tBlog! - Jerry Falwell Is Dead

05.15.07 (2:29 pm) [edit]

Jerry Falwell Is Dead

AUGUST 11, 1933 - MAY 15, 2007

And good riddance. If Evil Men exist, Jerry Falwell was one of them. He embodied what it meant to be an unimaginative thug swollen with bile and hatred, and he made himself the perfect poster boy for an entire demographic of dimwitted sociopaths hellbent on marginalizing anyone who didn't support Puritan morality and ritual castration of Jews, Muslims, queers, and racial minorities. In many ways, Falwell became almost singlehandedly responsible for this sordid concoction we call Modern American Politics when he made the infusion of religion in public policy acceptable, if not fashionable. Due to his efforts and theo-political evangelism, we have a situation in this country today where good, honest secular (and other non-Christian) folks are increasingly bound to a Christian code of ethics applied via governing bodies in Washington, who have been all too willing to accommodate Falwell and his ilk for thirty years now because they, like he was, are afraid to cede influence to any individual who actually grasps the concept of a Free Society. Moral Majority, indeed.

Let's give the man some credit, though. Anyone who manages to peddle hatred and societal regression for as long as Falwell did without eating the Big Bullet deserves respect, if only for their ruthless efficiency. We are talking, remember, about a man who blamed the September 11 attacks on abortionists and gays among others. We are talking about a man who spent almost his entire life dehumanizing decent people in the name of God. In his own way, Jerry Falwell was the American version of Al-Qaeda. He specialized in Holy Wars that utilized violence of the mind over violence of the body. Moral torture. Ethical sadism. These were the cornerstones of Falwell's assault on the American public, and those who like to cite his "charity work" as proof of his undying compassion and empathetic approach toward people would do well to note that charity and missionary work are two vastly different things. Our Good Reverend was, above all else, an evangelist, a perspective merchant, which puts him two or three rungs below a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman.

Nonetheless, he has done a good job of ensuring that his legacy lives on and must have thought at least momentarily about this as he lay slumped in his office this morning. Falwell's Liberty University carries the zygote of his utterly foolish belief in the superiority of uniformity over randomness, and we can be fairly certain that at least one mutant child or another will emerge from the institution with the same wild-eyed fervor with which Jerry paraded around selling swaths of people on stagnancy and vigilante fascism during the latter years of the Twentieth Century and beyond.

With a bit of luck, he will be remembered as a wicked, infantile boob with a mind as sinister and manipulative as Josef Stalin's and a heart as reptilian as Cardinal Richelieu's. And that is, mind you, if he is remembered at all.

posted by: thoolou (reply)
post date: 05.15.07 (1:31 pm)

Dude,

I think Falwell was a crank as well, but damn.

WAY overboard.

posted by: evilmammoth (reply)
post date: 05.15.07 (1:35 pm)

Reply to: thoolou

Shit. I was trying to be nice.

posted by: eraserhead667 (reply)
post date: 05.15.07 (4:19 pm)

Truly a swine for all seasons, ol' Uncle Jerry. Overboard? Fuck. The shit-merchant made it possible for lunkheads Like Dubya to have jobs on a social standing above janitor. For that alone I piss on his grave.

posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 05.15.07 (4:44 pm)

Typical liberal, amoral spiel. I would think you could give the guy some credit, even if you are on the opposite side politically and religiously. He was a True Believer. He was quite efficient. A leader. What he did was more effectively sell/promote his vision than did his opposition. And when you thoroughly trash him in this way, you are effectively doing the same with most likely a majority of Americans of similar moral/religious/political outlook. And then, many who did not agree with him would still view him as a worthy and decent opponent. I'm thinking you can do better.

posted by: eraserhead667 (reply)
post date: 05.15.07 (6:17 pm)

"Trashing" someone in print/online and working towards redefining an entire political movement are NOT the same thing.

I don't know what makes him "decent" in any respect. A liar and a shameless media whore grabbing for attention, more like. All evidence points far more in that direction.

