# Pitting Westboro Baptist (Probably for the 10th time here) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 23, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095 "2012-07-23T01:21:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/41 "2012-07-24T08:00:09Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > The pain these people cause is beyond measure. Do they really any more? I suppose so. Perhaps its because my interactions with 'Mericans is pretty much only through these boards that my impression is that everyone thinks of them as a total joke and would consider a picket by them to be background noise, except more laughable. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/42 "2012-07-24T10:05:14Z")
I agree with **Lynn Bodoni.** (figuritively) “Lord, just let me do something that’ll piss enough people off to make them _want_ to come see me put in the ground. Then I’ll know I accomplished something while I was here.” (Not really, tho. I elbowed my way into this world alone and don’t really want a bunch of hangers-on gawking over my last labored breaths.) They did show up, and were met with “a human wall.” (Done before recently.) A great solution, I think. Gives the people who want to _do_ something a way to do something. I’m an avid advocate for the 1st Amendent but think that **some** people need to just get the shit knocked out of them until they learn how to talk right. (Communicate in a reasonable, respectful way.) If they insist on being obnoxious. I’m thinking the Westboro clan is mistaking gay for “glad.” “I want to gay you up=glad to meet you.” “That’s so gay=glad you could join us.” They both start with a “g.” The Westboro’s know sumthin’ sumthin’ follows that but it’s been lost in translation. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/43 "2012-07-24T14:06:02Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > You’re not fooling anybody, you know. It’s what the sign says > [@](#): > > This person has lived > 15,000 days > without a death > > Avoid death, it’s the right way to live ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/44 "2012-07-24T14:49:34Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > As I mentioned in another thread quite some time ago, Shirley might be able to lead the picketing, but it would break a strong tenet of their beliefs for her to actually lead their “church”. According to them (as well as some other christian denominations) women can not lead a church. Something in the bible (I’m sure someone can find a proper quote for me) about how women are supposed to be quiet in church. Exactly, which is why I’ll be interested to see what happens. I don’t see anyone else with the same forceful nature as Shirley or Phred so I predict either someone else heads the actual church and it falls to pieces or Shirley takes over and there’s some serious theological rewriting and at least one schism. Either way, I’m guaranteed some good tv. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/45 "2012-07-24T15:47:55Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Do they really any more? I suppose so. Perhaps its because my interactions with 'Mericans is pretty much only through these boards that my impression is that everyone thinks of them as a total joke and would consider a picket by them to be background noise, except more laughable. They’re laughable when you’re sitting at home reading about them, yes. But many Americans have never even heard of them, and attending a funeral is going to be a far more emotional and immediate situation than sitting at home online. The last thing a grieving family is going to be able to tolerate is a bunch of random yahoos showing up at their son’s funeral telling them God is glad their son is dead. That said, most people do manage to tolerate them; I don’t hear many instances of people assaulting the Phelps, though I suppose if they’re still able to operate now then they must have won at least some lawsuits. The best cure is definitely to ignore them and spread knowledge of them and their tactics. The more people who know about them and can ignore them, the fewer lawsuits they’ll be able to bring, and the faster they’ll be rendered unable to operate. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/46 "2012-07-24T17:16:51Z")
Say, why doesn’t Westboro ever picket Hell’s Angels’ funerals!? **Those** are some wretched sinners right there – violence, lawlessness, drug use, fornication, Satanic blasphemy right in the **name** – Man up, Phred! You know the Lord wants you to! ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/47 "2012-07-24T17:40:33Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Say, why doesn’t Westboro ever picket Hell’s Angels’ funerals!? **Those** are some wretched sinners right there – violence, lawlessness, drug use, fornication, Satanic blasphemy right in the **name** – Man up, Phred! You know the Lord wants you to! But they’re not **FAGS**!! :D:D:D ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/48 "2012-07-24T18:15:59Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > The point of the pickets is indoctrination of the kids who are born into the cult. You send the kids out with signs, everyone yells at them, and the kids now have proof that everyone outside the church hates them. > > How can they run away when there’s no where to run away to? The church used to just picket funerals of gay people. But that wasn’t divisive enough. After all, there are plenty of churches that hate gays. When you picket soldiers and random people, then you isolate your church from all the other run-of-the-mill gayhating right wing churches. And the isolation is the point. > > Fred Phelps isn’t secretly gay. He’s an open sadist. He ruled his family by fear and violence, and the ones who were strong enough to leave have already left. His church consists almost exclusively of his children and grandchildren and their spouses. It’s perfectly clear that the God of their church is made in the image of Fred Phelps. The kids who grew up in the cult have no trouble believing in this sort of God, because that’s the way all authority figures in their lives behave. > > Fred Phelps wants you to hate the kids in his church. This is his plan. This is on purpose, because it makes them easier to control, it makes it impossible to leave the church/family. Well said and worth repeating. Groups like this don’t care who they hate as long as they can create an Us vs. Them mentality. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/49 "2012-07-24T19:05:20Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Say, why doesn’t Westboro ever picket Hell’s Angels’ funerals!? **Those** are some wretched sinners right there – violence, lawlessness, drug use, fornication, Satanic blasphemy right in the **name** – Man up, Phred! You know the Lord wants you to! I’d pay good money to see this. Normally, I don’t endorse blood sports…but I’m willing to make an exception for a worthy cause. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/50 "2012-07-24T19:52:24Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I’m not paying attention anymore until Phred dies and then it’ll just be to see if the whole thing falls apart. Shirley seems to be the #2 leader in the clan but would they stand for her being top banana or would one of the other guys try to take over? I don’t know but when the fireworks start, [I’ll be there with popcorn](http://i56.tinypic.com/2vjep05.jpg). I hope when HE dies, a LOT of people show up to picket, with bullhorns, and say all sorts of hurtful hateful shit. See how they like it. ---
