tech2,

It was the way he proclained himself as God's judge and jury.

So, Jerry's Gone! That's a good thing in my book.

Ding, dong, the bitch is dead.
He may have had influence. After Hitler had influence. . .
I don't hate him. I'm just glad he's gone.

I cannot understand how if someone says they think a certain lifestyle is "wrong" that they are hating a person.

If I say I think someone is making morally wrong choices I cannot comprehend how that makes me full of hate.

Is morality not a subject for the public domain?

Bullets and bombs did not come out of Jerry Falwell's mouth. Only words. Low intensity sound waves entering the body through the eardrum never killed anyone.

I have an honest question for all of you people celebrating his death,

Was it the WAY he stated, and embellished some of his position on moral matters, or was it the postion itself.

There are those who get upset about people celebrating the passing of a veritable fountain of hate because they feel that it is uncouth to be happy about anyone's death. These people need to explain the logic behind Falwell's and Robertson's joy that so many people died in 9/11 essentially because God was getting them for supporting a life style that included feminism, ACLU, the first amendment, gay rights, and all the rest. They were ecstatic that the US had been punished for its misdeeds, but no one on the right felt that they were out of line.

I'll cheer when Dubbya gets iced. As for Falwell, I won't miss him, but eh.

He was just a con-artist imo. He used religion and homophobia to make a buck. A nice man he was not for sure, but I'm not jumping for joy either. It's not as if the Relgious Right has been defeated or has been seriously dented. The machine is still very much intact.

If our media could only ignore his passing or forget to praise him; I would be not as eager as I am to add my voice to the one's who speak harshly.

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD !

Jerry's God promised that how we each choose to judge others, so shall we each be judged by Him. I wonder how effectively Jerry will be able to throw Bible verses into God's great face to support his actions during his life on earth? It's quite sad, all in all, at least within the context of this clouded and limited perception that is our understanding of existence.

Perhaps we are all wrong and the great Creator (God, Allah, Buddha, however you define IT) is a TRULY compassionate, loving and forgiving being capable of the tenderest of mercies. Perhaps He will most ably and lovingly show Jerry the error of his lifes ways. And maybe Jerry will actually understand and find remorse in the depth of his soul.

We can only hope. For if one such as Jerry can be forgiven by our Creator, then we can all dare to hope that we ourselves will also be treated with such love when each of us inevitably shuffles off this mortal coil. What sight would it be, at the time of each of our deaths, to find Jerry in the great reception line apologizing sincerely to us as we pass into the next plane of existence? I can only hope it is so.

I am painfully guilty of despising Jerry and of taking some small pleasure in his passing. Hindsight has brought to me only internal shame and embarassment for it. Did Jerry act in a manner contradictory to my personal beliefs, my heart-felt notion of what it is to be a good person? Yes. Did Jerry seem to me a hypocrite and misguided man? Yes. But what position do I or anyone else stand in, fallible humans all, that gives us the right to judge him? None. Should we contemplate Jerry's life and draw what conclusions we can? Of course we should. The question is what to do with such knowledge once gleaned.

If Jerry Falwell did nothing more in his life than to cause us each to examine our lives by comparison and thus make us better neighbors, brothers, partners and parents then was his still a wrongful and wasted life? I believe not. But that's me and my belief. Of course, I also subscribe to the philosophy of "to each their own", so I offer no suggestions to anyone else in this regard. I only hope and pray that inevitably a greater good will come from such a life as Jerry Falwell's.

Peace be unto all mankind and know that we each are deeply loved. Loved by friends, by family, by unsuspecting people at the periphery of life and also by the grand Creator who imbued into each of us a piece of It's divine awareness.

I pray that with each day of waking we all will more often than not be given over to the better angels of our human existence.

Be peaceful and peaceful will you be.

Jerry Falwell was a miserable, unhappy, pervert and if there really was a God, he would have been struck down long before now.

I don't usually rejoice in people's deaths, but Falwell's by no means made me sad. All I'm glad about is that he's no longer around to hurt other people and incite hatred. I can tolerate other people's points of view, but when what they do hurts other people, it's whole different story. And I totally agree that respect has to be earned, and that shouldn't change just because you die. I'm not going to his funeral yelling at his family what I think of their relative. I forget who was the one yelling "god hates fags" at the funeral of the gay guy who was murdered, but I'm sure Falwell would have approved. Now, that's where I'm different from Falwell.

Like someone said, it's too bad he was around for so long to incite so much hatred. Oh well, at least he didn't make it to 90 or something. Every day he's not here is a day in which he does not promote hatred. Though he'll probably have a successor, we can hope that he won't be as effective as Falwell, though he could be even worse than him.

