I Will Not Picket the Funeral of Fred Phelps

[struggle4progress]

Kristen Hotham Carroll
Posted: 03/17/2014 8:34 am EDT
Updated: 03/17/2014 8:59 am EDT

In the late 1990s, I joined an LGBT rights movement called Soulforce, inspired by the principles of non-violence and social justice ... Our goal was to begin a dialogue, and to try to end the hateful rhetoric that was leading to the loss of life, both through hate crimes as well as a daunting number of suicides ... You could lose your job, your housing, be arrested, or even killed, just for loving the wrong person. However, it was quickly becoming evident that the cost of silence was outweighing the risk of openness and truth ... As we arrived on site at Thomas Road Baptist Church, we were met not only by the scorn and judgment of the church members, but also by picketers from Westboro Baptist Church. We were instructed at every point to ignore them and not to engage ... I was in my early 20s, still in the beginning stages of recovering from an evangelical upbringing ... Soulforce was a new form of salvation for me. I found out that God loved me and made me, just as I am ... It is now 2014. Reverend Phelps is nearing death, and the world looks very different than just 15 or 16 years ago ... Truly, the best way to avenge hurt inflicted by our enemies is to simply forgive them, and not allow them to have a stronghold in our hearts ...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-hotham-carroll/fred-phelps-westboro_b_4976787.html

[Warpy]

1. Well, how very high minded, bless her heart

[struggle4progress]

3. Dunno. Many of us have for years regarded Phelps as a gigantic jerk for various reasons,

including his funeral pickets -- which were always about nothing much more than grabbing media attention for Phelps and WBC

The media regularly gave him that attention, and eventually WBC was able to garner national coverage, simply by announcing it would show up to picket a high-profile funeral, without even showing up

It was an ugly and increasingly dishonest tactic, used to spread the nasty views of a very small group of extremists

Why would anyone want to copy that model?

Since political action can require significant energy, it should be directed at obtaining particular goals; there's no reason to regard what Phelps and WBC have done, as anything other than a form of trolling, designed to provoke distress in others, and with the only aim of obtaining attention

I don't know what demons have haunted Phelps but I don't see any advantage to feeding those same demons further

[Turbineguy]

2. But maybe a gravesite design would be nice.

Something in a "dance floor surrounded by urinals" motif.

[struggle4progress]

4. Why bother? He's spent years making himself, some members of his family, and many other people

unhappy

The hatred, that has been his constant theme for years, evidences a profound psychic sickness which he has long tried to spread to others

Why would any of his targets want to help him to continue to spread that psychic sickness after death?

[hrmjustin]

5. I just wouldn't spend the money to go get to his funeral.

Also I wouldn't stoop to his level.

[cbayer]

6. Other than noting his impending and eventual death, I reject doing

anything that would bring him further attention.

I would much prefer to see him slide into oblivion. His whole schtick was to get attention. Why grant his wish even after his death?

[EvilAL]

7. Thread in LBN says

they won't be having a funeral.

[struggle4progress]

8. Thanks. I guess I can stop thinking about this issue now

[EvilAL]

9. Well,

I think it is obvious that they weren't going to have a funeral for the guy, the irony would be just too delicious. They'd be setting themselves up for an awful bad time...