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News & ArtsMonday, December 14, 2009
Religion SL Letter of the Day: Westboro Baptist Leader Fred Phelps Is Gonna Die Someday, Right?
Posted by Dan Savage on Mon, Dec 14, 2009 at 1:41 PM
I'm not really sure how to pose this question to you, as I'm not sure what all might be considered relevant. This is not a query, I do not need advice (well, no relevant advice at the moment), but I wanted to ask: Is anyone preparing to protest the eventual funeral of Fred Phelps? I really hope I'm not the first to think of this. The guy is—what? Eighty? Someone should probably start making plans now. I think the event calls for a big ol' jazz funeral. Call up the Patriot Guard Riders, some VFWs, a few pride parades, maybe the Anti-Defamation League, invite anyone and everyone who was protested or maligned or attacked by the Westboro Baptist Church over the years. Everyone meets up, you get a brass band to play a dirge as everyone marches to the cemetery—no reason you can't take the opportunity to illustrate dignity in the face of grief, if you wanted to provide them an example—and then, after the burial, everybody goes nuts. Think Carnival, think Rio, but in the middle Kansas.Just curious if anyone is working on this, and I figured you'd be the guy to take this sort of an idea and run with it.
JEB
Fred Phelps—pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church—turned 80 on November 13. Phelps has never been a particularly well looking man and I can't imagine that the old bastard is long for this world. Westboro Baptist's original claim to fame, of course, was picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard (carrying "Fag Matt Burns In Hell" signs in front of Shepard's grieving family members) and since that time Westboro has gone on to picket the funerals of dozens of American soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as funerals of the victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse (because Minnesota is the "land of the Sodomite damned"), Heath Ledger's funeral, and the funeral of Al Gore's father. According to Phelps' Wikipedia page, Phelps has attacked Ronald Reagan, the Supreme Court, the Irish, Swedes, Catholics, Muslims, Mormons, Sonny Bono, Jews, and Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
So, yeah, it seems like we could pull together a big party once Phelps' croaks. And I think a party immediately after Phelps' funeral—right across the street from his funeral—seems like a fitting tribute to a man who crashed the funerals of so many others. I'm not a party planner myself, JEB, but if someone wants to organize it, I am there.
1
This is a fantastic idea. Someone should set up a website (and facebook page?) to coordinate this!
2
Please! Oh Let's! I'm not much of an organizer myself, but I'll do my best to scare up the South Caroliney delegation and bring y'all the shrimp and grits!
4
I plan to ignore him in death just as I've ignored him in life. He's all about getting attention. Ignore him.
6
Good heavens no. The hateful, attention-seeking bastard has had far more than his share of the spotlight as it is. When he passes, I think we should say a quick quiet thanks to whichever death deity came to collect him, and get on with our lives.
7
This is a terrible idea. Is this man really worth the time of so many people who probably have better things to do (like pass a BM, trim their bushes, or comment in stupid comment threads)? I would hope that the only people who care enough about this man to attend his funeral are the few supporters he has left, most of whom are his family members, anyway.
8
More relevant locally in Seattle is the fact that Pastor Ken Hutcherson is dying of colon cancer - anyone making plans to protest his funeral?
10
This is one of those times when it's necessary to talk Savage down from the edge before he jumps into some really bad idea with both feet.
Listen. There are lots of anti-gay bigots who are not repugnant in the way that Fred Phelps is. They don't crash funerals. They might be loathesome bigots in all sorts of ways, but at least they have enough human decency to leave mourners a moment of peace. Give them that. Phelps, however, is so far beneath contempt because he crashes funerals. Which. Is. A. Thing. One. Should. Not. Do.
Ever.
If you try express how wrong it is to crash funerals by crashing a funeral... well, let's just say you're doing it wrong.
Raise a toast, to be sure, but away -- far away -- from the fucking funeral. Jesus.
Listen. There are lots of anti-gay bigots who are not repugnant in the way that Fred Phelps is. They don't crash funerals. They might be loathesome bigots in all sorts of ways, but at least they have enough human decency to leave mourners a moment of peace. Give them that. Phelps, however, is so far beneath contempt because he crashes funerals. Which. Is. A. Thing. One. Should. Not. Do.
Ever.
If you try express how wrong it is to crash funerals by crashing a funeral... well, let's just say you're doing it wrong.
