On September 13, 2001 “Moral Majority” Reverend Jerry Falwell who founded Liberty University Law School with the assistance of the anti-LGBT hate group leader Mat Staver of the Liberty Counsel, left one of his last and most hateful marks on history while the ashes were still smoldering at the site of the World Trade Center and the world mourned.
Falwell appeared on Pat Robertson’s 700 Club, and actually accused gays and the lesbians as responsible for the worst tragedy to ever to strike American.
Falwell: What we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if in fact God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.
Robertson: Well Jerry, that’s my feeling. I think we’ve just seen the antechamber to terror. We haven’t even begun to see what they can do to the major population.
Falwell: The ACLU’s got to take a lot of blame for this.
Robertson: Oh, yes.
Falwell: And I know I’ll hear from them for this but throwing God out successfully with the help of the court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools… The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, “you helped this happen.”
Robertson: Well I totally concur.
Falwell further stated that the attacks were “probably deserved”, a statement which Christopher Hitchens called treasonous.
The next day, Falwell “sort of” apologized in a phone call to CNN: “I would never blame any human being except the terrorists, and if I left that impression with gays or lesbians or anyone else, I apologize,” but then went on to say: “I do believe, as a theologian, based upon many Scriptures and particularly Proverbs 14:23, which says ‘living by God’s principles promotes a nation to greatness, violating those principles brings a nation to shame,” he said.
Falwell died on May 15, 2007. He is not missed and is hopefully in hell playing Go Fish with Hitler, Mussolini, and Cardinal Richelieu.
One down to many left to go…can’t happen fast enough for me…especially the mega rich and out of touch mentally ill Pat Robertson, Ralph Reed, the koch bothers, schlafly, Anita Bryant, Rick Perry,Scott Walker, the whole Walton walmart family,Hannity, Jon Falwell, Rush Limpnuts, Chaney, Sheldon alderson, John Boner, Billy Grahmn & son, Palin, Dobson, Beck and all the Duganns especially the mega-breeder mother…when these guys are maggot food 6 feet under (maybe 20 feet under so it is guaranteed they will never get out) I might consider that there might be a god. People should be ashamed of themselves believing in these disgusting people…they are nothing but modern day snake oil salesman praying on people who can least afford it. All these people are a threat to our democracy and should be listed as terrorists.
It is revolting and outrageous to read something like this, but what makes me even sadder is to see how much this speech of his would still fit today.
In 2021 you can still find politicians, religious people, artists, and influential people who reproduce this same or similar speech.
Oh, and the other common point is the part where they apologize “in case anyone was offended” by their “unintentionally” barbaric words.
We can’t give up, but we have to do our best so that people like this have less and less opportunity to distill their hatred, especially in large media outlets.
May he rest in peace!
Jessa C.