Comments on: Rutgers University students unite against Westboro Baptist Church

By: sweaters

sweaters — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:40:53 +0000

They are almost entirely funded by provoking people into physical confrontations or pushing the limits of civility to the point where local officials/police restrict their activities.

Settlements from the resulting civil liberty lawsuits are what keeps them in business.

They are aware, that it’s often vastly less costly for municipalities to settle a civil suit than litigate it. Even if the municipality were to prevail, in the end it’d cost huge amounts in legal fees.

By: sweaters

sweaters — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:34:34 +0000

When this group visited Key West earlier this year, we did the worst thing possible to them… we completely ignored them.

No counter-demonstrations, no press coverage, no blaring horns… absolutely nothing.

After a little bit, they just packed-up and left because nobody was paying them any attention.

By: FlaGuy954

FlaGuy954 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 20:21:07 +0000

Where does Fred Phelps and company get the funds to travel all over the US? Does he have a job somewhere? The IRS should look into his funding sources. If he uses “church” funds for his personal expenses, he had better file a 1040!

By: Al Jersey

Al Jersey — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:39:12 +0000

I agree with Jay, we are lucky that these loonies are the face of our enemies (as well as the ones in this yahoo story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091028/ap_on_re/us_rel_religion_today)
The sooner people realize that we decent folks are ALL on the same side against hate, the better.

By: vickif

vickif — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:17:51 +0000

It makes me laugh when these people protest against Jewish people. I guess they forget that Jesus was a Jew and not Christian. The Phelps family was laughed out of Chicago when they came to the University of Illinois Chicago campus to protest.

By: Jay

Jay — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:04:47 +0000

I disagree with the recommendation that the Westboro folk should be ignored. They are not important in and of themselves. However, they are supported by a lot of people. How else could they go across the country doing what they do? Moreover, it is good to have them as the face of our enemies. Although they say it in an in-your-face and ugly way, what they believe is not so different from what Southern Baptists and other conservative Christians believe. The difference between these kooks and the average person in the pew of a Southern Baptist church is merely a matter of degree.

By: Alex_Parrish

Alex_Parrish — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:53:03 +0000

While I think the activities of the Rutgers students in opposition to the Phelpsites is commendable, by your reporting on this the bigots have won again. The primary goal of the Phelpsites is ‘attention’ and as long as we keep reporting their activities they get what they want. It is time to simply stop reporting on their activities; freeze them out. I realize this also means not reporting about those who stand in opposition to the haters, but this is the only way to deny them the publicity the crave. Just don’t write it — don’t talk about them and encourage others to ignore them. If we do this they WILL go away.

By: ljrhodes

ljrhodes — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:40:43 +0000

A group of five of them (and not one of them was Fred, himself, I might add…it seems he’s too lazy to get off his Reverend-Kane-from-Poltergeist-looking ass to help his minions do his bidding) came to the campus of the university at which I work two Mondays ago. They decided to drop by here, I guess to protest education, after they protested the existence of Jews at the local Jewish Federation offices.

There was much discussion about how to respond, and we ultimately decided not to give them any media coverage, or even to launch a counter-protest. If people would ignore them, they’d either go away, or they’d ramp up their shenanigans to such a feverish pitch that they’d simply self-destruct.

Unfortunately, the local Fox news station decided to cover their visit (is anyone surprised by that?), but our local NPR station and other television stations refused to make even a mention of it. But, all in all, it turned out to be a nonevent, so I doubt they’ll bother returning.

If there were a god, I’d thank him/her/it for that. But, seeing as how people like the Phelps clan are allowed to exist, either there is no god, or that god isn’t worthy of being worshipped in the first place. How ’bout you protest that, Fred?