| By ashwini - May 15th, 2007 at 3:08 pm EDT |
| Also listed in: Campus Progress Blog |
Tags: abortion, civil rights, fundamentalism, gay and lesbian rights, hate crimes, LGBTQ, queer issues, women's issues
“The ACLU’s got to take a lot of blame for this. ... And I know that I’ll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way - all of them who have tried to secularize America - I point the finger in their face and say: “You helped this happen.”
--Jerry Fallwell, 700 Club, 9/13/2001
The founder of Moral Majority, the evangelist who made hate speech profitable and established fundamentalists as a viable political force, Jerry Falwell has died at age 73.
I am of course sorry for his family and those who felt pain at his passing. But for a long time Falwell was, quite frankly, a royal asshole. There are the funny things he did—such as condemning the show Teletubbies for the latent homosexuality of Tinky Winky, the purple puppet with the triangular antennae. But then there was also his misogynistic, anti-queer, at times racist and anti-Semitic leadership that reached millions of followers. Falwell frequently stated that queer folks and feminists were threats to children and were devoid of morals. He claimed the Antichrist was alive and was Jewish. He was an ardent supporter of white minority apartheid rule in South Africa and opposed releasing Nelson Mandela from prison during the 1980s.
Four years after Falwell’s infamous post-9/11 diatribe, he did stand up in favor of “basic civil rights” for queer people—such as housing, employment, freedom from discrimination, etc. (Falwell did not, however, mention the right to marriage.) Perhaps he was influenced by his failing health, wishing to atone for the homophobic fervor he helped stir up. Of all hate crimes committed, 15.6% are motivated by sexual orientation, according to the Department of Justice’s 2004 statistics. Or maybe he just changed his mind.
Falwell did show the country how powerful mixing religion and politics can be. Many would cite the entrance of Christian fundamentalists/evangelists into the political world as shaping the course of history—electing Reagan, taking Republican control of Congress, electing and re-electing George W. Bush, waging war against Iraq. "Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions," he famously stated, regarding the "Christian vote." Although certainly not a defender of justice nor equality, Falwell was indeed quite shrewd and intelligent. And for the next several days, everyone will be talking about him, showing that he is as captivating in death as he was in life.
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Posted by Michael M. Bates on May 15, 2007 - 15:29.
The passing of the Reverend Jerry Falwell will give those who opposed him in life an opportunity to criticize him again. A glimpse of what might be expected appeared in the McClatchy Washington Bureau's obituary today.
Mr. Falwell, it says, "once criticized the children's show 'The Teletubbies' because he thought one of the four colorful, non-human characters - Tinky Winky, the purple one with the red bag - might be gay."
That is inaccurate. In 1999, that Tinky Winky story did appear in a publication that the minister published, but an editor submitted it, not Jerry Falwell. Moreover, it was certainly not the first time that the character's sexual orientation was the subject of media speculation:
From Time magazine: “In the past five years, several movies, plays, tabloid shows and famous cross-dressers like RuPaul have moved from the fringes of gay culture to prime time. Even Teletubbies, a show for toddlers, features Tinky Winky, a boy who carries a red patent-leather purse.”
From People magazine: “Gay men have made the purse-toting Tinky Winky a camp icon.”
From the Washington Post: “Tinky Winky, the gay ‘Telletubby. . .'”
As a leader of the Religious Right, Reverend Falwell will be widely excoriated over the next few days. Not much will be made of the fact his church operated a home for unwed mothers, a facility for alcoholics and drug addicts, and an AIDS hospice.
May he rest in peace.
"AIDS is the wrath of God upon homosexuals." Link
"Herpes, AIDS, venereal diseases ... are a definite form of the judgment of God upon a society," Falwell said. "If the Reagan administration does not put its full weight against this, what is now a gay plague in this country, I feel that a year from now, President Ronald Reagan personally will be blamed for allowing this awful disease to break out among the innocent American public." Link
Compassionate care...right.
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Also, the Westboro Baptist Church has put out a press release on Jerry Falwell,
"There is little doubt that Falwell split Hell wide open the instant he died. The evidence is compelling, overwhelming, and irrefragable. To wit:
1 Falwell was a true Calvinistic Baptist when he was a young preacher in Springfield, Missouri; and sold his soul to Free-Willism (Arminianism) for lucre.
2. Falwell bitterly and viciously attacked WBC because of WBC9s faithful Bible preaching - thereby committing the unpardonable sin - otherwise known as the sin gainst the Holy Ghost.
3. Falwell warmly praised Christ-rejecting Jews, pedophile-condoning Catholics, money-grubbing compromisers, practicing fags like Mel White, and backsliders like Billy Graham and Robert Schuler, Etc. All for lucre - making him guilty of their sins."