The Gist

Dancing on Falwell's Grave

Last night, after my radio show, Derek Harley came into the studio -- he is the co-host of the riotous show that airs directly after mine on Sirius OutQ, "Derek and Romaine" -- and he and I and others in the studio laughed about a headline out of an NBC affiliate in San Francisco that read "Gays Dance on Falwell's Grave," all about an "anti-memorial" that took place in the Castro.

Derek cracked that it would be a great name for a yearly gay circuit party: Dancing on Falwell's Grave. We all howled.

Some on the right, and among Falwell's followers, cannot understand that kind of irreverence and disrespect -- and yes, it is that -- for Falwell and, more so (at least as they describe it), for his family. One poster in the comments in my previous post on Falwell seems to think that children or other relatives cannot and should not be expected to challenge members of their families who are committing heinous acts. Somehow, you're supposed to be loyal to your parents, brother, cousin, or uncle even while that person is wreaking havoc and destruction.

The poster notes that Falwell "is no Hitler" and therefore we should be respecting his family. Well, no one rises to the Hitler level, so arguing that one is pretty silly. But why on earth should any of us respect Jerry Fawell's family? Why are they not responsible for their support of this brute who made money by bringing misery to people's lives? If they don't believe his crap then they should use their influence and speak up; otherwise, they're as abhorrent as he was. (By the way, this poster also seems to think it is gays who are planning to disrupt Falwell's funeral -- but it is Fred Phelps, a fellow hater, who is planning to do that!).

This reminds me of the the excuses people give for why Mary Cheney had to work for her father and stay silent while he and his boss promoted an antigay agenda. It's bullshit.