Apparently, the WBC is Getting Desperate

So. Last week, a young soldier from my home town, Sgt. Joseph Hamskey, was killed in action in Iraq. There's been the usual news in the paper about his career, a lot of discussion on Facebook from people who went to school with him and/or knew him and his family. A couple of days ago, they announced his funeral would be held this Saturday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church.

Then tonight, a friend of my sons posted the following:

Quote :

In order to put recent rumors to rest, the Ottumwa Police Department was contacted today by David Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church stating that they were going to have representatives in Ottumwa on Saturday morning picketing the funeral of Sgt. Joe Hamski. Iowa law requires that such protesters keep at least 500 feet away from the location of a funeral, procession, or cemetery. The Westboro Baptist Church will be allowed to stage and picket just east of 4th and Wapello. The Supreme Court has ruled they have a right to protest regardless how tasteless it is, but that they can be restricted where they protest. The police department will be present at the funeral to ensure it is not disrupted and at the protest to make sure their rights are maintained. May Sgt. Hamski be remembered for being the hero he was. He gave his life for his country, and for that, deserves everyone's respect and appreciation.

Either they're not dying fast enough for them, or they're grasping at straws. I realize these are people for whom any publicity is good publicity, but honestly. A small Iowa town with a population of under 230,000?

In any event, assuming my sons and I can drag ourselves out of bed at 9 a.m. and come up with appropriate signs, we'll be there. I don't know the young man personally, but he's younger than my boys, and I know how I'd feel of one of them were fighting overseas and was killed.

I understand that a branch of the Patriot Guard from Des Moines has promised to come down and help keep things under control. And the young man who's organized the counter-protest, Mike, has been very specific about keeping things as peaceful as possible, and not causing the family any more pain than they've already suffered.

It's just all so stupid. I realize I'm not exactly a shining example of Christianity myself, but that these people actually have the gall to (1) Call themselves Christians, and (2) Claim they're doing God's will makes me feel all stabby. And I don't like feeling that way.

230,000 counts as small?

^
Princey brings up a good point. That's about the size of Anchorage.

Rabid Badger wrote:

Either they're not dying fast enough for them, or they're grasping at straws. I realize these are people for whom any publicity is good publicity, but honestly. A small Iowa town with a population of under 230,000?

You do remember that they're trolls, right, RB? They will picket any funeral if it'll get them attention, even if the funeral is in another country and had absolutely nothing to do with them or their religious views at all. Picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq is sort of old hat to them. Is anyone even surprised when they pull this sort of crap anymore?

Also: talk to me about 'small towns'. I live in the capital city of my territory and it has a population of less than 30,000 people. 230,000 is not a small town.

I think she might've meant 23,000; Des Moines has a bit over 200,000, but it's the largest city in the state by a huge margin.

EDIT: According to the 2010 census, Ottumwa's at about 25,000 people.

If it were up to me, their church would be a pile of burnt wood by now. Their whole farce of showing up at a funeral and telling the grieving the person that died is going to Hell is tasteless, insensitive, and way over on the dick-side.

They're trolls. They know as much about Christianity as the cast of Jersey Shore.

TheIan wrote:

If it were up to me, their church would be a pile of burnt wood by now. Their whole farce of showing up at a funeral and telling the grieving the person that died is going to Hell is tasteless, insensitive, and way over on the dick-side.

They're trolls. They know as much about Christianity as the cast of Jersey Shore.

Not kidding when I say I want to feed them tainted baked goods. Get some rat poison in there, offer it as a gift and be the only kind, smiling face they see when they turn up. Those retards would never suspect a thing.

Geez, what is it with people protesting at the funerals of soldiers? Is it like they feel the need to point out that the person's death was a terrible thing to happen RIGHT THERE? Isn't there anywhere better to do it?

Harley Quinn hyenaholic wrote:

Geez, what is it with people protesting at the funerals of soldiers? Is it like they feel the need to point out that the person's death was a terrible thing to happen RIGHT THERE? Isn't there anywhere better to do it?

They protest soldier funerals because to their disordered way of thinking, soldiers' deaths are payback from God because America tolerates homosexuals. Gays aren't being beaten to death (at least, not legally) therefore soldiers die.

Or something equally retarded like that.

I swear to god, cyanide mixed into some delicious fudgy brownies...

