# Fred Phelps is dying. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 16, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820 "2014-03-16T05:20:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Old\_Time\_Hockey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9adbd/32.png) [@Old\_Time\_Hockey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Old_Time_Hockey)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/161 "2014-03-18T06:29:55Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > All broken links. They all worked for me. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/162 "2014-03-18T07:19:50Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > S > > I sincerely hope no one pickets his funeral, though. He doesn’t deserve the attention or recognition, and it would be sad to see decent people stooping down to his level. Let him pass and be forgotten, and hope that his “church” soon peters out without him. If anything, I’d bet that his family would love it if people decide to picket his funeral. They’d get to paint themselves as martyrs, and lap up all the attention. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/163 "2014-03-18T11:33:03Z")
The Phelps family takes their hobby way too seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/164 "2014-03-18T12:21:21Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > I won’t shed a tear if others are more “classless” than I am, though. > [@kayaker](#): > > May he be comforted by the knowledge that his funeral will be well attended. Inspired by these posts I made [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=718639) - if the funeral wasn’t out of your way, would you go and give them a taste of their own medicine or not even spend the time of day on him? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/165 "2014-03-18T12:24:44Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > You’d only be taking yourself down to the level you believe Fred to be on. No, Fred hated people because of who they were. I hate Fred because of what he does (or did do while he was able). ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/166 "2014-03-18T12:26:12Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If anything, I’d bet that his family would love it if people decide to picket his funeral. They’d get to paint themselves as martyrs, and lap up all the attention. That’s exactly why I hope nobody pickets the funeral. The last thing the WBC deserves is validation. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/167 "2014-03-18T12:48:26Z")
ISTM like the new WBC leadership may be also using Fred’s terminal phase as a way to torment those relatives who left the fold – prevent a final meeting and so forth. Best thing to do would be to ignore this altogether, it is obvious whoever’s running WBC intends to carry on as usual and we know they \*want \*to have protests and disruptions. The overthrow of Fred was probably intended to separate the cult from the cult leader so that both don’t die together. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/168 "2014-03-18T13:50:15Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/169 "2014-03-18T13:56:54Z")
> [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > I sincerely hope no one pickets his funeral, though. [Some people have more elaborate plans.](http://www.vice.com/read/the-founder-of-the-satanic-temple-weighs-in-on-fred-phelpss-impending-death) > [@](#): > > The Satanic Temple exercised its own right to offensive Free Speech in our performance of the Pink Mass at Fred Phelps’s mother’s grave this past summer. After having two same-sex couples (one male, one female) engage in homoerotic activity at the grave site, we declared Fred Phelps’s mother a post-mortem homosexual conversion. At the time, I predicted that Fred hadn’t too much longer till he would pass, and I stated—in a direct tweet to the WBC—that I would be presiding over Fred’s own Pink Mass before too long. As I have made a promise to a dying man, I fully intend to do my very best to see it through, and the pomp and circumstance of this Pink Mass will surely far, far exceed that of the original event in Meridian, Mississippi. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/170 "2014-03-18T18:56:27Z")
The Satanic Temple sounds as if it’s just as offensive as the WBC. I hope most people have some class and totally stay away from the funeral. No picketing, nothing. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/171 "2014-03-18T19:00:24Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > The Satanic Temple sounds as if it’s just as offensive as the WBC. > > I hope most people have some class and totally stay away from the funeral. No picketing, nothing. I also hope people stay away, but the Satanic Temple doesn’t sound _nearly_ as offensive as the WBC. Are you really serious about that? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/172 "2014-03-18T19:08:55Z")
People that would dis someone’s mother’s grave, not because they don’t like the mother, but the child, are being as rude as the WBC is when they picket a funeral. I’ve seen a couple photos from that “ritual” and it seems to me, no proof, that they are trolling for attention. And we all know another group that does that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/173 "2014-03-18T19:11:06Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > People that would dis someone’s mother’s grave, not because they don’t like the mother, but the child, are being as rude as the WBC is when they picket a funeral. The WBC targets innocent people in order to get attention. The Satanists are targeting the WBC to protest the WBC’s tactics. That’s not comparable at all. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/174 "2014-03-18T19:15:20Z")
Equivalency arguments are stupid. You cannot do the same thing to WBC groups as they did to others because they will not feel the same way about the acts. You can’t humiliate and shame them or make them feel bad by picketing or doing something to a grave if they welcome the picketing or feel energized and invigorated by the rituals. So “I’m going to make them feel the way I felt!” is asinine. You can’t. And “You’re just as bad as they are if you picket!” is asinine. You aren’t. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/175 "2014-03-18T21:07:51Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > The Satanic Temple sounds as if it’s just as offensive as the WBC. > > I hope most people have some class and totally stay away from the funeral. No picketing, nothing. /like ---
**Author:** ![Bouncer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Bouncer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bouncer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/176 "2014-03-18T21:24:25Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > Inspired by these posts I made [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=718639) - if the funeral wasn’t out of your way, would you go and give them a taste of their own medicine or not even spend the time of day on him? I’d hire a plane to stream a rainbow banner and circle his funeral. With the caption “GOD HATES FRED PHELPS” on it. I take that back, it’d say MATTHEW 7:1 JUDGE NOT LEST YE BE JUDGED. On a 60 foot by 25 foot rainbow flag. Pretty sure I could crowd source that in less than 30secs. 😛 Regards, -Bouncer- ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/177 "2014-03-18T21:56:13Z")
Not a very detailed cite, but it looks like WBC doesn’t do funerals. So, discussions about what to do at his funeral may be moot. I do seem to recall them in the past screaming about people “worshiping the dead” w.r.t. funerals. > **[Fred Phelps Will Not Have A Funeral To Picket](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/fred-phelps-funeral_n_4980493)** > > Fred Phelps Will Not Have A Funeral To Picket ---
**Author:** ![PeacePlease](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/71c47a/32.png) [@PeacePlease](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeacePlease)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/178 "2014-03-19T03:47:23Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > One thing for sure, the cumulative level of hate in the world will drop significantly with his passing. > [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > Sadly, I don’t think you’re quite right about this. He devoted his life to creating an engine of hate, which may continue to function and spew bile long after he’s gone. Yeah, she’s called Shirley Phelps-something or other (can’t be bothered). She’s been the voice of their ‘church’ for years and I’m sure will continue to be. No, I would not protest his funeral for reasons already stated…he doesn’t deserve the attention. He and his ‘church’ are despicable. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/179 "2014-03-19T04:58:23Z")
Slightly OT, but in my travels today I passed a church (Anglican I think) with a kickarse sign out the front: GOD LOVES EVERYBODY: DEAL WITH IT. …which brought a smile to even _my_ jaded and atheistic old face. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Askthepizzaguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askthepizzaguy/32/9405_2.png) [@Askthepizzaguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askthepizzaguy)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2014, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820/180 "2014-03-19T05:43:50Z")
If those people were capable of feeling shame or embarrassment, they would have felt it while picketing the funerals of soldiers and generally being overwhelmed by crowds of people opposed to what they have to say. You cannot shame them or make them feel bad for what they’ve done, they don’t have the capability of feeling those emotions. If they could feel those things, they’d have been shamed out of the public eye a long, long time ago. You want to give them a taste of their own medicine, but you fail to realize this is what they thrive on. They eat your scorn like it is a delicious cake. They are the real life versions of internet trolls, only they are too stupid to be in on the joke. Please, Do Not Feed The Trolls. Don’t attend, don’t picket, don’t even care. They want your attention, don’t give it to them. If everyone simply laughed them off and walked away, eventually they would fade into oblivion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-is-dying/683820.md?page=10)