What Jerry Falwell Meant to me.

On May 14 I received a heartbreaking phone call informing me that an old and dear friend Alain Lacroix of Calgary passed away at his home on Saturday, May 12, 2007 after a short struggle with multiple myeloma at the age of 52 years. I was shocked because it was so sudden. I was not even aware that the myeloma had attacked him again. The first time was back in 1987, at that time he was not even aware he had that cancer until he went to lift a thirty pound box and his arm broke in the process. The cancer had eaten enough of the bone that it could not support the weight. He had been complaining that his arm had been sore but he had no idea why. What Alain was aware of in 1987 was that he had AIDS, and the cancer was AIDS related. He had already lost his partner, and most of our mutual friends, if not already dead were at death’s door.

It was a horrible time in both of our lives, but Alain had a lot more to worry about than me. For the next several months he had the fight of his life. They were just beginning some of the trial drugs that are now commonly known as the “cocktail”. For those that may not be aware the “cocktail” is a combination of drugs that are taken with a very specific regime, some before meals, some after, some before bed, some after, some exactly at the same time as another, some an hour before a meal. When one drug stops working or creates side effects that are too adverse they switch them around. It can be very daunting to keep up with and the side effects could be debilitating at times. This was especially true at the beginning of their use in the late 1980’s.

I cried a fair bit when I found out about Alain’s death Monday night. I was angry that I hadn’t had the chance to say good-bye. I was upset that I would never get the chance to play cards with him again. Alain was a world class card cheat and it was great sport to try and catch him. To me Alain also represented another loss from an era that lost too much. From my entire circle of friends from the eighties there are four of us left alive and only three of us are HIV-. Calgary’s gay community was hit very hard by that ruthless and non-discriminating disease.

Then something happened on Tuesday May 15 that made me feel a whole lot better. Jerry Falwell died. You may find it shocking that the death of someone like Falwell could make a person feel less saddened by the death of a friend. Well, you haven’t lived my life. Let’s review the facts about Jerry Falwell.

In 1977 he supported Anita Bryant's "Save Our Children" campaign based on "Christian beliefs regarding the sinfulness of homosexuality and the perceived threat of homosexual recruitment of children and child molestation" in Dade County, Florida to repeal an ordinance that prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In urging the repeal of the ordinance Falwell told one crowd "gay folks would just as soon kill you as look at you."
He's been called an agent of intolerance and the founder of the anti-gay industry who regularly demonized and dehumanized gays and fought against gay rights. In the early 1980s when the AIDS pandemic was still in its early years and could have been addressed more proactively as a national health crisis, he swayed public opinion against people with AIDS (PWAs) saying “AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals, it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals.” On Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour" broadcast (March 11, 1984), when the mostly gay Metropolitan community church was almost accepted into theWorld Council of Churches Falwell called them "brute beasts" and stated, "this vile and satanic system will one day be utterly annihilated and there'll be a celebration in heaven." In 1999 he claimed that Tinky Winky, a Teletubbie, was gay. The immensely popular UK show was aimed at pre-school children but Falwell stated "he is purple - the gay pride colour; and his antenna is shaped like a triangle- the gay-pride symbol." Apart from those characteristics Tinky Winky also carries a magic bag which Falwell said was a purse and added "role modelling the gay lifestyle is damaging to the moral lives of children." In response, Steve Rice, spokesperson for Itsy Bitsy Entertainment, which licenses the Teletubbies in the US, said "I really find it absurd and kind of offensive."

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Falwell said on the 700 club, "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.'" Fellow evangelist Pat Robertson concurred with his sentiment. After heavy criticism, Falwell apologized, though he later said that he stood by his statement, stating "If we decide to change all the rules on which this Judeo-Christian nation was built, we cannot expect the Lord to put his shield of protection around us as he has in the past."

Falwell's ghost writer, Mel White, said Falwell remarked about gay protesters, "Thank God for these gay demonstrators. If I didn't have them, I'd have to invent them. They give me all the publicity I need." Falwell has also said, "labour unions should study and read the Bible instead of asking for more money. When people get right with God, they are better workers." Jerry Falwell and the so called group he founded “The Moral Majority” was instrumental in electing then president Ronald Regan. The AIDS crisis hit and hit hard. This so called “Moral Majority” worked to prevent funding towards AIDS research, causing to delay the much needed research that if had been done earlier, I believe, a good number of my friends would be alive today. Of course our less than enlightned government at the time followed suit. They were even as negligent to be buying blood from US prisons to be used in Canadian medical systems.
In his later years many of the things Jerry Falwell said softened. For example, he said that housing and employment were basic rights that should be extended to the Gay community.

To me, he was a villian, one that I feel every right to hold personally responsible for the deaths and suffering of some of my friends and hundreds and thousands of others. Freedom of speech is one thing, but when that speech extends to political power aiding and abeting in the suffering and deaths of others, wouldn’t that qualify as voluntary manslaughter? Dictators in third world countries have been judged for crimes against humanity for similar activities, although usually more overtly.

I do forgive Jerry Falwell, but I will not sit by silently while any other of his kind try to cause as much hatred towards a people as he did. Regardless of your personal belief system, I truly believe that my friend Alain is in the same place that Jerry Falwell is.