Lonzie Cox – 6/20/07

This page was last updated on June 20, 2007.

Falwell’s bitter legacy; Lonzie Cox, Jr.; Beaver County Times; June 20, 2007. I am not related to Mr. Cox.

Mr. Cox is back to his focus on Republican bashing and race.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“The Rev. Jerry Falwell died last month. His legacy of hatred and divisiveness, however, will remain for a long time, and having the major US media ignore much of Falwell’s life record won’t obscure the truth about his agenda.”

[RWC] I’m not a Falwell expert and I have no desire to become one. Therefore, based on my experience with previous “facts” stated by Mr. Cox, I suggest you check Mr. Cox’s assertions with credible sources before you accept his assertions as true.

“Falwell was one of the worst of the Virginia segregationists in the 1950s as he fought hard against integration of schools and other civil rights measures. He often called Dr. Martin Luther King a communist and referred to the civil rights struggle as ‘communist inspired,’ which in those days was the kiss of death for everything that challenged the racial status quo in the Jim Crow era.”

[RWC] Conveniently, Mr. Cox failed to note Mr. King was under investigation by the FBI when Robert F. Kennedy ran the Justice Department and while JFK and LBJ were in office.

Don’t hold you breath waiting for Mr. Cox to slam LBJ, JFK, RFK, or any other Democrat for that matter, for race problems. For example, Democrat Senator Robert Byrd (WV) once belonged to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, said he would not serve in integrated armed forces, filibustered and voted against the 1964 Civil Rights Act, voted against the nominations of Supreme Court Justices Thurgood Marshall (1967) and Clarence Thomas (1991), and referred to “white niggers” during a 2001 television interview. To date I’ve not seen one letter from Mr. Cox bashing Mr. Byrd.

For more about Democrats’ mixed record regarding race, please read “The party of civil rights – not.”

“Falwell’s Liberty University was a spin-off of the segregationist tactic of starting up so-called Christian schools in order to avoid sending their children to racially mixed public schools, as mandated by the Supreme Court’s 1954 decision.

“Taken a step farther, the Falwells of the world encouraged the massive (often violent) resistance to the civil rights movement.”

[RWC] Accusing someone of inciting violence is pretty serious. Again, I’m no Falwell expert, but this is an accusation I haven’t heard before.

“Falwell had virtually a free run in American society until the mid 1970s when he was confronted by Larry Flynt and his magazine.”

[RWC] I could be wrong, but I believe you’ll find “the mid 1970s” was really 1983.

“Flynt attacked Falwell at every turn and surprisingly won the court battles for free speech.”

[RWC] The attack “at every turn” was actually a parody ad that ran in a 1983 issue of Hustler Magazine. Because of the raunchy nature of the parody, Mr. Falwell sued for libel, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The courts ruled in favor of Mr. Flynt on the basis Mr. Falwell was a public figure.

“Flynt never claimed to be anything but what he was. Falwell, on the other hand, personally promoted his program of hate and right-wing politics all covered in the cloak of Christianity.”

[RWC] Now we’re finally getting to the crux of this letter. None of the above allegations would have mattered to Mr. Cox had Mr. Falwell not been involved in so-called “right-wing politics” and had Mr. Falwell not supported Republican candidates. I could be wrong, but if everything Mr. Cox wrote about Mr. Falwell were true except that Mr. Falwell supported Democrats, Mr. Cox would never have written this letter.

“So, between Flynt and Falwell, who did the most damage to this country? Was it Flynt’s sordid business or Jerry Falwell’s support for Ronald Reagan, our worst president, and his push for the re-election of George W. Bush when a change in Iraq was still possible?”

[RWC] Mr. Cox apparently missed the memo. President Bush is “our worst president.” After all, Jimmy Carter wouldn’t lie, would he? <g>

Note how Mr. Cox asserts supporting Republican candidates for president is worse than “Flynt’s sordid business.” When you resort to presenting Larry Flynt as a good guy, aren’t you in serious trouble?

“We may never get over Falwell’s influence.”

[RWC] Why do folks like Mr. Cox endow people with whom they disagree with so much power? I guess it’s part of the victim mentality.