NFL Kicker Harrison Butker’s unhinged commencement speech

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the ones who remain uncritical and accepting of this AHole's speech..

This guy said a lot of things and maybe you agree with most of it and don't believe it was offensive. However, what he DID SAY EXACTLY was that:

Women have their place in the world and that is as a homemaker. Someone who should NOT have a career/NOT make a career an option and only aspire to be a mother and wife.

For this alone, it's offensive. There were women in this school who intend to use their degrees they just received to build a career. How do you actually defend his speech in the context of this? That it's a conservative Christian school is irrelevant because his speech was not just about Christianity but specifically demeaning all female students in the audience - he's suggesting they not only wasted their time but are garbage for even considering having a career.

I mean, it's not about his entire speech that matters. No matter how you slice it and dice it about whether what he said was on pointe about Christianity, his words about women are an indisputable insult to the female audience and that in itself is outrageous. That those who defend him don't even see this or care about this is what is wrong with our society.

That is NOT exactly what he said.

Here is what he said, emphasis added:

“ How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, [/b]but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

***
“ I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that [b]her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

See bolded PP. ABSOLUTELY the creep is saying that 1. Women have no life UNTIL they become a wife and mother and 2. Women are to be most excited about being a wife and mom. "The majority of you" makes it worse - and grammatically assumes in context that everyone there (should/does) feel this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the ones who remain uncritical and accepting of this AHole's speech..

This guy said a lot of things and maybe you agree with most of it and don't believe it was offensive. However, what he DID SAY EXACTLY was that:

Women have their place in the world and that is as a homemaker. Someone who should NOT have a career/NOT make a career an option and only aspire to be a mother and wife.

For this alone, it's offensive. There were women in this school who intend to use their degrees they just received to build a career. How do you actually defend his speech in the context of this? That it's a conservative Christian school is irrelevant because his speech was not just about Christianity but specifically demeaning all female students in the audience - he's suggesting they not only wasted their time but are garbage for even considering having a career.

I mean, it's not about his entire speech that matters. No matter how you slice it and dice it about whether what he said was on pointe about Christianity, his words about women are an indisputable insult to the female audience and that in itself is outrageous. That those who defend him don't even see this or care about this is what is wrong with our society.

That is NOT exactly what he said.

Here is what he said, emphasis added:

“ How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, [/b]but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

***
“ I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say[b] that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

As a woman who was once 21 and as the mother of a 21 y.o. female college student, I can guarantee you that the last thing the vast majority of college-educated women that age are thinking about is marriage and children. Who is he to speak for the "majority" of women?

When he said the "majority of you" he was specifically reference the female graduates of a conservative Catholic college, not all female college graduates across the U.S. In this case, the "guess" he is venturing could well be correct.

[Anonymous]

They still graduated from college!!! These women just received their degree. In what reality are you going to spend the money and do the work to get a degree if you don't intend to use that degree and get a job and build a career?!

"The majority of you" assumes all women in that audience are wrong to want the above. Instead, they should instead desire to be wives and moms as his own wife's life "truly started" when that happened to her.

How is this not twisted, insulting, wrong on so many levels and gross?

What he could have said was something like this -

In your lives, it'll be difficult times/moments in your all your lives to balance professional goals and desires with the responsibilities of having a family. Women especially may find it even more difficult than men.

He can definitely remind the audience that between work and family, family deserves a lot of focus. He can even go so far as to say for women, the responsibilities of motherhood may sometimes be a heavy weight to consider when developing professional goals but that's NOT what he said.

He said to every woman in that audience - you all suck and are idiots for wanting to do anything more in life other than being a wife and mother. 10000% that is what he said.

[Anonymous]

As a working mother, I definitely feel that there are years in my career, I sacrificed being the best mom I could. I did my best and for reasons including personal and financial, I really did choose my career. There's definitely regret and guilt and I wish sometimes in hindsight, I could have considered the sacrifices that were almost impossible to choose on both fronts. I think that is something very real, very worthy of conversation, regardless of Christian values, of being on the Left or Right politically. It's a real problem in our society to balance as a woman, the responsibilities we have. Much more than for a man for sure.

However, I disagree with anybody who suggests that being a mom and wife are the only 2 aspirations for a woman to have. I think there are many ways of suggesting and reminding the women in that audience of the value of motherhood and the importance of being a strong partner and wife. But I found what he actually said to be offensive even though in spirit, I agree with the fact that choosing your family is ultimately the ideal choice between career/family. It's just that it's not that simple and it's not the same for everyone if they don't want to ever have a husband/children. Nobody has the right to take free will away from someone else.
Moreover, no man should ever have the right to tell a woman how to live their life as a woman.

