[Peace-discuss] Westboro Baptist and NIU

[John W.]

At 06:19 PM 2/15/2008, Marti Wilkinson wrote:

>Phelps and WBC seem as harmless as they are ridiculous
>
>I am going to have to respectfully disagree with you on this. Phelps and 
>his followers seek to hurt and damage anyone who they believe is doomed to 
>go to hell. I would not want to be at a funeral grieving for a family 
>member or friend and to have to deal with these clowns. Also it's not just 
>gay people who they hate. Anyone who refuses to be just like them is also 
>a target.
>
>For example, since I am a single parent who is part Swedish that would 
>certainly qualify me as a candidate for all sorts of hellfire and 
>brimstone. Their hatred of Swedes is pretty funny to me. Verbal abuse can 
>be as damaging as physical abuse and the concept of "sticks n stones" is a 
>myth. These people do have the right to engage in lawful protest in public 
>places - and I hope that there will be individuals who have the courage to 
>unite in love, peace, and tolerance in the face of this evil.
>
>Marti


And I'm with Marti on this one.  It would be one thing if it was just Fred 
Phelps.  We could dismiss him as a nut.  But he has a wife; he has seven 
children; he has quite a number of followers; he apparently has a good deal 
of financial support.  I don't think his merry little band is going to take 
over the world any time soon - I'm sure they don't have nearly as many 
followers as, say, the KKK had in its prime - but as a person who 
identifies as a Christian, the existence and ignorance of people like Fred 
Phelps and his group is profoundly depressing to me.  The first thing I 
noticed when I visited the web site was not only a box that says, "God 
hates fags", but an equally noticeable box that says, "God hates YOU."  How 
much more universal can that message get?  Phelps has completely turned the 
message of Christianity on its head.  And there's absolutely no dialogue 
with people who are that fanatical.

John



>On Feb 15, 2008 5:44 PM, Jenifer Cartwright 
><<mailto:jencart13 at yahoo.com>jencart13 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
>WBC is run by a nut case named Fred Phelps who actually "drove Jim Crow 
>laws out of KS" (I guess blacks are always heterosexual) but literally 
>hates everybody else. He even calls Ronald Reagan and (wait for it......) 
>Bill O'Reilly Fag enablers!!! (I bet O'Reilly loved that). Phelps and WBC 
>seem as harmless as they are ridiculous. I don't think they're worth a 
>counter-protest. In fact, I'd say don't waste your time even thinking 
>about them, other than check out the link and have a good laugh. More at 
><http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps 
>
>
>  --Jenifer
>
>
>
>"John W." <<mailto:jbw292002 at gmail.com>jbw292002 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>At 02:43 PM 2/15/2008, Wendy Edwards wrote:
>
> >Just as a heads-up, the infamous Westboro Baptist Church (as in
> ><http://godhatesfags.com>godhatesfags.com) is planning to show up at NIU 
> in the wake of the
> >shootings to "protest" at memorials. Some counter-protests are planned.
> >Here's the WBC flyer:
> >
> ><http://www.godhatesfags.com/written/fliers/20080214_northern-illinois-un 
> iversity-shooter.pdf>http://www.godhatesfags.com/written/fliers/20080214_northern-illinois-university-shooter.pdf
> >
> >Wendy
>
>
>Ugh. I had never seen that web site before. It makes me literally
>nauseous just to read it.
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