Although Falwell may, to some extent, have been a mirror of some aspects of our society, I'm not sure there were that many Germans who hated Jews before Hitler came into power. And I'm not sure the Jewish holocaust would have ever happened without Hitler. I think the same can be said of the college and law school Falwell founded, and of other things he did. It's too bad there are so many people who are willing to follow a leader so blindly. Maybe some day we'll get lucky and someone who's more compassionate and kind will lead these people to do some good. Perhaps some good that came out of Falwell's existence is that it made more of us aware that we should not take our liberties for granted (and that we're not even where we should be), pushing many into activism.

As an atheist (one of his favorite people, I'm sure), all I can hope is that he got his punishment while he was alive, because I certainly don't believe he will now that he's dead. I hope all his hatred made him a bitter man.

And of course I don't believe that everything he did went against the Bible and/or the teachings of Christianity. Although there are messages of love in it, there are also messages of hate in it, which Falwell adeptly used. To simply say that Falwell was not a true christian is to deny the main source of his power over people: religious dogma. Dogma of any kind, be it religion or political (i.e. maoism), can be extremely dangerous. If we don't want people like Falwell to exert their power over so many people, what we need to promote is reasoning skills and skepticism.

"All I am saying is LEARN HOW IT'S DONE."
Don't think there's much of a mystery there. All it takes is a bit of energy mixed with a dab of sadism and a passel of lies. People will discard all critical thinking and follow these maggots like Falwell since the spiel is cloaked in a false sense of piety. Let's not forget that there are dozens more like "ol Jer" in the US-Robertson and Tilton among them. If you have never seen Tilton-he's a beaut!
Where Progressives are at a disadvantage competing with the far right is no Progressive I've ever heard of will contribute every penny of their small social security check to the cause. The right has amassed huge amounts of money in the last 30 years and are a far sronger enemy than ever.

Unfortunately, there are still to many like him in this country. The purveyor's of hate! In the last 7 years, they seem to be coming out of the woodwork in droves. It's really sad this country has desended into this black abyss. I can remember when people like Jerry Falwell were on the fringes of our society! They were deemed lunatic's and ridiculed! He reminds me a lot of my Grandmother. Who wrote people nasty vicious letters because they weren't living up to Grandma's stilted religious belief's! She did more to turn people off of religion than she ever did convert them. She spoke for all that was wrong in Christianity.

If we do not understand how so many people who start off meaning good get led into the mess we are in now; analyze them.

They start with a base of frustrated, fed up people, and push the buttons of hatred and revenge. They feed the flames by telling you how much your enemy hates you. Now you are fuming, but you see them as a leader and you start believing lies. It gets hard to differentiate what's true and what's not because you believe in the leader instead of your own judgment.

Now you are prime for button pushing, and they can convince you that not only your enemy has it in for you but also anyone that supports your enemy can easily be added to the list of enemies.

All I am saying is LEARN HOW IT'S DONE!

74 comments so far and only 2 DIDN'T urinate on Falwell's grave. So he was a tool. Since he's not YOUR BRAND of tool, is it enlightened, tolerant and loving to disparage him and celebrate his passing???

The world is full of people who say and do terrible things. Should we be keeping a list of those people so when they die we can spew hatred and decide what god will do with them while we pat ourselves on the back for being so compassionate, tolerant and enlightened???

I hope Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton and John Kerrey are on your lists too!!!

I think it sad that the state of our public discourse has so devolved due to the common embrace of ignorance and the degenerative influence of the mass media that grow fat on that ignorance to the point at which pathetic demagogues like Falwell are treated, upon their long overdue demise, as if they were persons of note, worthy of even the mention of their passing. Jerry Falwell was a semi-literate, self-aggrandizing piece of trash, so utterly base that he perverted the teachings of Jesus Christ, the all-embracing Prince of Peace, to cloak his ugly hatred of the greater portion of humanity in the righteous, self-sacrificing raiment of a man who bathed the feet of his society's pariahs and eschewed all the efforts made by HIS followers to elevate his status and station. As has been noted in this forum, there was a time when such loud-mouthed morons and backwoods bigots, noteworthy only for their zeal in promoting their own importance and purveying their poisonous creed of fear and loathing of anything beyond the petty purview of their nasty, narrow lives, would have merited little more a muttered 'good riddance' from their betters, in my mind a truly vast class of people. Would that our culture might once again concern itself with subjects and individuals genuinely worthy of its attention. The general hubbub over Falwell's death smacks to me too much of calling a colloquium on the best way to scrape shit from your shoe.

Falwell is to Christ's teachings as a horse is to ice cream. In other words there's no connection

death is not some sort of punishment.
i mean falwell was old - its not like he got a comeuppance. its not like his death proves him vulnerable. its not like god struck him down any more than god strikes anyone down. plenty good people die too. everyone dies - everyone writing on this board right now will be dead and some of us pretty darn soon. falwell died - a very predictable result - as far as drumming up a false respect for him - well jeez false is still false isnt it.

I still haven't heard a sound justification for gloating over someone's death. I think it is pathological--sorta like the Cuban expatriates who will be dancing around Miami when Castro goes. Will some of you be joining them in the celebration? Castro did some great things for Cuba but definitely had his excesses (such as quarantining people with AIDS--a Falwellian stance).