Raise a toast, to be sure, but away -- far away -- from the fucking funeral. Jesus.
11
Anyone interested in exactly how depraved & insane Fred Phelps is should read the 2009 speech by Nathan Phelps about his life after christian fundamentalism.
http://www.atheistnexus.org/page/nate-ph…
I personally do not think it is constructive to our movement, nor to my personal negative focus on life to wait in rapt anticipation of someone's demise, even if he is a crackpot hate-monger. He spends all his time focusing on what he (& his version of god) hates, and I think it's best if I don't.
His movement will not end with his death, and a big thumb in the eye of his followers while they mourn will not do a huge service in educating them on their misconceptions and hatred towards those who are different from them.
http://www.atheistnexus.org/page/nate-ph…
I personally do not think it is constructive to our movement, nor to my personal negative focus on life to wait in rapt anticipation of someone's demise, even if he is a crackpot hate-monger. He spends all his time focusing on what he (& his version of god) hates, and I think it's best if I don't.
His movement will not end with his death, and a big thumb in the eye of his followers while they mourn will not do a huge service in educating them on their misconceptions and hatred towards those who are different from them.
12
I agree with #5–10 (except 8): Don't stoop to his level. We are so much better than that. And emulating the hate practices of a hateful bigot will only make us look cheap and tacky.
13
If protesting his funeral would cause his followers (i.e., family) to feel pain, hurt, and suffering, than I'm all for it. I wouldn't be opposed at all to them feeling some of the same pain they caused to others.
I wonder, though, if they would feel that way. They're pretty fucked up. I don't think they feel things the same way normal people do.
I wonder, though, if they would feel that way. They're pretty fucked up. I don't think they feel things the same way normal people do.
14
@8 You wished. He's way on recovery from that, he serves a mighty God. And to try and compare him with the Westboro asshats who have no basic knowledge of God's redeeming love for all including gays and who shows no respect for our service men and women, shows you're no better than phelp and his klan.
15
This is a terrible idea, if for no other reason than that it's EXACTLY what these loons want. They're always quoting Bible verses like
"And you will be hated by all men for My name's [Jesus'] sake.
But he who endures to the end shall be saved."
They're always saying things like "We WANT people to hate us!" The only effective response to this is to ignore them and stop giving them the attention they crave and seem to belive validates their holiness.
"And you will be hated by all men for My name's [Jesus'] sake.
But he who endures to the end shall be saved."
They're always saying things like "We WANT people to hate us!" The only effective response to this is to ignore them and stop giving them the attention they crave and seem to belive validates their holiness.
17
This kind of reminds me of when they finally executed Saddam. I remember a lot of people being happy and celebrating his death, and how wrong that felt. Granted, he was a genocidal fuckwad, but it felt weird for people to be dancing around and happy when someone was dead. What I remember thinking was, rather than mourning this waste of humanity, why aren't we mourning the people that he tortured and killed?
In that same spirit, why not plan a giant, massively organized, "Day of Remembrance" for all the people that Rev. Douchebag tried to slander? Gays, soldiers, victims of tragedies, etc. Many of the people that this dipshit has tried to besmirch are people who deserve to be remembered, if for no reason than a period of mourning free from the this dipshit's tirade.
In that same spirit, why not plan a giant, massively organized, "Day of Remembrance" for all the people that Rev. Douchebag tried to slander? Gays, soldiers, victims of tragedies, etc. Many of the people that this dipshit has tried to besmirch are people who deserve to be remembered, if for no reason than a period of mourning free from the this dipshit's tirade.
18
Terrible, terrible idea. Please don't promote this. If people want to mark his death somehow, then organize a fundraiser for victims of hate crimes, or donate to your favourite LGBT advocacy group. But please don't wallow in the hate this man created. Rise above it.
19
I regret I will be unable to attend. Perhaps there is an address to send cards? and what would be a good sentiment?
"Wishing you what you wished for me"
"As ye sow, so shall ye reap"
"Do unto others"
I don't think Hallmark has a line of cards for this, so I guess I will have to make my own. Perhaps I should send a card now, so he can enjoy it early.
"Wishing you what you wished for me"
"As ye sow, so shall ye reap"
"Do unto others"
I don't think Hallmark has a line of cards for this, so I guess I will have to make my own. Perhaps I should send a card now, so he can enjoy it early.
