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Christopher Hitchens’ Withering Farewell To Jerry Falwell
The Rev. Jerry Falwell may be gone, but the sea of controversy that surrounded him during his life has not receded one inch.
In fact, no sooner did he abruptly leave the earthly scene (to go upstairs or downstairs, depending on your feelings towards him) than cartoonists had a field day. (We ran two, but quite a few were alike. A GOOD COLLECTION IS HERE.) And bloggers and commentators seemed sharply divided into “love” and “hate” camps, with little in between.
Cadillac Tight contends the left has a “rage problem” and contrasts it with conservative reaction ot the death of liberal columnist Molly Ivins. John Aravosis of the hugely lively and constantly-updated weblog Americablog labels Falwell “a bigot” and in this post looks at how Republican 2008 Presidential nominee wannabes have handled his death.
But the biggest batch of outrage towards Falwell’s critics who won’t say nice things about him now that he’s dead is aimed at writer Christopher Hitchens, a self-avowed atheist, whose latest
controversial book "God Is Not Great"
Newsbuster’s Matthew Balan sees a double standard:
Over the past years, the liberal mainstream media has produced gushing tributes to deceased “secular saints” such as Princess Diana, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Coretta Scott King. It would have been practically sacrilegious for these outlets to air any kind of immediate criticism of such figures. Yet, in the 24 hours or so since the death of Christian conservative leader Jerry Falwell, the mainstream media has given air time to every sort of criticism of the late evangelical. On Tuesday night’s “Anderson Cooper 360,” noted atheist Christopher Hitchens launched one of the most vitriolic attacks to date on Falwell. Among the terms Hitchens used to describe Falwell were “ugly little charlatan,” “bully,” “fraud,” and “little toad.”
Some of Falwell’s critics would agree with Hitchens (just read blogs or listen to Air America). But watch his appearance below and see if you agree or disagree with him:
15 Responses to “Christopher Hitchens’ Withering Farewell To Jerry Falwell”
What do you disagree with Joe?
An awful lot of lopsided comparisons are being made here.
-Hitchens is vitriolic about religion in general. His over-the-top comments about Falwell have to be taken in that context.
Princess Diana, JFK, and Ms. King were not known for condemning others, so this comparison makes no sense, at all. Also, JFK and King as secularists is stretching it a bit.
For a sensible comparison, you would need equally outrageious figures spouting condemnation, Wait until Michael Moore dies, or Cindy Sheehan.
Mr. Balan doth protest way too much.
His cherrypicking to make a point is disingenuous. Commentators from both extremes of the political spectrum have been “guilty” of giving public figures and fire-and-brinstone treatment before the bodies are even cold.
This all begs a question: How much time should go by following a death before commentators can pile on? 24 hours? 48 hours?
I myself am an advocate of zero hours. Your life is what it is. Do we really expect that when someone like, say, Henry Kissinger leaves this mortal coil that the initial coverage should be limited to how well he learned English and how helpful he was to so many presidents with nary a mention of the many foul deeds for which he was responsible?
He was a creep. He’s dead. What are we supposed to do? Bust out crying?
Anytime a powerful personage like Rev Falwell dies, they will be as controversial in death as they were in life. For those whom he attacked, his death may come as a deliverance from intolerance. Those who followed and/or admired him for what they view as standing up for the good Christian family values will be sensitive to vilification of their icon from the first group.
I thought Hitchens was a bit offensive in his delivery, but agree that to express fake sympathy or reverence for Falwell would be hypocritical. It might have been better for him to say nothing-as his appearance surely galvanized the culture warriors. Intolerance of one’s enemies to the point of accusing them of Satanism is not going to reap accolades from them after one’s death.
I had the same reaction when folks were complaining about a non-hagiographic obit of Kurt Vonnegut that Fox News ran. They both were public figures and criticism comes with the territory. What’s the big deal?
I’ve never understood the desire to cling to some sort of Victorian attitude about death. Why is it wrong to view someone’s life critically in the first couple of days after they die, but completely OK a month or two later? I mean, we are not talking about Joe Blow down the street.
As far as I know I never heard Jerry Falwell speak a single word so I can’t comment on the value of his life’s work. Interesting, tho, that the name-callers crawl out of the woodwork to say things they didn’t have the courage to say while Falwell was alive.