Falwell was a living example of what Barry Goldwater meant when he said:

"Now those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth, and let me remind you they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyranny."

Most people forget that Hitler was a devout Christian and so was Torquemada... and they used their beliefs to justify some horrendous things.

Well said people!
As was said over at huff post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-alter/dont-believe-the-falwell_b_48628.html
the sob probably had more influence on the secular USA'ers than the cranks.
Jerry was entertaining if you weren't gay jew or non-anglo, in the fascist ranks he would be majordomo.
I forgive you Jerry Falwell, I will remember you Jerry Falwell, I will teach my grandchildren about Jerry Falwell so that they will never fall for the Jerry Falwell line of bs and so that they will recognise the bs for what it is wherever they encounter it.

I'm not quite sure what the reasoning is behind respecting someone just because he's dead. We all die; it doesn't take any particular talent, and to get all gushy about an SOB like Falwell demonstrates the nice-nice do-goodism that is creating a totally ineffective left. Let's get pissed off people, and call an evil bastard what he is. There are lots of people -- some of them by friends -- dead of AIDS because of the reluctance of Falwell and his ilk to allow the disease, oh so long ago, to be treated like a public health issue. His stand on global warming, if followed, would doom the planet to an even more rapid end. He loved capital punishment, dead Arabs, and every god-awful assault on life except abortion. And his obsession about abortion -- more fetus neurosis than pro-life given everything else he stood for -- cannot hide the fact that the politics he encouraged and preached were anti-life, anti-science, and -- less face it -- anti "let's make nice." There is no reason that any decent human being should not be glad he is no longer around to work his mischief. I can hardly wait for Ariel Sharon to join him. No. I rejoice that the old mother f----er is dead. Too bad there isn't really a hell for people like him to rot in. Unfortunately, he gets a walk in the indifferent cosmos, and we who have suffered his abuse have to pick up the pieces and go forward, something we cannot do by pretending that this man was anything other than a willfully ignorant, vicious, sanctimonious and destructive presence in the world. He leaves great harm behind him.

"If we look honestly within ourselves, we'll likely find a mixed bag."

We looked honestly, and we're offended.

"Let's not lose our own humanity because another appears to have done so"

We haven't lost, we still have our humanity and COMPASSION, unlike those who appeal to be nice to Falwell.

There's no humanity without compassion (in this case for Falwell's victims)

We'll never know if he believed in god or if he was just a successful, typically scociopathic businessman. This group (religious extremists) are the source of much human misery everywhere; and many many hundreds of thousands of lives ruined or lost in the middle east.

The probability that he is sitting at gods right hand today is significantly less than the probalility that CERN scientists will be successful in re-creating or almost recreating the big bang as they seem intent on doing.

The human race has an an almost unlimited capacity for thinking and doing foolish things. Much more so if there is money to be made.

I occasionally briefly wonder how a god would occupy his day. Listening to the likes of W, Cheney, Clouther,Robertson Mit, or 99% of the republican party or the pope? After reflecting on the major sociopaths of the world and all the greed, corruption, delusions, ignorance, and stupidity of even less exhaulted men; I sometimes briefly try to imaging how a god would choose to committ suicide.

Barbara Evans

I was in 7th grade when the principal announced over the intercom that Reagan had been shot. My politics hadn't really developed by then--my parents had voted for that horrible President. So reviled was Reagan in the black community that many of the black students cheered upon hearing the news. The next day we all got a lecture from our lefty-Edward Abbey reading, anti-James Watt-potsmoking-social studies teacher about never wishing death on anyone. He prefaced his admonition with how much he despised Reagan as a public figure. That sticks in my head to this day. Jerry Falwell was an exceedingly misguided individual who spewed forth tons of hate and prejudice. He probably suffered greatly (people who harbor such caustic views and put them into practice usually do). Don't get me wrong; I'm not positively eulogizing the man. Ain't sheddin' no tears here. I still get sick to my stomach when people speak of Reagan so fondly and with such revisionist bent. But I refuse to wish eternal damnation on the guy--if such a thing exists. His views and public actions were reprehensible but I don't know the man's heart--and he probably had one somewhere (I do recall him recanting some of his anti-gay statements--a start at least). If we look honestly within ourselves, we'll likely find a mixed bag.

Let's not lose our own humanity because another appears to have done so. Hell, if Larry Flynt can be "good friends" with him, can't we at least resist celebrating Falwell's --or anyone's-- earthly demise?

I don't take joy in anyone's death, or try not to, remembering that I , too, am mortal.

But I would make an exception in Falwell's case, were I certain that his death would bring the end of his repulsive, Jesus-demeaning ilk. It won't, so I won't.

What I am saying is if you do not understand how people become this way; someone who says all the "right" bigoted things will fool you. Just like the Christians were fooled into this war!