20
13 is right, these people are not normal people. Any response we could get from their insane and crippled minds by crashing Fred's funeral would have no meaning we could really appreciate, no matter what our intentions were.
21
I just hope that he dies sooner better than later. Then, I just think he needs to become forgotten.
22
Fred Phelps and his people have caused some suffering at funerals, but overall they are the best friends gay people could possibly want. When Joe and Marge Normal in Bumfuck, NE are watching TV and see these assclowns protesting at soldiers' funerals, and see they're holding brightly-colored anti-gay signs, who do you think looks anti-American to them?
23
No thanks. I vote to rise above him. The dog shit on the bottom of your shoe is worth more of your attention. You're all to beautiful to try and reflect back the ugliness he projected on the world. Leave him to decay when the time comes.
24
This is a horrible idea. Fred Phelps is a fucking tar baby. Reacting in any way to these people is giving them attention they want.
25
Lets make a list of those people who's lives we want to REALLY celebrate, and have a party for each of them. Once we've done that whole list, then I guess you could do one for this goon's death.. But I'm sure i'll have other plans by then.
26
#13 is right. Westboro people are unstable cult-members. They're hoping we'd do something like this because then they can sit, and their insect brains will buzz, and someone will site some passage from the Bible that says the "godly" will be persecuted by the sinners, and they'll smile and feel oh so very holy.
Don't give them the satisfaction.
Now. The Facebook suggestion is pretty darn good. We could start an event page, something like, "Fred Phelps' Demise Party," whatever, I'm not good with titles. We could throw fun, elegant, fantastic, smashing, Sodomite-loving parties and post pics! Fun!
Don't give them the satisfaction.
Now. The Facebook suggestion is pretty darn good. We could start an event page, something like, "Fred Phelps' Demise Party," whatever, I'm not good with titles. We could throw fun, elegant, fantastic, smashing, Sodomite-loving parties and post pics! Fun!
27
Dan, you forgot to mention that he and his band of merry loony tunes came here to Pittsburgh to protest at Fred Rogers' funeral. Class act, that.
28
I'd go to that party! And to those who say we'd be lowering ourselves to his level, homosexuality is one of those things that is determined primarily in the womb as a result of atypical (NOT wrong or bad, just different from the most common) hormone levels in certain areas of the brain. It's the old point that homosexuals didn't choose to be gay.
This ass bastard CHOSE to fervently hate people who had never done anything to him and to blame the deaths of others on them. As a somewhat religious man (Jewish), I'd call what he's doing usurping God's name by claiming to pass eternal judgement on others. There are so many things wrong with his choices from so many perspectives, he richly deserves this kind of humiliation, in my own opinion.
As a Jew, a man dating a bisexual woman, a person with homosexual friends and relatives, a friend of numerous Catholics, Muslims, and Minnesotans, and last but not least a huge Stewart and Colbert fan, I feel that a trip from Chicagoland down to Kansas would be well worth the bus fare if only to hand out a big serving of His Own Medicine.
BTW: Dated June 15 2005 CE, Democratic Underground has a thread titled "Will You Picket Fred Phelps' Funeral?". URL: http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis…
This ass bastard CHOSE to fervently hate people who had never done anything to him and to blame the deaths of others on them. As a somewhat religious man (Jewish), I'd call what he's doing usurping God's name by claiming to pass eternal judgement on others. There are so many things wrong with his choices from so many perspectives, he richly deserves this kind of humiliation, in my own opinion.
As a Jew, a man dating a bisexual woman, a person with homosexual friends and relatives, a friend of numerous Catholics, Muslims, and Minnesotans, and last but not least a huge Stewart and Colbert fan, I feel that a trip from Chicagoland down to Kansas would be well worth the bus fare if only to hand out a big serving of His Own Medicine.
BTW: Dated June 15 2005 CE, Democratic Underground has a thread titled "Will You Picket Fred Phelps' Funeral?". URL: http://www.democraticunderground.com/dis…
29
#17, you make a good point. And I agree that dancing in the streets at the death (especially when it's actually an execution) of anyone is low-class.
But I'm not going to pretend that I'll be sad at the passing of this cruel, insane, asshole. I'll be glad the world is rid of him, because that makes the world just a little better place to be.
