The Falwell phenomenon

I never liked Jerry Falwell, but I thought he was a bit on the stupid side (and unlike many of his detractors, not intentionally malicious), so I never actively disliked him either.  He was an embarrassment to his professed faith, which he never understood well enough to be encouraged to discuss in public, but he was an extremely self-confident and irritating windbag, and that was enough to make him a popular guest on TV talk shows. Unfortunately, a lot of people watch these pathetic spectacles without realizing that the spokesmen for various points of view are chosen on the basis of their willingness to make fools of themselves rather than their ability to think and speak.

That being said, I also believe that the people presently railing against him, gloating over his demise, and wishing him an eternity in perdition should really be ashamed of themselves. If he got on their nerves enough to make them seethe, they could easily have turned their attention to more edifying matters rather than nurturing the spiteful side of their natures by reading everything they could about the man, or worse, watching him perform on camera. I happily ignored him most of the time and found my intellectual life all the better for it, perhaps because I took Dr. Arbuthnot seriously when he advised Pope against responding to his critics:

Let Sporus tremble--"What? that thing of silk,
Sporus, that mere white curd of ass's milk?
Satire or sense, alas! can Sporus feel?
Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?"

Comments

[Jenny]

Well put, and I'm a bit ashamed to admit that I (silently)was not sad to hear of his death. I also ignored him most of time and will not miss his antiquated rants. Peace Out Jerry Falwell.

[Carin AKA Crazy Dude 96]

I think Falwell got the attention he did because it looked bad for people of faith AND conservatives. But, I never thought he was a bad person.

And, the gloating really turns my stomach, and shows how unhinged some people are.

[Carin AKA Crazy Dude 96]

I mean these are bad people. Falwall said idiotic things at a similar rate to Al Sharpton, but do you think the conservative blogs will be celebrating his death?

[gail]

No, I agree with you Carin. Those are horrible things to say and worse things to feel. I believe that he was doing what he thought was the right thing, and I don't think he intended malice toward anyone. He warned people about going to hell the same way anyone else would warn someone not to step on a crumbly piece of ground at the edge of a cliff. Not doing so would have been unthinkable to him. The trouble is that he thought too highly of his own abilities. Not only didn't he deserve the limelight but he should have been humble enough not to seek it. The fact that he was a bit stuck on himself though is hardly a reason for people to foam at the mouth the way they're doing. I won't go so far as to say they're bad people, but I think they're doing a bad thing by nurturing such malicious feelings and egging each other on in the process. People's feelings for others become coarsened that way . That's the reason I stay away from websites that indulge in invective of any kind. I hate hearing that kind of thing, and I know if I keep reading it I'll soon start to hate the people doing it.

[Pixie]

Amen Carin.

[Carin AKA Crazy Dude 96]

That's the reason I stay away from websites that indulge in invective of any kind.

I was thinking about this. This has always gnawed at me. I often to see what "the other side" is saying about an issue, because I do want to know what they are saying and thinking. Hey, I might learn something, right? Problem is - and perhaps this is my own fault - the sites that I visit (and appear to be the big, popular ones) often are ... unhinged. There have to be reasonable liberal sites, I just don't know where they are.

[gail]

There's this one. From what I've seen, the comments don't go beyond snotty into unhinged, and he has a whole blogroll to choose from, so you might start there. I've pretty much given up on everybody's comments section but mine, Jeff's, and Neatorama's though.