I hear over and over "We need a leader", and few of you understand what it is to lead a diverse population. Especially a nation of cut throats.

No annac21, I'm not preaching, I watching this country go down the tubes!

I'm not condemning, arguing or disagreeing with anything said above. But when you Tar and Feather a person it's just shallow and it blocks you from understanding the real problem we are facing.

STOPPING THIS INSANE WAR.

Am I missing something? Am I supposed to respect Falwell????
Translation please.
Self-quote:
"In my book bad guys don't have compassion.
For example, it doesn't occur to them to think how someone who lost a relative because Falwell cheated him/her of money meant for cure feels when someone unaffected by Falwell's evil doing hypocritically praises the bastard.
I my book these hypocrites love torture."

I see a lot of talk about kharma on CD, but I often wonder - if everyone has been getting their kharma come-uppance over the centuries, why isn't everyone more tolerant and respectful by now? If the soul can't remember its previous lessons, what's the point?

God promised His servants that He would judge each according to the manner in which each, throughout their life, chose to judge others. I wonder how that's working out for old Jerry?

CLARIFICATION-- this would mean the GOP would be atrying to split the gay vote with such a brilliant plan which W's momma had, even though she really doesn't want to worry her "pretty little head" about it. She's too busy breaking mirror's at Poppy's Houston hotel suite.

Just think how "terrible" this is for W's momma, that brilliant political strategist who had so carefully planned that fake gay wedding for her son to the "Terminator" to unite the muscular buttocks wing and the storm trooper wing of the GOP, the USA's official fascist party with Jerry Foulwell being the flower girl. Do we liberals and progressives have to be "so cold hearted"? W's was just planning how such a fake gay marriage could so completely fake out the gays, a solid Democratic constituency and with enough vote stealing like crazy by the GOP gang in a close contest the GOP cold hold onto the presidency.

actually, jerry falwell is dead. love and forgiveness are for the living (that would be you and me). how does that phrase go? vengeance is mine saith the lord. who is that?

Clark Kent, I too would hope that Falwell is being rehabilitated by a loving deity. The idea of an eternal fire is repugnant to me - more so the idea of a God who would put ANYONE there.

The anger at Falwell is understandable and to be expected. He did many people harm.

But as I said yesterday on another thread... I do believe in karma (that which ye sow so shall ye reap). And I don't see Karma as punishment, but as a just way to make someone understand what he refused to understand in another life. That Falwell should be born gay in some African nation would not surprise me as his just reward.. he was homophobic and racist. What better way to bring his soul to an understanding of the humanity of all than to have him live as those he persecuted.

That is of course speculation. I am more than willing to leave his fate and his judgements to the Universe.... It's just my idea of what is just, and I am a little earthling, so I am more than willing to forget he ever existed once the hoopla about his demise fades away..

i think i speak for many when i say " falwell was a big, fat , belicose, syphilitic idiot". shove him in the ground!

Celebrating the death of anyone is distasteful to me. It's what the bad guys do, in my book. Bush himself, snickering and smirking about "otherwise dealing with" Al Quaida members in his state of the union address was a new low for the U.S. Presidency which he's since surpassed.

I confess a certain relief that the public dialog will no longer be influenced by Falwell's voice (excepting those who will echo his views for years to come). If there is an afterlife, I hope that a loving and compassionate deity embarrasses the hell out of him, so to speak, and inspires something better in his soul than he was able to give in this world.

That's something I would wish for all of us, in this life even. Let's keep it humble, okay?

It's what the bad guys do, in my book.
Nobody celebrates.
But there are different books.
In my book bad guys don't have compassion.
For example, it doesn't occur to them to think how someone who lost a relative because Falwell cheated him/her of money meant for cure feels when someone unaffected by Falwell's evil doing hypocritically praises the bastard.
I my book these hypocrites love torture.

Why am I suspicious when someone manipulates
(the correct word is justice not vengeance) and encourages
to be nice to a rich and powerful bastard (dead or alive)?
I really have a problem with those generous souls who are so willing to forgive (not being victims themselves) or sacrifice .... somebody else.
This is not a church, so take you hypocritical preaching somewhere else.

I thought everybody here wanted to end the war!

I think too many people here just want revenge. All I see for us is a future of chaos, and we will never get everybody on the same page; it's pretty depressing to me.

You are doing the same thing Farwell did to others, it doesn't matter "who is the better person" judging others, leads to blindness of what we want to accomplish.

Say good-bye to the Christians being on your side, you just polarized things and trashed any understanding.

You could say I'm secular, I believe in the Great Spirit that I see in nature, the universe and in us. I see where religions are trying to go and the truths they portray. We should follow no PERSON as though they are perfect.

I you want to fix the world, each and every one of us holds a key to the puzzle. Until we understand Jerry Farwell, with all his faults; AND HOW HE GOT THAT WAY; we will repeat the same mistake in ourselves. That's just common logic; nothing to do with religion!

