Jerry Falwell Jr. to take 'indefinite leave of absence'
August 7, 2020 10:19 PM Subscribe
Jerry Falwell, Jr. posted a picture of himself on his yacht. It got him fired. He's been making trouble for himself, for a while.
I'm honestly astonished that he has suffered any consequences for his actions, but I guess photos having your pants down on the sex-drug yacht are, at long last, too much for even liberty u.
posted by dis_integration at 10:29 PM on August 7, 2020 [38 favorites]
posted by dis_integration at 10:29 PM on August 7, 2020 [38 favorites]
jesus christ what living, breathing, slithering case study in why estate taxes should be 100% for anything above like 100k.
posted by dudemanlives at 10:29 PM on August 7, 2020 [100 favorites]
posted by dudemanlives at 10:29 PM on August 7, 2020 [100 favorites]
Also, underrated in all of this kerfuffle is the fact that he was apparently having a Trailer Park Boys costume party on the yacht? And he was dressed as Julian, which means he's holding a rum & coke (which Julian, in Trailer Park Boys, is always drinking).
Just really struggling to wrap my head around Jerry Falwell Jr being a Trailer Park Boys fan.
posted by dis_integration at 10:34 PM on August 7, 2020 [52 favorites]
Just really struggling to wrap my head around Jerry Falwell Jr being a Trailer Park Boys fan.
posted by dis_integration at 10:34 PM on August 7, 2020 [52 favorites]
Didn’t he have another set of photos set off a scandal before this? He could live like he wanted if he did almost anything else for work but he just couldn’t refuse the grift.
posted by Selena777 at 10:34 PM on August 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by Selena777 at 10:34 PM on August 7, 2020 [6 favorites]
God, this is delightful.
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:42 PM on August 7, 2020 [23 favorites]
posted by jenfullmoon at 10:42 PM on August 7, 2020 [23 favorites]
Didn’t he have another set of photos set off a scandal before this?
Falwell has denied any relationship, business or otherwise, with Granda, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and insisted that the pictures of him at the hostel were altered.
posted by valkane at 10:51 PM on August 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
Falwell has denied any relationship, business or otherwise, with Granda, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, and insisted that the pictures of him at the hostel were altered.
posted by valkane at 10:51 PM on August 7, 2020 [4 favorites]
Fired? A leave of absence is getting a paycheck for not participating. This is what happens to high level perpetrators in societies who teach that rich people are untouchable.
posted by parmanparman at 11:10 PM on August 7, 2020 [61 favorites]
posted by parmanparman at 11:10 PM on August 7, 2020 [61 favorites]
Even though nothing much surprises me anymore in 2020, I admit I was a little taken aback to see video evidence that Jerry Falwell Jr. participated in a Trailer Park Boys themed party on a yacht (while dressed as Julian, no less).
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:44 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:44 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
I admit I was a little taken aback to see video evidence that Jerry Falwell Jr. participated in a Trailer Park Boys themed party on a yacht (while dressed as Julian, no less).
Thank you! I was wondering what the fuck was up with the picture, it was weird more than sexual or anything. I didn't get the Trailer Park Boys reference, which now actually makes this more confusing to a certain extent. His private life seems normal rich guy who is culturally aware, like if he wasn't religious and worked at Chase on the options desk we wouldn't even care. Then he has this other side that completely denies this.
posted by geoff. at 12:58 AM on August 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
Thank you! I was wondering what the fuck was up with the picture, it was weird more than sexual or anything. I didn't get the Trailer Park Boys reference, which now actually makes this more confusing to a certain extent. His private life seems normal rich guy who is culturally aware, like if he wasn't religious and worked at Chase on the options desk we wouldn't even care. Then he has this other side that completely denies this.
posted by geoff. at 12:58 AM on August 8, 2020 [13 favorites]
A useful thread from the fellow who tweeted the photos:
@RobDownenChron: Y’all. I appreciate the shout outs re: Jerry Falwell, but many, many people have spent many, many years speaking out/reporting on issues at Liberty University — often at great personal cost. All I did was tweet some publicly available photos that I thought were odd.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:11 AM on August 8, 2020 [27 favorites]
@RobDownenChron: Y’all. I appreciate the shout outs re: Jerry Falwell, but many, many people have spent many, many years speaking out/reporting on issues at Liberty University — often at great personal cost. All I did was tweet some publicly available photos that I thought were odd.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:11 AM on August 8, 2020 [27 favorites]
His private life seems normal rich guy who is culturally aware, like if he wasn't religious and worked at Chase on the options desk we wouldn't even care.
