# Westboro Baptist to Picket Mrs King's Funeral **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 6, 2006, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274 "2006-02-06T19:02:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/41 "2006-02-07T17:11:16Z")
> [@Mr. Goob](#): > > I can’t bring myself to read his website (and I’m at work) did I hear correctly on NPR that he want’s the death penalty for Sodomy? The [wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps) article is both informative and work-safe. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/42 "2006-02-07T17:13:37Z")
> [@Mr. Goob](#): > > On thing I did like was hearing about the anti-fred gang. I didn’t get their name but they are a bunch of bikers, mostly ex-vets that plant themselves between Fred and his loonies and the funerals. I know the CA chapter of the Hell’s Angels made the following offer before my friend’s funeral: bail will be paid for anyone who gets arrested while dealing with the protestors. Legal fees will also be paid. The protestors didn’t show up, but the bikers did 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/43 "2006-02-07T17:27:36Z")
As much as I’d like to see Phred phlayed for protesting yet another funeral, I hope, for the sake of Mrs King’s friends and family that violence does not erupt at the somber event. The best thing, aside from Phred being ripped from asshole to teeth by a rusted sword would be for volunteers not associated with the funeral to prevent the mourners from having to see his hurtful display and a bonus would be preventing a good view from television cameras giving him free PR. what a fuckstick. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2006, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/44 "2006-02-07T17:57:33Z")
> [@The Chao Goes Mu](#): > > The best thing, aside from Phred being ripped from asshole to teeth by a rusted sword… or being chased off a bridge by a rogue black & white '74 Dodge Monaco… ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/45 "2006-02-07T18:09:17Z")
> [@Common Man](#): > > Remember that President Bush and Mr. Clinton will be in attendence. Security will be very tight. > > I doubt they will show. Well, you gotta remember that no protesters are **ever** allowed to picket anywhere near where Mr. Bush appears. They’ll be grabbed by the police/secret service, and they’ll be confined to a fenced-in “free speech zone” at least half a mile away. No unfriendly voices ever soil the president’s ears. That’s the rule in the GWB era. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/46 "2006-02-07T18:43:05Z")
> [@](#): > > I know the CA chapter of the Hell’s Angels made the following offer before my friend’s funeral: bail will be paid for anyone who gets arrested while dealing with the protestors. Legal fees will also be paid. > > The protestors didn’t show up, but the bikers did This made me tear up. Yay for bikers! Did Phelps picket Mr. Roger’s funeral? If so, um…why? ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/47 "2006-02-07T18:51:31Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Did Phelps picket Mr. Roger’s funeral? If so, um…why? You really have to ask? For the same reason a dog licks his balls. ---
**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:** [February 7, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/48 "2006-02-07T19:00:17Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Did Phelps picket Mr. Roger’s funeral? If so, um…why? These loons picket the funeral of \*anyone \*who doesn’t condem homosexuality. > [@Shirley Phelps-Roper](#): > > Rogers, as a Presbyterian minister with a television program, had a responsibility to comment on the issue. By not doing so, he was helping to perpetuate homosexuality. … ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/49 "2006-02-07T19:03:38Z")
> [@Ponder Stibbons](#): > > For the same reason a dog licks his balls. To get rid of the taste of dog food? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/50 "2006-02-07T19:15:45Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > These loons picket the funeral of \*anyone \*who doesn’t condem homosexuality… They also show picket to show support of those who do. They came to Montgomery AL a few years ago to demonstrate in favor of (10 Commandments) Judge Roy Moore who went into a multiple page diatribe on the evils of homosexuality while delivering a verdict on a legal technicality in the case of a lesbian mother suing for custody (i.e. the custody suit had nothing to do with fitness on either side but on whether the suit was properly filed). While in town he drove over to picket a Presbyterian church that welcomes gay members and allows its facilities to be used for gay friendly meetings. ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/51 "2006-02-07T20:01:53Z")
Where does Phred get his funding? It can’t be cheap flying to all these places to picket funerals. If the church is so small they can’t be generating all that much money. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/52 "2006-02-07T20:08:43Z")
He has made a good deal of money on lawsuits, and is not ashamed to tell the world how he is spending it. (He won a lawsuit against Topeka because he was prevented from demonstrating as one example.) He can no longer practice law, but many of his followers can, and do to support their cause. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/53 "2006-02-07T21:26:10Z")
The phuneral has taken place. Were they there? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Weird\_One](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@The\_Weird\_One](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Weird_One)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/54 "2006-02-07T21:36:30Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > or being chased off a bridge by a rogue black & white '74 Dodge Monaco… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ponder\_Stibbons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponder_stibbons/32/343_2.png) [@Ponder\_Stibbons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponder_Stibbons)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/55 "2006-02-07T22:08:27Z")
I’ve been reading the news reports on the funeral and have found no mention of the Phelps trolls. If they did show up, they were kept well away. ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2006, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/56 "2006-02-07T23:08:46Z")
Good. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/57 "2006-02-08T01:48:54Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > or being chased off a bridge by a rogue black & white '74 Dodge Monaco… Phred ain’t worth wasting a perfectly good 32 year old Dodge. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/58 "2006-02-08T01:50:15Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Phred ain’t worth wasting a perfectly good 32 year old Dodge. 1974 Gremlin, maybe. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/59 "2006-02-08T02:17:26Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I know the CA chapter of the Hell’s Angels made the following offer before my friend’s funeral: bail will be paid for anyone who gets arrested while dealing with the protestors. Legal fees will also be paid. > > The protestors didn’t show up, but the bikers did 😃 I’m not crazy about the Angels, but I have to say… GOOD FOR THEM!!! ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2006, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274/60 "2006-02-08T04:09:16Z")
I have it on pretty good authority that – whether this was Phelps’ group or not – anti-gay protesters were there, and that some of their vitriol was predictably over-the-top. One of them shouted, “She’s burning in hell right now!” I’m proud to say that the same authority reports that the most their petty picketing provoked was a few scornful middle fingers from the mourners as they passed by. And _good._ Good for them. I gotta tell you, the thought of the Maya Angelou regally flipping them the bird is enough to make me glad they showed up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/westboro-baptist-to-picket-mrs-kings-funeral/343274.md?page=4)