Maybe bringing hypocrisy to light was his purpose on earth; you are to understand it; or you will repeat the same mistake in a way that you are blind to.

God answers Falwell's prayer with a resounding "No"

Shortly after upgrading, umm, I mean updating Falwell's condition from "gravely serious" to merely dead, CNN aired footage from an interview Christiane Amanpour conducted with Falwell only a week before he died.

The Associated Press reported:

In that interview, Falwell said he was praying for another 20 years so that he could see the completion of his expanding University. He pointed to a Biblical figure who was dying and prayed for an extra 15 years, and got it. "I am praying the same prayer, with an option to renew," he said.

I wonder if Bush and Cheney could be encouraged to pray for 20 more years...

I'd piss on Falwell's grave but my work in environmental technologies has taught me that urine is a "nutrient"...a resource with value. Now Satan (as if i believe that shit) has a doughy, dimply comfort boy to work over on an hourly basis. Good riddance douchebag.

thanks for greenman's clarification. there is no hate in these comments, just a sense of relief, and an accurate appraisal of this man's actions, however vociferously expressed. the difference between these reactions and falwell's legacy is that every comment here is based on what he did, not what he was, while falwell's condemnations were based on what people are -- i.e. bigotry.

christ preached against only two things: oppressive wealth and hypocrisy. it's obvious that falwell would not fit jesus' own definition of a disciple, so it's hardly worth wasting breath to belabor that. as for respecting the dead -- why? death comes to us all, and if our lives are worth celebrating at their end, then let them be celebrated, but insincere pretensions serve no one except those who wish to perpetuate the darkness that such as falwell brought to this world.

i can feel compassion for falwell for two reasons: either he was a sociopath, in which case he was unequipped to know how bad his works were, and thus was he deprived of a fully human experience, or he had a conscience and consequently must have suffered from severe self-loathing, regardless of how he managed to hide it in public. but either way, the world is better off without him.

I'll miss him like a bleeding hemhorroid. From bullshit to blackness--seems fitting for Jerry.

There is no joy in the passing of another person. But someone who is challenging a Teletubbie because they that being is gay is a sad commentary on the person and the people who follow that person. If could quote the Teletubbies for a moment, (it was a program my daughter liked to watch) "bye-bye."

tech2 is merely indulging in the right wing tendency to play with words and distort opponents' positions. He knows that what Falwell did was most definitely NOT just "choose a different pathway." He knows that what Falwell did was create a community of hate worse than anyother demagogue. Trying to excuse that behavior by asking people not to hate it is sick.

He knows that it is not only consistent, but to "believe in universal rights, universal free speech, etc" REQUIRES you to hate Falwell. That man, and I use the term advisedly, was one of the biggest enemies that universal rights ever had and if you support Falwell, then you are against the American traditions that were written into the Bill of Rights.

Tech2 is fully aware that Falwell is not "far removed from your own standards," but spent his adult life fighting against and to a large extent succeeding in destroying the tolerance and the glue that held our multilineage society together.

But the kicker that shows tech2's fealty to the reactionary mindset is accusing the liberals of planning the very things that the neocons are doing even as we speak, concentration camps (Halliburton has a contract for several of them), reindoctrination (the be-all and end-all of fundamentalist thinking), and torture (something that the right wing really gets high on.)

Ya know when I read about this monstrosity of a human I get upset that I even know about him,and that he is even relevant in our realm of consciousness. Why in America must we make icons out of monsters? Taking joy in his death? Are you kidding?..ya know It would have been one thing if he died in the 80's or something but he made it ALL the way to 73. Look at how many people he poisoned. The fact that evil lived so long takes away any "joy",it's more like an angered relief because he died and humanity still lost. But no need to fear,the next batch of indoctorinated zombies are ready to "fight the good fight" in the name of the holy one.

When it comes to evil like Falwell or troglodyte Cheney who play with lives like toys. Death is a minor issue in the whole scope of things. They ceased being "human" a long time ago. What joy is it to not see the monster's eyes anymore when we are drowning in it's carnage?

Do you think that Jerry might be wondering why he isn't hearing any harps or hosannas in his new home?

The hell with showing respect for that miserable excuse for a human being. One good thing about even the most evil men, they eventually die...nobody has to even lift a finger. A hundred years from now he will have left no more mark than your finger dipped into a bucket of water.

When Jesus said that there would be many who said, "Lord! Lord!" but they would be rejected because He didn't know them, I think He was probably talking about Jerry falwell and his ilk.

I would like to hear what it was he died from. It would be interesting to know if it was a drug induced death or even possibly AIDS. When people are that rabidly homophobic, you can be pretty sure that they are gay themselves, or at least think they might be.

andrewr -

Liberace had far too much taste. How about a few pedophile priests in shifts? LOL

If there is justice in the hereafter, God slammed the gates of heaven in Fallwell's face, and sent him south.