[Anonymous]

It’s so weird as a spiritual, but not religious, person having to watch the organized religions who the hold the most political and social power try to imbue their values on the rest of us who don’t hold them.

Like clearly this speech is pushing traditional values where women raise kids and stay home.

To suggest otherwise is to insult our intelligence.

I believe in a merciful God, but I don’t hold any of these odd rigid social beliefs found in things like Catholicism essentially mandating women stick to a “vocation”.

It’s fked up yall hold so much sway over the rest of us just trying to exist in America.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you were offered fed by his speech that’s fine it wasn’t intended for you.

The reaction he got from his intended audience was overwhelmingly positive.

He’s a Christian, who gave a speech full of Christian values to a Christian college with Christian students. Both women and men were in the crowd and he got a standing ovation. If you’re offended it’s because you’re were the intended audience or you’re. It ready to come to terms with what he was saying is truth. He wasn’t saying that a women’s only purpose was to be in the kitchen as you might have seen in the 60 second edited clip of his full 20-30 min speech. He addressed men as well and said how important their role was as well. He spoke truth to the fact that most people will find more value in their family life than anything else because the people you love and care about are more important than any degree.

The only ones mad or pressed about this is the man-hating women who seem to be in abundance here and on social media, and the sycophantic men who are trying to preach feminism in order to try to get dates. Most everyone else who works, strives to be better and have a family see what he said as a basic truth and something they agree with in terms of values.

Those who disagree can have their viewpoint but it doesn’t matter, he wasn’t speaking to you or about you so you can go on knowing that. It doesn’t matter how many “I will chose the bear over the man” memes you post in your social media, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re not the one he or any of the people who likes his speech would be looking at for a relationship anyways

I am a Catholic and he was speaking to Catholic women and he spoke against the Catholic Church and Catholic teachings so yes, it is my place and my lane to point out where he is wrong and blasphemous.

These crazy nut jobs are always trying to Bogart the Catholic Church because it has so much money and power. Good Catholic women and men will not allow that.

Please give exact quotes for his blasphemy.

Unlike most on this thread, I read the entire speech, found here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/05/15/heres-harrison-butkers-controversial-commencement-speech-in-full/?sh=371843c17937

His views are not mainstream U.S. Catholic views, and they are not mine. But they are neither heretical or blasphemous, and he is entitled to them.

I posted above what I thought was the most questionable thing he said: "...when you embrace tradition, success, worldly and spiritual will follow."

I posted above and the line I found most questionable was this:

Well for one, he supports the “blood libel” defamation of the Jews, which the Church has clearly distanced itself from.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the ones who remain uncritical and accepting of this AHole's speech..

This guy said a lot of things and maybe you agree with most of it and don't believe it was offensive. However, what he DID SAY EXACTLY was that:

Women have their place in the world and that is as a homemaker. Someone who should NOT have a career/NOT make a career an option and only aspire to be a mother and wife.

For this alone, it's offensive. There were women in this school who intend to use their degrees they just received to build a career. How do you actually defend his speech in the context of this? That it's a conservative Christian school is irrelevant because his speech was not just about Christianity but specifically demeaning all female students in the audience - he's suggesting they not only wasted their time but are garbage for even considering having a career.

I mean, it's not about his entire speech that matters. No matter how you slice it and dice it about whether what he said was on pointe about Christianity, his words about women are an indisputable insult to the female audience and that in itself is outrageous. That those who defend him don't even see this or care about this is what is wrong with our society.

That is NOT exactly what he said.

Here is what he said, emphasis added:

“ How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, [/b]but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

***
“ I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say[b] that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

As a woman who was once 21 and as the mother of a 21 y.o. female college student, I can guarantee you that the last thing the vast majority of college-educated women that age are thinking about is marriage and children. Who is he to speak for the "majority" of women?

When he said the "majority of you" he was specifically reference the female graduates of a conservative Catholic college, not all female college graduates across the U.S. In this case, the "guess" he is venturing could well be correct.

He made similar comments last year at a non-religious institution when he told the audience at his GA Tech commencement address in 2023 to "get married and start a family." While the comment wasn't directed at female students alone, it's still not something that 21 y.o. students who have just graduated need or want to hear. Who is he to give marriage or life advice to anyone? Not to mention the tone deafness of his being a millionaire who can afford to have multiple children and a stay-at-home wife while exhorting everyone else to do the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM6PD5ydXec

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the ones who remain uncritical and accepting of this AHole's speech..

This guy said a lot of things and maybe you agree with most of it and don't believe it was offensive. However, what he DID SAY EXACTLY was that:

Women have their place in the world and that is as a homemaker. Someone who should NOT have a career/NOT make a career an option and only aspire to be a mother and wife.

