An alert on CNN has just mentioned this. Yeah, we hate this guy. He's an anti-Semitic, homophobic scumbag who blamed Americans he didn't like for "allowing" 9/11 to happen. But we don't gloat over people who might be passing out and dying. I'll leave that to the Coulters and Phelpses of the world; they do it so well. Every time someone dies there are friends and families involved, and we hope they are spared any tragedy.
But this event does bring up an interesting point in regards to fundamentalism in America: the old guard is getting old indeed. Falwell, Robertson (who's had prostate cancer), D. James Kennedy (who's been hospitalized lately), Paul Crouch and Tim LaHaye are all well past that three-score and ten. When they're gone, what will the next generation look like? Harsher and more openly theocratic, subtler, or just more of the same?
It's almost an shock to hear that Falwell has passed on, even though I realize that him and his generation are all in the 'back-nine', to say the least.
ReplyDeleteI'm not thrilled that some of my fellow free-thinking friends are celebrating his departure. Though I can understand why. His bigotry has caused a lot of ill feelings with plenty of people, but I agree with you that no one should be celebrating the death of anyone, even if they were not the kindest of individuals.
However, I won't be surprised if some Christian news sources will mark his sudden death as a sort of sign for the end times, or something else to make his death even more important than it is right now. And we will definitely see the Phelps' clan with a "victory" news cast in the next week to 'celebrate' a new 'hellbound' person.
I understand that the family has experienced a loss and I am not completely dispassionate to that point of view.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the world has been improved this day. It is less evil, less ignorant, less hateful, and less hypocritical; and I will not feel guilty for one moment that I'm pleased by the change.
I'm legitimately sorry that Jerry couldn't ever see the harm he was doing and I'm sorry that his family was similarly misled and will be continuing his ministry...but he did harm. Real harm, not the imaginary harm that so many would like to dismiss as they shrug off religion as a unworthy of criticism.
The great "loss" today isn't that a human being has died. It isn't that someone lost a family member. The great loss is that someone wasted the one and only life they'll get by encouraging divisiveness and encouraging others to do the same.
He spent his entire life trying to encourage other people to squander their lives in adherence to his personal fairy tale.
We're all better off - and while I won't be dancing at the funeral, I'm honest enough to admit that I'm happy that he's dead.
It is less evil, less ignorant, less hateful, and less hypocritical...
ReplyDeleteWell, by a factor of one guy. Like I said, I wish the passing of religious fundamentalism's worst demagogues would mean we'd start seeing a change in society towards greater acceptance of the rational and humanistic. But it doesn't work that way. Militant Islamism won't stop when bin Laden dies, just as it didn't when Arafat died. Politically divisive, hatemongering Christian fundamentalism won't die with Falwell.
Well, I may be overly optimistic as he's built a nice empire and worked to ensure that it continues - but we've seen many examples where cutting off the head of the snake leads to decline, even in strongly established groups.
ReplyDeleteI just don't think his son is charismatic enough to wield the power Jerry built up and keep the machine turning.
Don't forget James Dobson... his media empire and influence on the Wingnut Brigade rivals all the others combined.
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