One of the Falwell Jr. deep dives out there - maybe the WaPo one- makes hay out of how Jerry Falwell had two sons. The more religious one got Falwell’s church. Falwell Jr. got the school - or at least got the majority of the school and (if I recall correctly) forced his brother out.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:15 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
One of the Falwell Jr. deep dives out there - maybe the WaPo one- makes hay out of how Jerry Falwell had two sons. The more religious one got Falwell’s church. Falwell Jr. got the school - or at least got the majority of the school and (if I recall correctly) forced his brother out.
posted by Going To Maine at 1:15 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
I saw the news about this photo yesterday, but I've never watched Trailer Park Boys, so I didn't get the reference. (I don't think any of the coverage I've read explains this. It seems kinda important for understanding the context of the photo. Not for the sake of defending Falwell – who is contemptible trash of the highest order – but so I know what the hell I'm looking at, and exactly what people are upset about.)
if he wasn't religious and worked at Chase on the options desk we wouldn't even care
This is what makes this hard for me to wrap my head around. If you saw that photo without knowing that it's Falwell, then it wouldn't even register – it's just some middle-aged dork with poor taste having drinks and clowning around.
And, I get it – it's scandalous because it shows that Falwell is a hypocrite and a grifter.
But...didn't everyone know this already? You'd have to have your head deliberately in the sand to think otherwise. It's hard to imagine that this dorky, fairly innocent photo is the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Countless American Evangelical leaders are engaged in this exact same kind of hypocrisy, to the degree that their wealth and position allow. The entire thing is a cynical grift. Of course the wealthy scion of one of the movement's architects is a hypocrite. That's been the entire point from the beginning: to enable the Falwells to live a life of luxury and impunity, at the expense of their naive followers.
I guess the difference is that Evangelicals themselves are seeing through the grift this time?
posted by escape from the potato planet at 3:53 AM on August 8, 2020 [47 favorites]
if he wasn't religious and worked at Chase on the options desk we wouldn't even care
This is what makes this hard for me to wrap my head around. If you saw that photo without knowing that it's Falwell, then it wouldn't even register – it's just some middle-aged dork with poor taste having drinks and clowning around.
And, I get it – it's scandalous because it shows that Falwell is a hypocrite and a grifter.
But...didn't everyone know this already? You'd have to have your head deliberately in the sand to think otherwise. It's hard to imagine that this dorky, fairly innocent photo is the straw that breaks the camel's back.
Countless American Evangelical leaders are engaged in this exact same kind of hypocrisy, to the degree that their wealth and position allow. The entire thing is a cynical grift. Of course the wealthy scion of one of the movement's architects is a hypocrite. That's been the entire point from the beginning: to enable the Falwells to live a life of luxury and impunity, at the expense of their naive followers.
I guess the difference is that Evangelicals themselves are seeing through the grift this time?
posted by escape from the potato planet at 3:53 AM on August 8, 2020 [47 favorites]
What is "black water"?
posted by sammyo at 4:36 AM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by sammyo at 4:36 AM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
What is "black water"?
A drink that is not rum and coke.
posted by clinthowarth at 4:40 AM on August 8, 2020 [32 favorites]
A drink that is not rum and coke.
posted by clinthowarth at 4:40 AM on August 8, 2020 [32 favorites]
Julian on Trailer Park Boys always drinks a Rum & Coke on the rocks. Another bit of eccentricity from this guy is that he doesn't come right out and say, "Not a cubra libre, just a prop!" instead makes an obtuse reference to black water, making it sound way more sinister.
posted by geoff. at 4:46 AM on August 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by geoff. at 4:46 AM on August 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
John Fea, over at The Way of Improvement Leads Home, has been chronicling the misadventures of the disgraced Falwell for a while. Why did the Liberty University Board of Trustees put Jerry Falwell Jr. on indefinite leave? has a good roundup of the things he wasn't let go for. (That's...quite a track record.) And why was all of this excused? An answer from Kristin Du Mez at Patheos: You Want Context? Jerry Falwell Jr.’s Crotch Shot and Family-Values Evangelicalism. Oh, for the simpler times of Falwell Jr. allowing his CIO to rig online polls in favor of candidate Trump and Michael Cohen possessing racy photos of the Liberty U prez and his wife...
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:59 AM on August 8, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:59 AM on August 8, 2020 [10 favorites]
Inside Higher Ed coverage.
Chronicle of Higher Education.
posted by doctornemo at 5:18 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Chronicle of Higher Education.
posted by doctornemo at 5:18 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
"When asked about this news, Jerry Falwell, Jr. responded that he's not at Liberty to say."
