Westboro Counter Protest

[LightHorseman]

Just thought this was a fun article.

http://www.chicagomaroon.com/2009/3/10/westboro-church-protest-meets-students-mocking

I like the "God hates Figs" one particularly

 

[Joachim]

It's really a shame that you can't beat the hell out of protestors anymore because that's exactly what the Westboro people deserve. They are nothing more than a bunch of rube con artists.

 

[b&wpac4]

It's really a shame that you can't beat the hell out of protestors anymore because that's exactly what the Westboro people deserve. They are nothing more than a bunch of rube con artists.

No, it's just as important to protect their freedom of speech and expression as it is to protect anybody's.

Counter protests to their idiocy, however, are very funny. The more they are shown to be parodies of Christians instead of actual ones that know and understand their faith, the better.

 

[LightHorseman]

It's really a shame that you can't beat the hell out of protestors anymore because that's exactly what the Westboro people deserve. They are nothing more than a bunch of rube con artists.

An understandable impulse, but one to be avoided. First, it would only reinforce their self annointed martyr syndrome. Second, defending freedom of speech doesn't just mean defending peoples' right to say stuff you agree with.

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

An understandable impulse, but one to be avoided. First, it would only reinforce their self annointed martyr syndrome. Second, defending freedom of speech doesn't just mean defending peoples' right to say stuff you agree with.

I completely agree.

It would be immoral and criminal to kill Fred Phelps. However, I can't say I'm not looking forward to giving the WBC a taste of their own medicine and protesting his funeral.

I have to wonder, though, whether what they're doing is expressing extreme versions of beliefs they don't even hold in order to bring people together. I mean, who else has ever brought Catholics, gay rights activists and Hells Angels together in a (counter)protest? When was the last time a college fraternity protested in favour of gay rights? I'm fairly certain they are just extremists with horrific beliefs, but it would be nice to think they're not and that they're doing this for a good cause...

 

[PassionFruit]

It's really a shame that you can't beat the hell out of protestors anymore because that's exactly what the Westboro people deserve. They are nothing more than a bunch of rube con artists.

I understand how you feel, but it would be immoral to react violently towards them. These protesters actually had the nerve to come on campus at the uni I attend, and I felt like throwing rocks at them to be quite honest.

But me and my friends just made fun of them instead which made me feel better.

And I like the idea of a counter protest.

 

[LightHorseman]

I completely agree.

It would be immoral and criminal to kill Fred Phelps. However, I can't say I'm not looking forward to giving the WBC a taste of their own medicine and protesting his funeral.

I have to wonder, though, whether what they're doing is expressing extreme versions of beliefs they don't even hold in order to bring people together. I mean, who else has ever brought Catholics, gay rights activists and Hells Angels together in a (counter)protest? When was the last time a college fraternity protested in favour of gay rights? I'm fairly certain they are just extremists with horrific beliefs, but it would be nice to think they're not and that they're doing this for a good cause...

Interesting point. I had not considered it that way.

 

[Beanieboy]

There are some interesting points, such as "God clearly hates figs!"
Matthew 21:18-22

Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again!" Immediately the tree withered.

When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. "How did the fig tree wither so quickly?" they asked.

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."

Scripture should never be looked at superficially, but people love to say, "The bible clearly says..." when talking about who????

Somebody else!!!So, if that is the measure you judge by.....good luck on judgement day....

 

[Joachim]

I understand how you feel, but it would be immoral to react violently towards them. These protesters actually had the nerve to come on campus at the uni I attend, and I felt like throwing rocks at them to be quite honest.

But me and my friends just made fun of them instead which made me feel better.

And I like the idea of a counter protest.

Honestly, I'm aware that we can't just send the police out to hit them with billy clubs, even if that would be a sight that would fill the entire country with joy. As others point out and as I always hold, this is America. Part of the downside of freedom is that it gets messy. We are a violent, crude, and offensive country, but we also have a greater level of personal freedom than any other country on earth. Nevada is probably the most free place in the world. Where else can you drive around smoking pot and not get arrested, take citizens lessons on how to properly shoot an UZI and then round off the night by going to a legal cathouse. They will probably be the first state to re-legalize smack too.


When it comes to protesting though, my general observation is that protesting never works. I always look at it as a choice of going out there and doing something about it or protesting. The only protests I know that worked were those of Gandhi and of the civil rights movement and those only worked because they met violence with nonviolence and guilt tripped everyone into seeing it their way. I've always thought that if you paid protestors no mind and just let them go about their business, that people would ignore them and eventually they'd fail cause I don't view street protestors much differently than I view the street preachers who come down during carnival and telling us we're all going to hell.