I like your idea of a nationwide vigil, however. I really do. If that was organized I'd participate. Then I'd have my party.
But I'm not going to pretend that I'll be sad at the passing of this cruel, insane, asshole. I'll be glad the world is rid of him, because that makes the world just a little better place to be.
I like your idea of a nationwide vigil, however. I really do. If that was organized I'd participate. Then I'd have my party.
30
Awhile back a commenter on Towleroad suggested organizing a mass Fred Phelps grave pissing. It would be all the people, who's loved ones' funerals were interrupted, simultaneously pissing in sort of "21 gun salute" on the grave of the man who pissed on so many other people's graves.
31
1)it's a terrible idea...it's just what Phelps/Westboro want: publicity. That's been Fred's main ambition since the very beginning. The fucker wanted to be famous. And, he succeeded.
2)I lived (if you can call it living) in Topeka when Fred started protesting and I was a counter-protestor at his second rally. (I even made the local news...which admitedly, isn't that difficult in Topeka.) Topekans have been speculating about Fred's health for nearly 20 years...he's always LOOKED like he was on death's door and every year there would be a new rumor, "Oh, I have it on good authority he has cancer and he'll be dead in six months!" And, every year that gaunt old bastard would be out on street corners, his skeletal, Mr Burn's like frame clad in skin tight Lycra carrying his nasty signs while three or four generations of in-bred Phelp's, most of them grotesquely fat, marched alongside him.
The best way to dishonor Fred, is to forget him.
2)I lived (if you can call it living) in Topeka when Fred started protesting and I was a counter-protestor at his second rally. (I even made the local news...which admitedly, isn't that difficult in Topeka.) Topekans have been speculating about Fred's health for nearly 20 years...he's always LOOKED like he was on death's door and every year there would be a new rumor, "Oh, I have it on good authority he has cancer and he'll be dead in six months!" And, every year that gaunt old bastard would be out on street corners, his skeletal, Mr Burn's like frame clad in skin tight Lycra carrying his nasty signs while three or four generations of in-bred Phelp's, most of them grotesquely fat, marched alongside him.
The best way to dishonor Fred, is to forget him.
32
I can understand how people who've been hurt by these nut-bags would enjoy pissing on his grave or on his imbecilic followers or even in his church, but personally I think it would be best to ignore the Phelps family. They're demented fame-whores with a persecution complex. Ignoring them or mocking their idiot signs is the best way to show them how unimportant they and their idiot beliefs really are.
33
Better: Start a fund to build and maintain a Fred Phelps GLBT Center or a FP Shelter for victims of hate crimes. That way after his death his name would be associated with the people he vilified, but this time to help them.
34
Aw, you guys are just no damned fun . . . but I have to admit you're probably right. (I do love the thing about pissing on his grave, though.)
35
Fun Fred Fact #1: They went to AIDS journalist Randy Shilts' funeral to protest...less than 10 minutes after they had unpacked their signs and started protesting, mourners and angry San Franciscans began pelting them with anything handy (mainly garbage and rocks) and forced them to give up their protest.
Fun Fred Fact #2: The Phelps Clan was protesting the Bernadette Peters concert I attended in Topeka. (yes, I am very, very gay and Bernadette is FABULOUS, but I digress.) On my way in I was smoking a cigarette and irritated by the catcalls from the lardass bigots (Fred is the only skinny Phelps) I flicked my butt at the fattest, nastiest Phelps of all, the repugnant Margarine...she immediately began using the foulest, least Christian of language and looked like she wanted to charge me...it's one of my proudest moments as a musical theater fan.
Fun Fred Fact #2: The Phelps Clan was protesting the Bernadette Peters concert I attended in Topeka. (yes, I am very, very gay and Bernadette is FABULOUS, but I digress.) On my way in I was smoking a cigarette and irritated by the catcalls from the lardass bigots (Fred is the only skinny Phelps) I flicked my butt at the fattest, nastiest Phelps of all, the repugnant Margarine...she immediately began using the foulest, least Christian of language and looked like she wanted to charge me...it's one of my proudest moments as a musical theater fan.
36
#33 is so dead on that it's absolutely terrifying. I'd gladly throw any extra cash I had that way.