-Charlotte Clymer
posted by doctornemo at 5:20 AM on August 8, 2020 [55 favorites]
-Charlotte Clymer
posted by doctornemo at 5:20 AM on August 8, 2020 [55 favorites]
Yeah, but black water when you’re on a boat is something else entirely.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:21 AM on August 8, 2020 [22 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:21 AM on August 8, 2020 [22 favorites]
Mississippi moon won't you keep on shinin' on me
posted by hippybear at 5:27 AM on August 8, 2020 [15 favorites]
posted by hippybear at 5:27 AM on August 8, 2020 [15 favorites]
Mod note: One deleted. Please don't use violent and dehumanizing language about people or groups of people.
posted by taz (staff) at 5:58 AM on August 8, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by taz (staff) at 5:58 AM on August 8, 2020 [8 favorites]
Liberty University Poured Millions Into Sports. Now Its Black Athletes Are Leaving. Jerry Falwell Jr.’s dream of athletic domination is in peril thanks to his own racists comments
posted by robbyrobs at 6:12 AM on August 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
posted by robbyrobs at 6:12 AM on August 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
"She's pregnant, so she couldn't get her pants up…I couldn't get mine zipped either."
Since there was likely no person of color or elected Democrat nearby, "blame the nearest woman" was the next play in the playbook. And they say chivalry is dead.
I guess the pregnancy was moving along so fast that her pants fit her when she got on the boat but didn't when the picture was taken. That logic might actually work among people so trained to dehumanize women yet fetishize pregnancy, so I can't blame him for trying.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:13 AM on August 8, 2020 [12 favorites]
Since there was likely no person of color or elected Democrat nearby, "blame the nearest woman" was the next play in the playbook. And they say chivalry is dead.
I guess the pregnancy was moving along so fast that her pants fit her when she got on the boat but didn't when the picture was taken. That logic might actually work among people so trained to dehumanize women yet fetishize pregnancy, so I can't blame him for trying.
posted by tonycpsu at 6:13 AM on August 8, 2020 [12 favorites]
He is a terrible person and I'm glad to see him publicly shamed and starting to face some consequences. But at the same time, why should it have taken so long, and why is showing your underwear worse than, say, open racism?
posted by Dip Flash at 6:16 AM on August 8, 2020 [18 favorites]
posted by Dip Flash at 6:16 AM on August 8, 2020 [18 favorites]
Sadly, because evangelicals don’t generally care about (or recognize) racism.
posted by double bubble at 6:24 AM on August 8, 2020 [23 favorites]
posted by double bubble at 6:24 AM on August 8, 2020 [23 favorites]
I guess the difference is that Evangelicals themselves are seeing through the grift this time?
The difference is that now enough of his own people want him out. I really think that's what it boils down to. The crimes (in this case against God, not secular law) only becomes unpardonable when enough of the tribe don't want him pardoned.
posted by AdamCSnider at 6:25 AM on August 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
The difference is that now enough of his own people want him out. I really think that's what it boils down to. The crimes (in this case against God, not secular law) only becomes unpardonable when enough of the tribe don't want him pardoned.
posted by AdamCSnider at 6:25 AM on August 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
Season 2 of The Righteous Gemstones is pretty good so far
posted by penduluum at 6:46 AM on August 8, 2020 [22 favorites]
posted by penduluum at 6:46 AM on August 8, 2020 [22 favorites]
He's said and done worse than this, but I guess you never know what's gonna be the last straw. Especially when you're drunk when you call into a *morning* radio show the next day to explain yourself. Which may have been as or more damaging than the pic.
posted by chris24 at 7:28 AM on August 8, 2020 [10 favorites]
posted by chris24 at 7:28 AM on August 8, 2020 [10 favorites]
Trump and Pence's very different personalities are two sides of the same misogynistic coin. For the Right, you really have to be one toxic masculine persona or the other. The problem for Liberty is that Falwell has been publicly trying to be both.
posted by Luminiferous Ether at 7:35 AM on August 8, 2020 [19 favorites]
posted by Luminiferous Ether at 7:35 AM on August 8, 2020 [19 favorites]
Once again,
I'd like to sing a little song I once started to the tune of Wayne Newton's Danke Schoen:
Schadenfreude, my darling, schadenfreude...
posted by y2karl at 8:02 AM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
I'd like to sing a little song I once started to the tune of Wayne Newton's Danke Schoen:
Schadenfreude, my darling, schadenfreude...
posted by y2karl at 8:02 AM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
I want him to get into all kinds of trouble for all kinds of reasons. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy, don't get me wrong. But having a slightly risqué party? Hmm.
