Mississippi town pwns Westboro Baptist Church protest.

[SouthtownKid]

or protest THEIR funerals.

I wish they'd hurry up and start having some of their funerals.

That doesn't mean we have to listen.

Of course you don't have to listen. They haven't shown up at the funeral of one of your friends or family members. So not listening is no trouble. All you have to do is change the channel, and the problem is solved for you.


I know lithy is right about this. I know. But I just can't seem to care in this case. I know that's wrong and I understand why. But hey, I'm human.

 

[ForeverSublime]

Back up a bit: what do they protest?

The existence of funerals? That is a protest.

That their religion answers the cause of these deaths? That is not a protest, and therefore shouldn't have those protections.

Furthermore, from the signs and quotes I've read it seems their statements are directed at dead people. You can't protest against the dead, and the dead certainly can't change their course of action in response.

 

[K_K]

Not really, just that people will accept a few broken laws whenever it agrees with their own ideals. This sort of selective participation in a country of laws is, quite frankly, despicable.

bending a few rules to maintain common sense, dignity, and give a soldier a proper burial is more than okay in my book.

and i'm sure they'll set up whichever lawyers they send against a descendent of george wallace. they'll end up beaten and lynched in the woods and they'll look the other way. its how they roll in the south. if you want a murder to be swept under the rug mississippi is the place to go.

 

[SPINMASTER X]

LOL some of you really don't get how Mississippi rolls. This state gets away with injustice like no other.

Mississippi was the last state to ratify the 13th amendment ending slavery, and guess when that was. 1995, yes you read it right, 1995, 6 years before the 21st century. How the fuck do you get away with some shit like that for so long? Only Mississippi.

This is the most terrible state in the nation and will continue to be for an eternity and the rest of America won't be able to stop it.

I still won't put this terrible place as my location but I'm proud of this little assbackwards state cuz the good ol' boys came to the rescue for once.

 

[Takumaji]

Phelps and his gang shouldn't be allowed to disturb funerals of soldiers. I mean, they're protesting against what, the "sin" of being a soldier who got killed by god as a punishment for homosexuality?!? That's not a proper reason for protest but the drooling rambling of a madman which shouldn't be protected by the US law, or any law for that matter.

Letting dishonorable bullshit like that pass has nothing to do with democracy, IMO it's more a sign of weakness and apathy.

 

[NeoTheranthrope]

Fred Phelps isn't just a IRL troll, intentionally trying to piss people off for the hell of it; he's a professional troll. He's trolling to make money. He's a conman of the lowest-class, and the Westboro Baptist "Church" in it's entirety, is a scam. The Westboro Baptist "Church" is not a religious organization, it is a litigious organization, that merely pretends to be a church for tax purposes.

It exists for no other reason than to sue people. It abuses the court system via vexatious litigation, and makes a mockery of even the idea of legal redress, purely for the sake of profit.

Protip: Every member of his family (I.E. the entirety of his "Church") is an attorney, and he was too, until he was eventually disbarred.


Also I'll leave this here:

These pics were from when Phelps' mob was being counter-protested by nerds at San Diego Comic Con. Phelps won't be be going back to Comic Con because the nerds shorted-circuited his hate with humor. They were doing it right. They won.

There's something important to understand about the American 1st Amendment, and with trolls like Phelps, who deliberately abuse free speech for his own purposes: the best course of action is not to limit his speech, but to fight his speech with MORE speech.

Banning speech or resorting to dirty tricks, like in this case, is emotionally satisfying, but in doing so, you feed the troll, and when you feed the troll: it wins

...and in Phelps' case, when the troll wins, it wins in court.

 

[Rot]

.....I watched.......

The follow up to Louis Theroux program about the Phelps family and the Westboro church....

I have to agree... they're mad as fuck....

There's freedom of speech... but hell... there's also common decency and respect to people who die for your country....

xROTx

PS. You Americans are weird....

 

[NeoTheranthrope]

The follow up to Louis Theroux program about the Phelps family and the Westboro church....

I have to agree... they're mad as fuck....

There's freedom of speech... but hell... there's also common decency and respect to people who die for your country....

xROTx

PS. You Americans are weird....

"I'LL SUE YOU! I'LL SUE YOU IN ENGLAND!​

 

[Takumaji]

Of course Phelps should be free to say what and he wants but crashing soldier funerals has nothing to do with free speech, it's a fucking shame that seems intolerable to me. If he did that to a member of my family I'd nail his balls to a tree.

 

[Decepticon]

LOL some of you really don't get how Mississippi rolls. This state gets away with injustice like no other.

Mississippi was the last state to ratify the 13th amendment ending slavery, and guess when that was. 1995, yes you read it right, 1995, 6 years before the 21st century. How the fuck do you get away with some shit like that for so long? Only Mississippi.

This is the most terrible state in the nation and will continue to be for an eternity and the rest of America won't be able to stop it.

I still won't put this terrible place as my location but I'm proud of this little assbackwards state cuz the good ol' boys came to the rescue for once.

