# Westboro Baptist at it again **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 13, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307 "2009-08-13T16:53:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kitemaker\_chuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a88e4f/32.png) [@kitemaker\_chuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitemaker_chuck)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/1 "2009-08-13T16:53:12Z")
I read in an Associated Press report that on Tuesday, Fred Phelps and his insane church posse (the Westboro Baptist Church) were in New York City, “demonstrating” in front of a number of synagogues, this time with a “God Hates Jews” campaign. (Where’s the JDL when you need them?) Anything worth saying to Phelps and his cohorts would just go over their heads anyway. I guess it’s just futile to argue against crazy people anyway. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/2 "2009-08-13T16:58:41Z")
Of course it’s pointless. The purpose of these demonstrations is entirely internal to the WBC. The point is to isolate the kids in the church from everyone else in the world, including other fundamentalist nutbar churches. The demonstrations deliberately provoke outrage, but the purpose isn’t to annoy the rest of us, it’s to prove to the kids in the church that they are hated by everyone. The church consists of Phelps and his children and grandchildren, and is run like a biblical patriarchy. All the kids know is that everyone in the world hates them, and so they have nowhere else to turn except to stay in the church. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/3 "2009-08-13T17:03:52Z")
I don’t even think of the Phelps clan as a cult or a religious group. I see it as an extended family held hostage to the self-important whims of an abusive, controlling psychopath. I feel more sorry for most of them than angry at them. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/4 "2009-08-13T17:05:46Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t even think of the Phelps clan as a cult or a religious group. I see it as an extended family held hostage to the self-important whims of an abusive, controlling psychopath. I feel more sorry for most of them than angry at them. Seconded. And I wish they’d stop getting media coverage. Nothing they do is interesting. Reporting that there is a wacko fundy group that protests military funerals is maybe news. Reporting on it every single time that fundy group does anything? Not so much. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/5 "2009-08-13T17:09:04Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t even think of the Phelps clan as a cult or a religious group. I see it as an extended family held hostage to the self-important whims of an abusive, controlling psychopath. I feel more sorry for most of them than angry at them. One wonders what will become of them when Phred passes away. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/6 "2009-08-13T17:15:51Z")
Now, wait. This is interesting. Why does he think God Hates Jews? I think he and our friend FriarTed could have a meeting of the mind here. Plus, changing his tactics to incite against another religion is interesting, as religions are protected classes. Not that it means anything, but I think that some hate crime legislation could be tested here. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/7 "2009-08-13T17:17:18Z")
God hates Jesus? The crucifixion makes sense now. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/8 "2009-08-13T17:18:30Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Now, wait. This is interesting. Why does he think God Hates Jews? I think he and our friend FriarTed could have a meeting of the mind here. > > Plus, changing his tactics to incite against another religion is interesting, as religions are protected classes. Not that it means anything, but I think that some hate crime legislation could be tested here. To answer your first question: Because he’s crazy. He is a crazy person. He believes crazy things. Full stop. Second, my one biggest concern with the Phelpsites is that they are going to wind up being the cause of some craptastic anti-free-speech legislation. I’m not sure what hate crime legislation you’re talking about, but I am definitely opposed to any new laws being put on the books because of these nutbars. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/9 "2009-08-13T17:29:11Z")
_yawns_ ---
**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:** [August 13, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/10 "2009-08-13T17:51:03Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Of course it’s pointless. > > The purpose of these demonstrations is entirely internal to the WBC. The point is to isolate the kids in the church from everyone else in the world, including other fundamentalist nutbar churches. The demonstrations deliberately provoke outrage, but the purpose isn’t to annoy the rest of us, it’s to prove to the kids in the church that they are hated by everyone. > > The church consists of Phelps and his children and grandchildren, and is run like a biblical patriarchy. All the kids know is that everyone in the world hates them, and so they have nowhere else to turn except to stay in the church. I’ve been thinking that the best way to counter protest these folks is to show up with signs that say, “We love you.” ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/11 "2009-08-13T18:31:13Z")
They would save a lot of money on art supplies if they just went with “God Hates Everybody But Us.” ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/12 "2009-08-13T19:15:40Z")
