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The Week in Patriarchy Harrison Butker’s misogynistic graduation speech shows the bigots are winning

47 0
18.05.2024

Imagine for a moment that that you are a young woman who has spent more than $100,000 on your university degree. After four years of hard work it’s your graduation and Harrison Butker, a kicker with the Kansas City Chiefs, is the commencement speaker. During his speech the NFL star, who has made millions by kicking a ball, kindly informs you that your hard-earned degree was a waste of time and that your true role in life is supporting your husband. Imagine what that would be like.

Graduates of Benedictine College, a Catholic college in Kansas, don’t need to imagine. Last Saturday Butker – whose mother happens to be a respected physicist – gave a mind-bogglingly bigoted speech in which he bashed everything from career women to LGBTQ people. If you want to lose a few brain cells you can read the entire thing online, but here’s the gist of it:

“IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for degenerate cultural values in media, all stem from the pervasiveness of disorder.” (This doesn’t make any sense, I know, but the entire speech is incoherent.)

Joe Biden has been “vocal in his support for the murder of innocent babies”. (Which is certainly true if we’re talking about Gaza – but Butker was talking about abortion rights.)

Pride month is a “deadly sin”.

You can’t spread the antisemitic talking point that Jews are responsible for the death of Jesus any more or you’ll end up “in jail”.

Women have been subject to “the most diabolical lies” and, while some women in the audience may go on to have successful careers the majority should be “most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world”.

His wife would be “the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and as a mother”. (This sparked........

© The Guardian


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