Some people seem to not know that any litigation will take place in Mississippi, where a Mississippi judge will hear the case and dismiss all charges or make WBC pay some legal fee to the county.

I acknowledge their rights were violated, but their rights are a bastardization of the first amendment. I condone what took place and hope more places stand up for these fallen soldiers and their families.

Mississippi has long had it's own laws that don't seem to fit into the rest of the country's rules. How many cops went without charges for killing black people in the 50's and 60's?

To this day there are unsolved and uninvestigated murders happening weekly that are suspected to take place by law enforcement agents even here on the more civil coast.

 

[Lagduf]

Of course Phelps should be free to say what and he wants but crashing soldier funerals has nothing to do with free speech, it's a fucking shame that seems intolerable to me. If he did that to a member of my family I'd nail his balls to a tree.

They don't "crash" funerals anymore. They have to stay on public property which is usually on the sidewalk outside the cemetery IIRC.

Free speech is any speech that doesn't incite harm or interfere with another person's right.

 

[Decepticon]

Free speech is any speech that doesn't incite harm

If that's true then Phelps mouth should be swen shut

 

[SPINMASTER X]

They don't "crash" funerals anymore. They have to stay on public property which is usually on the sidewalk outside the cemetery IIRC.

Free speech is any speech that doesn't incite harm

 

[Lagduf]

If that's true then Phelps mouth should be swen shut

What physical injury has he caused?

 

[lithy]

Spins, they do everything to the letter of the law. They have never trespassed or verbally attacked specific individuals. This is their strategy.

Continue to support this sort of retaliation if you want, it only helps their cause.

 

[terry.330]

I understand why the Phelpseses are allowed to do and say what they do. Problem is they hide behind the law while still being able to spout the most deplorable things, to the point that even most neonazis and adamant anti abortionists would feel that they crossed the line.

They have the right sure. They take advantage of the right. They are scam artists plain and simple.

No one should be defending them, even based on the fact that they are exercising their right.

These people are sub shit.

This is the kind of behavior that the "modern" America breeds, spineless hate mongers all too eager to hide behind the bill of rights and constitution while flinging shit and provoking people.

Doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed, also doesn't mean that someone shouldn't tie them all up and burn them alive for the good of the country.

You provoke people to the point of action only to then hide behind rights only to serve yourself and emerge demanding compensation for a violation of said rights puts you one step below a leech. To make that you and your families business is really just taking advantage of a system that has was initially setup to protect people who couldn't stand up for themselves.

The Phelps are laughing at this country while sucking it's tit for all it's worth.

 

[SonGohan]

So people are going to complain about DUI checkpoints, but argue for the rights of people whose goal is solely to attack grieving family members. Really.

ForeverSublime has the best post in this thread thus far:

Consider that what is lawful or unlawful is also an ideology of a group of people.

 

[abasuto]

I hate everything the Westboro nutjobs have to say, but I defend their right to say it.

 

[Adderall]

I'm more in the camp of "just ignore them"....

if everyone at the funeral just walked by them and gave them thumbs up and sarcastically said "good job dudes"... then went on with their funeral and ignored them, do you really think they would feel like they were accomplishing anything? as it's been pointed out before, they are just looking for the reaction.

let them do whatever they want within the law. it's not even worth a 3+ page thread really..

My girlfriend volunteers every weekend at the womans health clinic and helps escort girls to and from their cars while the people yell mean things at them. Her and the rest of the volunteers just try to be humorous or sarcastic when dealing with these nut jobs. it works better than getting angry.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I'm more in the camp of "just ignore them"....

if everyone at the funeral just walked by them and gave them thumbs up and sarcastically said "good job dudes"...

Congratulations on not having lost anyone you cared about yet. When it eventually happens, I guess we'll see how much you are in a mood to joke around about it or take the high ground and ignore people. Not that you're likely to have to deal with these people when that day comes.

 

[Segata_Sanshiro]

Fred Phelps just says shit to get famous

In fact it's pretty easy to get on TV. At some point I'm gonna host a Qu'ran/Bible/Torah burning and get on CNN like that redneck in Florida

 

[Lagduf]

So people are going to complain about DUI checkpoints, but argue for the 1ST AMENDMENT

Yes.

Freedom isn't always a beautiful thing.

 

[SonGohan]

Yes.

Freedom isn't always a beautiful thing.

I didn't know you were so in love with the guys. You should stand with them and argue their first amendment rights at the next funeral whenever people become hostile toward them.

"Hey guys, calm down. This is perfectly legal. Ever hear of the first amendment? It's cool, guys."

 

[LoneSage]

slippery slope

 

[Adderall]

Congratulations on not having lost anyone you cared about yet. When it eventually happens, I guess we'll see how much you are in a mood to joke around about it or take the high ground and ignore people. Not that you're likely to have to deal with these people when that day comes.

I have lost immediate family as well as close friends both in situations that were not natural causes. I can guarantee you that the mood I was in would still allow me to think clear enough to not be bothered by idiots.

thumbs up! cool dude! you sure know about feelings and people from reading a post!

I guess we see that I'm a better person than you.