37
Rather than a massive protest, I'd sooner see a massive, concerted show of compassion and sympathy from all the various groups that the Westboro fuckers have harassed over the years. It would be the ultimate act of taking the moral high road and would put any shred of legitimacy the Phelps clan still retains dead in the ground alongside their rotting patriarch.
But I think it would be a bitch to pull off, even disregarding the fact that most would find the very idea of showing kindness to the Phelps repugnant. I know I do.
But I think it would be a bitch to pull off, even disregarding the fact that most would find the very idea of showing kindness to the Phelps repugnant. I know I do.
38
Dan said to party immediately after the funeral - not to crash it or in any way interrupt the actual funeral. Think of it like a wake, only held both those who did not love him and afterwards, kind of like a "don't wake."
39
There are many, many thousands of human beings who believe the same things about gay people that Phelps believes (for example, that closeted white gay guy who posts here as LovesChild). The difference between them and Phelps is that they don't have the balls filled with crazy to go out on the streets and say it.
If Fred Phelps had been ignored from the very beginning, he'd already be dead. But it's simply impossible to ignore him. He's simply too ghastly. It's just not in our nature to ignore the grotesque (look at how many people simply can.not.ignore.LC). And that keeps him alive. The hate and the cameras are life's blood to him. That film, Small Town Gay Bar? That added a decade to that fucker's life.
If Fred Phelps had been ignored from the very beginning, he'd already be dead. But it's simply impossible to ignore him. He's simply too ghastly. It's just not in our nature to ignore the grotesque (look at how many people simply can.not.ignore.LC). And that keeps him alive. The hate and the cameras are life's blood to him. That film, Small Town Gay Bar? That added a decade to that fucker's life.
40
@14--Hate to say it, LC, but Pastor Hutch and Rev. Phred are on the same side. Your side: the side of bigotry, which is the side of Satan. You're the Bad Guys. Phred Felps just lets it all hang out.
And so in his specific case, I think a certain amount of turnabout is fair play. He pickets funerals with messages of hate, we should picket his with signs of love. I say Lady Love and Lord Joy practically demand we follow his casket as close as we may with signs like, "God Loves Phred Felps! ...And Us Too!" and once he's decently planted play When The Saints Go Marching In:
Oh when we all
Come back to God
Oh when we all come back to God
Lord, I want to be in that number
When we all come back to God!
And so in his specific case, I think a certain amount of turnabout is fair play. He pickets funerals with messages of hate, we should picket his with signs of love. I say Lady Love and Lord Joy practically demand we follow his casket as close as we may with signs like, "God Loves Phred Felps! ...And Us Too!" and once he's decently planted play When The Saints Go Marching In:
Oh when we all
Come back to God
Oh when we all come back to God
Lord, I want to be in that number
When we all come back to God!
41
My suggestion is that when he dies, we all have big parties across the nation, affirming and celebrating everything that Fred Phelps stood against. Then we forget about him.
42
@33: Ohhhh YES. Now that is a FABULOUS idea. And just to piss 'em off some more, under the sign there could be some bible type quote. You know, all: "And the meek shall inherit" or *snicker*
"He without sin..."
"He without sin..."
46
I won't protect his funeral, but I wonder if we can figure out a way to have him protest it himself.
47
I won't protest his funeral, but I wonder if we can figure out a way to have him protest it himself.
49
Admittedly, crashing Fred Phelps' eventual funeral would be pretty low. Stooping to their level, and all that. But you know, I couldn't really give a fuck. His clan have shown themselves to be beneath contempt. They have no respect for anyone else's dignity or sorrow. Why should I have any respect for theirs?
I'm not willing to shell out the money for a short-notice flight from Seattle to Kansas, so I won't be participating in this. But if I lived within driving distance, I'd be there for sure.
As it is, I will just wait till I happen to be in the area some day, and I will happily piss on his grave. I don't think I'm the only one. They'll have to hide it well, or no grass will ever grow there.
I'm not willing to shell out the money for a short-notice flight from Seattle to Kansas, so I won't be participating in this. But if I lived within driving distance, I'd be there for sure.
As it is, I will just wait till I happen to be in the area some day, and I will happily piss on his grave. I don't think I'm the only one. They'll have to hide it well, or no grass will ever grow there.