The creep was not a mirror, he was a teacher, a teacher of hate. People do not come into this world believing that crap, they are taught it! Every time one of this sort passes on we are better off. Denigrating this type should be lauded, they should be held up as examples of what are the most base and undesirable of human frailties.
to tech2, I don't think you get it, this isn't hate, it's joy that this particular font of hate has finally run dry. I would also guess that you are not queer. In amerika queerness is the last bigotry that is still OK, and it is because of criminals like this one.

Beware the man with the bible in his hand. He's nothing but trouble.

Days like these I wish god existed so he could say, "Falwell, you were completely and utterly wrong. You now get to receive anal from Liberace for the rest of eternity."

Actually, if AIDS is God's punishment of homosexuals, then by that logic, lesbians, with their far lower than heterosexual-female rates of sexually transmitted diseases, have God's special blessing. For the scientifically inquisitive, the common denominator in the easy spread of STDs is male sperm. I guess God is a male bashing feminazi. Poor Jerry..........

If God hates gays so much, why did he not include them in his most important list of rules..the 10 commandments?

I also dont see "Thous shall not smoke dope" either

Unfortunately for Jerry, It DOES say "THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS"..and that was Jerry's stock and trade..may he burn in hell forever

If AIDS is God's way of punishing homosexuals, then by Jerry's logic, Cancer must be God's way of getting Christians to smoke pot!

Funny huh ! What we are saying about Jerry on here is exactly what he use to say about us.Imagine that little butter ball Falwell actually made Liberals dispise their enemies.
It seems we can no longer turn the other cheek either.
I wonder how he likes his just rewards In Hell?
No No The Jesus I know would never do that.
If in that very last second of Falwell's life he asked for forgiveness He got his ticket to the Pearly gates. Of course when he meets gays in the Great Beyond What will he do?
and him to just sitting there worshiping God ,when he was so use to being praised himself. and if his Mansion is right next store to Liberace's
Our little Jerry just might have a problem.
GoodBye Jerry Falwell.
You gave this world much more hate then love.
genaman

Mary Lou writes--

now, poet, think again. if an idea exists but you push it, surely you have an effect. falwell pushed hard against love and forgiveness all his adult life, and he died rich having founded a law school that something like 150 graduates of (liberty university) served in bush's justice department. do you still care to believe that this jerk had no influence?

****************

Jerry falwell's "influence" was that of a sparking flint in a lighter in a dark room. Without the volitile fumes of hatred he ignited he would just be a pointless sputtering distraction.

To indulge the metaphor just a little further: His final disintegration only means that his users will be lookling for another flint to keep the raging inferno of vileness from which he drew sustenance raging. (What do you think all these colleges that he and others of his ilk keep founding are about?)

Kaywrites opines:

Poet, Jerry Falwell was NOT a mirror. He was an instigator, a lightning rod, a person around whom mindless sheep who live their lives out of fear could gather. If not for Jerry Falwell, these sheep might have gathered around someone else, perhaps someone who could have led them to true salvation instead of fear and hate.

********************

If not for Jerry Falwell they will seek another conduit for their insecurities, hatred, superstitions, and legends.

It's like hallucenogenic, or other addictive drugs. There will always be a supply and those seeking the "high" that such substances promise but only deliver briefly at a terrible cost to their users. We must deal with this on the "demand" side much more than the "supply side".

In other words care for and about the collective spiritual public health more than going after the "pushers" of such nostrums.

If you must, enjoy your exuberant celebration but know that the christo-fascist mafia knew this day was coming and have prepared for it long ago. (The uiversities, the media, faith based initiatives,etc.)

Soon enough there will be someone as bad if not worse than the likes of Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, D. James Kennedy, James Dobson, etc. rising up like so many poisonous mushrooms feeding off the dark, putrid stinking hatreds of the human souls from whom they derive power.

The spores are always in the air seeking fertile soil in which to grow.

I happen to agree with Poet that Jerry Falwell's life was indeed a mirror that reflected the views of some portions of the society. Yes, he was also, as KayWrites says, an instigator, and as others claim a bigot, etc.

The reason I feel a little happiness at his passing is that there is a chance, however small, that whoever takes his place may be less virulent and more open to diversity than he was in his lifetime.

Perhaps Mr. Falwell's true legacy will have been to have lived his life as a negative example to all but the meanest of spirit.

Yellow Horse

Jerry Falwell is dead... Thank God!!!

"...but that they had recieved a telephone call and been ordered to fly the flag at half staff…

I wonder why? anyone hazard a guess?"

Another American needlessly dead in Iraq? Shouldn't every American flag be a half-staff every day in their honor?

Pearly Gates my ass...

God to Jerry: Jerry! You got some 'splainin' to do!

Poet, Jerry Falwell was NOT a mirror. He was an instigator, a lightning rod, a person around whom mindless sheep who live their lives out of fear could gather. If not for Jerry Falwell, these sheep might have gathered around someone else, perhaps someone who could have led them to true salvation instead of fear and hate.

