Falwell calls NOW, “National Order of Witches;” Feministing ridicules his inability to create a decent acronym-inspired insult

Media Matters reports that in a November 21 television appearance, Reverend Jerry Falwell—chairman of the Faith and Values Coalition and founder of The Moral Majority—called the National Organization for Women (NOW) the “National Order of Witches.” Yeah, I bet all the ladies over at NOW were huddled around their cauldrons just fuming over that one. Please.
I find it really interesting that Falwell chose the word “witches” to describe feminists. During my undergraduate English lit days, I developed a slight research obsession over the persecution of “witches” during the Middle Ages and how it related to fear of women’s power. (All the literary references to witches stealing men’s penises were all I needed to see to know what the hell was up.)
For a real scare, check out the Malleus Maleficarum—essentially a handbook on how to identify women as witches and subsequently torture them.
Media Matters also points out that this kind of anti-feminist nonsense is not exactly new for Falwell. He was a leader in opposing the Equal Rights Amendment and has been quoted as saying:
I listen to feminists and all these radical gals … These women just need a man in the house. That’s all they need. Most of the feminists need a man to tell them what time of day it is and to lead them home. And they blew it, and they’re mad at all men. Feminists hate men. They’re sexist. They hate men; that’s their problem.
Geez. This is a quote from the 80s, but it seems that anti-feminists are still using the same tired arguments.
Via Pacific Views.

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