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:02 AM on August 8, 2020
posted by kleinsteradikaleminderheit at 8:02 AM on August 8, 2020
Mississippi moon won't you keep on shinin' on me
And I ain't got no worries
'Cause I ain't in no hurry at all
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:04 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
And I ain't got no worries
'Cause I ain't in no hurry at all
posted by thecincinnatikid at 8:04 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Ugh. Can someone please identify the part of the brain that lights up when we read about the exploits and excesses of the super wealthy and privileged such that we just can’t bring ourselves to rob them of their wealth and throw them in jail? I just get ill now when I read this stuff. And yes, Trump and Pence are the exact two types of men who are allowed veneration by the right. Craven Capitalist Misogynist and Religious Fundamentalist Libertarian.
posted by amanda at 8:18 AM on August 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
posted by amanda at 8:18 AM on August 8, 2020 [6 favorites]
What is "black water"?
a sweet little jam by the doobie brothers, duh.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:20 AM on August 8, 2020 [10 favorites]
a sweet little jam by the doobie brothers, duh.
posted by entropicamericana at 8:20 AM on August 8, 2020 [10 favorites]
I guess the difference is that Evangelicals themselves are seeing through the grift this time?
I feel pretty confident in assuming that the little matter of a worldwide pandemic that is playing merry hell with university enrollment and attendance (a.k.a. $$$) plus the massive damage to the US economy for who knows how long thanks to the same pandemic (also a.k.a. $$$ - Liberty absolutely relies on Federal funding) were big factors in the Board of Directors deciding this was the last straw.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:30 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
I feel pretty confident in assuming that the little matter of a worldwide pandemic that is playing merry hell with university enrollment and attendance (a.k.a. $$$) plus the massive damage to the US economy for who knows how long thanks to the same pandemic (also a.k.a. $$$ - Liberty absolutely relies on Federal funding) were big factors in the Board of Directors deciding this was the last straw.
posted by soundguy99 at 8:30 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Proof that "Christians" who claim to take the Bible literally pick and choose the parts they wish to believe in. Racism and misogyny are totally cool, just don't embarass the powers that be.
posted by tommasz at 8:38 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 8:38 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
Weird that he thought he could get away with this, since as everyone knows everybody looks at you when you're sailing on a boat.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:43 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 8:43 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Since when does Julian walk around grinning like an ape looking all sloppy with his pants unzipped?
Did he dye his bloatee but not his head hair?
No respect for this pitifully half-assed effort. Commit to the bit!
posted by Don Pepino at 9:29 AM on August 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
Did he dye his bloatee but not his head hair?
No respect for this pitifully half-assed effort. Commit to the bit!
posted by Don Pepino at 9:29 AM on August 8, 2020 [7 favorites]
I feel pretty confident in assuming that the little matter of a worldwide pandemic that is playing merry hell with university enrollment and attendance (a.k.a. $$$) plus the massive damage to the US economy for who knows how long thanks to the same pandemic (also a.k.a. $$$ - Liberty absolutely relies on Federal funding) were big factors in the Board of Directors deciding this was the last straw.
Wholly unoriginal thought here, but I can't help but think that Falwell Jr.'s predicament and whatever internecine conflict has resulted in this relatively weak "scandal" (in and of itself) being his doing-in is just a symptom of the movement/business thrashing around when it starts to look like their push to give the United States the prominent features of a Christian fundamentalist theocracy (or at least get rich trying) may bear slightly less fruit in the near term.
There's a great deal of money and political power at stake in the whole theocratic-industrial complex they've built for themselves over the course of many years, and "black water" aside, it appears Falwell Jr. became stinking drunk on power and took his eye off the ball in a way that has its beneficiaries clamoring for a different spokesperson for their movement/business. Kind of like those family businesses built up by the parents, only to have entitled children take the reigns and start mucking up the secret sauce that made the whole thing work.
C-Span has a bunch of archived speeches and statements from both Falwell Sr. and Jr. These 1980s speeches and interviews with Falwell Sr. are quite the stroll down memory lane.
Weird that he thought he could get away with this, since as everyone knows everybody looks at you when you're sailing on a boat.
Heh.
Or, per the sadly late Jim Dunsworth's character Jim Lahey, when you're wearing a sexy black t-shirt.
No respect for this pitifully half-assed effort. Commit to the bit!
Weird that he picked Julian. Falwell Jr. always struck me as more of a Cyrus.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:49 AM on August 8, 2020 [11 favorites]
Wholly unoriginal thought here, but I can't help but think that Falwell Jr.'s predicament and whatever internecine conflict has resulted in this relatively weak "scandal" (in and of itself) being his doing-in is just a symptom of the movement/business thrashing around when it starts to look like their push to give the United States the prominent features of a Christian fundamentalist theocracy (or at least get rich trying) may bear slightly less fruit in the near term.
