# It's Phred Time in Rapid City! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 11, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638 "2004-05-11T16:18:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![KellyM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/57b2e6/32.png) [@KellyM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KellyM)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/1 "2004-05-11T16:18:38Z")
Murphy: > [@](#): > > A man who tried to build a monument proclaiming that gay college student Matthew Shepard had gone to Hell says members of his Kansas church will picket in Rapid City, South Dakota. > > The protest will be against Alderman Tom Murphy’s declaration that he will have a sex-change operation. > > Murphy says the picketing by members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka won’t affect him. The Reverend Fred Phelps says they’ll protest Murphy’s lifestyle. > > The picketing has been scheduled for June 27th and 28th at five churches in Rapid City. [http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail2817.cfm?Id=22,31882](http://www.keloland.com/NewsDetail2817.cfm?Id=22,31882) Because all transsexuals have the same “lifestyle”, obviously. God, save me from your more demented followers. :rolleyes: ---
**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:** [May 12, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/2 "2004-05-12T15:18:11Z")
They got trouble, right there in Rapid City! Wiith a capital “T” and that rhymes with “P” and that stands for Phelps. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/3 "2004-05-12T17:28:23Z")
Rapid City is about two hours away from here. Maybe I should go over and join the counter protest that is bound to be there. Too bad the **Straight Dope** doesn’t have “Dope Tracks” that I could hand out. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/4 "2004-05-12T19:12:48Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > Too bad the **Straight Dope** doesn’t have “Dope Tracks” that I could hand out. Well, you could print out [Cecil’s column](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000128.html)s… > [@Cecil Adams](#): > > No one with half a brain thinks homosexuals want to “convert” straight people, destroy the family and traditional marriage, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Darkhold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@Darkhold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darkhold)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/5 "2004-05-12T19:21:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, you could print out Cecil’s columns… I’m not willing to make the assumption that most of these people can read or are willing to read anything that’s not disguised as their own propaganda Plus I think it’s a natural. Cecil already has those surreal little cartoons on the edges anyway all he has to do is get rid of all context and meaning and put up pictures for people to look at. It’s a brilliant idea! ---
**Author:** ![Lambo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lambo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lambo)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/6 "2004-05-12T19:36:58Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > I’m not willing to make the assumption that most of these people can read or are willing to read anything that’s not disguised as their own propaganda > > Plus I think it’s a natural. Cecil already has those surreal little cartoons on the edges anyway all he has to do is get rid of all context and meaning and put up pictures for people to look at. It’s a brilliant idea! Well, all I know is that the Phelps/WBC press releases have some pretty…interesting?..cartoons on them. At least they did when they sent the release to the office I used to work in, notifying us that they were planning on picketing us, along with a local church that dared-DARED-open its doors and allow a GLBT Christian church to use the building. A drawing of the boss on a crapper, what a wonderful piece of…artwork? Oh, and that, too, was in South Dakota. Kinda makes me wish they could afford plane tickets, and go visit a little further away. God, family car trips were bad enough with my family, I wonder what a Phelps family trip is like? Hundreds of miles, and not one stop at a public rest area. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/7 "2004-05-12T19:41:36Z")
> [@Darkhold](#): > > I’m not willing to make the assumption that most of these people can read or are willing to read anything that’s not disguised as their own propaganda Excellent point. We need to start Antichick comics. It can’t be that hard… Except it’s easier to whip up hate and xenophobia than good sense, I think. Hm. ---
**Author:** ![Eyke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Eyke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyke)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/8 "2004-05-12T19:50:27Z")
We have a local “self-proclaimed anabaptist” minister who pretty much shut down a local gay bar. I have word that he’s helping Phelps spread the hate. This man protests anything, Kenny Rogers and Anne Murray for crying out loud! He is an ex-cop, so he’s good and doing _just_ enough to provoke a reaction. Then the one or ones who react get the court date! At the height of the “protest” he had a local police chief run the license plates of the patrons, then call out their names as they walked into the bar. They would even get the names of those who drove rental cars! He even had a local doctor give him patient histories so he knew who had AIDS! Just so you know, you’re not alone \ ☹ ---