Speaking as an entirely law-abiding and moral citizen: I hope Fred Phelps gets ass raped by a 300lb guy in front his idiotic church and then all the kids are taken away to be re-educated and the adults also raped and killed Then Phelps has his arms and legs amputated and he’s kept in a box, and the only way he can get food and water is to ask for an ass rape first ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/13 "2009-08-13T19:25:35Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > Second, my one biggest concern with the Phelpsites is that they are going to wind up being the cause of some craptastic anti-free-speech legislation. I’m not sure what hate crime legislation you’re talking about, but I am definitely opposed to any new laws being put on the books because of these nutbars. They’re already at the root of laws keeping protestors a certain distance from funerals. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/14 "2009-08-13T19:29:01Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Speaking as an entirely law-abiding and moral citizen: > > I hope Fred Phelps gets ass raped by a 300lb guy in front his idiotic church and then all the kids are taken away to be re-educated and the adults also raped and killed > > Then Phelps has his arms and legs amputated and he’s kept in a box, and the only way he can get food and water is to ask for an ass rape first So I see that you and Phelp’s God have something in common. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/15 "2009-08-13T19:32:37Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Speaking as an entirely law-abiding and moral citizen: > > I hope Fred Phelps gets ass raped by a 300lb guy in front his idiotic church and then all the kids are taken away to be re-educated and the adults also raped and killed > > Then Phelps has his arms and legs amputated and he’s kept in a box, and the only way he can get food and water is to ask for an ass rape first That’s horrifically inhuman. Think of the guy who has to do the ass-raping. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/16 "2009-08-13T21:43:09Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > So I see that you and Phelp’s God have something in common. Perhaps. I find it perfectly fine to be intolerant towards the intolerant, due to a few reasons: 1. I didnt start their hate war, but I would stop it. 2. Allowing them free reign diminishes us all. If anything, it shows that you can hate and still have a relatively decent life 3. The intolerant wants to prevent certain views from ever reaching the light of day, become mainstreamed, and accepted. I want that equality for everyone, even the intolerent, with the one caveat that they are not allow to hinder the acceptance of any other group. The WBC believes in a skewed playing field, I simply want to level it 4. They have no proof god hates anybody, or that he even exists. I have proof that hating gays and others groups are the actual beliefs of some people and those beliefs have harmed people 5. If we’re talking about the same god, then sometimes god needs to kick some ass, or drown the whole world. Yet people still think highly of him for some reason 6. Things wont change if nobody fights back against these human trash. And things need to change because people are being unjustly harmed by Phelps and those who think like him ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/17 "2009-08-13T21:48:31Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Speaking as an entirely law-abiding and moral citizen: > > I hope Fred Phelps gets ass raped by a 300lb guy in front his idiotic church and then all the kids are taken away to be re-educated and the adults also raped and killed > > Then Phelps has his arms and legs amputated and he’s kept in a box, and the only way he can get food and water is to ask for an ass rape first I’m not sure you’re an _entirely_ moral citizen. Me, I’d be perfectly happy for him to be struck fatally by lightning. More humane, and sends a much better message than “That’s right - you _are_ being oppressed by the evil infidels, so you were right all along!” (Particularly to those inclined to see a supernatural hand in lightning.) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/18 "2009-08-13T22:18:41Z")
Ok, not entirely. But if there was a standard measure of such a thing, I’ve lived a good and moral life. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/19 "2009-08-13T22:28:49Z")
Where’s the Great Debate here? ---
**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:** [August 13, 2009, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307/20 "2009-08-13T22:49:46Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Ok, not entirely. But if there was a standard measure of such a thing, I’ve lived a good and moral life. Must be nice to go through life with such moral certainty that you’d cheerfully anally rape and torture people to death, just because they held up a sign that annoyed you. It’s OK to clap and cheer as they are raped and killed, because they are bad peole who deserve it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-at-it-again/506307.md?page=2)