There's a great deal of money and political power at stake in the whole theocratic-industrial complex they've built for themselves over the course of many years, and "black water" aside, it appears Falwell Jr. became stinking drunk on power and took his eye off the ball in a way that has its beneficiaries clamoring for a different spokesperson for their movement/business. Kind of like those family businesses built up by the parents, only to have entitled children take the reigns and start mucking up the secret sauce that made the whole thing work.
C-Span has a bunch of archived speeches and statements from both Falwell Sr. and Jr. These 1980s speeches and interviews with Falwell Sr. are quite the stroll down memory lane.
Weird that he thought he could get away with this, since as everyone knows everybody looks at you when you're sailing on a boat.
Heh.
Or, per the sadly late Jim Dunsworth's character Jim Lahey, when you're wearing a sexy black t-shirt.
No respect for this pitifully half-assed effort. Commit to the bit!
Weird that he picked Julian. Falwell Jr. always struck me as more of a Cyrus.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:49 AM on August 8, 2020 [11 favorites]
Son of asshole is himself an asshole; story at 11.
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 10:10 AM on August 8, 2020 [11 favorites]
posted by Bill Watches Movies Podcast at 10:10 AM on August 8, 2020 [11 favorites]
Falwell could have been ousted when he made a speech about gun owners shooting Muslims.
That he was only rebuked over having his fly down in a photograph, and given no pushback on calling for Muslims to be murdered by gun owners, should tell you everything you need to know about evangelicals and their value-less system.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:13 AM on August 8, 2020 [34 favorites]
That he was only rebuked over having his fly down in a photograph, and given no pushback on calling for Muslims to be murdered by gun owners, should tell you everything you need to know about evangelicals and their value-less system.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 10:13 AM on August 8, 2020 [34 favorites]
No respect for this pitifully half-assed effort. Commit to the bit!
Seriously, if no one had said anything, I'd never know that was supposed to be Julian.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:54 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Seriously, if no one had said anything, I'd never know that was supposed to be Julian.
posted by dirigibleman at 10:54 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
please identify the part of the brain that lights up when we read about the exploits and excesses of the super wealthy and privileged such that we just can’t bring ourselves to rob them of their wealth and throw them in jail
The part that remembers that the cops and military are directly controlled by the super wealthy. I mean, what did you think they were for?
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:56 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
The part that remembers that the cops and military are directly controlled by the super wealthy. I mean, what did you think they were for?
posted by Saxon Kane at 10:56 AM on August 8, 2020 [2 favorites]
the exploits and excesses of the super wealthy and privileged such that we just can’t bring ourselves to rob them of their wealth and throw them in jail
We're not allowed to.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:04 AM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
We're not allowed to.
posted by Ray Walston, Luck Dragon at 11:04 AM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Imagine, corruption in that family!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:06 AM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:06 AM on August 8, 2020 [1 favorite]
He is a terrible person and I'm glad to see him publicly shamed and starting to face some consequences. But at the same time, why should it have taken so long, and why is showing your underwear worse than, say, open racism?
When Jerry Fallwell makes openly racist statements he's just doing his job as president of Liberty University. Support for segregation was the engine that drove Jerry Fallwell's early career. Liberty University was founded as a racist institution and the only thing it has changed is it's rhetoric. I'm surprised that any black person would want to attend Liberty. For example, Seth Curry, Steph Curry's brother, played basketball at LIberty for a year. Seth's father is Dell Curry, an ex-NBA player and sports broadcaster so money couldn't have been an issue. The only reason I could see for a black person to chose to go Liberty would be religion but religion shouldn't make you stupid.
posted by rdr at 11:17 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
When Jerry Fallwell makes openly racist statements he's just doing his job as president of Liberty University. Support for segregation was the engine that drove Jerry Fallwell's early career. Liberty University was founded as a racist institution and the only thing it has changed is it's rhetoric. I'm surprised that any black person would want to attend Liberty. For example, Seth Curry, Steph Curry's brother, played basketball at LIberty for a year. Seth's father is Dell Curry, an ex-NBA player and sports broadcaster so money couldn't have been an issue. The only reason I could see for a black person to chose to go Liberty would be religion but religion shouldn't make you stupid.
posted by rdr at 11:17 AM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
To be clear...Jerry Fallwell's early career was built on defending segregation. Jerry Fallwell Jr. is just continuing in the Liberty University tradition.
posted by rdr at 11:27 AM on August 8, 2020 [8 favorites]
posted by rdr at 11:27 AM on August 8, 2020 [8 favorites]
"but religion shouldn't make you stupid"
it is truly not my intention here to insult religious people in general, but it sure does seem to do that a lot of the time :(
posted by supermedusa at 2:24 PM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
it is truly not my intention here to insult religious people in general, but it sure does seem to do that a lot of the time :(
posted by supermedusa at 2:24 PM on August 8, 2020 [4 favorites]
Or, it could just be that people in general tend towards stupid and religion is just one vehicle of many (being a product of culture just like anything else) in which stupidity manifests itself?
posted by flamk at 2:56 PM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by flamk at 2:56 PM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
is just one vehicle of many (being a product of culture just like anything else) in which stupidity manifests itself?
