May 16, 2007

We will not miss his vitriol.

The Rev. Jerry Falwell, the founder of the so-called Moral Majority, railed against gayrights, women's rights, reproductive freedom, the
separation of church and state and liberalism in general.

He reinvented himself each political cycle with renewed pledges to register countless new evangelical voters -- missing his own benchmarks many times. His prominence began to dwindle in the 1990s with the rise of the
Christian Coalition and later the Family Research Council.

He also had a penchant for making outrageous statements.

After 9/11, Falwell and broadcaster Pat Robertson drew ire when they blamed the terrorist attacks on gays, "abortionists" and the American Civil Liberties Union. Even President Bush was offended and expressed opposition to such remarks. Falwell later apologized.

His brand of Christianity was not one of compassion -- it was one of threats, hypocrisy and pandering to people's basic fears.

Falwell humiliated himself by insinuating that Tinky Winky, the children's TV character with a triangle-shaped horn, was some sort of gay or cross-dressing bogeyman designed to infiltrate children's minds and spread the gay agenda. He claimed the media misquoted him.

But, uncharacteristically, he once said that gays and lesbians should have basic civil rights protection, but not marriage equality. He immediately backpedaled when a wave of conservative bile nearly drowned him.

Falwell's ghostwriter for his autobiography, Mel White, came out of the closet years later as a gay man. White dedicated his life to doing penance for his years supporting the reverend, later forming Soulforce, which is seeks to end spiritual violence against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

But Falwell never recanted.

His vision was not one of inclusion. In fact, his life was dedicated to division, distraction and demonization.

Perhaps more than anyone in recent times, he set this country back. We need to acknowledge that, not gloss over it, if we are to move forward again.

Sean Kosofsky is director of policy for Triangle Foundation, Michigan's leading civil rights organizations for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals. He can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.