So, the Westboro Baptist Church is Coming...

Here, to Savannah Georgia.

Its hard to Imagine what its like to wake up every day, and be angry.
Angry about the homosexuals. Angry about the wars. Angry about America.

But instead of helping, and instead of educating, they bring hate.

What do you think ATS?
What should be done in this situation? Should we protest their protest? Should we be nasty to them? Should we try to reason with them?

*Note: They are not only attacking Hunter Army Base, but a Jewish recreation center as well. It's like a double win for them.


Do they have merit?

Do you think they may be in the right?

Discuss

Love,
Izzy

I wouldn't hate them back, they will then know they got under yer skin.. Just laugh at the idiots.


Deebo

reply to post by InertiaZero


Will they be protesting a funeral? I may be able to get there.

reply to post by InertiaZero


i do not agree with them. I think they are wrong, and what they are doing is wrong, but also they have a right to protest.

If you were to protest, against their protest you would just be feeding them. They want people to react to them, thats why they are doing it. If people would just ignore them, and the media stop reporting on them, let them know they are insignificant, maybe they would go away....or maybe they would try harder.....so its a catch 22.

reply to post by InertiaZero


if you feel strongly enough, you should definitely stage a counter-protest, it would do some good to balance out the hatred and ignorance with some tolerance and understanding. as for being hostile or anything further, no way. they are just as american as you or me and deserve their right to free speech and protest. IMHO.

reply to post by Mythos13


I don't protest against them. I help make sure that the grieving family does not see or hear them.

Ask them if they eat shellfish.
If they do protest them hard cause god hate shrimp.

GHS

I live in Savannah too. Hi fellow ATSer! I received an email from the JEA, and it basically said to ignore them. They want confrontation so ignoring them is the best option. I haven't the slightest idea why they have decided on Savannah though. we could find out where they are staying and slit their tires! Whooo hooooo!

i would love to be a pain in the ass to them...go put ping pong balls in there gas tank, bags of crushed up cheetos down there air vents, stink bombs, etc. etc...

reply to post by InertiaZero


I always think Rick Rolling them is awesome.

reply to post by InertiaZero


I think as much of them as I do Bin Laden. He kills people. They demonstrate against the right to bury these people after they have been murdered. All in the name of Religion. This is a perfect example to show how destructive Religion can be. People like this demonstrate how much they don't believe in God or think they are God. They are liars and are no better than parasites hiding behind the Bible. Anybody do what they do and say what they say then blame God. Is a bigger non believer than I am. At least I"m not a hypocrite.

If youre not sure what to do, look how Mississippi handled them a few weeks ago

Westboro isn't new news, where is the conspiracy here?

reply to post by InertiaZero




Owned, respectfully and intelligently.

Peace.

I'm a few hours from there, looks like I will be traveling down there to show them my support.

By support I mean standing in front of them and showing them a full moon with a sign saying God hates people who hate.

Look for me in the papers.

Originally posted by NOTurTypical
Westboro isn't new news, where is the conspiracy here?

I believe there actually IS a conspiracy with WBC and it seems most people are missing it.

I am struggling to convey my thoughts on this because this is obviously a potentially volatile topic, and I am definitely not trying to piss anyone off. Please forgive me if I sound somewhat retarded. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not a christian, and neither am I criticizing gays here, i am only expressing some of my personal observations about what I believe is going on. I am only attempting to explain what I see, so please be patient with me...

I believe everything Westboro Baptist Church does or says actually helps PROMOTE acceptance of homosexuality rather than discourage it (I think WBC is only pretending to discourage it).

The conspiracy, I believe, is to promote the widespread acceptance of gays, and enforce silence upon anyone with an opposite viewpoint. The conspirator's method is to be so abrasive against gays that it causes "normal" christians who might consider criticizing gays to choose silence (or forced "tolerance") instead.

Again, let me clarify, I am not for bashing gays, that is not my point at all. What people do with their own lives is none of my business. What I AM for however is freedom of expression, freedom of speech, etc., and I believe if a person has strong convictions (be it gay, christian, even WBC, or anyone else) they ought to be able to speak about it freely without the "thought police" bashing their face in.

Many christians have been effectively embarrassed into silence over the whole gay thing partly because of the unreasonable, insane rantings of a madman (Fred Phelps) and his weird family, and so now, when "normal" christians politely voice a sincere concern about a lifestyle they generally believe to be unhealthy, the general population at large has been conditioned to condemn them as quacky nuts (just like Fred Phelps). That is the conspiracy.