For this alone, it's offensive. There were women in this school who intend to use their degrees they just received to build a career. How do you actually defend his speech in the context of this? That it's a conservative Christian school is irrelevant because his speech was not just about Christianity but specifically demeaning all female students in the audience - he's suggesting they not only wasted their time but are garbage for even considering having a career.

I mean, it's not about his entire speech that matters. No matter how you slice it and dice it about whether what he said was on pointe about Christianity, his words about women are an indisputable insult to the female audience and that in itself is outrageous. That those who defend him don't even see this or care about this is what is wrong with our society.

That is NOT exactly what he said.

Here is what he said, emphasis added:

“ How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, [/b]but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

***
“ I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say[b] that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

As a woman who was once 21 and as the mother of a 21 y.o. female college student, I can guarantee you that the last thing the vast majority of college-educated women that age are thinking about is marriage and children. Who is he to speak for the "majority" of women?

When he said the "majority of you" he was specifically reference the female graduates of a conservative Catholic college, not all female college graduates across the U.S. In this case, the "guess" he is venturing could well be correct.

The majority of young women graduating from even a Catholic college are not eagerly awaiting the day they can have back-to-back babies for the remainder of their fertile years. It’s hard to understate just how fringe a view it is that even NFP is “disordered.” You realize that being subservient to your husband + no masturbation + no NFP = having 10+ pregnancies, if not more?

Exceedingly few 21 year old women want to be pregnant every 12-24 months until menopause.

[Anonymous]

Good grief. It seems that with the left it is fine to celebrate abortion but don’t you dare celebrate and embrace child rearing!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. It seems that with the left it is fine to celebrate abortion but don’t you dare celebrate and embrace child rearing!

Stunning example of completely misunderstanding the point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. It seems that with the left it is fine to celebrate abortion but don’t you dare celebrate and embrace child rearing!

Stunning example of completely misunderstanding the point.

We aren't talking about people who value critical thinking. They always try to reduce these issues to pathetic strawmans to sound so folksy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. It seems that with the left it is fine to celebrate abortion but don’t you dare celebrate and embrace child rearing!

What’s wrong with celebrating abortion? It saves lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the ones who remain uncritical and accepting of this AHole's speech..

This guy said a lot of things and maybe you agree with most of it and don't believe it was offensive. However, what he DID SAY EXACTLY was that:

Women have their place in the world and that is as a homemaker. Someone who should NOT have a career/NOT make a career an option and only aspire to be a mother and wife.

For this alone, it's offensive. There were women in this school who intend to use their degrees they just received to build a career. How do you actually defend his speech in the context of this? That it's a conservative Christian school is irrelevant because his speech was not just about Christianity but specifically demeaning all female students in the audience - he's suggesting they not only wasted their time but are garbage for even considering having a career.

I mean, it's not about his entire speech that matters. No matter how you slice it and dice it about whether what he said was on pointe about Christianity, his words about women are an indisputable insult to the female audience and that in itself is outrageous. That those who defend him don't even see this or care about this is what is wrong with our society.

That is NOT exactly what he said.

Here is what he said, emphasis added:

“ How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, [/b]but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

***
“ I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say[b] that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

As a woman who was once 21 and as the mother of a 21 y.o. female college student, I can guarantee you that the last thing the vast majority of college-educated women that age are thinking about is marriage and children. Who is he to speak for the "majority" of women?

When he said the "majority of you" he was specifically reference the female graduates of a conservative Catholic college, not all female college graduates across the U.S. In this case, the "guess" he is venturing could well be correct.

The majority of young women graduating from even a Catholic college are not eagerly awaiting the day they can have back-to-back babies for the remainder of their fertile years. It’s hard to understate just how fringe a view it is that even NFP is “disordered.” You realize that being subservient to your husband + no masturbation + no NFP = having 10+ pregnancies, if not more?

Exceedingly few 21 year old women want to be pregnant every 12-24 months until menopause.

Those exceedingly few women congregate at schools like Benedictine, University of Dallas and Franciscan University in Steubenville.

I’ve attended mass at one of those schools when I was passing through town and the pews were full of 6+ children families and women with lace head coverings. The parking lots are packed with those 15 seater vans. This is a fact that anybody who has even marginally looked into it would understand. Those schools are at the forefront of conservative Catholic education. Their graduates are engaged and/or married at a much higher rate at graduation as they send a measurable number of students to seminary and monastery every year.

There is a reason why he got a standing ovation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you were offered fed by his speech that’s fine it wasn’t intended for you.

The reaction he got from his intended audience was overwhelmingly positive.

He’s a Christian, who gave a speech full of Christian values to a Christian college with Christian students. Both women and men were in the crowd and he got a standing ovation. If you’re offended it’s because you’re were the intended audience or you’re. It ready to come to terms with what he was saying is truth. He wasn’t saying that a women’s only purpose was to be in the kitchen as you might have seen in the 60 second edited clip of his full 20-30 min speech. He addressed men as well and said how important their role was as well. He spoke truth to the fact that most people will find more value in their family life than anything else because the people you love and care about are more important than any degree.

