Right Voices

I watched Larry Flynt on Larry King Live and I was touched by the respect that Flynt showed.  Allahpundit has a video, and adds: ” How ironic that, of all Falwell’s critics, the pornographer emerges as the most decent.”

KING: We have an e-mail for Larry Flynt from Rick in Decatur, Alabama: “Despite your obvious differences, what, if anything, do you think that you and Jerry Falwell had in common with each other?”

FLYNT: I think he cared about people, and I cared about people. And even though the way neither one of us communicated with others, we were sensitive to this. And I don’t think that Falwell was mean- spirited at all, at all.

But you talk to the adamant leaders and gay rights and the women’s movement and everything, and they just shrill at the mentioning of his name. But there was two sides of him. There was a dichotomy. You know, one side was just sort of like a character of himself, you know. He was a very complex individual. 

Newsbusters had this quote from Flynt:

The Reverend Jerry Falwell and I were arch enemies for fifteen years. We became involved in a lawsuit concerning First Amendment rights and Hustler magazine. Without question, this was my most important battle – the l988 Hustler Magazine, Inc., v. Jerry Falwell case, where after millions of dollars and much deliberation, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in my favor.

My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find characteristics about them that you like. Jerry Falwell was a perfect example of that. I hated everything he stood for, but after meeting him in person, years after the trial, Jerry Falwell and I became good friends. He would visit me in California and we would debate together on college campuses. I always appreciated his sincerity even though I knew what he was selling and he knew what I was selling.

The most important result of our relationship was the landmark decision from the Supreme Court that made parody protected speech, and the fact that much of what we see on television and hear on the radio today is a direct result of my having won that now famous case which Falwell played such an important role in.