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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 15323
[Civil]
Date Posted:
4/17/2006
10:46:36 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 9,395
RSS: 18,708
Comments: 30
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Behind Their Hate, A Constitutional Debate
Author: Josh Belzman Source: MSNBC
Title: BEHIND THEIR HATE, A CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE
For disciples of the Westboro Baptist Church, the Bible and free speech go hand-in-hand.
Proclaiming “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers,” the small band of evangelicals from Topeka, Kan., has ignited a firestorm by spreading its gospel of damnation at the funerals of AIDS victims and slain soldiers.
Calling the protests an affront to grieving families, lawmakers in dozens of states are seeking new anti-picketing regulations.
Westboro has challenged such efforts before, forcing changes to Kansas laws and collecting more than $200,000 in legal fees. Faced with a growing backlash, Westboro may be headed back to court.
It’s familiar territory for the church and its leader.
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Community Thoughts: There are 30 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| *** | Apr 19th. at 9:03:22 am EDT
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Mahealani (Naples, Kansas) - Email Me
If he could put half the energy he has spreading hate into teaching tolerence...
ahhh, nevermind, those words are lost on him.
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| I Might've Mentioned This... | Apr 18th. at 5:07:37 pm EDT
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Eran Rathan (Old Town, Maine) - Email Me
but isn't disrupting a funeral considered 'disturbing the peace'? or perhaps, 'drunk and disorderly'? And to make things more interesting, cite him for abuse (name calling is considered verbal abuse) , incitement to violence, and parading without a permit.
And, once arrested for such, ask the judge for leniency: he (and the rest of his trolls) should be forced to do public service. Like pick up garbage, plant trees, dig sitches, etc.
Its win-win. The funeral is not disrupted, he can't argue that its about freedom of expression, and the enviroment gets cleaned up a bit. So, i guess there is a use for the man after all (and not just as fertilizer) .
in Service,
Eran Rathan
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| I Think I Need A Shower | Apr 18th. at 4:37:29 pm EDT
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Erihu (Sunset Beach, North Carolina) - Email Me
I don't know why, morbid curiosity I suppose, but I just watched that video. It was atrochious. These people are truly sick, and they should not be allowed within 500 feet. Call it a 'free speech zone', I don't care. If they can do that for war protests, they can demand it for these !@#$%^&. Excuse me while I go puke, then get that shower.
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| Worries | Apr 18th. at 1:55:50 pm EDT
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Lea (Cedar Park, Texas) - Email Me
What truly worries me is not this man and his people who openly and brazenly spout their opinions, no; it is those who secretly feel the same way and yet keep it tucked away some place inside their souls.
Most christian churches feel the same about Gays but they do not stand on the street with signs. Instead they are allowed to continue teaching young people the nonsense that they do, parents drag their children to church and brainwash them in their own image.
This saddens me to tears... free will is something given them and they quickly allow it taken away.
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| Judged- And Found Wanting. | Apr 18th. at 12:18:24 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
Mr. Phelps is beyond help. And while I must defend his right to exude his sordid and excremental philosophy, I would also defend my own right not to have him march over the graves of my relatives or friends and villify them for his own gain, which is what he is seeking. Perhaps he hopes to become a martyr for his own cause- to sit among the elect as a judge over mankind.
He may be able to quote his bible with the accuracy of a computer, but he hardly follows any of its tenets. one in particular, "Judge not. Lest Ye be judged."
Countersueing would be one way to get the message across, since laws enacted against him and his group might, in time, prove detrimental to others, not of his ilk.
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| God's Punishment | Apr 18th. at 10:33:53 am EDT
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Trickster (Kokopeli's Town, Texas) - Email Me
"...God’s punishment for a country that tolerates gays"
Maybe it's God's punishment for a country that tolerates Phelps.
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| Hey Now, Be Nice | Apr 18th. at 12:17:14 am EDT
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FireOak (Otis, Oregon) - Email Me
You don't have to like the guy, or even suport him. But name calling is not nice. I don't want to be called names. Do you? There are better ways to state your opinion.
