Holy Crap

[filkertom]

Jerry Falwell dead at 73.

If you know me at all, you know how I feel about this man and his words and his work. But that doesn't matter for the moment. A man is dead. May he find whatever rest he sought.

Mr. Falwell, at this point you will find out if you were right. For your sake, good luck.

Comments

[ladyoceanstar.livejournal.com]

You're a better person than I. I can give him no sympathy at all.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

Wow. An old man died.

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

As a friend of mine might say, that's bound to be an interesting exit interview.

[sophia9847.livejournal.com]

Good on ya, Tom--Very classy. Hopefully most other "wacky liberals" can show the same restraint and respect.

And that's about all I can say on this topic and remain polite toward the newly dead, so I think I'll take my own advice. :-)

[maiac.livejournal.com]

I am such a bad person. My reaction was, "Karl Rove will do anything to get the U.S. Attorneys purge out of the headlines."

[jenrose]

How, um, tragic.

[neadods.livejournal.com]

*snort*choke* That's the kindest way of phrasing it I can think of.

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

That particular friend of mine is the kind of Christian Jerry Falwell was not. 'Nuff said.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

ep. Exactly. An old man died. And he gets exactly that much human sympathy from me. But he does get that much.

[janetmiles.livejournal.com]

May his family and those who loved him find comfort.

May his fate (if any) be tempered with mercy.

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Amen.

[ericcoleman]

I do find it interesting that the most right wing person on my friends list said the nasty things ...

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

It's a struggle.
I said enough nasty things while he was alive.

My grandparents wanted me to go to Liberty College. *headdesk* that would have fit me like swim-fins on a rattlesnake.

[solarbird]

As one of the millions of people whose lives he spent his entire career trying to destroy, I have to say fuck sympathy. I'm quite glad he's dead. His death makes today better, because he's one less powerful and influential person trying to make millions of lives, including mine, much, much worse.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

May history remember him for what he was.

[bryanp.livejournal.com]

No matter how much I disliked the man and what he stood for, he was someone's father and someone's husband. My condolences go out to them.

[louisadkins.livejournal.com]

Yeah, a man is dead. A man who sowed discontent and hate. I will honestly admit to being happy that he can no longer directly spread negative emotions and feelings, and I would hope that he finds what rest he earned. I do feel sorry for anyone who held him as a personal loved one, but that's about as much as I can extend on it, at the moment.

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

May God treat him as kindly as he treated everybody he affected. That is the best blessing and curse I can think of. If it rebounds upon me, 'twon't be any worse than I deserve either.

Strength and light to his loved ones; it's not easy to be family members of a celebrity of any kind, especially at the end.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

God has finally called him home, and 3 decades too late in my opinion. The religious political group (something that should NEVER be mixed in America), the (im)moral majority, has caused a LOT of problems in this country since Falwell founded it just under 30 years ago. Too bad he was not called home before he formed that group, thus starting the domino effect that is causing LOTS of problems today.

[stevemb.livejournal.com]

I am truly sorry he won't live to see the next decade or two. I suspect that some of his friends, in years to come, will take some comfort in the fact that he didn't.

[darrenzieger.livejournal.com]

For my reaction to this, I'll defer to Roy Zimmerman (whom some of you may remember as the creative force behind the Foremen).

"Jerry Falwell's God" (YouTube) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw).

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

People who don't believe you should speak ill of the dead should hope that said dead strove to do something positive that one might speak about.

Dying doesn't make someone a better person, and sometimes the best that can be said of the dead is that at least they won't have the chance to do more things that one might speak ill about.

Usually I at least feel sympathy for whoever might have loved the person and be mourning, but sometimes I just wonder what sort of person could have loved someone who worked so tirelessly to make the world a worse place.

Tom Digby wrote something once

[capplor.livejournal.com]

about the truly evil, and the worst punishment you can inflict is to enlighten them on their actions and the consequences. And THEN once they've sufficiently understood, forgive them.

[chaosdancer.livejournal.com]

You know, I used to think he was better than the rest of the pack, because at least he didn't seem to be a hypocrite. He wasn't the one you'd catch with prostitutes, in gay bars, or performing fake healings. But I guess you really have to be measured on what you leave behind, not just on your personal habits. In that regard, he has a lot to answer for. Maybe he should have been a bit more hypocritical; we might have been better off.

[tomreedtoon.livejournal.com]

Every time I remembered seeing him, he seemed smug and secure. To my knowledge he was never confronted with the people who argued against him.

The moment I remember was seeing him, right after Reagan's election I think, making a statement that the Moral Majority was largely responsible for his victory and he'd better listen to what they had to say. When the interviewer said this seemed like a threat, he backpedaled and said he was hoping to work with Reagan.

I believe what James Thurber said: "All men should try to learn, before they die/What they are running from, and to, and why." I think the tragedy of Jerry Falwell is that he never learned, or even tried to learn.