Jesus used a fishing boat.
posted by clavdivs at 5:28 PM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Jesus used a fishing boat.
posted by clavdivs at 5:28 PM on August 8, 2020 [3 favorites]
Hey you can’t tend a flock without a little fleece.
posted by spitbull at 7:04 PM on August 8, 2020 [14 favorites]
posted by spitbull at 7:04 PM on August 8, 2020 [14 favorites]
Trump and Pence's very different personalities are two sides of the same misogynistic coin.
Falwell Jr. might be thinking right now that Pence’s refusal to be around women might be a good idea. It would have prevented an opportunity to take this photo at the very least.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:02 PM on August 8, 2020
Falwell Jr. might be thinking right now that Pence’s refusal to be around women might be a good idea. It would have prevented an opportunity to take this photo at the very least.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:02 PM on August 8, 2020
Slate.com: Why That Falwell Jr. Yacht Photo Was the Final Straw
Money quotes (IMO):
"It was the first time a significant number of prominent white conservative evangelicals have publicly criticized Falwell Jr."
"Why did the board decide this was the last straw? Because of a photo that made them uncomfortable, and the following public humiliation. They allowed everything up until that point. Liberty’s board has shown us that their only public convictions relate to alcohol and sex.”
"the board didn’t respond to a recent alumni-led petition with almost 40,000 signatures, but rather to Republican congressmen and pastors behind the scenes."
posted by soundguy99 at 7:44 AM on August 9, 2020 [5 favorites]
Money quotes (IMO):
"It was the first time a significant number of prominent white conservative evangelicals have publicly criticized Falwell Jr."
"Why did the board decide this was the last straw? Because of a photo that made them uncomfortable, and the following public humiliation. They allowed everything up until that point. Liberty’s board has shown us that their only public convictions relate to alcohol and sex.”
"the board didn’t respond to a recent alumni-led petition with almost 40,000 signatures, but rather to Republican congressmen and pastors behind the scenes."
posted by soundguy99 at 7:44 AM on August 9, 2020 [5 favorites]
Which, uh, whoops, had a space cadet moment - of course that Slate piece is one of the FPP links. Of course that doesn't affect the "best of" quotes.
posted by soundguy99 at 9:52 AM on August 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by soundguy99 at 9:52 AM on August 9, 2020 [1 favorite]
Weird that he picked Julian. Falwell Jr. always struck me as more of a Cyrus.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:49 AM on August 9 [9 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
TPB rule #175 - Dressing like Julian means you're such a dummy you're only good as jail cover.
TPB rule #234 - If you're Jerry Falwell fackin Jr. at a TBP costume party, the only appropriate costume is Hampton the Bible Pimp.
posted by saysthis at 9:55 AM on August 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 1:49 AM on August 9 [9 favorites −] Favorite added! [!]
TPB rule #175 - Dressing like Julian means you're such a dummy you're only good as jail cover.
TPB rule #234 - If you're Jerry Falwell fackin Jr. at a TBP costume party, the only appropriate costume is Hampton the Bible Pimp.
posted by saysthis at 9:55 AM on August 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
"yes sir, no I have them here, right...key to front door, office, jacuzzi, fonts, alters and ministry vehicles, yes sir, the...yes sir, and the rotating neon crucifix, and I must mention that the petty cash box has been over turned, no sir, only 30 quarters remain"
posted by clavdivs at 1:15 PM on August 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by clavdivs at 1:15 PM on August 9, 2020 [2 favorites]
Maybe there's some long-postponed house cleaning starting up among religious conservatives? When you are on the winning side there's a disincentive to rock the boat for a number of reasons. You don't want to make your side look bad or do anything to end the electoral and cultural success you've been having, and there's enough power and sweet, sweet lucre to go around.
