Jerry Falwell Jr’s Zipper

[gustava]

16 hours ago, Giraffe said:

I keep seeing these kinds of horrible things he’s said/saying about his wife. I hope she kicks him to the curb after all this and stops preying praying on others!!

Fixed that for ya  ?

[Botkinetti]

I keep thinking he’s saying look over here at this kinky sex scandal as a way to keep eyes off any financial wrongdoing he may be involved in. 

[Giraffe]

2 hours ago, gustava said:

Fixed that for ya  ?

I considered it but she was preying on the pool boy and the friend of her son. 

[Howl]

3 hours ago, Botkinetti said:

I keep thinking he’s saying look over here at this kinky sex scandal as a way to keep eyes off any financial wrongdoing he may be involved in. 

Boom! When there is a sexual predator or two on the scene, it's a red flag  there are few appropriate boundaries in other aspects of their lives.  I hope at least they kept this from their kids, although if their mom is preying on her son's friends...

[hoipolloi]

1 hour ago, Howl said:

When there is a sexual predator or two on the scene, it's a red flag  there are few appropriate boundaries in other aspects of their lives.

I was initially snarking but there really is an Epstein-Maxwell vibe coming from the junior Falwells, given these accounts of abuse of former students.

Guessing we'll be hearing more.

[Giraffe]

1 hour ago, hoipolloi said:

I was initially snarking but there really is an Epstein-Maxwell vibe coming from the junior Falwells, given these accounts of abuse of former students.

Guessing we'll be hearing more.

There really is. This started out as your standard “pastor falls from grace” and has morphed into them being predatory. 

[47of74]

2 hours ago, Howl said:

Boom! When there is a sexual predator or two on the scene, it's a red flag  there are few appropriate boundaries in other aspects of their lives.  I hope at least they kept this from their kids, although if their mom is preying on her son's friends...

And Jerry is right there in their midst. 

[formergothardite]

6 hours ago, Botkinetti said:

I keep thinking he’s saying look over here at this kinky sex scandal as a way to keep eyes off any financial wrongdoing he may be involved in. 

His wife cheating on him and him behaving badly because of that would be a hell of a lot easier to come back from than if he was involved in a bunch of shady financial dealings. 

[hoipolloi]

3 hours ago, formergothardite said:

His wife cheating on him and him behaving badly because of that would be a hell of a lot easier to come back from than if he was involved in a bunch of shady financial dealings. 

I wonder. I suspect that the LU executive staff & board will do all they can to keep brushing the financial fraud & scams under the carpet for these reasons:

(1) It probably all happened on their watch and with their approval or at least without their objection.

(2) As LU admin & board members, they have a fiduciary responsibility to LU. If point (1) is true, they are culpable. 

It's not clear that any of them profited directly from Falwell Jr's various real estate shenanigans & other scams but that wouldn't be necessary for them to get into big trouble as individuals who have certain responsibilities to LU and its financial well-being.

As the legal phrase goes, "They knew or should have known..."

Edited August 29, 2020 by hoipolloi

[Marmion]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/28/jerry-falwell-jr-fall-grace-influence-trump-voters-liberty-university?

[Pecansforeveryone]

Financial shenninagans carries the possibility of jail time. Jim Baker couldn't get out of doing time. Even if it's a just a year, JR doing jail time and being photographed in a prison jumpsuit would be very satisfying. 

[nausicaa]

I realize this is the least of our concerns right now, but it is notable to me how casually they discussed how Jr's son as a teen was so knowledgeable about rock music and knew all of Led Zeppelin's songs. 

When my friend went to Liberty (at the time of the alleged events by the former student), only classical and traditional worship music was allowed to be played on campus, including in your own car. Since even contemporary Christian music could get you into trouble, pretty sure Robert Plant's faked orgasm in "Whole Lotta Love" would get you expelled. 

Just another way these prominent families have never though the rules applied to them.

[hoipolloi]

2 hours ago, nausicaa said:

I realize this is the least of our concerns right now, but it is notable to me how casually they discussed how Jr's son as a teen was so knowledgeable about rock music and knew all of Led Zeppelin's songs. 

Wow. Just wow. Thanks for this -- none of this registered with me, being a "non-believer."

Re: A-list fundies and their rules. Once more, with feeling: Do as we say, but not as we do.

[Marmion]

8 hours ago, nausicaa said:

I realize this is the least of our concerns right now, but it is notable to me how casually they discussed how Jr's son as a teen was so knowledgeable about rock music and knew all of Led Zeppelin's songs. 

When my friend went to Liberty (at the time of the alleged events by the former student), only classical and traditional worship music was allowed to be played on campus, including in your own car. Since even contemporary Christian music could get you into trouble, pretty sure Robert Plant's faked orgasm in "Whole Lotta Love" would get you expelled. 

Just another way these prominent families have never though the rules applied to them.

Interestingly enough , these rock stars had been Liberty University alumni .  {  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Lambesis  ,  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TobyMac } 

[hoipolloi]

Well, I am surprised. Kind of.

On the one hand, Liberty University has announced that it will conduct a broad investigation into Falwell Jr.'s reign at LU:

Quote

 

Liberty University is opening an independent investigation into Jerry Falwell Jr.’s tenure as president, a wide-ranging inquiry that will include financial, real estate and legal matters, the evangelical school’s board announced Monday.

In a statement, the board said it had retained an outside firm to investigate “all facets” of the school’s operations under Falwell, and that it was “committed to learning the consequences that have flowed from a lack of spiritual stewardship by our former president.”

 

On the other hand:

Quote

 

Liberty’s statement acknowledged that Falwell’s sharpest critics have long been calling for a departure.

