I Will Not Mourn

Ultraconservative mouthpiece and talk radio host Rush Limbaugh died yesterday.

I am not cheering his death, but neither will I mourn his passing. He was a vile, hate-filled, racist, misogynist who holds great responsibility for the current deep division in American society. He used his on-air platform to spread hate. He read the names of people who had died of AIDS, and then celebrated their deaths with ringing bells and honking car horns. He verbally assaulted and insulted women and Black Americans on air. This was no simple 'shtick' for ratings. He really was that way.

I am sure his friends, family and fans mourn his death. I feel for those who do, but I am not among the mourners.

Rolling Stone magazine reported that Limbaugh "did his best to ruin America." He cast the pandemic as a culture war pitting patriotic Americans against the evil "libs." He called Kamala Harris, the first woman of color nominated for the vice presidency, a "ho." He referred to the teenage Chelsea Clinton as "the White House dog." He said that Michael J. Fox was faking his Parkinson's disease. He showed a similar lack of compassion to the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg during her years-long fight against cancer, to Iraq war veterans and to the victims of gun violence. His hatred and vitriol were directed at anyone and everyone who crossed his radar screen. His hate speech helped create the polarization of America we now must face.

Limbaugh also got rich -- very, very rich -- from his hate speech, racism. homophobia and lies. His worth at the time of death is estimated at $600 million. 

He was one of those figures people either loved or hated. There wasn't, and isn't, much room for a middle ground. So while I won't celebrate his passing, I certainly will not miss his hate-filled rhetoric. And let's be very clear: this isn't about a mere disagreement with his politics. No, it runs much deeper than that. How I feel about the man runs to disgust with his total lack of morality and his lack of compassion and his callousness toward all but white male Americans. His was not a life I will celebrate. His death is not one I will mourn.

Perhaps what saddens me the most is that millions of Americans followed -- and believed -- his racist, homophobic, misogynistic rantings, as countless others felt emboldened to act upon them.