50
So happy so many others thought the same thing I did--This is a terrible idea. @12 is exactly right. We do not show how wrong someone is by emulating their hateful behavior, even if done in jest, even if done "ironically".To be sure, a lot of people will be happy when he's gone, but let's find another way to mark the passing.
52
They once came to Vancouver, to picket the Laramie Project (a play about Matthew Shepard). There was a facebook event to warn people that the Phelps were coming to Vancouver to protest. I did not even know the play was happening, nor did many people, but me and the boyfriend got tickets and were planning to help with the counter protest (people were going to stand around the Phelps with their backs turned, sending the message that we were not going to watch or listen to them, or something like that). The play sold out immediately, and I'm sure it was all because people wanted to throw stuff at the Phelps, or help with the counter protest. The Phelps didn't show up afterall, and I was surprised to find myself dissapointed.
I like Will in Seattle's idea. We should combine #33 and #41. That way we still get to party after Fred dies, and we can really humiliate him with the Fred Phelps LGBT centre, while donating to a good cause. Of course, that will be impossibly difficult to do.
I like Will in Seattle's idea. We should combine #33 and #41. That way we still get to party after Fred dies, and we can really humiliate him with the Fred Phelps LGBT centre, while donating to a good cause. Of course, that will be impossibly difficult to do.
53
I just read Nate's link from a post above; sounds like this man should be in jail for domestic abuse. He needs to be reported and arrested. Hitting kids with mattock handles until they bleed is so far beyond wrong...
55
I think Dan and sloggers need to put their heads together and come up with a GAY SEXUAL NEOLOGISM for Fred just like was done for Santorum. Once the winning definition is determined, set up a website for it and have all sloggers hit it about 50 times a day for 30 or so days. This needs to be done while the fucker is still alive so Fred, his family and supporters can Google him and see the results.
Payback's a bitch!
Payback's a bitch!
56
Funerals aren't for the dead, they are for the loved ones that the dead leave behind. With that in mind, I think a big raucous display of protest would be almost as disrespectful as the life Phelps led, and so I don't think I could really support that.
However..
What if it were a completely silent "non-protest", with big blank signs, and blank expressions filling the thousands of faces of "non-protesters". I.E. make an incredibly powerful statement by making no statement. (What we wish Phelps would have done) Imagine the confused news coverage with all the airhead anchors trying to put 2 + 2 together! This wouldn't be terribly disrespectful to his family in their time of grief. I would support something like this.
However..
What if it were a completely silent "non-protest", with big blank signs, and blank expressions filling the thousands of faces of "non-protesters". I.E. make an incredibly powerful statement by making no statement. (What we wish Phelps would have done) Imagine the confused news coverage with all the airhead anchors trying to put 2 + 2 together! This wouldn't be terribly disrespectful to his family in their time of grief. I would support something like this.
57
I'm not so sure I'm down for protesting anybody's funeral, regardless of my own anger about what the deceased did in their life. I feel like the world is already so angry and I don't want to contribute to that.
58
I lived in Lawrence (much more liberal) Kansas for 7 years. Occasional, I would go to Topeka to shop or visit the capitol. It was disgusting to have to drive past the church and the picketers due to their cruel signs and unrelenting hate-mongering. I decided one day to stop my car in the middle of the street in front of them and kiss the woman next to me in the car. It felt good to see them get all riled up and outraged as I pealed away. Now, I know better how combat this ignorance. I participate in the high school's GBLQT group where I teach. Informing students is much more powerful than my impulsive act of yore.
59
People that evil always live to be like 100 years old. I say we protest the old cocksucker now, while it can still irritate him. Big pink buses full of drag queens.
60
@56--I like the cut of your jib greenlaser.
Whatever we do, I think we should make an organized, publicized, -something- in celebration of the life of Rev. Phred Felps set to go off when the old guy finds out exactly how kind the universe is even to peeps who've been guilty in life of the most extreme douchebaggery.
It should be done in the spirit of good humor and mindful of Great Bog's unchanging and eternal love even for the likes of him. We really do owe him. Think of all the good he's done for our cause!
Think of all those basically decent, god-loving Christians whose minds don't engage in the labyrinthian anti-logic of Loveschild who have seen themselves in the mirror of Phred's poisonous hate and seen the truth.
Thank you Phred Felps for bringing them to Us!