But if conservative power is on the wane, and you know it, that might be a great time for the knives to come out. It might be a good time to clean house.
posted by quillbreaker at 5:50 PM on August 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
But if conservative power is on the wane, and you know it, that might be a great time for the knives to come out. It might be a good time to clean house.
posted by quillbreaker at 5:50 PM on August 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Oh, that's greasy. Gree-heee-heeee-eeeeeasy.
posted by loquacious at 7:45 PM on August 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by loquacious at 7:45 PM on August 9, 2020 [3 favorites]
Honestly kinda shocked the aw-shucks-just-tryna-help-the-pregnant-lady defense didn't fly
posted by gottabefunky at 10:13 AM on August 10, 2020
posted by gottabefunky at 10:13 AM on August 10, 2020
The drinking alcohol aspect + the radio appearance the next day where he is clearly intoxicated didn't help.
posted by mmascolino at 10:53 AM on August 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by mmascolino at 10:53 AM on August 10, 2020 [1 favorite]
Also, underrated in all of this kerfuffle is the fact that he was apparently having a Trailer Park Boys costume party on the yacht?
@SarahDunsworth (aka Lucy of TPBs):
Fuck Trump and Fuck Jerry Falwell
you are banned from watching TPB
posted by mazola at 11:10 AM on August 10, 2020 [10 favorites]
@SarahDunsworth (aka Lucy of TPBs):
Fuck Trump and Fuck Jerry Falwell
you are banned from watching TPB
posted by mazola at 11:10 AM on August 10, 2020 [10 favorites]
Maybe there's some long-postponed house cleaning starting up among religious conservatives?
Your right. They are whigging out.
The craziest idea is for Republicans to start co-opting (steal) the thunder and social program funding from the Democrats, republicans used to call it social progress, Sure, the current stack of cord wood can't do it but it has been done before. It's a real thing, take prezdenys newest $ to you campaign to circumvent Congress.
hey hey, another one bites the dust...
How do you think I'm going to get along
Without you when you're gone?
You took me for everything that I had
And kicked me out on my own
posted by clavdivs at 11:16 AM on August 10, 2020
Your right. They are whigging out.
The craziest idea is for Republicans to start co-opting (steal) the thunder and social program funding from the Democrats, republicans used to call it social progress, Sure, the current stack of cord wood can't do it but it has been done before. It's a real thing, take prezdenys newest $ to you campaign to circumvent Congress.
hey hey, another one bites the dust...
How do you think I'm going to get along
Without you when you're gone?
You took me for everything that I had
And kicked me out on my own
posted by clavdivs at 11:16 AM on August 10, 2020
I want an emoji to indicate schadenfreude - something like an evil Grinch smile, I think.
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 3:03 PM on August 10, 2020
posted by Mutant Lobsters from Riverhead at 3:03 PM on August 10, 2020
Oh, good lord, Liberty is replacing him with Jerry Prevo, a notorious hardline Baptist preacher from my hometown.
The schools at the church Prevo founded and just retired from have been facing recent allegations of pervasive racism. Among a million other things, he has campaigned tirelessly against LGBTQ rights for decades, praised promoters of apartheid from the pulpit and done really sketchy accounting for the many tax-exempt properties his church owns. Should fit right in at Liberty.
posted by charmedimsure at 5:38 PM on August 10, 2020 [9 favorites]
The schools at the church Prevo founded and just retired from have been facing recent allegations of pervasive racism. Among a million other things, he has campaigned tirelessly against LGBTQ rights for decades, praised promoters of apartheid from the pulpit and done really sketchy accounting for the many tax-exempt properties his church owns. Should fit right in at Liberty.
posted by charmedimsure at 5:38 PM on August 10, 2020 [9 favorites]
Falwell says his wife had an affair with the pool boy.
Convenient.
posted by rdr at 12:17 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Convenient.
posted by rdr at 12:17 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Falwell says his wife had an affair with the pool boy.
sure_jan.gif
posted by PenDevil at 5:01 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
sure_jan.gif
posted by PenDevil at 5:01 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Giancarlo Granda has come forward claiming, essentially, a long-term cuckolding arrangement. Reuters exclusive: Business partner of Falwells says affair with evangelical power couple spanned seven years.
posted by jedicus at 11:05 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jedicus at 11:05 AM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
Man, the projection with these guys is unbelievable. Liberal cucks indeed.
posted by benzenedream at 11:25 AM on August 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 11:25 AM on August 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
Jerry Falwell Jr. agrees to resign from Liberty University
Jerry Falwell Jr. has agreed to resign as president of Liberty University on Monday, according to a school official. The move came after a series of personal scandals rocked the evangelical university he has led since 2007.posted by gwint at 3:18 PM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Opposition to his presidency had been growing but came to a dramatic head after two new reports about a young man Falwell and his wife befriended at a Florida pool, went into business with and who allegedly was sexually connected to the couple. One report painted Falwell as the victim of an obsessive affair; the other as an eager participant manipulating a naive young man.
