Jerry Falwell| Jerry Falwell |
Jerry Falwell represents what some have called "the first wave" of the Religious Right. Long before the Christian Coalition and the Promisekeepers, he led his "Moral Majority" into battle against the forces of godlessness and immorality. Today, he has lost much of his power, but he's still active as a media clown, creating "controversy" out of nowhere. Lately, he is trying to make a comeback and to re-establish himself as one of the leading powerbrokers of the Religious Right.
| Newsflash: Falwell believes women are a minority |
"I do not believe the homosexual community deserves minority status. One's misbehavior does not qualify him or her for minority status. Blacks, Hispanics, women, etc. are God-ordained minorities who do indeed deserve minority status." Jerry Falwell, USA Today Chat
9/13/2001 update: Falwell remains one of the major hatemongers in the country. Only two days after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, Falwell has descended to a new low by blaiming liberals, feminists, gays and lesbians for the tragedy. On the 700 Club, he said that "the Lord has protected us so wonderfully these 225 years", but will do so no more since "Christ-haters" have "thrown God out of the public square, out of the schools". Lest there be any doubt who these people are, he elaborated:
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."
One might ask why the same God did not protect the American pacific fleet on December 7, 1941, or Lincoln on April 14, 1865, or the city of San Francisco on April 18, 1906, given that these events occured between 20 and almost 100 years prior to the year that God was supposedly thrown out of the public schools. One might also reasonably ask why God would so unjustly focus his anger on the one industrialized nation that is still by far the most devoutly Christian - the United States - instead of on one of the much more secular nations of Europe?
One might even ask, why did God not direct the instruments of his wrath to crash into the offices of the ACLU (headquartered in New York) or the National Organization for Women, or People for the American Way (both headquartered in Washington, D.C.)?
Expect no answer from Falwell. In his deluded fundamentalist brain, it makes perfect sense that God would kill innocent people because they do not support the religious right agenda. Or does he? Hate and fear mongering is and remains the principal modus operandi of the Religious Right. Hate is what gets the grassroots energized, and fear is what gets deluded old ladies to send their social security paychecks to Falwell and his peers. Whether Falwell honestly believes his own BS, or is just a shrewd, cynical businessman who is selling a certain constituency precisely what it needs, and laughing all the way to the bank, remains to be seen.
The preceding lines were written in September of 2001. Only days later, my rhetorical question in the previous paragraph was answered. On October 4, 2001, Falwell sent out a fundraising letter that tried to turn the September embarrasment to his financial advantage. The letter claims that Falwell is the victim of "a vicious smear campaign" by "liberals, and especially gay activists" " to discredit him" and compares Falwell to biblical figures such as the Prophet Jeremiah.
What is so despicable about this is the fact that this letter was sent after Falwell had gone on national television on September 20 and made a full apology for his comments, which he had called "stupid" and indefensible. To say one thing to one audience, and the exact opposite to another is as low as it gets on the moral credibility scale.