The only ones mad or pressed about this is the man-hating women who seem to be in abundance here and on social media, and the sycophantic men who are trying to preach feminism in order to try to get dates. Most everyone else who works, strives to be better and have a family see what he said as a basic truth and something they agree with in terms of values.

Those who disagree can have their viewpoint but it doesn’t matter, he wasn’t speaking to you or about you so you can go on knowing that. It doesn’t matter how many “I will chose the bear over the man” memes you post in your social media, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re not the one he or any of the people who likes his speech would be looking at for a relationship anyways

I am a Catholic and he was speaking to Catholic women and he spoke against the Catholic Church and Catholic teachings so yes, it is my place and my lane to point out where he is wrong and blasphemous.

These crazy nut jobs are always trying to Bogart the Catholic Church because it has so much money and power. Good Catholic women and men will not allow that.

Please give exact quotes for his blasphemy.

Unlike most on this thread, I read the entire speech, found here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/05/15/heres-harrison-butkers-controversial-commencement-speech-in-full/?sh=371843c17937

His views are not mainstream U.S. Catholic views, and they are not mine. But they are neither heretical or blasphemous, and he is entitled to them.

I posted above what I thought was the most questionable thing he said: "...when you embrace tradition, success, worldly and spiritual will follow."

I posted above and the line I found most questionable was this:

Well for one, he supports the “blood libel” defamation of the Jews, which the Church has clearly distanced itself from.

PP here: I went back to the speech and agree with you that also was questionable. I was always taught that this rests with Pilate and the Sanhedrin, not "the Jews." Quote from him:"Congress just passed a bill where stating something as basic as the Biblical teaching of who killed Jesus could land you in jail."

I find myself in the awkward position of defending him as not espousing views contrary to Catholic teaching (ex-the two questionable citations above). I don't agree with him, but he is not speaking as a representative of the Church but rather as a member of the Church, who is free to speak on how he understands and lives his faith in the Church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the ones who remain uncritical and accepting of this AHole's speech..

This guy said a lot of things and maybe you agree with most of it and don't believe it was offensive. However, what he DID SAY EXACTLY was that:

Women have their place in the world and that is as a homemaker. Someone who should NOT have a career/NOT make a career an option and only aspire to be a mother and wife.

For this alone, it's offensive. There were women in this school who intend to use their degrees they just received to build a career. How do you actually defend his speech in the context of this? That it's a conservative Christian school is irrelevant because his speech was not just about Christianity but specifically demeaning all female students in the audience - he's suggesting they not only wasted their time but are garbage for even considering having a career.

I mean, it's not about his entire speech that matters. No matter how you slice it and dice it about whether what he said was on pointe about Christianity, his words about women are an indisputable insult to the female audience and that in itself is outrageous. That those who defend him don't even see this or care about this is what is wrong with our society.

That is NOT exactly what he said.

Here is what he said, emphasis added:

“ How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and are thinking about all the promotions and titles you are going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, [/b]but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world.”

***
“ I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say[b] that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.”

As a woman who was once 21 and as the mother of a 21 y.o. female college student, I can guarantee you that the last thing the vast majority of college-educated women that age are thinking about is marriage and children. Who is he to speak for the "majority" of women?

When he said the "majority of you" he was specifically reference the female graduates of a conservative Catholic college, not all female college graduates across the U.S. In this case, the "guess" he is venturing could well be correct.

The majority of young women graduating from even a Catholic college are not eagerly awaiting the day they can have back-to-back babies for the remainder of their fertile years. It’s hard to understate just how fringe a view it is that even NFP is “disordered.” You realize that being subservient to your husband + no masturbation + no NFP = having 10+ pregnancies, if not more?

Exceedingly few 21 year old women want to be pregnant every 12-24 months until menopause.

Those exceedingly few women congregate at schools like Benedictine, University of Dallas and Franciscan University in Steubenville.

I’ve attended mass at one of those schools when I was passing through town and the pews were full of 6+ children families and women with lace head coverings. The parking lots are packed with those 15 seater vans. This is a fact that anybody who has even marginally looked into it would understand. Those schools are at the forefront of conservative Catholic education. Their graduates are engaged and/or married at a much higher rate at graduation as they send a measurable number of students to seminary and monastery every year.

There is a reason why he got a standing ovation.

And yet one of the orders of nuns that founded the college denounced his comments:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2024/05/18/benedictine-college-nuns-blast-harrison-butkers-controversial-commencement-speech/?sh=6d0bfbb6798d