**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:** [May 12, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/9 "2004-05-12T21:56:21Z")
Does ANYONE even bother listening to Phelps anymore? I wouldn’t even bother with a counter protest-I’d be there more just to point and laugh. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/10 "2004-05-12T21:58:29Z")
So what the heck does BD’s Vietnamese buddy have to do with all of this? ---
**Author:** ![WaryEri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ea666f/32.png) [@WaryEri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WaryEri)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/11 "2004-05-12T22:00:56Z")
Can we picket Fred’s lifestyle? I bet I know several people in Rapid who’ll be happy to do so. Pity it’s not happening sooner. I’ll be there next week, and I’d love to see what that much concetrated crazy looks like in person. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/12 "2004-05-12T22:51:50Z")
Y’know, I think at some point, this will all boil over. All this insanity is simple to spread, go to small town America, stir the pot, and protest something that the locals don’t even truly understand. Bah. Phelps and the rest are nincompoops of the highest order. I think they’d have a harder time passing that bullshite off in S.F. or N.Y. or Chicago (think non-nascar cities). But if Phred ever does stop by the Windy City, I’d libe obliged to show him my bullet collection. Hell, I may even give him a few for the trip back home. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/13 "2004-05-14T15:16:06Z")
You know all this God Hates Fags nonsense would make a lovely book. What is going in their pointy little heads? Who pays for all this? ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/14 "2004-05-14T15:33:01Z")
What does Phelps gain from all this? To be quite frank with you, there’s very little you can do convince me that this isn’t all monetarily motivated. I firmly believe that, next to self-preservation, money is the ultimate motivator. I don’t buy for one minute this ‘saving souls’ bullshit from him. So what’s the straight dope with this guy? Is there a money trail? Where does it lead? ---
**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:** [May 14, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/15 "2004-05-14T18:12:34Z")
I would say more publicity-who in their right mind would give him money? Hell, Jerry FALWELL said the guy was too homophobic, IIRC. I think it’s mostly for him an ego trip. He’s even said, I believe, that gays can’t change, and that they’ll still be going to Hell. He does it out of spite. He’s a hateful individual, and a fucking lunatic. Logic doesn’t apply to our pal Fred. He’s completely batshit. ---
**Author:** ![Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@Kansas\_Beekeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kansas_Beekeeper)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/16 "2004-05-14T18:23:38Z")
> [@JuanitaTech](#): > > What does Phelps gain from all this? To be quite frank with you, there’s very little you can do convince me that this isn’t all monetarily motivated. I firmly believe that, next to self-preservation, money is the ultimate motivator. I don’t buy for one minute this ‘saving souls’ bullshit from him. > > So what’s the straight dope with this guy? Is there a money trail? Where does it lead? Conventional wisdom in Topeka (where Phred lives) is that there is no money trail, and that he and his church are financed by his kids, several of who are lawyers and/or work for the State. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/17 "2004-05-15T20:00:44Z")
> [@WaryEri](#): > > Can we picket Fred’s lifestyle? Why not? It would have the added benefit of being a lifestyle befitting of protest. The way he has infected his family with hate and drags them around the country to do his bidding. Pretty damned dysfunctional. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/18 "2004-05-15T20:04:41Z")
> [@Kansas Beekeeper](#): > > Conventional wisdom in Topeka (where Phred lives) is that there is no money trail, and that he and his church are financed by his kids, several of who are lawyers and/or work for the State. Yeah, I think most signs point to him simply being one twisted fuck with a tight psychological grip on a small band of his spawn. ---
**Author:** ![Freyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freyr/32/5763_2.png) [@Freyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freyr)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/19 "2004-05-15T20:25:46Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Does ANYONE even bother listening to Phelps anymore? > > I wouldn’t even bother with a counter protest-I’d be there more just to point and laugh. I think you’re onto something, **Guinastasia**! If we don’t pay attention to Fred, he’ll have to do something more outrageous, hopefully crossing the line of legality at sometime. If not that, then he’ll be forced to scream and rant louder and louder, hopefully popping a blood vessel in that piece of cauliflower between his ears. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638/20 "2004-05-15T20:26:55Z")
> [@Dr. Lao](#): > > Yeah, I think most signs point to him simply being one twisted fuck with a tight psychological grip on a small band of his spawn. These people will be so lost when the old fucker dies. I almost feel bad for them. Robin [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-phred-time-in-rapid-city/244638.md?page=2)