Jerry Falwell is dead

[MaddLlama]

Wow, I didn't realize he was that old. I thought ht was in his early 60's.

In any case, I hope he'll find some peace in the hereafter, it didn't seem like he got a whole lot of it here.

 

[Quiddity]

I find it hard to be terribly overjoyed at anyone's passing, though I suppose Tinky Winky might be somewhat pleased. *sigh*

I'm sorry for his family. Loss is never easy to deal with.

I have no idea what Falwell was like in person. It's like any public figure -- all you know is what's in the media, and that's usually a bit warped.

That's usually how I feel about public figures.

Peace be with him,

 

[PureX]

With any luck Pat Robertson is right behind him.

Yeah, and Ann Coulter will be bringing up the rear.

 

[BFD_Zayl]

I had no love for the man, nor do i have any ill will, may he be at peace.

 

[jonny]

I wonder who is going to take over the role of telling conservative Christians who and what to vote for now.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I wish him peace, but for his earthly life that has ended, I have no respect for it.

 

[Jaymes]

I do wonder if Robertson and his ilk think this is the wrath of God or just the death of a poor innocent man. And if it's the latter, why he's got special status while the victims of natural disasters and terrorist attacks were being punished because we "tolerate" gays, lesbians, feminists, etc.

 

[jamaesi]

I wonder who is going to take over the role of telling conservative Christians who and what to vote for now.

Perhaps they could just start thinking for themselves...

 

[Ciscokid]

I do wonder if Robertson and his ilk think this is the wrath of God or just the death of a poor innocent man. And if it's the latter, why he's got special status while the victims of natural disasters and terrorist attacks were being punished because we "tolerate" gays, lesbians, feminists, etc.

Exactly. And my point earlier is I don't see why we [some of us anyway] all of a sudden change our tone about the man just because he's dead. That's not consistent.

 

[Ðanisty]

Heh, with all due respect to you guys, I'm with Ciscokid. I don't see any reason to respect someone just because they are dead. Does dying somehow make them a different or better person?

 

[Booko]

Heh, with all due respect to you guys, I'm with Ciscokid. I don't see any reason to respect someone just because they are dead. Does dying somehow make them a different or better person?

No, but there doesn't seem to be much point in dancing on anyone's grave either.

It's not like some of the questionable things Falwell advocated are going to happen less now that he's gone. He was not that unique in his views.

Better to address the ideas and leave the personality behind. The ideas are still out there, even though the man's gone.

 

[LogDog]

He was a bad man who caused a lot of suffering and promoted a lot of hatred and his not being in the world makes it a brighter place. Why should we not celebrate that the world is a better place than it was this morning?

If he were still alive tommorrow, he would have spent that day promoting intolerance and bigotry. Now he can't do that and tommorrow is going to end up being better than it would have been. This is a good thing and I see no problem recognizing that.

 

[Mathematician]

Why dance on his grave when Fred Phelps is already preparing his boots? Talk about eating your own.

I don't respect the man, but I don't wish him a horrible afterlife [that's what separates me from him]. An enlightening one would suffice.

 

[Ðanisty]

No, but there doesn't seem to be much point in dancing on anyone's grave either.

It's not like some of the questionable things Falwell advocated are going to happen less now that he's gone. He was not that unique in his views.

Better to address the ideas and leave the personality behind. The ideas are still out there, even though the man's gone.

I don't think Ciscokid is dancing on his grave. I think he's just relieved that there's one less to worry about. Not respecting someone just because they've died is not the same thing as celebrating someone's death.

As a side note though, I'll be throwing a huge party when my mother-in-law finally kicks the bucket. :yes:

 

[LogDog]

Love it. (from wikipedia)

Falwell was on both sides of libel cases. In 1984, he was ordered to pay gay activist Jerry Sloan $5,000 after losing a court battle. During a TV debate in Sacramento, California, Falwell denied calling the gay-oriented Metropolitan Community Churches "brute beasts" and "a vile and Satanic system" that will "one day be utterly annihilated and there will be a celebration in heaven."
When Sloan insisted he had a tape, Falwell promised $5,000 if he could produce it. Sloan did, Falwell refused to pay, and Sloan successfully sued. Falwell appealed, with his attorney charging that the judge in the case was prejudiced. He lost again and was made to pay an additional $2,875 in sanctions and court fees.

