Legion World Forums LEGION COMPANION The Anywhere Machine Jerry Falwell passes away

It is sad for the family when anyone passes.

Jerry Falwell story

perhaps. But by some estimates 18,000 people have died in the meantime since he did.

I'll spend more time mourning and respecting them and their families.

i wont miss him

There's a candidate for reincarnation, but, then again, so am I....

OH, LORD ALMIGHTY, WHOOOOOO WILL SAVE US NOW?????

(sorry, I coudln't help it...)

What he said. I'm never happy when someone dies but...you know.

sorry, all I feel is a sense of relief.

"Wait... I thought I was going up...?!"

If I were a mean-spirited person, I would be urging us on in a chorus of "Ding, Dong the Witch is Dead!" If I were mean-spirited.

i am a firm believer that some people dont belong on this planet.

As much as I hate speaking ill of the dead, that was my first thought, too.

Judge not, lest thou be judged. One way or the other, Falwell has met his judgement. I will, however, feel free to judge the consequences of what he has wrought, and what his political disciples continue to do in his name.

Why do the good always die so young?

And the bad live so long?

As wrong, IMO, as his convictions were, he stayed true to them and stood his ground. For that I will give him credit. You always knew what he stood for and never had to guess his beliefs.

May the Goddess guide you to your next journey Mr. Falwell.

I don't agree with everything he ever did or said. In fact, I thought some of it was absolutely horrible...but I'm a little struck by the number of people online (and I mean at other forums I frequent) who are openly celebrating his death because it's absolutely pointless. For one, he was another human being. Granted, he didn't treat everyone else like a human being, but cheering his death doesn't make the rest of us any better.

For another, I'm sort of in the same camp with Tekwych. He had beliefs and he did something with them. He started a movement and impacted the lives of countless people. And his death won't stop that movement because there are plenty to carry on in his stead, now. A sense of relief would almost be ill-placed... He created a lot of controversy, and now even in death, he's still at it. Those who openly mock his death will be viewed by those who liked him as enemies more than ever.

IMO, the guy should just be allowed to pass without much of a fuss. Rejoicing by those he preached against will only make those groups look bad and incite further aggression against them. It all just continues the vicious cycle.

The man spent his life telling his followers that I and others like me were unworthy of God's love or even society's consideration. People are free to mourn him as they see fit. Though I don't celebrate his death, I certainly won't celebrate his life.

I've tried writing a response to this many times. Falwell offended me in so many ways, some very personal. In the end, all I can say is may he rest in peace.

That's probably the best thing to say.

Mom used to say, "If you don't have anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all."

Taking Mom's advice, I have absolutely nothing to say about the man.

The death of another human being is never cause for celebration. Mr. Falwell was a husband, father, and a friend to many. I'm sure they will mourn his loss and I offer them my condolences.

His death does give us an opportunity for reflection. His open bigotry toward the those of us in the gay community is too well documented to deny. His words and actions caused much pain for so many, myself included. Mr. Falwell used fear of homosexuality as a tool to mobilize evangelicals,to raise massive amounts of money, and to advance conservative political causes and candidates. Of the many many things that are written in the Bible, he chose to capatalize on a few phrases and use them as the basis for a campaign of discrimination. He was directly responisble for the perception that Christianity equaled anti gay bigotry throughout the 1980's and 1990's in the United States.

Ironically, by being such a polarizing figure, he did more to advance the cause of gay rights than he ever knew. By giving us a common enemy, and making the threats so obvious, he provided the gay community with a motivation to organize and unify in ways that didn't seem possible before. By bringing the debate on gay rights front and center, Mr. Falwell unknowingly opened a dialouge that allowed us to present our grievances to mainstream America. The closet doors have been flung open. Many memebers of the silent minority were forced to take a stand against the so called "moral majority" for the sake of their own self diginity and protection. Now open, those doors can never be shut again.

Forgiveness is often the first step in healing. I will take the occasion of Mr. Falwell's death as an opportunity to forgive him for his many sins against me and mine. May he rest in peace.

You give credit to someone who stayed to his convictions?
He stated that the antichrist was a male jew and was probalby alive today.
He stated that 911 was brought on by jews, homosexuality and everything else he believed immoral.
Hitler stood by his convictions as did Stalin, i guess we should give them credit too.

Sorry, this is just silly. His being human is no excuse for not speaking ill of him. By this reasoning we should all be keeping mum about Hitler. You may have quite good reasons for having the views you have towards him, but don't use the fact that he was a human being as a reason for people not being vocal of their contempt for him. That's not a valid argument, in fact, that's not an argument at all.

I think I'll take your Mom's advice, too.

I don't think that was Tekwych's point. I think what was meant was that there's nothing wrong with giving credit to a person of questionable ideals for the things they did in life that were not questionable.

I mean, as a Jew, I have a particular dislike for Hitler. But that doesn't mean I can't give him credit for how he used propaganda to rally his people. Yes, it horrifies me but that doesn't take away from the fact that he did it and was successful. Just as FDR, who I consider a great leader despite the fact that even he had some questionable opinions about certain issues, was successful in the States.

sorry but staying true to certain convictions doesnt mean crap if your convictions are completely wrong.
Hitler was wrong
and not that i am comparing the two but if we are talking about staying true to convictions then i am sorry but Jerry Falwell doesnt deserve any compassion, and thats my conviction.
You hear anyone saying, well Hitler was a dictator who tried to commit but i respect him for his convictions? i doubt it, i've heard people say that his military strategy was brilliant but still no respect for him.
Anyway its jerry falwell, who cares anyway.