I’m not gay Lord, see, look, watch me hate the gays, just like I know you do Lord, how could I be gay if I hate the gays? I’m not gay Lord, see, look, I’ll stoop to any depth to prove it, I’m not gay Lord because I know you hate gays and that is why I’ve never wanted to be gay… well, there was that one time… NO! I’m not gay Lord, please don’t burn me.
Wow. I’ve never heard you use such strong language! 
Honestly, Baker, I don’t think I’ve ever met a friendlier, more accepting person than you are, so I think that you get a pass if it’s hard for you to forgive/accept Phred.
Of course, I ain’t God, so you can take that with a grain of salt.
Personally, I’m impressed that you’re angry; most people around here, while they may not agree with Fred’s “message”, have simply given up the fight, written him off as a complete idiot, and basically consider him wallpaper at this point. So the fact that you’re still in there kicking ass is highly commendable, in my book.
Keep on keepin’ on, Sister. If it’s easy, it doesn’t mean much.
I think Fred came here to picket Mr. Roger’s memorial service-but I don’t know if he was successful.
Iampunha, damn straight he abused his family, his wife, his kids-but he stopped doing that right before he started on gays. That’s because he was threatened with being put away, and certain people had their eyes on him-plus when his kids started getting married, well, THEIR families were looking in, etc.
So since he couldn’t use his family as his punching bag, he turned to something else-why not gays?
The guy is quite simply, crazier than a shithouse rat.
auntie em, believe me, there are a bunch of us in Lawrence who try to fight the good fight when it comes to Fred Phelps. Unfortunately, he’s an attention whore on top of being a bigot.
You simply can’t shout him down – it makes him only try harder and louder.
What bothers me are the little children being brainwashed in his group of followers. It’s sickening.
Lilacs, you’re in Lawrence? Pardon me for the slight hijack, but do you know that we’re having a KC-area dopefest at The Plaza this coming Sunday? Maybe you do, and maybe you just don’t want to come, but you’d get a chance to meet the inimitable Baker and perhaps sample some of her Euphoria On A Plate!
Back to the topic at hand . . .
I think you make a good point about how attention only gets him off, and shouting him down is nearly pointless. I think most of us in Topeka have taken the Naughty Child tactic with him: “Don’t give him attention! That’s just what he wants!”
You are SO right, though, about the children. Honestly, these days I can drive past a group of adult picketers and pay no more attention to them than I would a McDonald’s. But when I see KIDS out there holding those sickening signs, my stomach churns just a little.
And, of course, if I’ve got a friend visiting from out of state, and we drive past a group of Phelpsians, I get quite embarrassed, because people who aren’t accustomed to this shit (as I, unfortunately, am) are shocked speechless, and wonder how in the hell I could move back to a place like this after 12 years away.
auntie, I was in Wisconsin for two years. I was so ashamed to admit that piece of excrement was from Kansas. He and his vultures visited Madison (where I was living) and I had to explain that really, he did NOT represent the typical Kansan.
Course, then there was that whole Creationism thing that made me writhe with shame for having gone through the KS public education system (but that’s another whole hijack).
[hijack] I wanted to go to the dope fest, but I havea family obligation. I hope to catch the next one though![/hijack]
I wonder what kind of rage it would send Phred into if someone from a well-known gay-rights group came very publicly to thank him for his large donation (some symbolic amount of money) to fight for anti-discrimination laws and AIDS research…
Slight hi-jack here…is there any detailed info on the net about Phelp’s supposed legal career as a civil-rights lawyer? I’m looking for specific info on court cases and such. He mentions this quite frequently in interviews and on his website but it’s always vague and undetailed, giving me the impression that he’s exaggerating his actual participation in any kind of civil-rights issue.
Phelps is a savage fathead, to be sure, but he does have the advantage of being hilarious in his extremes.
… BWA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!
I shave my legs. Am I a mow-legged harlot?
Yuck, I’d hate to live in Phelp’s town and have to work my day around him. I guess I’m lucky that my only reference point for Phelp’s is complaints about him in the news – and I don’t have to read the stories about Phelps. I do though on occasion. Kinda like the way I check out the contents of the litter box as I walk past to see if there is anything particularly funky.
He doesn’t have the credibility to offend me at all (at least no more than the contents of the litterbox.)
auntie em, maybe I’m not as nice as you think I am. There’s a thread going here in the Pit where I have been rather insulting to a certain poster. I’m thinking I should apologize, because that isn’t how I should act. Hate, as a sin, is no worse than the pride I have been exuding.
But I am looking forward to this Sunday in Kansas City! I’m thinking of chocolate bon-bon cookies, some molasses cookies, and some pecan tarts. Cream pies are great, but they might be pie soup, even in a cooler, by the time we finish lunch and go snack in the park!
Try Addicted to Hate-the Fred Phelps Expose.
Warning-it may make you sick to your stomach
The first link here is to an in-depth set of stories the Topeka paper did on the Phelps saga. It’s quite incredible really. The second link is to a specific story within the set, about his law career. You could also try writing to the law school at Washburn.
http://www.cjonline.com/webindepth/phelps/
http://www.cjonline.com/indepth/phelps/stories/080394_phelp16.shtml
BTW, the link Guinastasia posted is to the book by that same John Bell the the Capital-Journal mentions in it’s introduction to the set of stories about Phred and Co.
Well, darn, the second link isn’t working.
But if you click on the first one, then click on the Index for all stories in the feature, there are two links about his law career, one title “Phelps law career checkered” and “As a lawyer, Phelps was good in court” If you don’t see the Index, you can search the newspoaper archives. Both stories are dated 8/3/94
Let me know if this helps.
I’m obviously biased here, but:
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You tried kindness. Many of us did. We saw what happened.
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Now he appears to be trying to fall asleep amidst our respectful requests. I don’t see anything wrong with trying to keep him awake, given that he isn’t short on sleep.
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Unless you have a graft I didn’t know about, one only has four cheeks*, and the second pair REALLY shouldn’t get slapped by someone you don’t know (and even then!).
*[sub]Religious reference. I’m pretty sure Baker and Guin will get it. I’ll explain if need be.[/sub]
How the fuck did Phelps determine guys have higher jobs, income, housing? Ask every known gay in the universe? Or take the income of gays like Elton John and other top people who can admit they are gay without fear of reprisal and divide it among the number of gays he acknowledges, which he says is about 1% of the population?
And the idea of guys not having children is hardly valid in this age of adoption, foster care, surrogate motherhood,artificial insemination, and more gays outing and leaving marriages and keeping their children.