The Westboro Baptist Church crowd (you know, the “God hates fags” people) were out in force in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral (in New York City) this morning.
I guess the possibility of picketing the Catholic Church (because the Catholic Church isn’t hard enough on gay people, I guess) on the very day of the Pride March was too much for them to resist.
There were about a dozen of them, with their usual signs. And there were about a dozen cops keeping an eye on things.
It was all very peaceful. New York being New York, nobody was paying the slightest bit of attention to them. Which probably was really driving them crazy. I think it’s the best way to handle them.
I’d put this in the Pit, but who really cares about the Westboro people anymore? They’re not worth getting upset about.
I was in Topeka once, and the route I was taking took me past a WBC protest. At the time, they protested daily in Topeka, just because (they may still do). I told my host that I was going to buy a bunch of Silly String and then drive back by and Silly String them; my host sternly warned me to do no such thing. He said that they would note my license plate, use Fred Phelps’ legal connections to identify me, and then proceed to ruin my life. He wasn’t kidding, either.
It didn’t get as much attention, but they’ve been anti-Catholic pretty much since the beginning. Catholics are idolaters and heretics that are all going to hell as surely as gay people. WBC are multi-tasking haters not single issue haters.
I’m actually a little surprised that with Fred Phelps being worm food that they crawled that far from the rock they’ve been hiding under. I guess the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, and the associated media coverage, offered too much opportunity for publicity to just ignore.
I find conflict in your statement. They were never a force. It’s basically an extended family trying to game the legal system for money. How they haven’t pissed someone off to the point of their own extinction is a credit to Americans.
Situations like this are the ONLY time I’d like to have a switch on my Golf TDI to activate “Roll Coal” mode, WBC should be subjected to sooty black diesel exhaust constantly…
They’re trolls. They pray for, they live for, someone reacting to them so that they can claim to be victims. And apparently they have quite a track record of taking legal action against anyone who they feel has “victimized” them.
The absolute best thing to do with them is completely ignore them.
If you coal-roll them, or even beat the shit out of them, you’ll make their day. You’ll give them exactly what they want. But if you refuse to so much as acknowledge their existence, you’ll ruin their day.
I know, and that’s the way I would respond in the first place, I know ignoring them annoys them to no end and is the best, most effective response, but just think how satisfying it would feel to see these scumbags choking down thick, choking black diesel exhaust, and have them reeking of diesel for the rest of the day…
Meh, they aren’t worth wasting perfectly good (and expensive) Diesel fuel on anyway…
I am a Topekan. I have seen them from the beginning of the picketing, in the early 90s. Taken tons of pictures back then. My favorite was one of a counter-picketer, the then Episcopal bishop of Kansas, William Smalley. He was helpin g the folks at St. Davids on a windy day. Had to brace against the wind, giving a really good symbol.
I drive by their compund several times a week, on my way to the dog parkl Gotta love the ugly messages on their signs. Which got mentioned recently by the valedictorian of Topeka West High School. Dude gave his speech, which was fairly ordinary, then, at the end, he said if you wanted a guide on how to live, go check out the sign at 12th and Orleans. Yep, the valedictorian was a WBC member.
Back when I was in school, junior high, the WBC kids were forced to spend a lot of time by dad Phred, selling candy. One cold night my grandmother told me two came to her door. She did not buy anything but let them warm up. They said they could not go home until they sold a certain amount.
The ones in NYC have picketed Pride events since long before the 90s, either on St. Patrick’s steps or across the street at Rockefeller Center. I’ve seen them get pelted with water-filled condoms, and I’ve heard the NYC Gay Men’s Chorus gently singing “You’ve Got To Be Carefully Taught” to them. In general, they’ve always been ignored.
They were also in Washington for the LGBTQ marches there. They even picketed the unveiling of the AIDS quilt.
I watched the two Louie Theroux little documentary movies on them. The craziest part was how Steve? Another documentary filmmaker became part of their cult along with his family after hanging out with them for a while, he became a convert and joined, they are definitely a cult.
They basically jumped the shark in the early 2000’s and don’t make headlines much anymore especially after their patriarch died. An interesting fact is that Fred Phelps was an ardent civil rights advocate as an attorney for those who were racially discriminated against in a time when that was both a dangerous and unpopular activity, cult leader Jim Jones, another cult leader interestingly enough was also vehemently opposed to racism and discrimination.
I just feel bad for the children who grew up in the WBC and got indoctrinated into the cult, several daughters I believe left the cult after thinking for themselves but were and are treated as pariahs by their families now. It’s easy to twist a young mind into an evil belief system, and it takes a real inner strength to look at those beliefs and reject them knowing that it means estrangement from those you love the most, fellow siblings, mothers, fathers, etc.
It’s interesting to watch the documentaries and see how people that clearly have above average intelligence can still be trapped into what is clearly a cult. They are more subjects of pity to me than anything else.
Fred only cared about civil rights cases if he was paid. He was not a true advocate.
I was in junior high with his oldest daughter, Kathy. I was acquainted with her, but not a close friend, as they could not socialize. I do remember how Kathy met my mom at a school program, and later complimented me on how nice my mom looked. Kathy said she wanted to have hair like my mother, but her dad, Fred, would not allow the women in the family to cut their hair.
One of the saddest stories I heard about them came from something my dad witnessed, when he was at church one Sunday. The WBC was picketing outside. One of the little kids with them saw his grade school teacher inside, passing through a breezeway where my dad was also standing, keeping an eye on the WBC. The little kid waved to his teacher, and she saw him and waved back, causing one of the women, maybe his mom, to yank him around so he would not be friendly to the teacher.
I’m not saying you are lying but how can you possibly know the true answer to this?
Interesting that you went to the same school as the daughter though, that’s why I love the Dope, there is some real experiences and knowledge here on virtually every topic.
