wife and mother." For most women who have children - this is true, whether they admit it or not.
I remember the old adage that nobody on their death bed wishes they had spent more time at the office. The important thing is relationships - family and friends. Raising children IS the most important job in the world.
I worked outside the home when my children were young. I won many awards. But, today - those awards mean nothing. What is important is that my children are grown, productive people in the world who have strong relationships with THEIR spouses and are raising happy, well adjusted children. This doesn't happen by accident. It is a result of having parents who spend time with them when they are young and serve as good role models.
And, he never demeaned women who choose to work outside the home. Instead, he relishes the idea that his wife love and is good at the role of homemaker. And, that she makes him a better father and husband by keeping him focused on what is important - family.

Are you saying the same thing about men, that they first start to live when they become husbands and fathers? Why isn’t homemaking their greatest goal? Surely it should be something men can and should aspire to.

And what do you say to those who choose the celibate religious life? Are they not living?

+1
Notice he's specifically only addressing the women here. Why not both the men and the women?

+2 Furthermore, I have this feeling that he would tell me that my life began at conception, not when I started being a wife and mother.

[Anonymous]

Why is anyone taking life advice or religious interpretation from an athlete? Why does any college think an athlete is the type of person that deserves to give a commencement address?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Sally Jenkins. Perfect response.

https://wapo.st/3QP6pOP

Omg. So perfect.

“When you “butker” something, it means to botch an intellectual argument with clumsy hyperbole to the point of obnoxiousness. To get “butkered” means to be preached to by a dude with a zealot’s beard that looks like it was combed with a harrow.”

I’m dying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is anyone taking life advice or religious interpretation from an athlete? Why does any college think an athlete is the type of person that deserves to give a commencement address?

I suspect someone heard what he said to the Georgia Tech grads a year ago (he’s an alum there which somewhat explains why he was chosen) and liked what he had to say.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is anyone taking life advice or religious interpretation from an athlete? Why does any college think an athlete is the type of person that deserves to give a commencement address?

I suspect someone heard what he said to the Georgia Tech grads a year ago (he’s an alum there which somewhat explains why he was chosen) and liked what he had to say.

I suspect they invited him to get in the news.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It blows my mind that he doesn't realize how many of the fans in the stands are there because of working women. There are working women payimg for their own tickets. Many, probably the majority of the families who pay for NFL tickets would not be able to afford them without the help of a working woman. Working women are paying for NFL apparel and taking their kids to NFL promoted activities and signings and parades.

The NFL could not operate as successfully as it does if the majority of female Catholic school graduates stayed home without contributing to NFL sales.

I feel like people are reading into the speech. His mom is a doctor! He knows many women obviously work...

yes, and he's telling the women that their "vocation" really starts when they become a wife and mother. So, you're a doctor or a supreme court judge or a CEO at a F500... bfd. Your vocation really starts when you get married and have kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It blows my mind that he doesn't realize how many of the fans in the stands are there because of working women. There are working women payimg for their own tickets. Many, probably the majority of the families who pay for NFL tickets would not be able to afford them without the help of a working woman. Working women are paying for NFL apparel and taking their kids to NFL promoted activities and signings and parades.

The NFL could not operate as successfully as it does if the majority of female Catholic school graduates stayed home without contributing to NFL sales.

I feel like people are reading into the speech. His mom is a doctor! He knows many women obviously work...

Listen to his words. He is criticizing his mother. Maybe he isn't smart enough to appreciate that.

mommy issues

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't see anything wrong with a catholic person discussing catholic ideas at a catholic university.

Also, his message was, careers are not as fulfilling as family, so think of yourself first as a provider and caretaker and second about ambition. And he said, and I agree, that being a homemaker is s noble pursuit. These are good values.

Why didn't he tell the men to be homemakers, that these are good values?

And he and you are tone deaf to be saying this to the female graduates who just spent 4+ years working to get that degree. Or do all catholic women just go to college to get a MRS degree?

Also, the Benedictine nuns disagree with him and you. What he said doesn't reflect their values. He's speaking about his own values, which is mired in misogyny.

Do you think his wife would consider her "vocation starting when she became a wife and mother" if he didn't make good money?