The rage problem of the left is quite real. Challenge them on one of their pet issues – abortion, for instance – and the emotional bile gushes forth like pus from a wound. Better to defend one’s ideas with logic than call names.
“Why is it wrong to view someone’s life critically in the first couple of days after they die, but completely OK a month or two later?”
I have an even better question: Why is it OK to express complete contempt for a person while they are still alive but when they die you have to show “respect”? Wouldn’t that respect have served the person better if you had done it while they were alive?
But the right is equally illogical as we saw in the 2 GOP debates. There is a big inability to discuss 9/11 or Iraq with any type of rationality. Look at the way Ron Paul was attacked by the others, merely for pointing out what the 9/11 Commission has already concluded. Both extremes are vitriolic- you just notice it more when its the other “side” thats angry.
Anyone’s death is an occasion to remember that none of us are perfect. The differences between our flaws are matters of degree at most, not of kind. To show respect for the recently deceased is to show respect for life and to express humility, for if any of us were to have all our secret flaws and vices displayed to the world, we would surely deserve the same criticisms. The first thing I learned, at an early age, about funerals is that they’re held for the benefit of the living, not the dead. We should show respect for the dead for the sake of our own character, whatever we thought of the character of the deceased.
Criticizing someone in life is simply part of the ballgame. One must fight against principles with which one disagrees. But after death, your opponent is not fighting you any more, and showing some grace, dignity, and mercy will do you know harm. You need not express false fondness or respect, but you can at least keep your mouth shut.
And Joe, at least a few of us did indeed adopt a moderate approach on the matter. At Stubborn Facts, we took a middle position between love and hate. I also noted, in comments, the dignity and grace shown by Larry Flynt, of all people, in reaction to Rev. Falwell’s death.
PatHMV’s comment caused me to wonder why, even though most people would follow his recommendations most of the time, why some cases seem to be different, or exceptional.
In all cases, I do worry about the family and friends and that they should have to read and hear the vitriol whle grieving.
On the other hand, like Shaun said, sooner or later, a man’s life will be commented on again, and an arbitrary pause time is just that – arbitrary.
I think what makes men like Falwell excite so much anger is the power with which he was associated. When preachers just gave fire and brinstome sermons to their flocks, no one paid much attention. It’s when those sermons started coming from the halls of power and started to affect our lives in terms of laws, enacted and proposed, that it became personal. Falwell came to symbolize a threat to the way of life and governance that many people value above all else.
It’s not easy to separate the man from what he symbolized just because he died. So, in extending ‘Christian’ charity, perhaps a little should be expended on those who couldn’t find the nobility to rise above their grievances.
Maybe we’ll do better next time.
Beating up on the dead is just plain cowardly. I beat up on Falwell plenty when he was alive, just as I beat up on Molly Ivins. But I sure as hell didn’t crow about her passing and fall in line to spit on her corpse.
Now Falwell’s assumed room temperature and can’t hit back, and I’ll give him a miss too, thank you. He’s not doing anything again ever to annoy me, I have nothing against those close to him who are now grieving, and I respect their grief even though I do not share it.
But if you just gotta, go right ahead. You’ll pardon me if I thereafter class you with the company you keep.
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Jerry Falwell was not God nor was he the devil. He was somewhere in between as are we all.
He lived a rich life full of accomplishments and disappointments. He was loved by many and hated by just as many. He was true to what he believed in and his life was never tainted by controversy except for his big mouth.
He abused his position as a minister and changed the course of American politics from the center-left to the far right.
I live in Lynchburg and have known Mr. Falwell for over 40 years. I hated his politics, but liked the man.
Christopher Hitchens is an ass. Always has been, always will be.
I hated his politics, but liked the man.
Thank you, Jim. I know I think the same of some of my dearest friends, and (hopefully) they of me, yet I love them none the less. As Kurt Vonnegut said (and I paraphrase ’cause it’s not in front of me) your enemy is not evil in his own eyes. He has a different perspective.
The sad thing is that sometimes we let such limited and transitory things as political opinions keep us from realizing in others what we all unavoidably share–our basic humanity.
Of course, there is real evil. But we don’t need to validate it by joining it.