Robertson and Falwell:
"You Helped This Happen"

by Pat Robinson

     On Sept. 13, 2001, 2 days after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, Jerry Falwell was a guest on Pat Robertson’s The 700 Club. Rev. Jerry Falwell lay blame for the action at “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 a finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.’”
      Rev. Falwell is Pastor of the 22,000 member Thomas Rd. Baptist Church, in Baton Rouge, La. Pat Robertson is the host of The 700 Club broadcast on the Christian Broadcasting Network.
      Reaction to Rev. Falwell’s remarks were immediate.
      Shortly after Rev. Falwell’s statement, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Lorri L. Jean had these words. “The terrible tragedy that has befallen our nation, and indeed the entire global community, is the sad byproduct of fanaticism. It has its roots in the same fanaticism that enables people like Jerry Falwell to preach hate against those who do not think, live, or love in the exact same way he does. The tragedies that have occurred this week did not occur because someone made God mad, as Mr. Falwell asserts. They occurred because of hate, pure and simple. It is time to move beyond a place of hate and to a place of healing. We hope that Mr. Falwell will apologize to the US and world communities.”
      Elizabeth Birch, Executive Director of the Human Rights Campaign released this statement: “The words of these men are similar to the acts of equally contemptible retribution that are being waged against people of Middle Eastern origin or appearance in some areas of our country. This is not a time for scapegoating, it is a time for unity. To blame blindly, based on prejudice and rage, represents an ominous part of our world and we must work to overcome it wherever we find it. It should be soundly condemned by all of us as we struggle to focus our attentions on healing the pain of our nation.”
      On September 18, Rev. Jerry Falwell apologized on the Liberty University Web site: “Last Thursday during an appearance on The 700 Club, in the midst of the shock and mourning of a dark week for America, I made a statement that I should not have made and which I sincerely regret. I apologize that, during a week when everyone appropriately dropped all labels and no one was seen as liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, religious or secular, I singled out for blame certain groups of Americans. This was insensitive, uncalled for at the time, and unnecessary as part of the commentary on this destruction. The only label any of us needs in such a terrible time of crisis is that of ‘American.’
      I obviously did not state my theological convictions very well and I stated them at a bad time. During the difficult weeks ahead there will be much discussion about the judgment of God. It is a worthy discussion for all of us at a time when we are reminded of the fleeting nature of life itself, but it is a complicated discussion.
      I do not know if the horrific events of September 11 are the judgment of God, but if they are, that judgment is on all of America — including me and all fellow sinners — and not on any particular group.
      My statements were understandably called divisive by some, including those whom I mentioned by name in the interview. This grieves me, as I had no intention of being divisive.
      In conclusion, I blame no one but the hijackers and terrorists for the barbaric happenings of September 11.
      We know, as Abraham Lincoln anguished in his second inaugural address, that “The Almighty has his own purposes,” but as he said, “The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.”
      GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry made this suggestion. “We hope that media outlets will not offer Falwell, Robertson, or others like them additional platforms to spread these divisive messages of intolerance. We can ill-afford any further loss of unity as we come together to heal our nation.”