“Some may say that all the signs were there for a long time before last week,” the statement said. “It’s certainly fair to say that there were questionable comments made, worrying behavior, and inappropriate social media posts, but all the signs were not there until the start of last week.”

That was not good enough for some of Falwell’s most vocal opponents. Save71, a recently formed nonprofit aimed at mobilizing students, alumni and faculty to push for reform, said in a statement that the board “needs to disclose a lot more about this investigation for the Liberty community to trust its legitimacy.”

The board’s statement did not name the firm it has hired, and a board spokesman did not return a request for comment on the company’s identity. [Emphasis added]

 

Re: the bolded. The board only fucking noticed last week that Falwell Jr. was a problem? Will we learn who is doing the investigation before it's over & there's a report, preferably exonerating everyone but Falwell Jr and maybe the fitness instructor?

[Ozlsn]

3 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

The board only fucking noticed last week that Falwell Jr. was a problem? Will we learn who is doing the investigation before it's over & there's a report, preferably exonerating everyone but Falwell Jr and maybe the fitness instructor?

Obviously he only managed to do all of them in one week for the first time last week.

And I fully expect the report to be a total whitewash of everyone except the Falwells with smearing of any former students, instructors, pool boys or other who dared to speak up. It's a perfect situation for the board - how could they possibly know when no one told them? Why would anyone tell them with out anonymized investigation processes and with a reasonable fear of repercussions?

[Howl]

Another gender-related issue to consider.  If (or when) a fundy patriarch falls (otherwise known as not keeping it in his pants while advising others to keep it zipped) he's welcomed back into the fold after repentance.  The Devil Made Him Do It, he's a changed man, we're all sinners, he's a guy, etc.  The wife stands stalwartly by his side AND THAT IS HER EXPECTED ROLE because God says to forgive, and whoo boy, does God ever hate divorce. 

It will be interesting to see the ultimate fate of the Falwell marriage. (Disclaimer:  I realize the Falwell situation has more quirks and kink than what I'm about to discuss. )

 I don't think I've heard of a situation in fundydom where the wife cheated and the husband forgave and stayed.  I can't imagine the board of elders meeting and demanding that the husband stay, work on the marriage, and applying all kinds of pressure to make that happen. 

But then I guess it's hard to have an affair when you are perpetually pregnant and have a bazillion kids, so maybe it doesn't happen all that often. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Howl

[Pecansforeveryone]

I do think men have more opportunities to cheat, so at least for that reason,  I think they have a solidly higher rate of cheating. Also in many circles of fundie dom, there are no positions of leadership to remove a cheating woman from. The exception being many Pentecostal and Charismatic circles. The "healer" Katherine Kuhlman raised eyebrows early in her career by being involved with a married man. They parted ways. She re-entered the ministry, and stayed single for the rest of her life. 

[Howl]

40 minutes ago, Pecansforeveryone said:

I do think men have more opportunities to cheat, so at least for that reason,  I think they have a solidly higher rate of cheating.

Wouldn't it be more likely that these cheating men would be cheating with a woman from the congregation?  I'd have to think that their social circle with be insular. 

[formergothardite]

12 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

Well, I am surprised. Kind of.

On the one hand, Liberty University has announced that it will conduct a broad investigation into Falwell Jr.'s reign at LU:

On the other hand:

Re: the bolded. The board only fucking noticed last week that Falwell Jr. was a problem? Will we learn who is doing the investigation before it's over & there's a report, preferably exonerating everyone but Falwell Jr and maybe the fitness instructor?

I wonder if this investigation will go the way IBLP's did and will never see the light of day. 

[gustava]

The investigative firm has been made public.  My guess is that they will find significant financial malfeasance, and things will drag on for years.  Driving the ISB:  Jer and Beck will relocate to Florida.

[Howl]

34 minutes ago, gustava said:

Driving the ISB:  Jer and Beck will relocate to Florida.

Maybe they'll buy a house but still have a suite at the Fontainebleau Hotel.

Also, we haven't heard one single peep out of Jerry's brother Johnathan Falwell, senior pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA. 

There's also a sister, who is a surgeon. 

Edited September 1, 2020 by Howl

[hasunah]

16 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

Well, I am surprised. Kind of.

On the one hand, Liberty University has announced that it will conduct a broad investigation into Falwell Jr.'s reign at LU:

On the other hand:

Re: the bolded. The board only fucking noticed last week that Falwell Jr. was a problem? Will we learn who is doing the investigation before it's over & there's a report, preferably exonerating everyone but Falwell Jr and maybe the fitness instructor?

I believe it's more likely that Falwell finally lost the power   to threaten the jobs of  staff  and board members .  

[FiveAcres]

1 hour ago, hasunah said:

I believe it's more likely that Falwell finally lost the power   to threaten the jobs of  staff  and board members .  

I hope the knives come out (in a figurative sense, of course.) 

[hoipolloi]

Gotta love this. Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler, gets a last word of sorts. 

Quote

It’s possible Jerry Falwell Jr. will find forgiveness from his flock, but even if he doesn’t, the $10 million severance payout from Liberty University will surely ease his pain. As for the rest of the country, I repeat the sentiment that has guided me for decades: If there were ever to be a Second Coming of Jesus Christ, I have no doubt that his first order of business would be picking up a whip and banishing forever all the hucksters and false prophets who have perverted his message.

For those of you too young to know or remember, Jerry's dad, Falwell Sr.,  sued Hustler in the 1980s over what Senior said was libel that inflicted emotional distress. SCOTUS ruled 8-0 in favor of Hustler -- it's a landmark case for first amendment rights and a reminder that we can't always choose our preferred standard bearers!