Just found out my son’s high school is scheduled to get a protest from Phelp’s crew.
As near as I can tell, there’s no posted reason his school has been targeted, other than some other sites in the area will also be protested during the course of a few days.
I think the group plans to sing Michael Jackson’s “Bad”, with lyrics they’ve re-written.
My first instinct is to tell my kid to ignore, ignore, IGNORE them. They are there trying to provoke a reaction, and do not give them one. They are not there…completely invisible.
But after reading about the song…I admit I almost want to teach my son a few MJ moves…including the crotch grab to do silently, if he should hear them singing…
Hey, can I be the foley artist for their impromptu dance? I could clang a bell whenever they to the crotch-grab and play a gun sound when they do a pelvic thrust, not unlike Weird Al’s parody video.
Remember too that they threaten to protest a lot more places than they ever intend to actually visit. They’re so ridiculous and over the top that merely threatening to come is enough to get local publicity. When they don’t show up, worst case is they get another free round of publicity reporting that they never came.
They were just around my home area this Wednesday (or maybe next Wednesday; I’m not there during the week). You’re not alone; His Phrediniess is an equal-oportunity PITA.
Uh, who is WBC and what exactly are they protesting?
(Wiki’s no help):
Women’s Basketball Championship
World Baseball Classic
World Boxing Council
World Boardgaming Championships
World Badminton Championships
War Bureau of Consultants
Waterbeach railway station’s National Rail code
Westboro Baptist Church
Westpac Banking Corporation
White blood cell
Workers Beer Company
White Blood Cells, an album by The White Stripes
Wholesale Broadband Connect
World Barista Championship
World Book Club
The Phelps clan protested in and around my high school a few times during my junior and senior year. The first time was when all of our school’s clubs were up for re-approval, and there was a big to-do among the school board members about USALL (Union of Straight and Alternative Lifestyles) - they came, they stood across the street (not being allowed on school grounds, of course), held up signs and chanted some stuff, and pretty much left when the news crews refused to have much to do with them. I remember there being a few parents who kept their kids home and a few school announcements basically saying “don’t provoke them; just ignore.” Other than that, it was a normal school day for all of us.
What really got the area up in arms was the time that they combined a protest of our school with a protest at the funeral of an Army officer who had been killed in Afghanistan. We had all heard of the Phelps’ protests at funerals, but this time, the officer’s son went to our high school - it was rather a big deal, especially since we were literally just outside of the gates of Fort Leavenworth. That protest got quite a bit more press, though the new crews were mainly focused on the Patriot Guard Riders rather than the Phelps family. The only real thing that came out of that was my friends being featured on the Phelps’ website due to an egg-throwing incident after the funeral.
Basically, if your son’s school has any sense at all, this won’t be a big deal. They shouldn’t be allowed on school grounds, and they’re smart enough to know not to harass students walking to and from school (well, for various degrees of harassing, I guess). I would agree with your first thought about not provoking and ignoring the clan - that is the best option. I’m not sure how old your son is though; if he’s in high school, well…just make sure he knows not to do anything too stupid. They’re a very litigious family.
Ah, it’s those morons who disrupt soldiers’ funerals to protest against gay rights . Real classy.
I’d heard of them but didn’t recall the group’s name.
Not sure what the heck they’d be doing at a high school either.
Well, duh! Their actions pretty much show why: they’re against people getting an education! (If people actually got an education, they’d have enough sense not to have anything to do with WBC.)
Sometimes the Westboro Baptist Church is a force for good.
Don’t believe me? I don’t blame you a bit. But this story of Stu Rasmussen from Radio Lab put a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye. Listen here; it will be the best thing you hear all day.
Ideally, what you should do is nothing. Do not even acknowledge their presence and if possible urge the media to stay away. They actually will go away if you ignore them.
Barring that see if you can get a bunch of kids to do a synchronized MJ dance along to the tune.
Man those folks get around. How many of them are there? Is there a large congregation funding them? If I’m throwing a party, can I hire them to garner me some free publicity? Do they cater?
Rhythmdvl, if I remember correctly, their main source of income is (or was; I don’t know if this is accurate anymore) money gained through lawsuits of people who reacted violently to their protests.
. Real classy.