Westboro Church - Legitimate Targets?

[Mindtoaster]

I'm sure most of you have heard of these people or seen them before. They are a notorious right-wing church known for picketing the funerals of homosexual people and soldiers who they beleive are fighting for a "fag nation".

"The church runs numerous websites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com and others expressing condemnation of homosexuality, catholics, Muslims and Jews, as well as populations it believes are supporting the aforementioned groups, including Chineese, Swedes, Canadians, Irish, British, and Americans" - Wikipedia

They openly call for homosexuality to be a crime punishable by execution, and push for a strict authoritarian christian theocracy in America; they are fascists in the plainest definition of the word. I can specifically remember them proclaiming that Rosa Parks and Coretta Scot King were burning in hell for bringing equality to "Shit eating niggers". Another example was the picketing of Mathew Shepard's funeral. Matthew was a gay adolescent who was beaten to death and tied to a fence for his sexuality. At his funeral they waved signs at his parents proclaiming "AIDS cures fags" and declaring Matthew's murders to be martyrs. Thats just a couple exmaples of what they have done.

Not once, have I heard Antifascists debate over whether or not we should target this groups marches and gatherings. We are used to targetting bonehead neo-nazis, but I beleive attacking these people would be just as justified. It would also be easy, as the wide majority of Americans on the left and right despise this group for the pickiting they have done at soldier's funerals. The police would most likely turn their backs at any strikes we could make against them.

Fred Phelps, the churges leaders response to the Myanmar Cyclone victims: "That's right, slant-eyed bastards, God hates you and your false gods."

Certainly my favorite quote by WBC was the one directed at my hometown: "New Orleans, symbol of America, seen for what it is: a putrid, toxic, stinking cesspool of fag fecal matter. [...] Pray for more dead bodies floating on the fag-semen-rancid waters of New Orleans.""

Sorry I can't post videos or links, my postcount apparently restricts me =/

[welshboy]

Having watched quite a few news reports of the WBC I kinda wish we had a group like them over here in blighty. They're small enough to be no real threat to anyone and would be great fun (http://youtube.com/watch?v=iT7xQJrqUQ8) to fuck (http://youtube.com/watch?v=S8cN2pB3MCE) with (http://youtube.com/watch?v=2Y0bhlK0K6Q).

[Pirate turtle the 11th]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ra_fAYl4Th4&feature=related

yeah i think they are legit targets and something needs to be done.

There biggest threat are some flag waving biker people.

[Bastable]

Not once, have I heard Antifascists debate over whether or not we should target this groups marches and gatherings.
=/

I didn't know there was a debate!:ohmy:

I always assumed that yes without a doubt they were targets, not just for any fascist leanings...

[thejambo1]

i would say they should be a legit target for all comrades in the united states. not just anti fash ones but anyone really as they are certainly a shower of scum who have no respect for anyone other than their own wee sect.

[EscapeFromSF]

The biggest problem with targeting a fringe element like this is that you give them publicity. For them, any publicity is good publicity.

[Mindtoaster]

The biggest problem with targeting a fringe element like this is that you give them publicity. For them, any publicity is good publicity.

I think in the USA, at least, they're probably as much of a fringe element as the Neo-Nazis are. I do agree with what youre saying, to a degree, how ever. I think their membership increased after Fox "News" brought them on one of their shows to yell at them.

These people have brough much pain and suffering to grieving families across the United States. They were also responsible for picketings after the Virginia Tech shootings. They have done that multiple times with different school. They have a Christo-Fascist (Is that a word?) agenda, and I personally beleive we, as anti-fascists, should counter any protests and marches they have.

[bcbm]

They have been a target of antifa for some years, I dunno where you've been.

[Dimentio]

I'm sure most of you have heard of these people or seen them before. They are a notorious right-wing church known for picketing the funerals of homosexual people and soldiers who they beleive are fighting for a "fag nation".

"The church runs numerous websites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com and others expressing condemnation of homosexuality, catholics, Muslims and Jews, as well as populations it believes are supporting the aforementioned groups, including Chineese, Swedes, Canadians, Irish, British, and Americans" - Wikipedia

They openly call for homosexuality to be a crime punishable by execution, and push for a strict authoritarian christian theocracy in America; they are fascists in the plainest definition of the word. I can specifically remember them proclaiming that Rosa Parks and Coretta Scot King were burning in hell for bringing equality to "Shit eating niggers". Another example was the picketing of Mathew Shepard's funeral. Matthew was a gay adolescent who was beaten to death and tied to a fence for his sexuality. At his funeral they waved signs at his parents proclaiming "AIDS cures fags" and declaring Matthew's murders to be martyrs. Thats just a couple exmaples of what they have done.

Not once, have I heard Antifascists debate over whether or not we should target this groups marches and gatherings. We are used to targetting bonehead neo-nazis, but I beleive attacking these people would be just as justified. It would also be easy, as the wide majority of Americans on the left and right despise this group for the pickiting they have done at soldier's funerals. The police would most likely turn their backs at any strikes we could make against them.

Fred Phelps, the churges leaders response to the Myanmar Cyclone victims: "That's right, slant-eyed bastards, God hates you and your false gods."

Certainly my favorite quote by WBC was the one directed at my hometown: "New Orleans, symbol of America, seen for what it is: a putrid, toxic, stinking cesspool of fag fecal matter. [...] Pray for more dead bodies floating on the fag-semen-rancid waters of New Orleans.""