 

[SoyLeche]

I wonder who is going to take over the role of telling conservative Christians who and what to vote for now.

I nominate Comprehend for the position. Who's with me???

 

[UnTheist]

Statement From American Atheists Concerning the Death of Rev. Jerry Falwell

ELLEN JOHNSON, President of American Atheists issued the following statement this afternoon regarding the death of televangelist Jerry Falwell.

“While we recognize and respect the grief of friends and relatives, it must be acknowledged in the wake of Rev. Falwell’s death that he and the organizations he founded, especially the so-called Moral Majority, were serious threats to our Constitution and, specifically, the separation of church and state.”

“Jerry Falwell was instrumental in galvanizing millions of American evangelicals into an intolerant, sectarian and authoritarian political movement. Gays, women, secularists, civil-libertarians and other groups who did not fit in to his plan to construct ‘One Nation Under God’ were stigmatized and attacked. Civil liberties were in jeopardy. Falwell and other religious right leaders advanced their political agenda in the name of Christianity, while demonizing their opponents.”

“Perhaps the most ignominious moment in Falwell’s career was his appearance with Rev. Pat Robertson on a television program which blamed the terrorist attacks of September 11 not on Islamic fundamentalist fanatics, but on a wide swath of the American people -- women (because of their support for abortion), gay and lesbian Americans, and individuals and organizations like American Atheists which labor for the separation of church and state.”

“We cannot and must not lionize Rev. Jerry Falwell because he is now dead. We expect that some politicians beholden to the religious right, who perhaps owe their political careers in part to Falwell, will praise him for his religiosity or avuncular style. The truth is, however, that the Rev. Jerry Falwell was a dangerous man who opposed and worked against many of the key values underpinning our secular American democracy.”

– Ellen Johnson, President
AMERICAN ATHEISTS

 

[Jaymes]

He was a bad man who caused a lot of suffering and promoted a lot of hatred and his not being in the world makes it a brighter place. Why should we not celebrate that the world is a better place than it was this morning?

What makes it better? The death of one hate-mongering individual isn't going to change anything. His ideas and sentiments are still out there... and not all that uncommon. All that's changed today is that there's one less prominent outlet for it. I don't see that as particularly positive. It's like cutting the head off a hydra... three more spring into place.

 

[Ciscokid]

I don't think Ciscokid is dancing on his grave. I think he's just relieved that there's one less to worry about. Not respecting someone just because they've died is not the same thing as celebrating someone's death.

As a side note though, I'll be throwing a huge party when my mother-in-law finally kicks the bucket. :yes:

You understand my position well. I was wrong for saying what I said in my first post. It's not Pat Robertson the human being I'd be happy to see dead. It's his and Falwells' ideology that I'd like to see put to an end.

I think it was shortly after 9/11 that Pat and Jerry stood up and said this was God's wrath against the States due to the sins of homos and feminists. My brother is gay and to say that 9/11 happened because of my brother and his "kind" is enough to make me pretty sick and disgusted.

I think GeneCosta said it best

I don't respect the man, but I don't wish him a horrible afterlife [that's what separates me from him]. An enlightening one would suffice.

Hear Hear.

 

[Mister_T]

Because he was a fellow human. He had his flaws, and so do the rest of us.

There's a reason it's considered bad manners to speak ill of the dead.

Not that anyone pays much attention to "common" courtesy anymore.

I agree 100% with Booko. Nobody is perfect.

People often fail to realize that people who die, whether you cared for them or not, have people who loved them dearly. There should be respect shown regardless.

He was a bad man who caused a lot of suffering and promoted a lot of hatred and his not being in the world makes it a brighter place. Why should we not celebrate that the world is a better place than it was this morning

Because it makes you just as big a hate monger, as you're claiming him to be. Be the more evolved ape.