Ha. Wars are judgement from God.

And while we're at it, why not keep the bodycount by cutting off the foreskins of dead soldiers or somesuch?

My town is 2,000 people Badger, yours is about as large as the largest town around

Don't try and murder them! Now maybe a few things that will make them need to go to the bathroom.....

Harley Quinn hyenaholic wrote:

Ha. Wars are judgement from God.

And while we're at it, why not keep the bodycount by cutting off the foreskins of dead soldiers or somesuch?

I'd ask what you're on about, but then I remember that you probably googled "religious shit" and copypasta'd some random terms into your post hoping that it'd make you look like you knew what you're talking about.

Diuretics and laxatives, hmm, there's an idea. xD

Dabbler's right. Misplaced a comma (I never was very good at math). It's actually grown some since the 1010 census, but I don't think we've made 26,000 yet.

I tend to think of it as a small town because it's not as big at Des Moines or Iowa City or Cedar Rapids.

The guy who's organizing the counter protest is a friend of my sons, and he's doing a good job. As of right now, according to the Facebook page, there are 300 people coming. If we get even half that, we'll probably still out number them (I read where the amount of people who show up at their protests has been growing smaller and smaller-maybe because the older people are dying off or too decrepit to do it anymore, and they can only add new members as fast as they can reproduce). Plus, they'll be separated from the church and us by a medium-sized park (they're not allowed any closer, and if they violate the order, they WILL be arrested).

The important thing, Mike says, is to remain calm, and I agree with him. Hold your signs or your flags, present a united front, hell, sing "We Shall Overcome.' As he said, you don't have to give them anything to yell about-they already hate everything and everyone else anyway.

As Poe said in Trigger Happy Jack-You can't talk to a psycho like a normal human being.

Rabid Badger wrote:

The important thing, Mike says, is to remain calm, and I agree with him. Hold your signs or your flags, present a united front, hell, sing "We Shall Overcome.' As he said, you don't have to give them anything to yell about-they already hate everything and everyone else anyway.

Yes. This. Stay calm and stay well away from them. They're so far out there, they cannot be trusted.


Honestly, I'd be surprised if there was much of a turnout on the WBC's part. They made a big to-do over the Episcopal National Convention, swearing they'd protest in droves, and only one jet-lagged dork with a pathetic sign showed up. They also swore they'd protest my previous university's production of the Laramie Project, and not a single one of them showed. No-showing seems to happen more and more often lately. Maybe there'll be more in Ottumwa because you're closer to their HQ than Southern California, but honestly, they've been a little lackluster of late.

lemmingwriter wrote:

Honestly, I'd be surprised if there was much of a turnout on the WBC's part. They made a big to-do over the Episcopal National Convention, swearing they'd protest in droves, and only one jet-lagged dork with a pathetic sign showed up. They also swore they'd protest my previous university's production of the Laramie Project, and not a single one of them showed. No-showing seems to happen more and more often lately. Maybe there'll be more in Ottumwa because you're closer to their HQ than Southern California, but honestly, they've been a little lackluster of late.

I'd noticed that as well, According to the Wikipedia article on them, the church only consists of 77 people, all of whom are directly related to Fred by either birth or marriage. He seldom actually engages in pickets anymore-most of the dirty work is done by his oldest daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper.

Also, there was an interesting quote in the Wiki article from someone about how picketing against them was actually counter-productive, because you're giving them just what they want-attention so they can spew their hate filled invective. I know in our case, the counter-protest is being done mostly for the family's sake-no one should have to put up with that sort of lunacy after they've just lost a child. But I do wonder what would happen if they went to all the trouble of showing up, and everyone just turned their backs to them and ignored them. Would they try and provoke drama, like a small child who's being ignored throwing a tantrum?

Rabid Badger wrote:

Also, there was an interesting quote in the Wiki article from someone about how picketing against them was actually counter-productive, because you're giving them just what they want-attention so they can spew their hate filled invective. I know in our case, the counter-protest is being done mostly for the family's sake-no one should have to put up with that sort of lunacy after they've just lost a child. But I do wonder what would happen if they went to all the trouble of showing up, and everyone just turned their backs to them and ignored them. Would they try and provoke drama, like a small child who's being ignored throwing a tantrum?

