I think like everyone here, I am definitely conflicted between my strong belief in the upholding of the First Amendment and my absolute disgust for the Phelps’.
For me, I simply cannot justify their actions as just protest. They are vile, disgusting humans (which certainly doesn’t take away their right to free speech) who do what they do not because they want to make right in the world, but because they want to cause pain.
Some of you may disagree with the above, but I’m speaking as someone whose best friend was harassed by these people. They called up a woman (she was 19, so still young) whose husband had literally just been blown to pieces in Iraq and told her he was burning in hell for being a faggot. They told her during this phone call, that the baby that she was six months pregnant with at the time was also going to Hell because its father was a fag.
She was in her home, grieving the death of her husband that never even got to see her pregnant (she calculated it that she got pregnant a few days before he left), and they called with the sole purpose of harassing her. They told her they would be at her husband’s funeral and there was nothing she could do about it.
I was more proud than I’ve ever been when my community stood up against these fools. There were tons of veterans, the SWAT team, a unit of armed soldiers, AND the Hell’s Angels lined up outside that church in case the protesters showed. While that type of solidarity is a beautiful thing, it shouldn’t have come about under those circumstances.
Let’s be honest, if their real intent was to make CHANGE for something they felt was right, their actions would be limited to their protests. If that’s the case, why do they scream at widows and children outside of a father’s funeral? Is the widow going to make change? Maybe it’s symbolic, fine. Why do they call these people at home and tell them to go to www.godhatesfags.com so they can see the flyer telling people to go protest their dead husband’s funeral? Thank God for IEDS, right?
That’s, of course, the more emotional part of me. The political scientcist in me says that what they are doing surpasses what is protected speech. There have been times where they have almost incited riots-- all because they WANT you to hit them so they can sue you. I assure you that if they had shown up to my friend’s husband’s funeral, there would have been a riot (I later heard from the local gay rights organization that was tailing them that morning, that Phelps himself was here in town with them, but when they sent a person to scout out the church and saw everyone there, they decided to leave). I do think it is fair to compare what they do, where they do it, and how they do it to shouting fire in a crowded building. More so (and I’ll fully admit I’m not strong in Supreme Court cases, so if someone is willing to point out anything saying I’m wrong, I really don’t mind one bit), I think it is vital that we look at their intent. Like I said, if their intent was change, why call and harass people like my friend at home? Why tell her that her unborn child is a bastard fag? What does that accomplish?