Doesn't take much effort to stand around and hold a sign up for a few hours. Takes much more effort to right an insightful essay or actually involve yourself in a meaningful way like volunteer work or political action.

 

[LightHorseman]

more photos here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/froboy/sets/72157614979271411/

Joachim, next time you're having one of those grass fueled, high speed, cat house, machine gun orgies, give me a call, will ya?

 

[TeddyKGB]

My guess is the Phelps clan would welcome attacks from outraged citizens; five or six of his children are lawyers.

 

[bigbadwilf]

Such a shame, I'll never have the chance to be involved in a counter-protest to the WBC idiocy. Seeing as one of the few sensible things that the UK Home Office denied him clearance to enter the UK as not "conducive to the public good".

 

[Robbie_James_Francis]

When it comes to protesting though, my general observation is that protesting never works. I always look at it as a choice of going out there and doing something about it or protesting. The only protests I know that worked were those of Gandhi and of the civil rights movement and those only worked because they met violence with nonviolence and guilt tripped everyone into seeing it their way. I've always thought that if you paid protestors no mind and just let them go about their business, that people would ignore them and eventually they'd fail cause I don't view street protestors much differently than I view the street preachers who come down during carnival and telling us we're all going to hell.


Doesn't take much effort to stand around and hold a sign up for a few hours. Takes much more effort to right an insightful essay or actually involve yourself in a meaningful way like volunteer work or political action.

Protesting never works, yet you point out two protests that have brought about significant change in our world. Moreover, if we should just ignore protesters, should we have therefore ignored Gandhi, King and Mandela?

I dread to think what sort of world we would be in now if there were no protesters or if everyone ignored them as you recommend.

 

[brightmorningstar]

Nice observation about the fig tree Beanieboy

 

[PreachersWife2004]

eh, anything that brings Westboro more attention benefits them, not anyone else. Oh, yeah, people might get some adrenaline rush or a feeling of, what, "in-your-face" about it, but the bottom line is that it keeps Westboro and what they mistakenly believe in the spotlight, which means ignorant and naive Christians are still being deceived into thinking that Westboro is somehow right and pious and that Westboro is a shining example of how Christians should be.

That alone makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit.

I wish Westboro would just wither up and go away, and I hope that NO ONE attends Phelps' funeral - to me there's no better way to say "we just don't care"...and that would have him rolling in grave.

 

[wanderingone]

An understandable impulse, but one to be avoided. First, it would only reinforce their self annointed martyr syndrome. Second, defending freedom of speech doesn't just mean defending peoples' right to say stuff you agree with.

Exactly.

WBC was just in our area, protesting at the high school and the state university. I think they have their right to babble on about their opinions just like anyone else (although I personally do not agree with the protests that target individual family events like funerals) - At this point it's all purely WBC looking for opportunities to sue someone, I wish everyone would just ignore them. Leave them standing with their disgusting signs on a street corner and everyone just pretend they aren't there. I did like the response from some area churches "God is Love" they took a full page ad out in the paper and didn't even mention WBC, although it was obvious they were countering the hate message.

Our local gay and lesbian community center chose to treat the protest as a fund raiser, they got sponsors to donate money for each hours that WBC protested, it will go to their youth programs, the director will be sending Phelps a thank you note for helping to raise money to help GLBT kids.

 

[SughaNSpice]

A few months ago the Westboro hate group showed up here protesting at a local high school. It seems the high school was putting on “the Laramie Project” A play about the town of Laramie after the kidnapping, torture and murder of Matthew Shepherd.
Their protests made many newspapers and it had two effects.

The first is that the play sold out. The media attention generated a lot of interest in the play and so hundreds of people who would have missed it got to experience it and the story of the late Mr. Shepherd.

The second effect was that all the horrible and hateful things the Westboro protesters were shouting at the high school kids had already been said by a good number of local churches. So people got a good comparison of how their church is saying exactly the same bigoted things that Westborough is.

My understanding is that the brave kids who put the play on wrote letters of thank you to the Westboro BaptistChurch for helping make their play a success and they also wrote thank yours to the churches preaching the same hateful things. Seems those kids parents did a good job raising them up.

 

[lux et lex]

My guess is the Phelps clan would welcome attacks from outraged citizens; five or six of his children are lawyers.

Did they get their law degrees at Regent or Liberty.

 

[namaste_benry]

Ha! That's really awesome. I'm glad the student group figured out a good way of responding to the Westboro "church" thing. Laughing is the only appropriate response for the way out things they say.

 

[selfinflikted]

I completely agree.

It would be immoral and criminal to kill Fred Phelps. However, I can't say I'm not looking forward to giving the WBC a taste of their own medicine and protesting his funeral.

I am SO there. I have always said I was going to protest his funeral. We should start a petition to see who'd be interested in going