Ah, the classics! 
And then run out of town on a rail! In the pouring rain! And coated in BEES!
Well, maybe not the bees.
Don’t the dogs shoot bees out of their mouths?
The God that turned Lot’s wife into a pillar of salt for looking back at her hometown being destroyed?
The God that, to show David the error of his ways, killed the baby between him and Bathsheba?
The God that on a bet with the Devil, let the Devil fuck around with God’s faithful servant Job?
The God that ordered Abraham to sacrifice his own son as a loyalty test?
The God that is going to send so many people to eternal damnation for jerking off or for being born in places where they had never heard of his son so they never accepted him as their personal savior?
Nice guy that God.
Hey, I’m neither Jewish nor Christian, so that ain’t my God. Actually, I don’t really believe in a sentient God.
How did that video get out? It looked like it was being taken by one of them… I wouldn’t have thought that they themselves would put a video of them running/driving away online (though sadly they didn’t seem all that unhappy about the turn of events).
Well, see, they’re the victims here… :rolleyes:
I wonder if they realize that making women keep their hair long results in the message on the backs of their t-shirts being partially blocked.
The Phelps clan probably has some twisted logic that makes them think this video proves thier godliness. Gah, just thinking about those fruitcakes makes me angry as all get out. If the mob had actually beaten them silly I would have laughed.
Phelps reminds me of a paraphrased quote from Red Dwarf about Rimmers performance record: “Possibly mad, has more teeth than brain cells”. Though in thinking about that I don’t think Phelps scores high enough to deserve even that description. What a bunch of hateful assholes.
Nice to see them doing the Brave Sir Robin. Fuck 'em.
Looking at the video linked from the OP I sawthis on youtube, also.
I find it incomprehensible that they would even consider protesting at the funeral for the poor Amish children killed recently. What the hell is wrong with these people? Don’t they have even the tinest shred of decency or human compassion? I can’t believe that people that evil can call themselves christians. The saddest part is they’re making me evil too, since I can’t help but wish terrible things upon them.
Well, as much as I hate to interrupt the hate-fest, I have to speak up that I think it’s sad that people broke their windows. Free speech and all - I strongly disagree with what they say, and in fact have participated in a counter-protest against them, but I think people should be free to demonstrate regardless of their views being offensive to the majority.
The thing is, I don’t think that would work. They’ve proven again and again that they will provoke until they do get a response. Hence the ever-increasingly absurd attacks. Ignoring them is like ignoring someone who taunts you, then pokes you, then repeatedly punches you in the face. At some point you have no choice but to respond. That’s their game.
And the comments from others about their not being true Christians – that’s missing the point entirely. I sometimes think that Phredco believes their own rhetoric. It’s not about gays. It’s not about God. It’s about generating lawsuits. Hence the ever-increasingly absurd attacks.
I’m a bit unfamiliar with any lawsuits they may have generated. Can you elaborate? (even though I’m sure it’ll only make me loathe the Phelps even more.)
No cites for the moment, but apparently they provoke until someone lashes out in violence, then they sue for assault. Being that the entire family is composed of lawyers, they rarely lose. And apparently, ths is how they fund their entire way of life.
No.
Yep, I was right…I loathe them now more than ever. I feel completely justified in wishing them horrible, painful, fiery, painful deaths. Yeah, I know thats not really a good thing to wish that on somebody, but if i just punch them I’ll get sued.
Baker (who lives in Topeka, Phelps-Central) has posted a story about how they sued a local pastor. Apparently, they were protesting his church (yes, they actually protest other Christian churches in Topeka, regularly) when he went out on the church lawn to put some sort of sign up. The Phelpses sued him for assault because he came out with a hammer in his hand (to hammer the sign in the ground). He never came within 20 feet of them, if I remember correctly.
But they’re not really demonstrating or putting forth any views, are they? It seems to me that they are just deliberately offending people. If I was to spend, say, 18 hours screaming “Your mother is a whore!” over and over into your earhole from less than a metre away, I wouldn’t be exercising any right of free speech - I’d just be an annoying fucker in need of a punching.
The Phelps’ seem to have been carrying on that shtick for years - how come they are allowed to basically go around the country inciting violence for a living?
Free speech is free speech. Their view is that the country is hopelessly corrupt and that they are doing the right thing (presumably - they could be lying, I suppose). Yes, they are offending people. I am offended by Fox News’ skewed reporting and conservative bias being put forth as “fair and balanced”, but I don’t get to punch Bill O’Reilly in the face just because I don’t like him or what he has to say.
I don’t think violence is an appropriate response to someone speaking their mind, no matter how much I disagree with what is said. If I don’t like what someone says, I change the channel, I walk away, or I ignore them. As long as they are protesting on public property, we can and should defend arduously their right to speak.
I dunno… aren’t there situations where we should just admit that our noble defence of lofty principles (in this case free speech) just isn’t going to work. Why must there be a one-size-fits-all principle?