Jerry Falwell Jr’s Zipper

[TeddyBonkers]

1 hour ago, hoipolloi said:

In the radio interview he did a couple of days ago, Falwell Jr sounds really drunk.

I have dealt with a lot of drunk people in my time, and Jr. sounds absolutely knackered.

[justwatching]

Could somebody fill me in on the pool boy situation?

[JenniferJuniper]

2 minutes ago, justwatching said:

Could somebody fill me in on the pool boy situation?

Easier to leave it up to Rolling Stone magazine.

 

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-jerry-falwell-jr-miami-beach-pool-boy-evangelical-explained-850380/

[Tatar-tot]

I guarantee the issue is finances.  He probably put his hand in the till one too many times. 

[Howl]

4 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

This September 2019 article by Politico is a deep dive into the rat's nest of finances, real estate, and double-triple dealing going on at LU and with LU assets.

Yes, that's the one I was trying to find! I did a search on the Politico site but the link was broken, so I assumed it was taken down. 

It's clear that Jr.  has been powerful enough that (so far) he's survived.  

Isn't he taking a leave of absence now over Zippergate?

Maybe this will be the point where his detractors (and he definitely has some) at Liberty U. can get some leverage to ease him out. 

Edited August 8, 2020 by Howl

[treemom]

2 hours ago, sableduck said:

They don’t. I did an M.Ed there online because it’s super cheap.  Online doesn’t ask for a statement of beliefs or have a code of conduct. Many of my classmates were either agnostic/atheist or another religion. 

That is definitely one of the changes. Probably occurred when it moved from distance learning from videotapes (I am not kidding) when I was there to the more standard online education

i have been wrong a lot tonight!

[justwatching]

Easier to leave it up to Rolling Stone magazine.
 
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/trump-jerry-falwell-jr-miami-beach-pool-boy-evangelical-explained-850380/

Well my goodness. That’s quite the web they’ve woven. Thanks for the link, it was very interesting!

[SPHASH]

6 hours ago, forgetmenow said:

Indefinite leave of absence:

https://www.wdbj7.com/2020/08/07/falwell-agrees-to-leave-of-absence-request-from-liberty-board-of-trustees/

When asked if he would be resigning Jerry Jr said he wasn't at Liberty to say.

Edited August 8, 2020 by SPHASH
Correction

[treemom]

13 hours ago, Tatar-tot said:

I guarantee the issue is finances.  He probably put his hand in the till one too many times. 

I actually don’t think this is the problem.  Would it surprised me if he skimmed?  No.  Do I think that would cause them to remove him?  Hahahahahahaha.  No.  
 

I think it’s a bunch of things, and Liberty is rarely responsive to student complaints.  But, I think the football players leaving probably caused a lot of the issues with the board.  I can’t tell you how desperately they want to be good at sports.  It was almost sad how desperate it was.  They occasionally end up in the Big Dance and it’s absurd how leadership reacts to that.  
 

I am sure that’s not all.  But the Falwells have been untouchable for decades.  Admittedly none of them were quite so obviously not actually committed to their code of conduct as Jr.  I am absolutely fascinated that this happened.  It’s been interesting to watch my LU social media feeds blow up.

[Marmion]

18 hours ago, forgetmenow said:

Indefinite leave of absence:

https://www.wdbj7.com/2020/08/07/falwell-agrees-to-leave-of-absence-request-from-liberty-board-of-trustees/

Quote

Students on Liberty’s campus are forbidden from drinking alcohol, and are instructed to dress modestly. A poster on Reddit compiled Falwell Jr.’s potential violations in the yacht photograph and an accompanying video, and calculated that a student captured in the same scene could have accrued more than $9,000 in school fines and 900 hours of required service, and possible expulsion.

Faculty and alumni who have been critical of the school’s direction under Falwell Jr. were both shocked and gratified by the news of his leave of absence. “For at least a decade, Liberty’s faculty have labored under Falwell’s increasingly autocratic leadership and been shamed by his public behavior besides,” said Marybeth Davis Baggett, who taught English at Liberty for 17 years and resigned this spring after publishing an op-ed calling for Falwell Jr.’s removal based on his handling of the coronavirus crisis. “One man cannot act this way without many enablers, and any meaningful reform of the school will require a thorough and brutally honest inquiry into the LU culture.”  

https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/08/falwell-jr-yacht-photo-departure-from-liberty-university.html 

[Howl]

Ooooooh.  "Indefinite!"   

Various: 

1. what Jr. actually did...again  (pool boy scandal +  photos showing Jr. partying in a crowded club)
2. he had the horrible lack of judgement or total indifference to post it on his PUBLIC social media, when he's  the president of the damn university and its public face FFS

This has the potential to really hurt the donor bottom line and parents have a lot of time right now to assess when and if they want to send their kids back to LU... 

LU is probably hemorrhaging money during the pandemic and there is widespread panic, flop sweat and desperation that he's irreparably hurting the brand and it can't be managed via PR damage control.

Idle speculation, and none of the other articles have seen have referenced this -- is there a possibility of substance abuse?

Edited August 8, 2020 by Howl

[treemom]

5 minutes ago, Howl said:

Ooooooh.  "Indefinite!"   

Various: 

1. what Jr. actually did...again  (pool boy scandal +  photos showing Jr. partying in a crowded club)
2. he had the horrible lack of judgement or total indifference to post it on his PUBLIC social media, when he's  the president of the damn university and its public face FFS

This has the potential to really hurt the donor bottom line and parents have a lot of time right now to assess when and if they want to send their kids back to LU... 