Whatever we do, I think we should make an organized, publicized, -something- in celebration of the life of Rev. Phred Felps set to go off when the old guy finds out exactly how kind the universe is even to peeps who've been guilty in life of the most extreme douchebaggery.
It should be done in the spirit of good humor and mindful of Great Bog's unchanging and eternal love even for the likes of him. We really do owe him. Think of all the good he's done for our cause!
Think of all those basically decent, god-loving Christians whose minds don't engage in the labyrinthian anti-logic of Loveschild who have seen themselves in the mirror of Phred's poisonous hate and seen the truth.
Thank you Phred Felps for bringing them to Us!
61
Chalk this comment to @4's tack: the Phelps clan are a waste of human resources.
Back in '98, I did some black-and-white film photojournalism, shooting a few rolls' worth on the clan — namely his adult daughters, a portly son holding a video cam (documenting those, in their words, "disgusting sodomites"), and their very underage children holding up signs (none at all kid-friendly). Fred wasn't around. They weren't received warmly, as they did this before a series of highly respected houses of worship in a town blitz of sorts.
Our local Harley-riding dykes pretty much shut them the fuck up. In Fred's death, ignoring him will be no less apropos than drowning his life's failed crusade with a symphony of Hog exhaust pipes.
Back in '98, I did some black-and-white film photojournalism, shooting a few rolls' worth on the clan — namely his adult daughters, a portly son holding a video cam (documenting those, in their words, "disgusting sodomites"), and their very underage children holding up signs (none at all kid-friendly). Fred wasn't around. They weren't received warmly, as they did this before a series of highly respected houses of worship in a town blitz of sorts.
Our local Harley-riding dykes pretty much shut them the fuck up. In Fred's death, ignoring him will be no less apropos than drowning his life's failed crusade with a symphony of Hog exhaust pipes.
62
'Westboro has gone on to picket . . . funerals of the victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse (because Minnesota is the "land of the Sodomite damned")
Not mention "land of the Christ-killers" like Dylan, Tom Friedman, Al Franken, and the Coen Brothers!
Not mention "land of the Christ-killers" like Dylan, Tom Friedman, Al Franken, and the Coen Brothers!
64
I'd be willing to bet that folks like the Westboro bigots will be so paranoid at having to suffer from what they put other people through that when Phelps dies, they'll pull out all the stops and pay who they have to to make sure he's declared dead as quietly as possible and get him in the ground quickly and before anyone notices.
And to be honest, I hope they do so. Until today, I'd actually forgotten the hateful old monster exists, and I'd love one day to be able to do so permanently. Please, when he dies do not do your best to martyr him and make sure that our grandchildren read about him in history books long after he's lost any relevance.
And to be honest, I hope they do so. Until today, I'd actually forgotten the hateful old monster exists, and I'd love one day to be able to do so permanently. Please, when he dies do not do your best to martyr him and make sure that our grandchildren read about him in history books long after he's lost any relevance.
65
#33: "Better: Start a fund to build and maintain a Fred Phelps GLBT Center or a FP Shelter for victims of hate crimes. That way after his death his name would be associated with the people he vilified, but this time to help them."
I think that's a great idea.
While I completely understand the anger people have towards him -- since he's cruel and mean-spirited, about as un-Christian (or un-Christ-like) as you can get, and certainly deserves to have his grave pissed on -- if there's going to be any kind of protest at his funeral, I think it would be much better to act UNlike Phelps and take the high road. I think if all protestors held signs simply saying "we forgive you" it would be far more powerful than any demonstration of hatred or revenge. Just think of Nelson Mandela. He was imprisoned by the former all-white South African government for 27 years and yet, on his release, he didn't show any bitterness.
I think that's a great idea.
While I completely understand the anger people have towards him -- since he's cruel and mean-spirited, about as un-Christian (or un-Christ-like) as you can get, and certainly deserves to have his grave pissed on -- if there's going to be any kind of protest at his funeral, I think it would be much better to act UNlike Phelps and take the high road. I think if all protestors held signs simply saying "we forgive you" it would be far more powerful than any demonstration of hatred or revenge. Just think of Nelson Mandela. He was imprisoned by the former all-white South African government for 27 years and yet, on his release, he didn't show any bitterness.
