When Bad People Die

Last updated on: May 26, 2021 at 8:43 pm by Tom Swiss

When Bad People Die 2021-05-26T20:43:00-04:00 Tom Swiss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We should speak the truth about bad public figures, even when they die.

Rush Limbaugh was not a good person, and we are under no obligation to pretend otherwise.

As Matt Taibbi put it, Limbaugh “hit on a Faustian bargain that gave him a gigantic audience and the adulation of millions. All he had to do in return was have no morals at all and embrace a sociopathic programming concept.” He pandered to the worst and most bigoted urges of his audience, as when he ran a regular bit called the “AIDS Update” where he mocked people who died of HIV. Though he pulled the bit after a few weeks and later said it was one of the “most regretful things [he’d] ever done, that he did it at all speaks to his general vileness.

Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons

In so far as Limbaugh was a war-monger — one who sells, who promotes, war — I’ll even make him the same long-distance dedication of Dylan’s “Masters of War” that I made for John McCain and will make for Biden when he kicks off: “And I’ll watch while you’re lowered / Down to your deathbed / And I’ll stand o’er your grave / ’Til I’m sure that you’re dead.”

Rush Limbaugh’s angry, nationalistic faux populism paved the way for Trumpism, and I will not miss or mourn him.

But we should be careful not to damage our own hearts and minds by celebrating the suffering of a human being. Any human being.

Yes, even of a human being who was bad at being a human being. A bad man feels his pain just as much as a good man does, whether than bad man is a murderer being executed by the state or a far-right dingbat dying of cancer.

Some of my friends who think of themselves as “liberal” or “leftist” and (rightly) oppose capital punishment, sound right now very much like right-wingers cheering the execution of a murderer. If you’ve decried conservatives gloating over the suffering and death of a condemned criminal but are now cheering Limbaugh’s suffering and death from lung cancer, it would be a good time to pause and look those emotions.

The question is not what Limbaugh deserves, or what those who supported him and now mourn him deserve, but what we ourselves deserve. Our “duty toward self”, as Robert Pirsig translated the word “dharma”.

Anger is an energy and has its place. The wrathful “Wisdom King” Acala, Fudo No Myo, the Immovable One, is one of the deities on my altar. But he “turns Wrath to Purified Accomplishment”, as Gary Snyder put it. Because anger must be transformed to be useful.

Otherwise, as Buddhaghosa said, it’s like picking up a burning ember or a piece of shit to throw at someone: it just burns your hand or makes you stink.

So yes, let us speak clearly about the vileness of Limbaugh’s deeds. If the public discourse tries polish that turd, let us forcefully object. But let us also try to hold the basic compassion due any sentient being — not for his benefit (he’s beyond caring) but for the health of our own hearts.

Culture

Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living

Previous Post

January 20, 2021

A Spell for Vaccination

Next Post

February 23, 2021 Punk Magick

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2017 52 Makeup 2020 52 Makeup Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart Art Because I Could Not Stop For Death Caught On Video COVID-19 Culture Discordianism Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living History Magic(k), Ritual, and Mysticism My Blogging Life and Times Philosophy Podcast Poetry Random Wednesdays Religion & Politics Seasonal Musings Techno-Pagan Theology Uncategorized Warrior Path Zen

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 June 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: The Thessalonians were told that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Select your answer to see how you score.

FALSE TRUE