Did anyone else catch wind on Fox news of a group of Baptists threatening to protest the funerals of the VT students? Supposedly, some Fox personality (or one with ties to Fox) is/has offered them 1 hour of airtime to air their (warped) point of view if they enter into a contractural agrrement to leave the families alone. Apparently, this same group threatened to protest the Amish funerals of about 1 year ago. In both cases, this radical group claims “they deserved it”. (Nice of them to make such decisions on behalf of the All Mighty, Himself!)
Hmm, now I am not sure what I had heard on Fox this morning. Here is a link dating back to the Amish incident. It fits what I had heard, but it is not about VT. Perhaps something similar is in the works?
Worse. Looks like the Phelp’s family was going to protest, but they’ve agreed to hold off in return for 3 hours of national radio air time with Mike Gallagher.
Phelps is batshit crazy and really not worth anyone’s attention. I wish news networks would conspire to keep him out of the news but unfortunately they’re naturally attracted to his wacky behavior.
Short answer: Every one in the church is bat shit insane and/or brainwashed. They believe that all the bad things that happen in America/the world is because we are a “fag loving” country. :rolleyes:
They are a small church of like a hundred people, almost exclusively Fred Phelps kin and their families. They are not associated with any main stream church, and indeed, have been condemned by other churches and religions for being so bat shit insane.
Fred Phelps’ group’s main activity is protesting any high-profile funeral (Fred Rogers, soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Amish students, etc.), waving “God Hates Fags” signs, and hoping to provoke a violent reaction in onlookers. They then bring a lawsuit. This is the source of much of the church’s revenue.
As has been pointed out, and this bears repeating, Fred and most of his followers are batshit insane.
There is much speculation that Fred Phelps is deep in the closet. He’s filled with such a pathological loathing it defies comprehension. Also on his hitlist are soldiers who die (their mothers divorced and remarried, thus committing adultery. God is punishing their mothers. :rolleyes: )
He’s also said Matthew Shepherd and Mr. Fred Rogers are burning in hell, and Sept 11 happened because we, as red-blooded Americans, are not actively pursuing and lynching homosexuals on our way to work.
According to this article which is supposedly an interview with Phelps, Phelps calls Mr. Rogers a "foremost proponent of ‘It’s OK to Be Gay’ " and says that his particular Presbyterian church is very gay-supporting.
It doesn’t matter what people do. He and his people have picketed the funerals of hetero soldiers they never met, claiming their deaths are God’s disapproval of “don’t ask, don’t tell” and other things. Anything to get publicity, to spread their message of a hate-filled God (from what I’ve read, he doesn’t believe in a loving God in any way, just a wrathful one who is particularly angry with us) who punishes us in myriad ways for our sins.
That’s not what Gallagher’s doing, though. He’s stated that he’s sacrificing hours of his show so that the mourners at VTech will get some peace at the funerals.
No, he’s giving in to blackmail and affording Phelps a credibility he does not deserve. He’s giving the man the opportunity to speak to a wider audience. Now, there are some that believe that sunshine kills mold and exposes all, but I also believe in DNFTT.