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 in the Fire of Angry Media Scorn TV Preachers' Post-Attack Commentaries: 'Reprehensible' Gays were at Centers of Struggles aboard Doomed Airplanes |
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Jerry Falwell: And I agree totally with you that the Lord has protected us so wonderfully these 225 years. And since 1812, this is the first time that we've been attacked on our soil and by far the worst results. And I fear, as Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, said yesterday, that this is only the beginning. And with biological warfare available to these monsters - the Husseins, the Bin Ladens, the Arafats - what we saw on Tuesday, as terrible as it is, could be miniscule if, in fact - if, in fact - God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve. Pat Robertson: 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. Jerry Falwell: The ACLU's got to take a lot of blame for this. Pat Robertson: Well, yes. Jerry Falwell: And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal 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."
Pat Robertson: Amen Media Blasts 2 Fanatics as Heartless Opportunists: Used U.S. Tragedy to Attack Fellow Americans Over the weekend there was a swift response in the U.S. media to the Falwell/Robertson remarks. Many journalists seemed to perceive how the two clergymen lacked any believable sense of anguish as they discussed the death and destruction maiming their country. Instead, journalists noted, Falwell and Robertson had -like the vulgar opportunists they are-used the occasion to stir up hatred against other Americans with whom they disagreed. Calling Falwell's remarks "Opportunistic Garbage" (September 15) an editorial in the Des Moines Register, characterized them as "Unbelievable." "It's disheartening and distressing to see such opportunism and misguided comments from a supposed spiritual leader. Just what god is Jerry Falwell worshipping?" Jack Nichols, GayToday's Senior Editor and author of The Gay Agenda: Talking Back to the Fundamentalists said:
"One religious fanatic is pretty much like another when it comes to using the Bible or the Koran to justify the most unimaginable barbarisms." Both of the two Christian fundamentalists, he explained, "voiced the belief that the deaths of thousands of Americans at the hands of terrorists was inspired by God as a way of getting even with those who condone feminism, homosexuality, abortion rights and any number of civil liberties the two have no use for." Stephanie Salter, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle (September 15) said: "Yes, yes, I know this alleged man of God and his equally unholy twin, Pat Robertson have millions of followers in our country. And when I say followers, I do mean followers. To take Falwell and Robertson seriously, folks have to practice a kind of Greyhound bus-style of religion; you leave the driving and the thinking to someone else." In stark contrast to Falwell and Robertson, the Reverend Barry Lynn, regularly their ready critic as executive director of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, refused to dignify their comments with an immediate reply. Instead, the Rev. Lynn rightly addressed the loved ones of those whom the terrorists had killed and put his focus on stopping the killers. He said: "At this time of national tragedy, we extend our deepest sympathy to the families of those killed and injured in the horrific attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and Pennsylvania. As a people, we cannot -- and will not -- allow these repugnant crimes to weaken our commitment to the American values of democracy, pluralism and freedom of conscience. Our nation stands united in our determination that terrorism will not triumph over constitutional government and that those guilty of these crimes will be brought to justice." Gay Americans Were Among those Killed Co-pilot David Charlebois, first officer on American Airlines Flight 77, was among those killed Tuesday when terrorists hijacked the Boeing 757 jetliner, crashing it into the Pentagon. A Washington, D.C. resident, Charlebois belonged to the National Gay Pilots Association.
Others killed were 33-year-old Ronald Gamboa and his partner of 14 years, Dan Brandhorst as well as their adopted 3-year old son, David. They were on board the second plane that crashed into the World Trade Center. |
