# Fred Phelps falls off the edge of the world... **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 21, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154 "2005-06-21T03:02:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mapache](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@Mapache](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mapache)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/1 "2005-06-21T03:02:14Z")
From [http://www.godhatesamerica.com/:](http://www.godhatesamerica.com/:) Thank God for IEDs killing American soldiers in strange lands every day. WBC rejoices every time the Lord God in His vengeance kills or maims an American soldier with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (Ps. 58:10).¨ I can´t come up with an appropriate comment: I think my brain has siezed. No doubt someone on the SDMB can think of something. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/2 "2005-06-21T03:19:36Z")
…rational people heave a huge sigh of relief. Sorry, but did you expect anyone to be surprised at Phred’s hatemongering? ---
**Author:** ![Yamirskoonir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/c0e974/32.png) [@Yamirskoonir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yamirskoonir)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/3 "2005-06-21T03:25:54Z")
:eek: Really, that’s all I can muster… ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/4 "2005-06-21T03:32:28Z")
The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/5 "2005-06-21T03:46:38Z")
Phelps is promising to picket the funerals of the dead. Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to go very well for him and his followers. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/6 "2005-06-21T03:50:55Z")
The website seems to be down. A hoax or something? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/7 "2005-06-21T03:59:22Z")
Fred Phelps fell off the edge of the world years ago. I’m just surprised to see he hasn’t hit the bottom yet. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/8 "2005-06-21T04:08:12Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > The website seems to be down. A hoax or something? Nope, not a hoax. It is, in fact, a spinoff of [www.godhatesfags.com](http://www.godhatesfags.com), the “official” site of Phelps’ Westboro Baptist “Church.” Which is all about enjoying the smell of burning sodomite souls, and which consists largely of Phelps, his family, and a dedicated core of mindmelds who live to picket funerals of gay people and the like. No, not a hoax. God, I wish it were. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/9 "2005-06-21T04:12:14Z")
> [@Ranchoth](#): > > The website seems to be down. A hoax or something? No, just an errant colon at the end of the URL, just in front of the final slash. Delete it and you’ll arrive on Phelps’ front porch, where you can read all about how the IED’s are God’s punishment for the fag/dyke takeover of the US military. ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/10 "2005-06-21T04:51:48Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Phelps is promising to picket the funerals of the dead. Sooner or later, that man is going to get very, very badly hurt. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/11 "2005-06-21T05:04:46Z")
This is not possible. There is a limit even to dark, unreasoning hatreds. A man consecrated to the service of Jesus would not contemplate such a thing as this. Even a debased and vile person has enough rationality to know when he is unpinning a hand grenade and pounding it up his own ass. Just as divine and merciful miracles are impossible, because they offend any notion of reason and causation, so are miracles of malignant malice impossible, and therefore they cannot, and therefore did not, happen. And I will refuse to believe it, despite any evidence offered. It ain’t so, because it can’t be so. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/12 "2005-06-21T05:30:21Z")
The man is a troll. He is a living real world troll. He makes a living suing people for assaulting him. He wants people to get pissed at him. He wants them to shove him. He wants violent reaction so that he can then sue for damages. The only way to hurt him, the only way to really screw with him, is to completely ignore him. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/13 "2005-06-21T05:39:44Z")
> [@Mac Guffin](#): > > The man is a troll. He is a living real world troll. He makes a living suing people for assaulting him. He wants people to get pissed at him. He wants them to shove him. He wants violent reaction so that he can then sue for damages. > > The only way to hurt him, the only way to really screw with him, is to completely ignore him. Thanks a LOT **Mac Guffin** for saying what I was just about to post. :rolleyes: 😃 Just ignore the freakshow, and it will eventually die and go away. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/14 "2005-06-21T05:40:26Z")
> [@Mac Guffin](#): > > The man is a troll. He is a living real world troll. He makes a living suing people for assaulting him. He wants people to get pissed at him. He wants them to shove him. He wants violent reaction so that he can then sue for damages. > > The only way to hurt him, the only way to really screw with him, is to completely ignore him. Word. DNFTT. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/15 "2005-06-21T06:09:41Z")
> [@Mac Guffin](#): > > The man is a troll. He is a living real world troll. He makes a living suing people for assaulting him. He wants people to get pissed at him. He wants them to shove him. He wants violent reaction so that he can then sue for damages. > > The only way to hurt him, the only way to really screw with him, is to completely ignore him. This makes me ponder the board’s policy on calling someone a troll. Does it count if said person is not a member of the board? ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/16 "2005-06-21T06:16:29Z")
> [@Mac Guffin](#): > > The man is a troll. He is a living real world troll. He makes a living suing people for assaulting him. He wants people to get pissed at him. He wants them to shove him. He wants violent reaction so that he can then sue for damages. > > The only way to hurt him, the only way to really screw with him, is to completely ignore him. While ignoring most bullies does make them move on so they can actually get the attention they want, other bullies just work harder and become more destructive. Phelps in my view is the latter. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/17 "2005-06-21T06:29:10Z")
But how _destructive_ can he be when nobody pays him any credence because he is a fucken loon? Like, seriously, how many members of his _church_ are there? There are freakazoids in every society (although I have to admit there seem to be more per capita in the USA than anywhere else), but that doesn’t mean we have to take notice of them. Just let them alone…they will eventually run out of oxygen and die. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/18 "2005-06-21T09:14:59Z")
The problem with Phelps is that he is a _different_ kind of troll. It doesn’t matter if you ignore the WBC, they will be there anyway. When they feel they’ve been ignored for too long, they “kick it up” until they can’t be ignored. For those who naively think they will go away if no attention is paid to them, I say, Fred and Co. are the one set of trolls that **aren’t going away**. They’ve been doing this for fourteen _years_ now. And they are dangerous. While they claim to have been the targets of uncounted assaults, they have actually assaulted people themselves, such as the minister of the church I was once a member of, and a jogger that tried to go through them when they blocked the sidewalks with one of their pickets. And the funeral picketing is nothing new, that’s a mainstay of thier “ministry”. It’s been going on for as long as they’ve been picketing, since the early nineties. I live in Topeka, the city Fred and the WBC call home, I see them all the time. They are outside my church at least twice a month. They even recognize me, from my counter-picketing days, calling me the “church whore” I’ve been close enough to Fred to touch, when pickets and counter pickets were intermingled, before the laws enacted to restrict picketing of religious services.(Now they can do it, but have to stay a certain distance from a property line) But that doesn’t stop them from yelling across the street. I think that the only thing that could possibly stop them is the death of Fred. The hate wouldn’t go away, but the family might, just might, break up in a fight over who will carry on his “legacy” ---
**Author:** ![MackoUr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MackoUr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MackoUr)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/19 "2005-06-21T10:02:54Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Phelps is promising to picket the funerals of the dead. > > Somehow, I don’t think that’s going to go very well for him and his followers. The college where I work was the site of a memorial service for a local woman who died in Iraq. We were warned the day before some of Phelps people might try to get onto campus and protest, but we are a private school and could keep them off the grounds. I got roped into helping with the service during that morning and missed what went on outside, but they did show and were kept away. Only one local news report I saw mentioned them at all. Rev. Phelps himself wasn’t there, just a few of his followers (aren’t they mostly his family?) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154/20 "2005-06-21T12:55:04Z")
This guy is way too over the edge to get anything but a pitiful laugh. I can’t think of as single segment of the population that’s not going to be turned off by some part of his message (besides the hopelessly insane, but they’re not a big segment I hope). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-falls-off-the-edge-of-the-world/309154.md?page=2)