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| Such A Thing As Abuse Of Rights.... | Apr 17th. at 8:03:10 pm EDT
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Jeanne Lisbet (Calgary, Alberta) - Email Me
Free speech ends when libel and harrassment begin. This jackass has some serious karma headed his way - but then, I think ppl like him just kinda like being hated, y'know? Like some kind of sick validation.
When my temper cools down and I really just think about it, he's pretty pathetic; it must suck to be a miserable b@$tard like him - or anyone living with him.
(Think about it: happy people don't picket funerals.)
Anyhoo, to Titania from NY: I think the source you're thinking of is a website called Addicted to Hate (link below) and if I remember correctly it was reporters from a Kansas (?) newspaper who wrote it with the intention of publishing it, but -guess what- it's stuck in litigation limbo, as apparently the subjects interviewed objected to their portrayal. Go figure.
Blessed BE!
(And don't let this jackass get you down! We stand together, we're stronger than the bigots. Our 'Family' might not always be on the same page, but at least we're not as dysfunctional as the Phelps'.)
JL
Find More info -- HERE
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| I THINK.... | Apr 17th. at 5:41:59 pm EDT
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Whitewolf (Schenectady, New York) - Email Me
This Phelps guy is seriously mental !!!! Has nobody on the outside ever considered having him investigated and possibly committed????
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| Free Speech I Will Defend..... | Apr 17th. at 3:39:17 pm EDT
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Richard Brownbear (North Wilkesboro, North Carolina) - Email Me
.....in it's proper place and time!
When Bush travels, the police always makes sure thay are somewhere out of site, I mean look at what happened at his ranch in Texas. And these guys can't be treated the same?
Let them rant and rave all they want, write books, editorials, etc., as long as it's not within eyesight or earshot of the families or near the funeral.
We should give more credit to the average person who sees these hate-mongers in the same light as you, and are just as disgusted, and I feel sure we are in the majority.
Being a veteran, and have attended more than one funeral of guys I loved more than brothers, I would have a very difficult time, ...a very, very difficult time.....not doing the Westboro Church a national service by culling a few of their herd should they show up at one I was at.
I would have to remind myself constantly that to do so, would be playing the game by their rules, and they would win by default.
I haven't always felt this way, but someone recently helped me see things differently.
A nod and thanks to Finn.
So let them spit their vile horrid words all they want. The people who count and actually make a difference have the brains to ignore them.
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| Lovely | Apr 17th. at 3:03:19 pm EDT
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R. Cicero (Seattle, Washington) - Email Me
Well, so much for the sanctity of law. But look out for the law of the jungle. That is dangerous business, making harsh comments about the dead in front of their families. Our prison system is full of hard-assed people with little regard for the law, so I imagine sooner or later Phelps and company will meet persons more caustic and serious than themselves.
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| A Sad Life Being Born Into This "church" | Apr 17th. at 1:18:04 pm EDT
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Titania (Smallville, New York) - Email Me
I cannot remember the source (I believe it came through the Nest as a link in a comment) of an in-depth expose on Fred Phelps. The writer tells about his time spent with the "good reverend" and how he was (is) abusive to his family and addicted to drugs. It was frightening to hear about how he beat and intimidated his kids into submission. I think possibly worse than the beatings was the belief his children had (still must have) that he could simply write a letter that would evict them from the church and the kingdom of heaven. The reason why no one has intervened with the children is that the family is so litigious and knows the legal system so well, that no one would dare go up against them for fear of being sued in civil court. The guy is just plain sick--sick and wrong as my daughter would say.
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| These People Are Disturbed ... | Apr 17th. at 11:56:07 am EDT
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Cheryl Grant (Oakville, Ontario) - Email Me
and they are raising their children with these beliefs. I feel sorry for the littlest victims of the Westboro Baptist Church ... their own children!
Johnny and Sally down the street get to play, ride their bikes, play games and be kids, but Phelps' grandkids get to picket soldiers funerals and tell people that they are damned and going to hell.
I feel incredibly sad for these kids.
I'm willing to bet that the only reason they haven't been removed from their homes by child protective services is that all their aunts and uncles are lawyers.
You have to give Phelps credit where it is due ... he knew that knowing how to wield the law and bend it to your will was the only way to get what you want and he strong armed his kids into being lawyers to that end.
He's a mad genius.
C.
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