66
Fair points, everyone. As much as I'd love to picket his funeral, perhaps I'll just send a bouquet of dead flowers with the inscription "God Hates Bigots." I encourage at least 100,000 of you to do likewise.
67
"Our local Harley-riding dykes pretty much shut them the fuck up."
Telsa, you mean that? I'd never heard about the Westboro freaks picketing the victims of the I-35W bridge collapse and I wonder why they considered Minnesota the "land of the Sodomite damned"...because of its strong history of liberalism?
Telsa, you mean that? I'd never heard about the Westboro freaks picketing the victims of the I-35W bridge collapse and I wonder why they considered Minnesota the "land of the Sodomite damned"...because of its strong history of liberalism?
70
The whole family is whacked - hopefully there is a suicide pact already in place.
In any event, I'll make the drive to the land of creationism for that funeral!
In any event, I'll make the drive to the land of creationism for that funeral!
71
Dan: Protesting Phelps funeral is a bad idea. It just gives them the attention they crave. Those who wish to show their disapproval of Phelps and his ideas should create a fund to refurbish part of Gage Park in Topeka in return for naming that part of the park after Harvey Milk. This way we do something to honor someone who has done something good for humanity, and we get to tick off the Phelps' at the same time.
73
I just can't get over the fact that they somehow found reason to dislike Mr. Rogers. Fred "I want to be your neighbor" Rogers?! Really?! What, does he have a phobia of puppets or something? Or is it a phobia of joy?
And Heath Ledger? By all accounts, he was like the nicest guy in Hollywood. I read somewhere (shortly after his death) that he didn't even drink. When he went to the club with friends, he bought for everyone and had bottled water for himself. I guess Phelps just hated Brokeback Mountain that much. Which is ironic, since it's about self-hating homos and the bigotry they have to deal with in their lives, when even they aren't comfortable with the fact they're gay...
But I'm for no protest, or a protest with blank signs, as suggested by @56.
And Heath Ledger? By all accounts, he was like the nicest guy in Hollywood. I read somewhere (shortly after his death) that he didn't even drink. When he went to the club with friends, he bought for everyone and had bottled water for himself. I guess Phelps just hated Brokeback Mountain that much. Which is ironic, since it's about self-hating homos and the bigotry they have to deal with in their lives, when even they aren't comfortable with the fact they're gay...
But I'm for no protest, or a protest with blank signs, as suggested by @56.
76
Mark my words-If Phelps is still alive, he and his clan will have moved on from homophobia and fully devote theirprotests to anti-semitism (they've tried it out in the last couple of protests). Homophobia alone will no longer get headlines as it did in the past
77
This reminds me of the HUGE party we threw when Jerry Falwell finally went off to spend eternity riding the veiny cock of Satan forever. It was a BLAST. We had a cake in the shape of his face and held an auction over who got to cut out his tongue.
79
I am ancient, apparently, but Westboro-picketing-funerals goes back way before Matthew Shepard in 1998. They got mainstream (straight) press in 1994 for picketing the funeral of Pedro Zamora from MTV's "The Real World: San Francisco" and had been active for years prior.
81
I can't beleive I have to be the voice of reason again. Someone should rip his head off and stick it on a spike. Then we'll have a team of people who will run it across every state in the union You know, like the athletes do with the Olympic torch. (Get back you sick bastards. You have to stand in line to get on the list) Even the old and infirm could do it. If everyone that he's ever hurt or pissed off signs up, we'll each only have to run two blocks.
82
You know, organising this thing on the incredibly short notice we're sure to have between when he dies and his funeral is going to be a bitch and a half, and if it is anything short of utterly massive, than it will fail to convey our sentiments about this douchebag. May I suggest an alternative?
Let's have a contest, due to run the full year following Phelps death, in which we will see who can submit to Dan pictures or videos of the most depraved sex act on Phelps grave. Bonus points should be awarded for gay sex, seeing as how Phelps is so obssessed with it. As a heterosexual, I pledge to work harder to make up the differnce....
Let's have a contest, due to run the full year following Phelps death, in which we will see who can submit to Dan pictures or videos of the most depraved sex act on Phelps grave. Bonus points should be awarded for gay sex, seeing as how Phelps is so obssessed with it. As a heterosexual, I pledge to work harder to make up the differnce....
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