Some of you probably disagree with me on this, but hopefully you can at least sort of see I have a point. My presupposition here is that WBC is hateful, and conversely, most mainstream christians actually care about gays even if they don't exactly agree with them or approve of their lifestyle.

We live in a world of conflicting viewpoints, and THAT is a wonderful thing, especially if everyone is allowed to freely express their beliefs without fear of repression or persecution. That is my point.

But what if some powerful lobbyist group wanted to silence the irritating hobby horse of a large and powerful group of people (such as the christian church?), what could they do to make them shut up? Well, you can't just tell them to shut up. That would only make them cry all the louder. No, what must be done instead is to make them feel EMBARRASSED for speaking up at all. WBC has helped achieve this.

The insane ranting of the folks at WBC ultimately makes mainstream christians ashamed of themselves for criticizing gays in any way. WBC is exploiting this, and (I'll say it again) THAT is the conspiracy.

It is obvious the folks at WBC are very abrasive, unloving, and horribly self-righteous to the 'nth degree, and I believe they are doing it on purpose, knowing that it will cause many mainstream christians to rethink their own prejudices and adjust their response to the issue of gayness. (again, that's the conspiracy).

Many of you will say that that is a good thing, and I might agree with you, except for the fact that the conspirator's methods only silence people's voices by beating their thoughts into submission to the will (and way of thinking) of the "majority" (and everybody else better shut up)!

That which was formerly regarded as "christian love" (i.e. warning people about the consequences of "sin"), is now regarded as "christian hate", but please don't forget that it is also our freedom of speech which is at stake here. Forget about the whole "gay/anti-gay thing for a moment, and think about freedom of speech. Does anyone care about that anymore?

I think for the Phelps's it is all in the delivery. WBC delivers hate. They spew hatred. Now, because of the actions of WBC, when some of the more mainstream conservatives and evangelicals wish to talk about the issue of homosexuality in context with what they believe about the bible, they are wrongfully lumped in with WBC as hateful. THAT is the conspiracy.

Let me say this again, I am definitely not sympathetic to christianity, and i'm not anti-gay either, I am just telling you what I see happening. This is just my opinion.

Because of Westboro Baptist Church, many "normal" mainstream christians have been put into a position of a sort of forced tolerance/silence (and that is the conspiracy).

I believe WBC is NOT really working against gays at all, I believe they are covertly working FOR them.

That is what I see as a conspiracy, but, since so many people actually seem to want exactly what the conspiracy is pushing for, then I guess the question I should ask myself is, is it really a conspiracy?

Am I making any sense?

I don't think they are about "hate" I think they are about MONEY. They deliberately try to anger people, then get upset with them, into a fight, so they can get punched. Then they can SUE.

That's all that's going on here. It's not "hate." It's manipulation and sleazy greed.

And I hate to say this, but if you allow yourself to get all worked up and self-righteous about them you are just falling for their "troll." They actually want negative attention, not positive, because it increases the chances for lawsuits. You are being a sucker, a rube, pulled in by the crooked carnival wheel if you think a "righteous protest" or "speaking out against hate" or any of that stuff means anything but more chances to line their pockets. They LOVE the people who oppose them -- there would be no gravy train without the rubes!

So ignore them. In life as online, don't feed the trolls.

I've never understood why they irk people so much. Sure, I don't appreciate their disrespectful behavior, but all they do is hold up sings with 3-5 word phrases. It's SO easy to ignore them...and by ignoring them, you are dis-empowering them. I think it's very telling how insanely politically correct our society has become...there is never this much outrage over any rapist, child molester, or serial killer. But if you dare to insult homosexuals, you better be ready to catch hell.

Originally posted by HarmonicNights
I've never understood why they irk people so much. Sure, I don't appreciate their disrespectful behavior, but all they do is hold up sings with 3-5 word phrases. It's SO easy to ignore them...and by ignoring them, you are dis-empowering them. I think it's very telling how insanely politically correct our society has become...there is never this much outrage over any rapist, child molester, or serial killer. But if you dare to insult homosexuals, you better be ready to catch hell.

Well hating gays is their most frequent speech, these people just hate everything other then themselves, i seriously dont know what would make them happy other then more torment suffered by others. If you have watched a few of their leaders, Shirley Phelps im sure you can relate to alot of people not liking this vile woman.
Having said that, the media gives them way too much attention and that only gains more attention for them and perpetuate the vile message that everyone is starting to love to hate. Lets just blink these people out of existence all together.

reply to post by topherman420


I have watched many documentaries and interviews with the people of WBC. My point is they seem to cause angry uprisings from people much more than dangerous people such as child molesters and serial killers.