# Fred Phelps/Westboro Baptist to picket funerals of Arizona shooting victims **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 10, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051 "2011-01-10T01:21:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/41 "2011-01-10T18:14:58Z")
Shirley Phelps’s oldest son Sam is illegitimate, so she is an adulterous fornicating whore who is going straight to hell. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/42 "2011-01-10T18:21:22Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I am getting to where it is difficult o tell the difference between Phelps and the more prominent board liberals here. So much hate, so little intellect. Der Trihs, Fred Phelps, Senor Beef…birds of a feather. All blinded by hatred, incapable of seeing anything objectively. Some people, such as Phelps, deserve to be hated. You have a problem with that? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/43 "2011-01-10T18:21:41Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I am getting to where it is difficult o tell the difference between Phelps and the more prominent board liberals here. So much hate, so little intellect. Der Trihs, Fred Phelps, Senor Beef…birds of a feather. All blinded by hatred, incapable of seeing anything objectively. You really are a stupid little shit, aren’t you? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/44 "2011-01-10T18:32:47Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Shirley Phelps’s oldest son Sam is illegitimate, so she is an adulterous fornicating whore who is going straight to hell. Actually, the last time i checked the WBC’s website (admittedly, quite a few years back), they claimed to be strict believers in Predestination, the Calvinist notion that God predetermines who is and is not saved, and that none of a person’s “works” or actions in this life can influence whether they end up in heaven or in hell. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/45 "2011-01-10T20:14:58Z")
Calvinism is one hell of a mindfuck. See, God’s omniscient, and knows the future. So he knows whether you’re going to hell or if you’re going to be saved. But humans are totally depraved, and cannot save themselves from sin. Only God can save you. So God chooses who to save and who to damn, in fact, he’s already chosen. And this is totally up to God whether to save you or not, because every human deserves damnation. And so the saved don’t deserve to be saved, they deserve to be damned, it’s only because God is such a nice guy that he decides to save anyone at all. So he picks some to save even though they don’t deserve it, and sends the rest to damnation, because they deserve it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/46 "2011-01-10T20:27:12Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > The world would be a better place if we, and the media, just ignored these assholes. Seriously, how many of them are there? A couple of dozen? I can’t just bring myself to give a flying fuck, and getting outraged about every new incident seems completely pointless. Wow. Beat to the punch by the first person to post in the thread. These guys are morons who love attention. Don’t give it to them. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/47 "2011-01-10T20:34:53Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Foix News likes to characterize them as “war protesters” to try to give the superficila impression that they’re hippies or something. . Can you give us an example of this? I did a search of “Westboro Baptist Church” on [Fox’s web site](http://www.foxnews.com/search-results/search?q=westboro+baptist+church&submit=Search), and didn’t see any. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/48 "2011-01-10T21:09:35Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > This video shows exactly why they do these whacky protests: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaGWtYjojO4&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaGWtYjojO4&feature=related) > > The church is Fred Phelps and his children and grandchildren. They’re picketing some soldier’s funeral, and some guy throws a bottle at the protesters and hits one of the kids on the head. And this is exactly the purpose of the pickets. They aren’t intended for the rest of us, the audience is the group itself. It’s to demonstrate to the kids in the cult that the rest of the world hates them, to cut them off from every other potential human contact. This is why they switched from picketing gay funerals to picketing soldier’s funerals. Because picketing the gays wasn’t hateful enough. > > So it’s not like ignoring them will make them go away. They aren’t doing this to get attention. They’re doing this to isolate the cult members even from other fundamentalist churches. If little Timmy can make friends with people from the Bible-waving fag-hating fundamentalist church across town, then Timmy might be able to leave the group. But if the only thing Timmy knows about the world is that everyone in the world hates him, and the only people in the world who show any kindness to him are members of the church, then Timmy is never going to be able to leave. So the best way to deal with Phred is to stage counter protests in which people carry “Fags love the WBC” signs? ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/49 "2011-01-10T21:11:27Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I am getting to where it is difficult o tell the difference between Phelps and the more prominent board liberals here. So much hate, so little intellect. Der Trihs, Fred Phelps, Senor Beef…birds of a feather. All blinded by hatred, incapable of seeing anything objectively. > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > God, you can be a fucking idiot sometimes. “Sometimes”? