Westboro Babtist Church Tries to Disrupt Marine's Funeral & Gets Owned!!

This just made my day. I'm all for having the right to openly speak your mind, protest, etc. but I just cannot support the motives and ideology of the WBC.

Anyway, here's what happened:

On Saturday USMC Staff Sgt. Jason Rogers, who was killed in action in Afghanistan April 7, was buried in Brandon, Mississippi.

That, by itself, is a sadly unremarkable – though certainly noteworthy and solemn – occasion for us to mark.

And in fact when Sgt. Rogers’ body returned to Brandon it was greeted by hundreds, or perhaps even thousands, of well-wishers who gathered at the roadside to honor the fallen American hero. The dashboard camera from Mississippi state trooper Elmo Townsend’s cruiser gives an indication of the scene last Thursday.

What is most notable about Sgt. Rogers’ funeral in Brandon, however, is what didn’t happen.

You see, the troglodytes from Westboro Baptist Church had threatened to spew their poison at Sgt. Rogers’ funeral.

But the Westboro mob wasn’t on the scene, and Sgt. Rogers was laid to rest without incident – thank God.

Why weren’t there protestors?

Planning ahead by the locals, as it turns out.

From an Ole Miss sports message board, a tidbit of information…

A couple of days before, one of them (Westboro protestors) ran his mouth at a Brandon gas station and got his arse waxed. Police were called and the beaten man could not give much of a description of who beat him. When they canvassed the station and spoke to the large crowd that had gathered around, no one seemed to remember anything about what had happened.

Rankin County handled this thing perfectly. There were many things that were put into place that most will never know about and at great expense to the county.

Most of the morons never made it out of their hotel parking lot. It seems that certain Rankin county pickup trucks were parked directly behind any car that had Kansas plates in the hotel parking lot and the drivers mysteriously disappeared until after the funeral was over. Police were called but their wrecker service was running behind and it was going to be a few hours before they could tow the trucks so the Kansas plated cars could get out.

A few made it to the funeral but were ushered away to be questioned about a crime they might have possibly been involved in. Turns out, after a few hours of questioning, that they were not involved and they were allowed to go on about their business.

Fred Phelps, the disbarred lawyer and Democrat activist who leads the Westboro congregation, will undoubtedly pursue some form of legal action for the way his people were thwarted in Brandon. Let him try. There isn’t a jury in Mississippi which will see things his way.

This is a template for how to handle the Westboro people. If lawsuits don’t work, other means will. Whatever it takes to keep them from harassing bereaved military families on the day their fallen loved ones are laid to rest.

Here's the link to the original article but it has been overwhelmed with traffic and is hard to access:

thehayride.com...

reply to post by buskey


You have no idea how satisfying it is to hear that.

I don't laugh at mentally retarded people but, WBC is at the bottom of the bottom. They came to Luzerne County,PA and did the same thing. They are going to get shot one of these days. Free speech is limited. People do not realize that. You can not go around and call a black person a "n....." or a jewish person a "k..." I know this is kinda off top but, I'm showing out freedom of speech is misunderstood. I am a former US Army Veteran and I hate this kinda stuff. Let the dead rest.

reply to post by buskey


This is the best news I have heard all day. WBC was scheduled to come to my town a few months back, and the word got out quickly in my community. The morning of the funeral, thousands of people lined the streets to greet the family and the body of the fallen soldier. Turns out that WBC had indeed shown up, but when they found out how many people were there, they turned tail and got back on the highway. They never even left the hotel that they were staying at.


Thanks for the uplifting news. It's good to see that, at least in some parts of the country, ignorance is being denied.




Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

reply to post by buskey


I dunno.. It's a scary precedent the authorities are setting here. Don't get me wrong I don't agree with anything the Westboro people say, but they should have the right to say it. Perhaps the police were trying to avoid any more beatings.It's not right, but if you are going to say hateful things, you should expect violent repercussions.

Glad that so many of you agree, thanks for the flags, would like to see this one stay at the top for all to see for a while!

reply to post by buskey


Outstanding! I hope more people in more cities take the the same approach. "Owning" these deplorable, vile people is the only way to stop them.

