# Proof that Westboro Baptist Church are trolls **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 21, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541 "2012-02-21T18:06:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/21 "2012-02-22T03:50:52Z")
I just recently found this little gem, [courtesy of the Foo Fighters on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e5hRLbCaCs). Seems as good a spot as any to link it for your enjoyment. (And, really, picketing a Foo concert? Geebus! OMG, whatever.) ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/22 "2012-02-22T04:03:02Z")
I’m sorry, but come on. They could have at least hired a semi-professional to do the photoshop. Hell, I could have done a better job. I would have added a bit of fire and brimstone. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/23 "2012-02-22T04:04:52Z")
The real question is if they even hate gays and lesbians, and what is the real purpose of the trolling. There is some interesting speculation out there, like the fact their patriarch made his name as a lawyer by specializing in sueing southern US cities for violating the civil rights act. In fact he was stated to be one of the few lawyers who would take such cases, despite privately being a casual racist. It begs the question of if their trolling is simply trying tocause government officials to violate their first amendment rights, so they can then sue. Cha ching! ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/24 "2012-02-22T04:29:06Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Does anyone know if the Pope is Catholic? No, but I have heard that he shits int he woods, and that a bear wears a funny hat. No, wait… ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/25 "2012-02-22T04:32:46Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I’m surprised they didn’t go. Where better to find someone to overreact to their protest, get involved in a physical altercation, and actually have millions of dollars of assets to sue for? There’s a lot more cash walking around there than you’ll find at your average soldier’s funeral. A bunch of Kansas rednecks in Newark, N.J.? If they _had_ shown up, I’d have bet good money their cracker-asses would’ve disappeared without a trace. And I’d have paid good money to see it happen. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/26 "2012-02-22T08:32:35Z")
> [@ExTank](#): > > No, but I have heard that he shits int he woods, and that a bear wears a funny hat. > > No, wait… No, no, no. Bears shit in the pope’s funny hat. Possibly the same bears wot mauled the kids making fun of Elijah. ---
**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:** [February 22, 2012, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/27 "2012-02-22T16:04:55Z")
> [@grude](#): > > The real question is if they even hate gays and lesbians, and what is the real purpose of the trolling. > > There is some interesting speculation out there, like the fact their patriarch made his name as a lawyer by specializing in sueing southern US cities for violating the civil rights act. In fact he was stated to be one of the few lawyers who would take such cases, despite privately being a casual racist. > > It begs the question of if their trolling is simply trying tocause government officials to violate their first amendment rights, so they can then sue. Cha ching! Could be. Quite a few of them have law degrees, not just dear ol’ dad. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/28 "2012-02-22T18:25:52Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Could be. Quite a few of them have law degrees, not just dear ol’ dad. Sure he does, he was lawyer. Got a law degree from Washburn University in 1964 [Fred Phelps - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps#Education) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/29 "2012-02-22T18:39:33Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Sure he does, he was lawyer. Got a law degree from Washburn University in 1964 [Fred Phelps - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps#Education) “Not just”; not “just not”. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/30 "2012-02-22T19:52:12Z")
How can we be sure that the 'shop in question was created by W~B~C? Is it an official twitter account? Do they even have one? I can think of plenty of people who would love to pretend to be W~B~C to discredit them, and this seems uncharacteristically sloppy for one of the Plhlelpls clan. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/31 "2012-02-22T20:25:44Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > “Not just”; not “just not”. Doh! Sorry John. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/32 "2012-02-22T20:36:21Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > How can we be sure that the 'shop in question was created by W~B~C? Is it an official twitter account? Do they even have one? I can think of plenty of people who would love to pretend to be W~B~C to discredit them, and this seems uncharacteristically sloppy for one of the Plhlelpls clan. Is it even possible _to_ discredit the WBC? ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/33 "2012-02-22T20:52:28Z")