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/50 "2011-01-10T22:27:19Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > So the best way to deal with Phred is to stage counter protests in which people carry “Fags love the WBC” signs? I’m not saying there’s a way to “deal” with them, if by “deal” you mean “get them to stop protesting”. It’s not that ignoring them will get them to go away, it’s that ignoring them means you don’t have to pay attention to them. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/51 "2011-01-10T23:00:47Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > I actually think its kind of a good thing. It gets people to come out and support the families. I ride with the Patriot Guard…a biker group that was formed to deal with scum like Phelps. Before that idiocy coming from a single inbred batshit crazy clan, nobody came out in force to support the families. > > **and as to Der what’s his name. he’s always been polite and helpful to me.** > > Yes, my world does have rainbows and flying unicorns. I’ve learned that my world is what I make it. Bolding mine. You’ve been here a total of six days, so far, from your profile. :dubious: I’m sure everyone will still seem nice to you. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/52 "2011-01-10T23:04:13Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > I’m not saying there’s a way to “deal” with them, if by “deal” you mean “get them to stop protesting”. It’s not that ignoring them will get them to go away, it’s that ignoring them means you don’t have to pay attention to them. I’m picturing little Timmy Phelps’ brain trying to reconcile “everyone hates us” with “no, we don’t”. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/53 "2011-01-10T23:07:53Z")
Just shut the fuck up. Westboro does shit like this because idiots continue to make a big deal about it and they get free press. Let the motherfuckers whack themselves off without all you recreational outrage idiots giving them what they want. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2011, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/54 "2011-01-10T23:13:59Z")
> [@Hamlet](#): > > Just shut the fuck up. Westboro does shit like this because idiots continue to make a big deal about it and they get free press. Let the motherfuckers whack themselves off without all you recreational outrage idiots giving them what they want. Yeah, but someone has to show how cool they are by being the first one to post a Pit thread whenever their names pop up in the press. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/55 "2011-01-11T00:06:08Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Bolding mine. > > You’ve been here a total of six days, so far, from your profile. :dubious: I’m sure everyone will still seem nice to you. Yeah, but when **Der Trihs** isn’t talking about religion or conservative politics, he is in fact very nice and helpful, and a very funny guy for that matter. Someone who never gets into GD or the Pit may never see his dark side. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/56 "2011-01-11T01:32:59Z")
I’m not disagreeing with you. I just found it funny she/he was giving an opinion on _anyone_ after only being here six days. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/57 "2011-01-11T01:33:36Z")
> [@flatlined](#): > > \ I ride with the Patriot Guard…a biker group that was formed to deal with scum like Phelps. Love love love the Patriot Guard. I seem to recall a news photo (that I can’t find now) where the Patriot Guard not only stood between the mourners and the Phelpsters but also held up large sheets so that the families couldn’t even see the jerks. Good on you, **flatlined** ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/58 "2011-01-11T01:34:15Z")
Am I the only one that enjoys seeing these guys protest? I think it’s a beautiful representation of the freedoms we enjoy in this country; that even the most distasteful speech is still protected. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/59 "2011-01-11T01:49:36Z")
> [@nate](#): > > Am I the only one that enjoys seeing these guys protest? I think it’s a beautiful representation of the freedoms we enjoy in this country; that even the most distasteful speech is still protected. In the same way that you love Amway, or homeopathic medicine sellers as a beautiful representation of the capitalist system? Phredco is using repulsive yet free speech to make money and incidentally spread hatred, just like hucksters are using capitalism to make money and incidentally spread ignorance. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2011, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051/60 "2011-01-11T01:59:06Z")
> [@nate](#): > > Am I the only one that enjoys seeing these guys protest? I think it’s a beautiful representation of the freedoms we enjoy in this country; that even the most distasteful speech is still protected. True, HOWEVER, under the same free speech protections, I reserve the right to refer to them in any foul, disgusting and hateful way I damn well please. Free speech works both ways. I’ll have none of that “they can be spiteful worthless piece of shit rat bastards but you have to play nice”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fred-phelps-westboro-baptist-to-picket-funerals-of-arizona-shooting-victims/567051.md?page=4)