LU is probably hemorrhaging money during the pandemic and there is widespread panic, flop sweat and desperation that he's irreparably hurting the brand and it can't be managed via PR damage control.

Idle speculation, and none of the other articles have seen have referenced this -- is there a possibility of substance abuse?

Yes. It has been rumored he has an alcohol abuse problem. 

[livinginthelight]

Jerry Falwell Jr. has been way out of line for years. Am I the only one who is  angry that, out of  ALL the HORRID things he's said  and done, it's a stupid picture that gets him to step down? Like, he can be racist and homophobic and treat staff terribly and kiss Trump's behind and make himself rich off the backs of others, but the thing that gets him censured is an unzipped picture because heaven forbid he imply anything sexual?

I mean, it was a gross picture but come on, he's been spewing vitriol for years and this is what does it?

Edited August 8, 2020 by livinginthelight

[Black Aliss]

Slightly OT, but I rubbed elbows with old money just long enough to know that they don't call their yacht a yacht, it's "the boat". Like they don't call their chauffeur-driven limo a limo, they call it "the car". Yacht and limo would be considered tacky.

This won't bring down Foulsmell, Jr. I predict he'll go to some Christian rehab, repent, and be welcomed back into the fold within a year.

Edited August 8, 2020 by Black Aliss

[Howl]

Funny that the best they could do was to point out that it's not that bad because the woman in the photo was PREGNANT (presumably not by Jerry Jr.). 

[nausicaa]

2 hours ago, Marmion said:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/08/falwell-jr-yacht-photo-departure-from-liberty-university.html 

I knew the university's rules had lightened up a bit in recent years but apparently a student can still be fined for attending a dance-- like even a chaste square dance at a community center. Same for attending a party where alcohol is served, even if there is zero evidence a student partook and the gathering is off campus (I don't know how this could be applied to family weddings or funerals but I digress). 

In light of that, you really see how wildly hypocritical and out of line that photo is for Liberty's president.

It's weird how bad he is at being a hypocrite. Dude, just don't post photos of your damn bacchanals on freaking Instagram and none of us would know about them. He has enough money to buffer himself from public critique if he just stayed off social media.

[Howl]

Just now, Black Aliss said:

I predict he'll go to some Christian rehab, repent, and be welcomed back into the fold within a year.

I'd say yes, absolutely, but  Jr. is already rich, and might not be motivated to give up his dissolute (and presumably pretty fun) life to embrace a straight-laced and very dry Baptist state of being.  

 

[hoipolloi]

3 hours ago, treemom said:

But, I think the football players leaving probably caused a lot of the issues with the board.

I suspect you're right. Sadly, secular universities aren't or wouldn't be much different. 

 

[JanasTattooParlor]

On 8/7/2020 at 4:50 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

Have an FJ fundies gone to Liberty?

In addition to Carlin Bates getting a degree from there online, I know Sadie Robertson’s brother John Luke and his wife both attended Liberty. They’re fundie or fundie light but other than that, I don’t know if any others who went there. 

[haroldtheyrefundies]

I know Nathan Bates's ex was talking online classes through Library for a while there. I don't know if she still does, though. 

[JermajestyDuggar]

52 minutes ago, haroldtheyrefundies said:

I know Nathan Bates's ex was talking online classes through Library for a while there. I don't know if she still does, though. 

She doesn’t need to now that she’s a fundie trophy wife in NYC. 

[freethemall]

On 8/7/2020 at 4:50 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

Have an FJ fundies gone to Liberty?

Carlin Bates apparently took some (online?) classes there before getting married iirc. 

[Pecansforeveryone]

Liberty is where Trump gave his infamous "two" Corinthians quote to the bemusement of the students it was reported. I remember CNN interviewing Liberty's student body president about why he and many of his fellow students were not voting for Trump. I was impressed they had the courage to publicly admit that. 

[louisa05]

21 hours ago, livinginthelight said:

Jerry Falwell Jr. has been way out of line for years. Am I the only one who is  angry that, out of  ALL the HORRID things he's said  and done, it's a stupid picture that gets him to step down? Like, he can be racist and homophobic and treat staff terribly and kiss Trump's behind and make himself rich off the backs of others, but the thing that gets him censured is an unzipped picture because heaven forbid he imply anything sexual?

I mean, it was a gross picture but come on, he's been spewing vitriol for years and this is what does it?

That world is all about appearances.  They even really like the phrase “appearance of evil” as in being somewhere that makes it appear you’ve done something taboo is just as bad if not worse than doing it. I remember a young teacher at Christian school who was getting married asking in a staff meeting if she could have champagne alone in the hotel or on their cruise with her husband on her honeymoon or if she’d get fired for that since the contract said we could never drink alcohol.  (She was extremely earnest and honest and concerned about not breaking rules). The principal told her and the whole room that we could all drink as much as we wanted in private or out of state and such. The rule, she told us, wasn’t really about alcohol so much as the “appearance of evil”—so don’t ever go in a bar or drink in public anywhere local but do whatever you want in private or on your honeymoon cruise, etc....

And for those convinced people raised fundie can’t change, that bride to be is now an agnostic left wing liberal who is a bit sad that her daughters are both straight and identify as their biological sex. 

[Marmion]

The situation with Falwell reminds me of the scandal that had surrounded then Sen. Gary Hart .  https://www.history.com/news/gary-hart-scandal-front-runner   We'll have to wait and see if this will likewise permanently discredit  Falwell .