quote:
Giles Coren, The Times, Wednesday 19th September 2001:
Just in case unbalanced media coverage has been giving you the impression that Islam is the only religon with a significant bonkers wing, this is what the Reverend Jerry Falwell, the founder of the conservative pressure group Moral Majority, said about the twin towers attack on an American television programme hosted by the evangelist Pat Robertson:"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 and the American Civil Liberties Union - all of them who have tried to secularise America - I point the finger and say 'you helped this happen'."
Now, once we've all stopped laughing...
First, this does seem to be shifting the blame on a massive scale. There can be no doubt exactly where the culpable persons lie: in small pieces in the rubble of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon. Presumably, Rev. Falwell is quite happy that Mohammed Atta and his associates are now facing God's justice, if not that of the American courts. If not, I would like to hear how Rev. Falwell presumes to doubt God's right to judge all his creations.
Secondly, I wonder how Rev. Falwell, the pious, God-fearing man that he is, managed to summon the nerve to attest as to the Almighty's emotional state. Unless, of course, Rev. Falwell is God, in which case he has bigger problems than we can help him with (like referring to Himself in the third person).
Thirdly, 'secular' is precisely what the USA has to be in order for religous freedom to flourish: a secular state with occasionally religous inhabitants. Or perhaps Rev. Falwell would prefer an official and established state religon? If the USA had one, we can be pretty sure that it wouldn't be whatever perverted and bastardized version of Christianity he practices, since such a state religon would have been adopted along with the Constitution.
I can only hope that the show's audience had the sense to mock Rev. Falwell as much as he claimed the world to be mocking God.
They're both Fundies of one sort or another, they both believe that they hold the one direct conduit into the Brain of God, they both believe in treating people who aren't just like them as second-class citizens at BEST, and they're not above using fear and scare tactics to get what they want (Rember Robertson threatening FL with hurricanes and meteors?).
Sadly, it's probably too much to hope for that some smart guy in D.C. will class Fundies in with other terrorists, and act accordingly.
i mean really.. feminists and the ACLU?
equal rights for all humans apparently make God mad? He just basically declared that his belief that civil rights and feminism are wrong.. i.e women make babies and non-whites pick cotton?!. And he gets published!?
"I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians ... the A.C.L.U., 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.'"
-- Jerry Falwell, September 13th, on The 700 Club about last week's terrorist attacks
"I sincerely regret that comments I made ... were taken out of their context."
-- Jerry Falwell, September 14
Nine Possible Contexts:
1. "...NOT."
2. "You know, I'm really high right now, so this may not make any sense, but..."
3. "Keeping in mind that today is Opposites Day, I emphasize that..."
4. "My son showed me this cool thing on Alta Vista, where you type something in English and then have the computer translate it into French and then into Spanish and then into German and then back to English-it's kinda like 'Telephone,' you know?-and something that made sense at the beginning will come out sounding like..."
5. "If an infinite number of monkeys typed on an infinite number of typewriters, one of them would write..."
6. "I want to take a break from the grim events of this week, and salute the brave people who've spent years making America a better and more tolerant place. Who's done this, who's helped this happen? Well, I'll tell you: ..."
7. "An insane man off camera is pointing a gun at my head and forcing me to read this statement. Quote,..."
8. "Please join me in praying that, in the wake of this horrific tragedy, Christ's message of peace will prevail, our entire country can unite in compassion, not aggression, and that no misguided person will state..."
9. "I truly believe that if Osama bin Laden had been born in America, right now he'd be saying..."
I wonder if his statements would qualify him as a target under Bush's "hard on terrorism, hard on the causes of terrorism" scheme? Please... it would so amuse me
The U.S. trains, funds and supplies Muslem (terrorists? guerillas?) to fight the Soviet forces in Afghanistan.
One of those trained is Osama bin Laden, who soon goes on to be a major thorn in the side of the US.
Does the U.S. attack itself for supporting terrorists?
.
Hope than answers your question, Omega.
[ September 24, 2001: Message edited by: Tahna Los ]
Thats what hes doing.
(edit.. apologies in advance to everyone who might be offended by me calling the Pope a 'dude')
[ September 25, 2001: Message edited by: CaptainMike ]