Possibly because our climate appeals to things that grow under rocks and damp darkness, the publicity-hungry bigots of the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church — the ones who like to “protest” at military funerals — have announced they will show up at the Saturday memorial service for Charlie Powell, 7, and Braden Powell, 5, who were killed Sunday after their father, Josh Powell attacked and incinerated them in his home.
The church is upset that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week struck down California’s ban on gay marriage.
The church is upset that Gov. Chris Gregoire plans to sign a law passed this week by the Legislature legalizing gay marriage.
The protest is to “remind” Gregoire that the Powell boys “died because of her rebellion,” a reference to her support of same-sex marriages, the Tacoma News Tribune reported.
The reason the church protests military funerals is because members believe God is punishing the United States (through the deaths of military members) for its liberal views regarding homosexuality.
As ignorant as the church members are, they’ve learned how to garner publicity. And how to shape it, as well. As the Los Angeles Times notes, the church … “has gained widespread notoriety for publicly opposing homosexuality.” Westboro Baptist, however, isn’t just a one-note organization.
For example, its website, and the T-shirts members tend to wear, are filled with all kinds of anti-Semitic garbage. Example: A music video “parody,” set to the tune of the Beatles’ “Come Together,” urges Jews to “repent.” We won’t reprint the lyrics.
The website has many, many such “parody” videos, heavy on Beatles songs. And Michael Jackson songs. If nothing else, perhaps those who own the rights to those tunes will sue the Westboro Baptist Church for their unauthorized use.
The church’s main belief is that God hates just about everybody, including the “media.” (The church’s website isn’t WestboroBaptist.org, but rather “GodHates(another word we won’t print).com.) But where would the church be without the media? How could Margie Phelps, daughter of the church’s founder, meet her deep need for publicity without the media? She Tweeted the stuff about Gregoire and took aim at the state as “God’s cursed WA-serial-killer-capitol of world.”
(Well, God must really not like Topeka either…)
Phelps makes use of her free speech rights to spew whatever. But in the interest of accuracy, the Westboro Baptist Church is best described as not only notoriously opposed to homosexuality, and notoriously anti-Semitic, but all-around hate-filled. (One of their “parodies” sums it up: “God Hates Who You Are.”)
Welcome to Washington, cursed with tolerance.
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