Sorry I can't post videos or links, my postcount apparently restricts me =/

Bad idea. Phelps wants his followers to be beaten. He is a lawyer, and most of his sons and daughters are that as well. In Topeka, no one dares to confront him, because he suit the shit out of them.

A lot of those doing the picketings are just very small children. I have seen a documentary of what the cult are doing. They are forcing two-year olds to participate in the pickets. And people actually get provoked enough to attack the children.

One seven-year old kid got a stone in his head so he started bleeding. The Phelpses themselves are those who are most victimised by that old pike.

Those children don't understand what they are saying, or what being gay really means. The only thing they are seeing is their parents singing and then get angry comments from passer-bies, broken by occasional physical violence.

Much like Falun Dafa, the Westboro Baptist Church use the amount of rejection they receive from society as a confirmation that their beliefs are correct.

[Mindtoaster]

Bad idea. Phelps wants his followers to be beaten. He is a lawyer, and most of his sons and daughters are that as well. In Topeka, no one dares to confront him, because he suit the shit out of them.

A lot of those doing the picketings are just very small children. I have seen a documentary of what the cult are doing. They are forcing two-year olds to participate in the pickets. And people actually get provoked enough to attack the children.

One seven-year old kid got a stone in his head so he started bleeding. The Phelpses themselves are those who are most victimised by that old pike.

Those children don't understand what they are saying, or what being gay really means. The only thing they are seeing is their parents singing and then get angry comments from passer-bies, broken by occasional physical violence.

Much like Falun Dafa, the Westboro Baptist Church use the amount of rejection they receive from society as a confirmation that their beliefs are correct.

Errr, you're right, I had forgotten about how they surround themselves with children =/
I suppose they are really using their own children as human shields, the cowardly scum.
As far as legal action goes however, I doubt we would have more to fear from their cult then we would any other fascist group, they tend to not be able to identify us.

However, you are completley right about the children and we would not want to put them at risk

[Mindtoaster]

They have been a target of antifa for some years, I dunno where you've been.

Could you link anything about it? I haven't heard of any direct action being taken by antifasicsts against them?

[Nietzsche's Ghost]

It blows my mind to think that there are people like Phelps. It just insane. He needs a shot to the head. However if anything violent was directed to them it should be directed at phelps himself becaues there is probably a great many of his followers who are simply ignorant and they should not be harmed for there ignorance(I am not saying however that they all are, there is probably a lot of them that are just as insane as phelps).

[Wake Up]

Kieth Allen did a great Documentary on them, He uncovered the fact that one of the children had been born out of wedlock, which went down a treat as you can imagine.

As Serpent says Phelps is a lawyer and he knows his rights. On top of that the kids faith is absolute and they cannot be reasoned with.

My plan is to lure them over to the UK and use the law against inciting religious hatred.
How ironic that we can use an anti civil liberties law to trap these fascists

[YeOldeCommuniste]

I think they feed off the attention of the media. If they weren't given so much publicity, I doubt they'd be so overtly cruel in their protesting and such. Someone I know actually sent an e-mail to them and got a response from one of the Phelps themselves, and they called her things like "bimbo" and "rhinocerous face", obviously without having seen her or knowing who she was. It's the childish insults like that which make me think they're just huge attention whores.

[bcbm]

Could you link anything about it? I haven't heard of any direct action being taken by antifasicsts against them?

I can't be arsed to look up anything. When they came through my town about five years back, we turned out a large number of antifa folks.


Bad idea. Phelps wants his followers to be beaten. He is a lawyer, and most of his sons and daughters are that as well. In Topeka, no one dares to confront him, because he suit the shit out of them.

Yes and no. His church property has been attacked innumerable times with the police basically doing fuck-all to find out who was responsible.

[Dimentio]

It blows my mind to think that there are people like Phelps. It just insane. He needs a shot to the head. However if anything violent was directed to them it should be directed at phelps himself becaues there is probably a great many of his followers who are simply ignorant and they should not be harmed for there ignorance(I am not saying however that they all are, there is probably a lot of them that are just as insane as phelps).

Practically all his followers are his children, his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He is not insane or stupid, he is just a very good example of a personality type which we could classify as evil. You cannot believe how harshly he used to treat his family before.

- He looked his own daughter inside her room for 40 days
- After an argument, he shaved the head of his own wife
- He has forced two-year olds to run i marathons

Well, maybe he is insane, but the important thing is that he is aware and willingly wants to subject human beings to emotional pain. That is why he is attacking funerals.

He loves to inflict pain in others.

He is probably one of the few living people I could think of who would deserve something really hard hitting him, but I do not want to make him a martyr for a cause.

Actually, one good thing which has come from the Westboro Hate Caravan is that right-wing conservatives have been in an uncomfortable situation, especially after the Caravan started to target fallen soldiers. For the first time, parts of the population which themselves were quite homophobic and intolerant have experienced their own medicine.

Phelps has simply taken literal biblical fundamentalism to its logical extreme, and the perfect irony is when he is picketing Jerry Falwell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqvewouaGWw

What should be done about Westboro is that the community should simply disallow the congregation to exercise its functions, put Phelps into some asylum and take the children and the parents to secular institutions to try to de-brainwash them as good as possible.

[Omi]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y0bhlK0K6Q&feature=related

This is good!
Maybe a little childish, but it does the trick!:laugh: