It’s a strange world we live in, friends.
A world where the passing of a man – a towering figure of faith and conservative values – becomes a reason for some to celebrate. And I’m not talking about commemorating his life, his deeds, or the legacy he left behind.
No, it’s something far more distasteful.
Remember Pat Robertson?
A man whose life mission was to spread the word of God, a man who passionately intertwined his faith with his conservative political views. A beacon for many in the Christian evangelical community, but also a figure of controversy for those on the other side of the aisle.
Well, it seems that the news of his passing has spurred some folks on the political left to break into a cheer.
A cheer on social media, no less, a space often rife with unfiltered emotion and swift judgement.
Not in remembrance of the man he was, but in apparent joy over his demise.
Take a look:
Our mainstream media will never tell the good he did. Is a shame.
CNN coverage of pat Robertson‘s death pic.twitter.com/zI2MX0PMxd— monitteh💫💫💫 (@monitteh) June 8, 2023
Pat Robertson, the right-wing televangelist and former Republican presidential candidate who espoused racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, AIDSphobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic bigotry on air for decades, has died. pic.twitter.com/hCLNtkQtCA
— Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) June 8, 2023
Religious broadcaster and one-time presidential candidate Pat Robertson has died at age 93 https://t.co/ok7wFGn3j2 pic.twitter.com/T4okEvgVB8
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) June 8, 2023
But that’s just the mainstream media.
Liberals took to social media to post horrendous things about Pat Robertson and conservatives in general.
Here’s what they think about us:
let’s check in on Pat Robertson, who has just joined Ronald Reagan, Ayn Rand, Margaret Thatcher, Andrew Jackson, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, Herbert Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and Winston Churchill! pic.twitter.com/xebEja00Qg
— v (@suchnerve) June 8, 2023
The only appropriate Pat Robertson obituary pic.twitter.com/rfixgrmhZt
— Wu Tang is for the Children (@WUTangKids) June 8, 2023
Pat Robertson died this morning and I just wanted to take the time to say to everyone that this piece of inhuman shit was evil.
I hope hell is real because that’s where he fucking belongs.
I spit on his grave.
Here’s a thread 🧵 pic.twitter.com/Dw2wV74xdg
— MaceAhWindu (@MaceAhWindu) June 8, 2023
The fact that Pat Robertson went to Hell during Pride Month makes me almost believe there is a God..or Hell. pic.twitter.com/DD0Dd04pH9
— Sgt Joker (@TheSGTJoker) June 8, 2023
Strange, isn’t it?
To use a moment of loss, a moment of reflection, as a chance to celebrate.
To overlook a man’s life and instead, focus on the political divide and try to use it to slam conservatives and Christians.
According to Breitbart:
The left wasted little time on Thursday celebrating the passing of Christian television evangelist Pat Robertson. The 93-year-old’s death was announced earlier in the day by his broadcasting network. No cause was given.
As Breitbart News reported, Robertson was a familiar presence in American living rooms for over half a century, known for his “700 Club” television show, and in later years, his televised pronouncements of God’s judgment on a host of topics.
His energy and business sense turned a tiny Virginia TV station into a global evangelical network before he sought the GOP presidential nomination in 1988 and helped make religion central to Republican Party politics in America.
That combination of Christian evangelical zeal and political ambition drew critics on the political left who celebrated on social media as soon as news of his death became public.
Of course, none of this should be a surprise.
After all, leftists support abortion, which, let’s call it what it is: is killing innocent babies in the womb.
If Democrats can support killing innocent babies, then is it really such a surprise that they would openly celebrate a man’s death?
Pat Robertson passing during Pride month is the only positive thing he ever accomplished in his entire hateful life. Good riddance.
— Gareth 🏴🇺🇸🇪🇺 (@ZacaMesaSix) June 8, 2023
Pat Robertson can personally congratulate Rush Limbaugh on his 841th day of sobriety. pic.twitter.com/irfysbjTuS
— Sgt Joker (@TheSGTJoker) June 8, 2023
Now, his detractors are busy compiling his ‘lowlights’, moments that they argue define his legacy.
Moments that they claim are a reflection of the conspiratorial and hate-mongering narratives prevalent in some corners of the conservative landscape.
Still, the picture may not be as black and white as it seems.
Among those offering a different perspective is former President Barack Obama, whose reflections on Robertson from his days as a Senator offer a unique lens into the late host’s influence.
As if this isn’t disgusting enough, take a look at how MSNBC covered his death:
Pat Robertson, the bigoted Christian television host who spent years regaling the political right with racist, sexist, anti-gay and otherwise hateful rhetoric, has died.
Robertson technically retired from his longtime television show, “The 700 Club,” in 2021. At the time, MSNBC’s “The 11th Hour” put together this helpful mashup of Robertson’s lowlights as a host. This includes a tirade claiming Haitians had suffered a deadly earthquake after they “swore a pact to the devil” while overthrowing their French oppressors centuries earlier, along with a torrent of homophobia.
Lists ranking Robertson’s most deplorable bigotry are easy to find. And that’s his legacy in a nutshell: mainstreaming the sort of conspiratorial Christian hate-mongering that’s now common and openly encouraged in the conservative movement.
Barack Obama foresaw this in 2006 — when he was a U.S. senator — and I think his comments about Robertson in particular are more useful to reflect on today than anything Robertson said himself.
These comments were delivered during Obama’s keynote speech at a religious conference hosted by the liberal Christian activist Jim Wallis and his group Call to Renewal. The conference invited the freshman senator from Illinois to discuss ways to unite secular and religious Americans around social justice causes.
No matter your thoughts on Pat Robertson, we should not be so callous to celebrate a man’s death just because of simple political differences.
This should not be normalized.
Yet it is the case whenever a high-profile conservative or Republican or Christian dies.
Why is this?
It’s a dangerous precedent, and this trend must stop!
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