While the story is funny, just remember, if a police department/local government can conspire to violate the civil liberties of a group you dislike, they can do the same to you.

reply to post by ViperChili


That's exactly the point I was trying to make... you just did a much better job of it.. =)

Originally posted by Buddha1098
reply to post by buskey

 

I dunno.. It's a scary precedent the authorities are setting here. Don't get me wrong I don't agree with anything the Westboro people say, but they should have the right to say it. Perhaps the police were trying to avoid any more beatings.It's not right, but if you are going to say hateful things, you should expect violent repercussions.

I do agree that it's a scary precedent to set. When it comes to free speech, how far does it extend? Obviously you cannot yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater. That's law. However, when it comes to hateful speech, where does the extent of the law go? Obviously we have protections on minorities for hate crimes. Then again, these hate crimes also involve physical action: burning crosses, property damage, beatings, and even death.

Does the speech of the WBC fall under this jurisdiction? It's a razor thin edge. However, I think they are smarter than some people give them credit for. They know just how far to go to not get arrested. They are truly living, breathing internet trolls in real life. I think using passive resistance is the best course of action. Ignoring them will not give them the "rise" that they so look to cause at all of these events. They are just waiting to file a lawsuit to put more money in their coffers of hate.

While I am thankful that the citizens in this community took a proactive stance (minus the beating of the church member), free speech needs to be protected, even if we absolutely despise what the "other guy" is saying.




Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

reply to post by truthseeker1984


If you think about it, WBC has a pretty good racket going.

Say some of the most hateful things you can think of, get assaulted or have your first amendment rights violated, sue, profit!

The target selection is pretty prime as well.

I freakin' love it! Definitely the best news I read about all day. And I completely condone the behavior of all those who thwarted the Westboro Baptist Church (non-violent and effective).

But as a few others have said, with the police getting involved, it allows one to question why exercising the power given to them in this manner is okay this time, but if I ever got held up by police for involvement in a crime that I never committed while on my way to, let's say a WTO protest, I would be screaming as loud as I could about how the police abused their authority. So what does that say? Does that make me a hypocrite? I guess so...

Free speech cannot be limited as it is free, but the consequences of words have a blank check.

Originally posted by kitkatcat
reply to post by buskey

 

You have no idea how satisfying it is to hear that.

ya so wish we had a vid lol the press these guys have been getting has been nothing short of a full on psy op imo

reply to post by buskey


Great post! You just made my week! It doesn't matter to me that the "rights" of those SOBs may have been violated. As far as I am concerned they intentionally violate one's RIGHT to "rest in peace".

They wanted attention... they got attention. Good for them!

See ya,
Milt

Originally posted by ViperChili
reply to post by truthseeker1984

 

If you think about it, WBC has a pretty good racket going.

Say some of the most hateful things you can think of, get assaulted or have your first amendment rights violated, sue, profit!

The target selection is pretty prime as well.

Oh, I absolutely agree.

Step 1: Protest a military funeral.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: PROFIT!

It's happened before, and it will happen again. These people know exactly what they are doing and how to do it effectively. However, even if their ways are vile, it's still legal, and is protected (I think) under the First Amendment. They might be abusing the Constitution to their own ends, but in the end, it's still legal.

It's irritating, but we must abide by it, if we honor what the Constitution has done for this country.



Peace be with you.

-truthseeker

I think this was well thought out by the people of the town.

The police were not involved as far as I can tell. A few double parked cars is not a big crime so I wouldn't expect a big police turnout for it.

This can be used as a model for future events planned by the morons from WBC

I despise the WBC and everything that they stand for. But keep in mind that this is not an example of civil disobedience. This is an example of a tyrannical government conspiracy. We don't need the 1st amendment to protect popular speech. The 1st amendment is there to protect unpopular speech. As much as I detest their message, I think it is within the 1st amendment.

A better path may be local laws to restrict demonstrations within x feet of funeral services. I know some communities have done this but I don't know the legal status of these statutes.

Click here for more information.

True americans those mississippians...great thread thanks for the share made my day in every way S&F