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I wonder where some people get the nerve. These "chosen elect" are supposedly protesting where I work on sunday ('where' being a military base.) For those not in the know, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a fundamentalist offshoot of a traditional baptist church that believes that God is punishing America for allowing homosexuals, Jews, Catholics, Europeans, Mexicans, and whatever they are currently ticked-off at, to exist. Now, I'm all for freedom of speech. I might not like what you have to say, but I'll defend your right to say it. What really puts my panties in a bunch is when they started to protest at military funerals. I mean, seriously. What the frack!? Do they have nothing better to do then pour salt in the grieving family members' wounds, whose sons or daughters gave their lives defending the very ideals of this country. It seriously ticks me off. What are your guy's thoughts on this?

deviledhotdog said I wonder where some people get the nerve. These "chosen elect" are supposedly protesting where I work on sunday ('where' being a military base.) For those not in the know, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a fundamentalist offshoot of a traditional baptist church that believes that God is punishing America for allowing homosexuals, Jews, Catholics, Europeans, Mexicans, and whatever they are currently ticked-off at, to exist. Now, I'm all for freedom of speech. I might not like what you have to say, but I'll defend your right to say it. What really puts my panties in a bunch is when they started to protest at military funerals. I mean, seriously. What the frack!? Do they have nothing better to do then pour salt in the grieving family members' wounds, whose sons or daughters gave their lives defending the very ideals of this country. It seriously ticks me off. What are your guy's thoughts on this?

These people are serious "whack jobs" and need to be on better meds. I understand and agree with your moral outrage....these are also the same nuts that protested at Matthew Shepherd's furneral, and Barry Winchell's funeral and any number of military funerals. At what point does their right and freedom of expression become an intrusion into my and your privacy or just an obscenity?

Fred Phelps has a right as an American to free speech. I applaud his efforts. Few people have so single-handedly advanced the cause of gays than him.

With him in the mix, always poisoning, always challenging, WE become smarter, stronger, more unified.

They often say of people who've died for a cause: they were martyrs. Fred is elevating anyone who's ever died gay to martyrdom. This is the opposite of his intent.

I believe the day will come when America truly loves gays, and will muffle Fred with indifference. He will die lonely and afraid, a failure.

I agree that whether we like his message or not, he does have the right to say what he likes. I think the tactics his group uses only serves to highlight his particular flavor of fanaticism. Citizens in the mainstream who may be indifferent to gay causes but are for obvious reasons reasonably patriotic are insulted by his protests at the funerals of American soldiers and this serves to keep him on the radical fringe of the religious mainstream. The only part that chaps my buns is that his Westboro 'Baptist' Church is marring the image of the church as God intends it to be. God's people are not intended to be intolerant hate-filled bigots and his actions detract from the real purpose. If he's hurting anyone/anything its the religious segment of society.

Interesting perspective though on how he is actually advances gay causes, I hadn't thought about it that way before...

I saw this BBC documentary that mentioned these people just a few days ago! The one thing that really gets to me isn't that Phelp's believers are total morons, but they have so many children. And these children are brainwashed with their ideas and never know any better, nor do they want to. Made me so sad to see their kids at the pickets, saying no to fags and dykes without even knowing what these words mean.

Freedom of speech and rallying a cause or creating a reaction might be great, but in situations like these, the price is pretty hefty.

I used to try and contact the families for the funerals they were going to protest at and warn them.

i disdainfully look at this group and just think of how nice it would be to have population control. just put them on an isolated island or just do away with them, sure its not the most practical, or logical thing, but it would be solving the problem to some degree.

i hate the stupid signs too, and i even went to their website or something and watched their little videos they have about different topics. Its rather sad, but while they're wasting their time with all that, we have more important things to do.