Jerry Falwell, "a rabidly racist, sexist and homophobic asshole"??!!!!...
AMEN!!!!!!!!

your beliefs will determine whether you think falwell is gone or just moved. yolanda king just died at age 51 (daughter of martin luther king, jr).

now, poet, think again. if an idea exists but you push it, surely you have an effect. falwell pushed hard against love and forgiveness all his adult life, and he died rich having founded a law school that something like 150 graduates of (liberty university) served in bush's justice department. do you still care to believe that this jerk had no influence?

The story of Jesus teaches us that individuals are destroyed by a combination of organized government (Rome) and organized religion (temple system) working together. Funny that Jerry never caught that. Maybe now he does.

Good riddance.

Falwell is just another in a long line of haters who used Jesus's name to rake in millions while preaching intolerance in the Savior's name.

Upon his arrival at the city of light, I'm sure he was asked, "how much did you love?"

And he answered, "I loved all the white people, and all the Christians, that ummm, gave to my cause..."

And the Savior stated, "They are all my children, the white, the poor, the non-believer, the gays, the blacks, the Muslims, the Jews, the Liberals, the sick, the wealthy, all of them. You did not speak words of love and forgiveness for my beloved, even in their hour of darkness and confusion, did you? THEY are my CAUSE."

"Love and forgiveness for the GAYS!??" Jerry laughs....

Eyes filled with divine love, the Savior puts his arm around Jerry's shoulder, and walks him over to a great hall.

The Savior now explained that Jerry must choose whether he will go to Heaven or to Hell. "But before you choose, I will show you both." The Savior led Jerry down the great hall at the end of which was two great doors. "Which would you like to see first?" Jerry took a deep breath and asked to see Hell first, thinking to get it out of the way. The Savior opened the doors to Hell and led him through the door. A great banquet hall stretched away from them, fading into the distance. On it were all manner of wonderful foods and drinks. Sitting on either side of this banquet were the residents of Hell. Everyone had a board tied to each arm extending from shoulder down to their wrists so that they could not bend their arms at the elbows, and thus could not feed themselves. As far as the young man could see were bodies: People dying from hunger and thirst, and corpses interspersed with skeletons. He backed out of the room in horror pursued by the screams and moans of suffering and shut the door behind him.

After some time Jerry regained his composure and asked to see Heaven. The Savior opened the doors to Heaven and led the man through. A great banquet hall stretched away from them, fading into the distance. On it were all manner of wonderful foods and drinks. Sitting on either side of this banquet were the residents of Heaven. Everyone had a board tied to each arm extending from shoulder down to their wrists so that they could not bend their arms at the elbows and thus could not feed themselves. BUT some of them were dancing, while others sang, and everyone was talking and laughing as they fed each other at arms length.

so, for some odd reason I woke up feeling lighter yesterday and I couldn't figure out why? until I read that "HE" was dead... the universe seems a little more right today than yesterday... kind of like when in star wars the death star exploded...

now tell me this... I live/work in the NW near the Canada border and people told me yesterday that when they crossed back into the states at the border, they noticed the flag at half staff. when they inquired as to why, the border staff said; "no clue..." but that they had recieved a telephone call and been ordered to fly the flag at half staff...

I wonder why? anyone hazard a guess?

"It is a sad thing, to celebrate the death of a human being." What a hypocracy!

Why, would not we celebrate as we did the death of human being named Hitler? Neither Jerry, nor Hitler killed anyone, both of them just spewed hatred, sermons and books, and issued orders. The only good hatredmonger is a dead one.

Goodbuy, Jerry! Alas, he is immortal. Closed small minds are still the baseline of our species.

Auberon,
"The death of any one makes us all less."

I am afraid that the lives of the bastards make us all less.

But, then again, I am reality-based.

It is one thing to forgive your enemies or speak respectfully of the dead.....

But very wise to never forget their names.....

Lest one gets CONNED, EMOTIONALLY or SPIRITUALLY ABUSED by some bastard acting very similar.......

sfbarbary wrote: "I think that it is good to show public respect to the dead"

Respect is an earned commodity, and that doesn't change upon one's demise. False shows of "respect" are mere hypocrisy -- not that America's current "leadership" is likely to be discouraged by any such consideration.

Yes, and we need some pleasure in these crazy times.

Jerry Falwell preached hate in Jesus name.

In a dynamic universe, we have many opportunities to learn. That who yesterday was Falwell and today is something different is doing some quick learning now, I'll bet, about the power of fear. As I suppose we all will, either now or later.

There are personalities who become the focus of this kind of ugliness, and Falwell was up there with the worst of them. But they would just be fat people blustering in the wind if we didn't give them any credence: objects of pity, not scorn. I wonder why we keep listening?

It is a sad thing, to celebrate the death of a human being. The death of any one makes us all less.