I just had a horrible thought that somewhere there is fanfic of the Falwells and Conways getting it on together in some sort of freaky foursome. *shudder*
posted by inflatablekiwi at 3:59 PM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by inflatablekiwi at 3:59 PM on August 24, 2020 [1 favorite]
@hankgreen
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:15 PM on August 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
The story isn't that Jerry Falwell Jr's wife had sex with someone other than him, it's that the guy she was having sex with had photos of her and then Michael Cohen somehow got the photos and then Falwell suddenly and unexpectedly endorsed Donald Trump.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:15 PM on August 24, 2020 [5 favorites]
Maggie Severns and Michael Stratford in Politico: Jerry Falwell Jr. says he is not resigning
posted by nubs at 5:40 PM on August 24, 2020
posted by nubs at 5:40 PM on August 24, 2020
I just had a horrible thought that somewhere there is fanfic of the Falwells and Conways getting it on together in some sort of freaky foursome. *shudder*
I'd like to lay into these knuckleheads, but this is a time when hypocrisy-shaming is so close to kink-shaming, I don't think I can thread that needle.
posted by mikelieman at 6:34 PM on August 24, 2020
I'd like to lay into these knuckleheads, but this is a time when hypocrisy-shaming is so close to kink-shaming, I don't think I can thread that needle.
posted by mikelieman at 6:34 PM on August 24, 2020
Jerry Falwell Jr. says he is not resigning
I bet popcorn futures are hot right now.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:18 PM on August 24, 2020
I bet popcorn futures are hot right now.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:18 PM on August 24, 2020
I bet popcorn futures are hot right now.
For all those who enjoy watching.
posted by nubs at 10:19 PM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
For all those who enjoy watching.
posted by nubs at 10:19 PM on August 24, 2020 [3 favorites]
Falwell has agreed to sit in a corner and pleasure himself while he directs someone else to be president of Liberty.
posted by benzenedream at 11:28 PM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by benzenedream at 11:28 PM on August 24, 2020 [2 favorites]
Samantha Bee (with one year of foresight or hindsight) disproves Betteridge’s Law of Headlines:
Did Someone Fuck The Pool Guy?
posted by Monochrome at 7:18 AM on August 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
Did Someone Fuck The Pool Guy?
posted by Monochrome at 7:18 AM on August 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
I'd like to lay into these knuckleheads, but this is a time when hypocrisy-shaming is so close to kink-shaming, I don't think I can thread that needle.
It's their own moralizing and kink-shaming that makes the scandal possible. I can only figure that one reason the story is coming out is people were beginning to think that Falwell (the guy) was possibly having a sexual affair with the pool boy (another guy). Oh no! Not gay!!!! Aaaaaaah!
Look, some people really like to hoist themselves by their own petard and as long as they are all consenting adults, I don't have a problem with it.
posted by amanda at 9:26 AM on August 25, 2020
It's their own moralizing and kink-shaming that makes the scandal possible. I can only figure that one reason the story is coming out is people were beginning to think that Falwell (the guy) was possibly having a sexual affair with the pool boy (another guy). Oh no! Not gay!!!! Aaaaaaah!
Look, some people really like to hoist themselves by their own petard and as long as they are all consenting adults, I don't have a problem with it.
posted by amanda at 9:26 AM on August 25, 2020
I'm enjoying all the jokes about how Falwell should be kept as a speaker at the Republican convention so he can appeal to the swing vote.
posted by TedW at 10:40 AM on August 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by TedW at 10:40 AM on August 25, 2020 [4 favorites]
Falwell resigns:
posted by dis_integration at 10:42 AM on August 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
Jerry Falwell Jr. just confirmed to me he has submitted his resignation to Liberty’s board.That quote... it has my soul leaving my body. Just an incredible jackass to the last word.
“It’s a relief,” he said. “The quote that keeps going through my mind this morning is Martin Luther Ling Jr: ‘free at last, free at last, thank God almighty I’m free at last.”
posted by dis_integration at 10:42 AM on August 25, 2020 [7 favorites]
That quote... it has my soul leaving my body. Just an incredible jackass to the last word.
I don't believe in kink-shaming anyone. But if anyone personified every negative implication intended by the word "cuck," it's Falwell. Good riddance and I hope he stays gone.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:07 PM on August 25, 2020
I don't believe in kink-shaming anyone. But if anyone personified every negative implication intended by the word "cuck," it's Falwell. Good riddance and I hope he stays gone.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:07 PM on August 25, 2020
He'll be back, with some new scam, and will be welcomed. It will be described as the return of a prodigal son, or maybe the Second Coming (I don't intend any kink shaming)
posted by nubs at 8:24 PM on August 25, 2020
posted by nubs at 8:24 PM on August 25, 2020
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posted by valkane at 10:28 PM on August 7, 2020 [4 favorites]