My USAF brother was on facebook, saying how his buddies would “show” those people who protest military funerals. Those pansy libruls will find out how their so-called “Freedom of Speech” holds up against angry soldiers. So I had to tell him that those protesters were not Occupy X or hippies . Rather, from a Kansas church with a handful of members. Far from being your typical bleeding-heart peaceniks, they are outraged for one reason: We are not going Old Testament on gays. Every soldier killed is God avenging himself against this tolerance. Then I ask him how he and his soldiers feel about gays serving in the military. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/34 "2012-02-22T21:10:11Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > How can we be sure that the 'shop in question was created by W~B~C? Is it an official twitter account? It was posted to the twitter account of Margie Phelps. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/35 "2012-02-22T21:33:17Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > My USAF brother was on facebook, saying how his buddies would “show” those people who protest military funerals. Those pansy libruls will find out how their so-called “Freedom of Speech” holds up against angry soldiers. > > So I had to tell him that those protesters were not Occupy X or hippies . Rather, from a Kansas church with a handful of members. Far from being your typical bleeding-heart peaceniks, they are outraged for one reason: We are not going Old Testament on gays. Every soldier killed is God avenging himself against this tolerance. > > Then I ask him how he and his soldiers feel about gays serving in the military. You didn’t have this exchange with him in the last five minutes, did you? What did he say? ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/36 "2012-02-23T03:22:15Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > You didn’t have this exchange with him in the last five minutes, did you? What did he say? He hasn’t responded yet, but I probably shouldn’t expect him to. It doesn’t fit into his Obama-hates-the-military view. I will tell you he’s emphatically against gays serving the military, but I don’t think he understands why. I want to believe he doesn’t REALLY think all gays are naturally aggressive toward straights and want to covert him. I think its more peer pressure, where fellow enlisted guys in his unit look tough by not wanting homos prancing around their barracks. Hard to be the voice of reason in that environment, but it disgusts me nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/37 "2012-02-23T04:26:32Z")
There’s a guy at work who thinks that Westbro couldn’t really care less about gays or anything else, and are in fact just lawsuit scammers. He says they deliberately run the most offensive protests possible, hoping that someone will get upset and hit one of them. They have lawyers on hand to start the civil suit immediately, and have dozens of cases going at any one time all of which are suing for monetary damages. Does anyone know if this is true to any extent? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/38 "2012-02-23T05:40:42Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > There’s a guy at work who thinks that Westbro couldn’t really care less about gays or anything else, and are in fact just lawsuit scammers. He says they deliberately run the most offensive protests possible, hoping that someone will get upset and hit one of them. They have lawyers on hand to start the civil suit immediately, and have dozens of cases going at any one time all of which are suing for monetary damages. > > Does anyone know if this is true to any extent? That’s more-or-less true. A large percentage of the Phelps clan are lawyers, and they’re very litigious. I’m not sure if they have “dozens” of cases pending, and I don’t know how much actual money they get, but what your co-worker described is broadly accurate. I don’t think they’re a scam, per se, though. They’re a cult, and they’re antics are conducted primarily to make them as hated as possible to reenforce the bunker, “us-vs-them” mentality. If everyone in the world hates them, they don’t have anywhere to turn outside of the family for emotional and moral support. ---
**Author:** ![Lucretia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@Lucretia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucretia)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/39 "2012-02-23T06:52:12Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > He hasn’t responded yet, but I probably shouldn’t expect him to. It doesn’t fit into his Obama-hates-the-military view. > > I will tell you he’s emphatically against gays serving the military, but I don’t think he understands why. I want to believe he doesn’t REALLY think all gays are naturally aggressive toward straights and want to covert him. I think its more peer pressure, where fellow enlisted guys in his unit look tough by not wanting homos prancing around their barracks. Hard to be the voice of reason in that environment, but it disgusts me nonetheless. If that’s true, it’s almost certainly a personal view, and not _peer pressure_ in the USAF environment. I’ve been USAF enlisted, dependent wife, and am currently a USAF officer, and quite frankly, it’s one of the more gay-friendly environments you’re going to find, either military or civilian, and has been ever since I first joined, 25+ years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2012, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541/40 "2012-02-23T07:17:30Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > He hasn’t responded yet, but I probably shouldn’t expect him to. It doesn’t fit into his Obama-hates-the-military view. > > I will tell you he’s emphatically against gays serving the military, but I don’t think he understands why. I want to believe he doesn’t REALLY think all gays are naturally aggressive toward straights and want to covert him. I think its more peer pressure, where fellow enlisted guys in his unit look tough by not wanting homos prancing around their barracks. Hard to be the voice of reason in that environment, but it disgusts me nonetheless. Does he really think that liberals are the ones protesting at soldiers’ funerals? He’s never heard of Westboro Baptist? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/proof-that-westboro-baptist-church-are-trolls/613541.md?page=3)