That being said, I find it (incredibly) difficult to mourn the passing of this particular person. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Falwell gets to meet his Maker......

I think it is good to show respect to the dead when they deserve. Otherwise, it's continuation of evil deeds of bastards, and continuation of mistreatment of their victims.
There is no reason for monsters and innocent victims be in the
same category of the respected.
It only means the highest disrespect for those who deserve
respect.

I'm not the one to rejoice at the demise of anyone, but I honestly think the best place for extremists and fundamentalists of any kind is six feet under.

i totally agree. this fat creep supported raygun. if he had sided with jimmeh carter, the actual born again christian......well, he made his choice. bye jerry. uh-oh,'splain yourself to the Almighty.

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Jerry Falwell is dead and to listen to the Christo-fascists and too many in the progressive community tell it: "there'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover, tomorrow, just you wait and see". Such visceral reaction shows that Falwell was a controversial figure whom most either dearly loved or firmly despised with only those ignorant of his public existence having any neutral reaction.

Jerry Falwell did not do anything more than a mirror. He was not the genesis but rather the revelation of the ugliness that was (and still is) too much a part of the US experience. Racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, WASP exceptionalism, human-led theocracy--all existed before Falwell and continue after him. The only difference is that the masses animated by such visions are looking for a new totem before which they might bow. Make no mistake, they will find that totem—just as the yearning human heart always finds some new vision to worship.

Like Cinderella's mirror his "magic" was nothing more than a reflection of the world in which he existed. Many of his followers and detractors were the ugly step-sisters either enchanted or revolted by his reflection of their world, those with Cinderella beauty used (and continue to use) his reflection to examine their own imperfections rather than the ugliness of what surrounds them.

It almost sounds like you are not in just stating a fundamental disagreement with someone who has chosen a completely different life path from you, but that you actually freely HATE someone enough to mock him after he is dead.

Is it really consistent for some of you to hate Jerry Falwell, and say that you believe in universal rights, universal free speech, etc...

(and PLEASE don't bore me with "but, Jerry Falwell was a baby killer" logic)

It makes me wonder what is really under the cute little teletubbie skin of the liberal progressive community.

TO hate someone simply because they are too far removed from your own standards is immature at best, and very very scary in the worst case.
What is next? Concentration camps or redoctrination of Muslims, Christians, Jews..... or perhaps torture for someone who burns too much fossil fuel?

I think it was Mark Twain who said " I've never killed a man but I've read many obituaries with great pleasure"

THANK GOD AUSTRALIA GOT THE CONVICTS AND AMERICA GOT THE PURITANS.

I think that it is good to show public respect to the dead, sneers can be private.

While I agree with your sentiment, it is not only 'bad form' but descent into the trash bin to describe it in these words.

Express the idea without the blatant public sneer.

Force-fed religion growing up and disgusted by pop evangelists, I'm a self-proclaimed member of the reformed church--that is, I've reformed from going as much as possible. Still, I try to seek truth and a modicum of spiritualuality.
Falwell's death begs some very appropriate verses:

"There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers." Proverbs 6: 16-19

Falwell was ill-informed or outright wrong on many issues but even worse he ignored the very scriptures he espoused. The same can be said of the demagogue in the White House and all his fawning sycophants.

"Bullets and bombs did not come out of Jerry Falwell's mouth. Only words. Low intensity sound waves entering the body through the eardrum never killed anyone"

Really?

Arvy said: "Respect is an earned commodity.."
I beg to disagree. All humans are born deserving of respect and should be treated respectfully until their actions cause them to lose the right to be respected. Mr. Falwell and Mr. Reagan do not deserve to be respected by Americans because of their arrogance and ignorance and their disrespect for others who had done nothing to lose respect.

At the Republican debates support for torture, Gitmo and other appalling disrespect for human rights was clearly on display.

The crowd cheered.

Falwell's is dead and can't hurt us. A smoother supporter of the worst of his philosophy is likely to be the next president.

I enjoyed the article and the comments. I'm at a loss when I read comments by those who say either I shouldn't hate Falwell at all or I should say sweet things because he died. I hated him while he was alive, and for precisely those pronouncements Ms. Kohn points out in her article. I'm not going to stop hating him now that he's dead. I suppose I can't be faulted for "spewing" hatred, though. I've never really done that. Of course, I don't hesitate to agree with Ms. Kohn that Falwell was, as she puts it, a "rabidly racist, sexist and homophobic asshole." That's simply a brute fact about the man's character. On the subject of spewing hatred, is it okay for me to spew hatred at, for example, Hitler? He's dead, too. And I don't need to hear the "there's no comparison" arguments. Hitler was a racist and a bigot. Falwell was a racist and a bigot. Hitler was a hate-monger. Falwell was a hate-monger. I suppose the difference between the two is that Falwell never actually killed or ordered the killing of millions of folks he hated. But I wouldn't put it past him to have prayed for their deaths.