**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:** [July 24, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/51 "2012-07-24T20:01:29Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Say, why doesn’t Westboro ever picket Hell’s Angels’ funerals!? **Those** are some wretched sinners right there – violence, lawlessness, drug use, fornication, Satanic blasphemy right in the **name** – Man up, Phred! You know the Lord wants you to! :rolleyes: I explained why. The purpose of the pickets isn’t to convert the sinners or to prove some theological point. Theology-wise, they believe everyone outside the WBC are already damned to Hellfire, and are beyond saving. This is extreme Calvinism–all human beings are sinners, and therefore worthy of Hellfire. Since human beings are utterly depraved, no one can be saved by their own efforts, only God has to power to redeem them. But God is under no obligation to save sinners from their own sin, if He saves anyone it is only because he wants to save them, not because they deserve to be saved. Therefore human salvation is entirely unearned, and only due to God’s grace. So Calvinists believe that God will save Calvinists, not because they deserve to be saved, but just because God wants to save them. Everyone else can go to Hell, and good riddance. Of course, the practical real-world reason for the pickets isn’t to gain converts either. It’s to isolate the kids so Fred can exercize total control over the church/family. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/52 "2012-07-24T20:02:42Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I hope when HE dies, a LOT of people show up to picket, with bullhorns, and say all sorts of hurtful hateful shit. See how they like it. Cathartic, maybe, but I don’t think they’ll react to it the way right-thinking folk will. Given that Phelps is already happy to indoctrinate them by introducing them to negative responses, picketing his funeral will just reaffirm that Us versus Them mentality. The best thing to do when Phred dies is to put aside the hostility. Without his control, there’ll be a chance to dissolve Westboro by showing them they don’t have to hate the outside world. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/53 "2012-07-24T20:16:31Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Cathartic, maybe, but I don’t think they’ll react to it the way right-thinking folk will. Given that Phelps is already happy to indoctrinate them by introducing them to negative responses, picketing his funeral will just reaffirm that Us versus Them mentality. > > The best thing to do when Phred dies is to put aside the hostility. Without his control, there’ll be a chance to dissolve Westboro by showing them they don’t have to hate the outside world. Maybe I’m just tired of this “you have to be better than…” bullshit all… the… time. It gets real old. A bullhorn and a hearty “fuck you all burn in hell” would feel pretty good. I would love to see them picket the outlaw bikers and be obliterated at this point. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/54 "2012-07-24T20:23:08Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > I hope when HE dies, a LOT of people show up to picket, with bullhorns, and say all sorts of hurtful hateful shit. See how they like it. Like it? They will LOVE it. And you can bet that it will happen too. There are a lot of people who never bother to think past their own emotions and who have to feed their own sense of indignation. And that’s just what WBC wants. That outpouring of hate will give the WBC a warm fuzzy feeling knowing that they are still capable of manipulating the media and the stupid. It will show the WBC that they are significant. It will bolster their sense of identity. They know that they will always be able to count on the stupid. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/55 "2012-07-24T20:31:08Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Maybe I’m just tired of this “you have to be better than…” bullshit all… the… time. > > It gets real old. A bullhorn and a hearty “fuck you all burn in hell” would feel pretty good. > > I would love to see them picket the outlaw bikers and be obliterated at this point. Who the fuck said “you have to be better than” ? I’m talking about plain old stupidity. They want lots of attention and you seem to be quite willing to give it to them. Unfortunately they haven’t caught “the stupid” virus and so they avoid biker gangs. Mainly because biker gangs 1 rarely pay off lawsuits 2 might have a tendency to actually kill one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/56 "2012-07-24T20:37:51Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Maybe I’m just tired of this “you have to be better than…” bullshit all… the… time. I agree, but in the case of Phred’s funeral, railing at them would probably not only help, but harm. The last thing we need is to give Westboro a reason to rally around Phred as a martyr. I’m all for standing in front of their picket line and shouting invective right back at them. I’m not so eager to form a picket line myself. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/57 "2012-07-24T20:43:53Z")
If I ever find myself by their picket line, I think I’ll yell, “How was your day?” and offer them coffee and cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/58 "2012-07-24T21:27:16Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > : > > Of course, the practical real-world reason for the pickets isn’t to gain converts either. It’s to isolate the kids so Fred can exercize total control over the church/family. And also to try to provoke someone so that they can sue. I have heard that this is their principle revenue source. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/59 "2012-07-24T21:28:53Z")
[Proof that Westboro Baptist Church are trolls](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=642815&highlight=Westboro) [I pit the Westboro Baptist Church](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=319992&highlight=Westboro) [Westboro Baptists to Picket Christina Greene’s Funeral](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=592635&highlight=Westboro) [Getting really tired of the Westboro Baptists fuckers…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=586274&highlight=Westboro) [Westboro Baptist at it again](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=527973&highlight=Westboro) [Westboro Baptist pickets a high school play in Michigan](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=494171&highlight=Westboro) [Hell to be Remodeled with 10th Circle, aka The Westboro Baptist Suite](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=450870&highlight=Westboro) [Westboro Bapt Church makes Freepers look good. . . literally!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=373629&highlight=Westboro) [Westboro Baptist to Picket Mrs King’s Funeral](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=357557&highlight=Westboro) [url=“”] Not probably for the 10th time. Literally. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2012, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095/60 "2012-07-24T22:41:17Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > If I ever find myself by their picket line, I think I’ll yell, “How was your day?” and offer them coffee and cookies. Will the coffee contain some sort of diuretic? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-westboro-baptist-probably-for-the-10th-time-here/629095.md?page=4)