Thing is, haven’t they over-egged their pudding a bit? I mean, surely - according to them - we’re all as damned as we could possibly be - we’re not going to get any more damned, whatever we do, so all their screechy reprimands about having elected Obama, or whatever, are rendered impotent.
In fact, it’s quite a bit like the Monty Python stoning skit from Life Of Brian
Why wasn’t I notified about these things?
I LIVE in Michigan. I could have taken a road trip to troll em. Maybe attempt give some the males a hug and kiss on the lips.
I think my girlfriend would be okay with it since it’s for the luls.
I did not know it was coming either. It just showed up on the local TV news.
I always wonder about this, not only with them, but with all extremist rhetoric. I first noticed this when reading hate screeds from middle eastern malefactors: they’d say “we hate America and will do everything we can to destroy it, God willing!” Then later they’d say “NOW we’re really mad and hate you even more!” then later they’d say “don’t do x or we’ll…” and of course, I’m wondering, “or what? You already hate us as much as is possible. You’ve already sworn to attack us at every opportunity.”
Heh.
Yes, he did. And I believe that even nutbar Falwell condemned Phred. Crazy homophobic lunacy to infinity compared to crazy homophobic lunacy to infinity plus one, and Falwell acknowledged the plus one.
My WAG is that it has less to do with our damnation — which, as noted, is a foregone conclusion — than their own salvation. They feel that unless they hate the Godless (which makes up the entire human race except them) with every breath they take, with every microgram of their beings, more and more with each passing moment . . . well, the fag-filled Pit awaits.
In I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Harlan Ellison puts it thus (the speaker is a self-aware computer addressing its creators):
Seems to sum it up pretty well.
Which is why guys should make a habbit of trying to kiss them on the lips when they come out. If every protest results in a gay experience maybe they’ll get the fear of God about going to protests.
I really enjoyed this student protest against the protesters that had to leave, because the police couldn’t protect them.
Westboro protest draws student counter protest
Yup.
Thet thar’s a food fight!
Well, this worked. Maybe it will work again.
From the link:
The Phelpsites are attention whores. But if you provide a more visually compelling spectacle for the TV cameras, a bunch of people in full pirate regalia for instance, you’ll draw the attention away from them. Hard to compete with a passel of pirates.
Don’t get angry. Don’t throw things. Mock them. The one thing a bully cannot stand is mockery. As one of the pirates said: “They had not earned our hatred, only our ridicule and perhaps our contempt.”
WTF happened to the “fighting words” doctrine?
“Fighting words” applies to criminal law, not civil. You can be innocent of assault because you punched a guy in the face because he insulted your mother, and still civilly liable.
Not to nitpick, but they have picketed closer by – my high school held the play back in the day and got a little contingent out. I didn’t watch the play, but I got to hear all about the festivities after the fact.
I know (from all my reading about the WBC on the SDMB) that they’re mostly made up of Phelps Phamily Members, but reading glurge like this reinforces to me WHY they can’t seem to convert others to their spiritual path. Damn if they ain’t bent on their own self destruction??
Once upon a time folks used to go to the circus to point and laugh at the sub-human specimens on display. Fred and the WBC have made our job easier…we can do it via the internet now! 
To sum up:
[ul][li]They worship a divine figure of hate and destruction.[/li]
[li]They revel in the pain and suffering of others and seek to increase it.[/li]
[li]Some members have, at various points, expressed a desire to spend eternity in Hell tormenting others.[/li][/ul]
Methinks their Biblical role model isn’t Jesus…
They are coming to Boston to protest a professional production of The Laramie Project in about 2 weeks. sigh
Did Jesus protest the sinners, or go to where they were and dwell among them? Perhaps, just perhaps, if this church attended the show they might have been able to talk to the people attending on their level, to befriend them, instead of opposing them.
We believers are under grace, and that grace is intended not to indulge in sin, but to reach those involved in sin.
What sin do you commit by accepting a role in a high school play, exactly?
It would depend on what is required in the play, but the OP was talking about protesting the play, instead I believe it would have been more productive for they to attend the play if there is opportunity to talk to the others attending. This would depend on the person however as the subject of the play may cause problems for some, and cause them to sin, maybe through anger at the subject expressed.
You are implying that they want to be productive. Nobody from WBC is trying to be productive. Their sole purpose is to rile people up and get on the news.
This. And if they tried to sue for battery you can insist they charge you with sexual harassment. Imagine the fun the media would have with a male WBC member trying to sue another male for groping and kissing.