Yes, no one likes speaking ill of the dead. But we don't whitewash a life of bigotry and intolerance simply because the man is now gone. Al Sharpton (not a presidential candidate, but still) has already praised Falwell - that's absurd. Falwell supported apartheid, Mr. Sharpton. Falwell accused you and me of having caused September 11. Dead or alive, that is not the kind of man who deserves our praise. Jerry Falwell wasn't afraid of being a bigot in life, we shouldn't be afraid of calling him one in death.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force weighs in, quite appropriately:
Statement by Matt Foreman, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
“The death of a family member or friend is always a sad occasion and we express our condolences to all those who were close to the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Unfortunately, we will always remember him as a founder and leader of America’s anti-gay industry, someone who exacerbated the nation’s appalling response to the onslaught of the AIDS epidemic, someone who demonized and vilified us for political gain and someone who used religion to divide rather than unite our nation.”