That would very well be the case, as a video I recently saw on YouTube the WhinyBashingCrazies were in Hawaii to picket a church convention and the news reporter showed us when they were ignored they were trying to draw attention, but when people looked on, they just stood there like the tools they were.
The video was a while ago, I don't remember the whole thing.

Still, though, water-ballooning them in the midst of their protest would be worth a laugh or two.

You forget, they're lawyers. All of them. They WANT people to attack them so they can sue.
Their actual agenda is to fund themselves by sueing people who get angry enough to do things to them.

So anything they could use for a lawsuit is a complete no-no, because you'll end up paying for their lifestyle if you do. So water balloons or any form of touching is a bad idea. (I know you might come back and be like 'BUT I WAS KIDDING!', but I want to discourage anyone who might be reading this from being 'lawl, what a gewd idea!'

Maybe the counter-protesters should just stand in front of the WBC members, blocking people's view of them, and not say a word. A few signs supporting the family of the deceased (while making no mention of the WBC) would be good, too.

Lady Anne wrote:

Maybe the counter-protesters should just stand in front of the WBC members, blocking people's view of them, and not say a word. A few signs supporting the family of the deceased (while making no mention of the WBC) would be good, too.

A group not too long ago just held up sheets in front of the WBC protestors, to block them from the view of the funeral procession. I think that's a fantastic idea, frankly. Don't talk to them, don't engage them with clever slogans, just hold up something to block them from view.

(I did love the Comic-Con counter-protestors, though. Man, if you're going to engage, that's the way to do it.)

Rabid Badger wrote:

He seldom actually engages in pickets anymore-most of the dirty work is done by his oldest daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper.

Yeah. All the research I've got points at her being the real powerhouse in the church these days. I strongly suspect that when the old man goes, the general public may not even notice he's gone, so completely has she become the face and voice of the organization.

Well, it's done and dusted, and I think we acquited ourselves well. Actual numbers aren't in yet, but Mike estimates probably 150 people (maybe more). Plus, two different groups of Freedom Riders, each numbering anywhere from 50-75 people. Versus about 10 WBC members who, due to zoning laws, were roughly three blocks away from the church the funeral was being held at, and weren't allowed to come any closer because the police blocked off the streets above and below the church as reserved parking for 'mourners.'

Plus, they didn't announce in the paper which route the party was going to take to the cemetery, so by the time the Westboro people realized they were going the long way around (you'd think someone would have looked at a map and checked out where the cemetery was), the Patriot Riders were already parked at the gates, and the only people allowed in were those with funeral home flags on their cars.

Morgan said what bothered him the most was that out of the 10 protesters, at least six were either pre-teens or teenagers. I suppose the earlier you start teaching your kid to hate everyone, the less likely they are to question you.

I was really proud of everyone. Nobody even spoke to the WBC brigade, and since they couldn't get close enough to the church to yell at anyone important, they were forced to shout their slogans at random passersby who probably wondered who the hell these loons were.

Andrew said he did have to restrain himself from casually walking by them and saying "Hey, did you guy's know Iowa allows gay marriages?" He said that one visit from a group of crazy people was enough, though.

The pre-teens and teenagers were probably dragged along by their parents for the most part.

I'm glad nobody got hurt or went nuts.

Harley Quinn hyenaholic wrote:

The pre-teens and teenagers were probably dragged along by their parents for the most part.

I'm glad nobody got hurt or went nuts.

They're young enough to lap it up without a second thought, especially since they're almost certainly raised in a rigidly parochial culture. It's not like they have the chance to meet different people, and they probably don't get to use the Internet. Even if they did, it takes time for reality to bash down the massive walls of bullshit that get built up from birth.

Penguin wrote:

Even if they did, it takes time for reality to bash down the massive walls of bullshit that get built up from birth.

I saw someone on a documentary once who was teaching her children about the 6000-year-old earth, yet they were allowed to go to the library and read books about dinosaurs. When the people filming asked her about this, she basically said, "they are old enough to recognize lies."

I think the point I'm making is that I basically agree.

Rabby wrote:

Dabbler's right. Misplaced a comma (I never was very good at math). It's actually grown some since the 1010 census, but I don't think we've made 26,000 yet.

1.) You're not good at anything that requires brain function.
2.) Copying and pasting a number has nothing to do with math.
3.) Are you just being funny with "1010," or does luck hate you that much?