People who foist their belief system on others, and who take any single thing they don't like in a culture and percieve it as an "attack on my faith" might be True Believers, but I prefer True THINKERS any day. As far as "typical liberal, amoral spiel" you might do well to remember that some of us do not classify ourselves as "liberal" or "conservative" (and laugh at the shallowness and misunderstanding of those terms demonstrated by those who do) and that your team aren't the sole owners of "morality."

posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 05.16.07 (6:52 am)

Reply to: eraserhead667
I've been thinking about my use, overuse, of the phrase "typical liberal, amoral spiel". Thinking about it, I'll accept that just because a person disagrees with me does not make him/her a "liberal". However, as another comment to this post suggests, there is an overkill here. What this posts communicates is not just a disagrement with the man's beliefs and actions, but a spite for the person. Contempt. Hatred. And as I have watched the behaviour of Falwell for many years, never have I seen such an attitude toward his opponents. I've watched him debate Larry Flynt, or Mel White. He has opposed philosophies, but has not been hateful toward persons. He has advanced a series of homes for unwed mothers. He has reached out for fellowship with gays through his church. He has worked with people of many faiths when he has found a common cause. This man may be one's political/religious enemy, but he is far from the embodiment of evil deserving of the a pitchfork in hell, as this post suggests. Also troubling is the shere delight in his death. I can't think of a political or religious enemy I would enjoy finding to be dead. It seems to me it reveals a serious defect of character to truly enjoy the pain of another person.

posted by: evilmammoth (reply)
post date: 05.16.07 (9:29 am)

Reply to: PastorDave

PastorDave, you're right. There is an overkill here, but then again, I had to compress enough into four paragraphs to cover a whole menagerie of Falwellian social atrocities in the last thirty years.

Do I hold a special contempt for Jerry Falwell? How could I not?

I have no problem with religious people, or people at all, unless they are pushers. It is the one type of person I will not stand because pushers are bullies. Plain and simple, and Jerry Falwell was one of the biggest and most irresponsibly hateful.

I knew you would be one to confuse "charity" and "outreach" with "missionary work". Any contact Falwell had with gay people was to SAVE THEM from their anal treachery. He never went a day without displaying his faith-based arrogance, and we can only hope that Liberty University goes bankrupt before it gets a chance to pump out fat-mouthed clones.

Delighting in someone's pain? The heavy hand of Jerry Falwell has promoted more discrimination and pain than I could ever hope to. The man lived to be 73. He was fat, rich, and famous.

You're right. How could I have been so calloused?

posted by: eraserhead667 (reply)
post date: 05.16.07 (2:50 pm)

Pastor Dave, I'm trying to find a way to politely put this and coming up empty - if you do not see hatred in Falwell, it is my suggestion you have eaten the brown Christian acid. I'm saying this as one who knows Christians who have NOT eaten it and know full well that they should distance themselves from scum like Falwell. Your refusal to do is is you choice, but I find that choice sad.

Delighting in other's pain? Perhaps not terribly Christ-like of me. On the other hand, I find relief in someone's end far less disturbing than wishing they were dead while they were living, something that Falwell and his pal Robertson have done on more than one occasion. For these people to so glibly wish for the deaths of people across the world who do not share their views strikes me as far less Christian than merely being glad a hypocrite and dangerous tool of a perverse political/religious movement has gone on to meet his end. Trust me, I'll be even happier when Bin Laden is proven dead. I'll give you Christians one thing - some of your leaders may be king-hell bastards, but they are no match for the power of Islam to turn men into beasts. At least not in the past couple centuries. Gee, has Christianity "evolved" a little? Hmmmm....

posted by: eraserhead667 (reply)
post date: 05.16.07 (3:07 pm)

And I can't say I geunienly wish pain on these people. I do not "delight" in their demise as much as I find relief in it. Hopefully his end was quick. I don't wish pain, and in fact if there would be anything to delight in, it would be if he lived long enough to renounce his bullshit. His death does not delight me. The end of his ability to further poison out culture does bring a certain satisfaction, however, and I will not apologize for that.

posted by: PastorDave (reply)
post date: 05.17.07 (10:11 am)

Reply to: eraserhead667
O.K. I understand. It makes a lot more sense to me now. I do not want to be like Falwell, and disagree with his tactics. But he and I are akin, which is a matter I need to explore and will seek to do a post on a later date. As usual, your sensible debate & challenge is appreciated.

posted by: Lindy (reply)
post date: 05.17.07 (12:02 pm)

I think your opinion of Falwell is spot on. I felt an unfamiliar pang of relief in hearing of his passing. That's never happened to me before. Whiel everyone's running around injecting politics into how he presented his case and blah, blah, blah... the bottom line is this guy promoted hatred and intolerance. How very Christian of him. Everything else doesn't matter and anyone who tries to give the man credit is an idiot.

posted by: Parrothead (reply)
post date: 05.22.07 (7:20 pm)

Lindy--if you truly believe tolerance is a Christian value, you're the idiot.