Just to remind everyone who we’re dealing with here. Him and his clan are impervious to reason, appeals to emotion, or anything else that might convince a normal human being that he was causing pain in others.
Therefore, the only recourse we have is infantile behavior. A group of people should counter-protest at a Phelpsian gathering with signs that proclaim how much ‘fags’ love Fred Phelps and bragging about how many dicks Freddy-boy has taken up his asshole. Ideally, there should be a few very effeminate gay men shouting proposals to Fred in their most effeminate voice.
That group would respond to his protestations with the time-tested “Are not!” and “You’re another!” and “I’m rubber, you’re glue, whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!” and any other logic that would be right at home on a playground for eight-year-olds.
Essentially, we drag him down to our level and beat him with experience.
The effect of this should be nothing short of spectacular, in that it should generate an enormous spectacle. To wit: Phred and Phamily should lose their shit and engage in Close Encounters of the Felonious Kind. At that point, the police, never far away whenever the Westboro Bitchass Cult demonstrates, will finally have an excuse to move in and rid their town of a bunch of now quite violent Krazy Kansan Kultists.
Fred will have a chance to explain his ‘fagjunk theology’ to all of the bull queers in the prison block, preferably in the shower. The people who got assaulted will have a chance to sue his Cult for all it’s worth. The media will have a field day with yet another TV Show Trial. And the cultists will have to move into the real world, hopefully losing their brainwashing in the process.
What does everyone think? Has this already been tried?
This reminds me of last night’s episode of The Daily Show.
They showed a clip of Bill O’Reilly accusing Jon Stewart of waging a war on Christmas, so last night, Jon issued an official response. An over-the-top message along the lines of, “You’re right. I hate Christmas and Christianity, and I want the terrorists to win. Bill O’Reilly, I am your enemy.” Maybe you had to be there.
But good idea, anyway, at least to imagine if not to do.
He would definitely sue, though. The reason Phelps and his clan get away with as much crap as they do is that about a dozen of them are lawyers and will tie up any injunction or restraining order or whatever in court for months and years. (Fred himself was a Civil Rights lawyer at one time, believe it or not, though he was later disbarred for, among other things, having more than 100 lawsuits, most of them frivolous, against the government and various officials- Phelps is also a genius, incidentally- former child prodigy, brilliant student once upon a time, but a completely out of control barking mad lunatic.)
I’ve always longed for a David Geffen or other gay zillionaire to set up a fund that allows Phelps and clan to be sued for harassment or libel or defamation or whatever and it taken to its conclusion, hopefully bankrupting Westboro Baptist Church in the process.
Does it make me evil that one reason I’m glad to see him picketing military funerals is that the odds of some combat hardened jarheads beating the holy shit out of him or his followers/family members is a lot higher than a group of mourning gay guys doing it? If they did I don’t think that raising bail would be an issue as people everywhere would contribute to that and their defense fund.
Hence my focus on goading them into a felony, as opposed to simply a tort. The government has little patience for barratry or other legal wrangling of that sort, and a ton of money to outspend the WBC if it tries. Trying to outspend or outlast a criminal court … well, the image that comes to mind is a diesel train burning itself up trying to ram its way through a sheer cliff face. It is a happy image.
I honestly don’t see how they could tie up a straightforward assault and battery, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer (don’t think they wouldn’t try) case even if they are a legal Dream Team the likes of which Cochran never imagined. There will be enough witnesses and evidence, filmed and otherwise, to make a jury convict. And oooohhh… the character witnesses we could call.
During a segment on his TV show he got a bunch of gay guys to attend a Phelps event in an RV. They got on top and danced and were as brazenly gay as possible. I rather enjoyed it.
We were at an Indigo Girls concert and there was the usual idiots with their “god kills fags dead” signs and smack in the middle was one petite woman carrying a “somewhere, a village is missing their idiot” sign. Really brightened the mood…the girl ended up at the concert and was treated to a coupla cocktails to boot.
It still astounded me that they were picking on a group of folk-music lovin’ girls… :wally
