While
people should be able to practice what they believe, there is a line that
should be drawn when they slander and disturb those around them with their
beliefs. The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, is known for its
extremist ideologies, especially those against homosexuality (Whitlock, 2012).
It is generally described as a hate group, and is monitored by the
Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center (Larson, 2012). My question is, what motivates the people in
this church to perform all these slanderous acts? The people and groups they
protest have done nothing to them, and yet the church goes out of their way to create
problems for them. The Westboro Baptist Church seems to enjoy picketing
everything, from homosexuality, to funerals, to Jewish institutions, to the
service men and women of our country (Pettygrove, 2012). Headed by Fred Phelps, and with about forty
members (primarily members of his large family), they picket about six
locations every day (McCargar, 2011). Some of their pickets stretch to ridiculous
lengths, protesting anything and anyone that they imagine relate to gay people,
such as Kansas City Chiefs football games, Broadway musicals, random funerals,
as well as live theater and pop concerts. They honestly believe that these
events are “havens for homosexuality” (Yan, 2012). Recently, they protested
outside a Lady Gaga concert in St. Louis with their “God Hates Lady Gaga” signs
due to her support of gay rights (Yan, 2012). They blame every tragedy in the
world on homosexuals, and believe that homosexuality should be considered a
capital crime (Yan, 2012).
The church has been actively involved in the
anti-gay movement since at least 1991 (Pettygrove, 2012). While being filmed by documentary film-maker
Louis Theroux, they picketed a local appliance store because it sold Swedish
vacuum cleaners, which the church viewed as supportive of gays because of
Swedish prosecution of Åke Green, a pastor critical of homosexuality (Theroux, 2007).
According to WBC’s website, Sweden as a country has a "filthy manner of
life" due to the legalization of homosexuality in 1944 and the yearly
"fag pride parade" (Yan, 2012). So if it's Swedish, God hates it. In their
anti-gay movement, they have also picketed productions of movies and plays
about homosexuality such as The Laramie Project (Jenny, 2012). In
addition, they have protested other churches, who they blame for the
legitimizing of same sex marriages in that state.
On
January 15, 2006, the Westboro Church protested a memorial Sago Mine disaster
victims, claiming that the mining accident was gods revenge against America for
its tolerance of homosexuality (Macdonald, 2012).On October 17th,
1998, Fred Phelps and his church broadcasted their “God Hates Fags” message at
the funeral of Matthew Shepard (Nichols, 1997). Shepard was an American student
at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered because of his
sexual orientation (Nichols, 1997). Two of his signs read “No Tears for
Queers,” and “Fag Matt in Hell.” These people are not just targeting the
victims of hate crimes, but their message is encouraging it. Basically, the
Westboro Baptist Church is saying that Shepard deserved what happened to him
and we should not feel any sympathy. Phelps, according to wire reports, has
issued faxes condemning the hate crime victim for being gay (Nichols, 1997). He
expresses no regrets about stepping on family feelings, he says, because the family
has failed to "raise up a child" who follows "the Lord,"
and must therefore know that they too deserve God's blame (Nichols, 1997). In
April 2008, Westboro picketed the funerals of three students who were killed in
a house fire at the University of Wisconsin–Stout in Menomonie, Wisconsin, and
in February 2009, the group protested at the funeral of a plane crash victim
(Yan, 2012). Westboro even picketed the funeral of recording artist Michael
Jackson after his death in June 2009 claiming a posthumous memorial of his
career is really "worshiping the dead." Members of the Westboro
Baptist Church recorded a song titled "God Hates the World", an
adaptation of Jackson's "We Are the World" (Yan, 2012).
The
Westboro Baptist Church also pickets the funerals of fallen soldiers, sending
out fliers asking their supporters to make statements at the funerals, about
their attitudes toward homosexuality in the United States (Yan, 2012). The
Phelps family never fails to give their truthful opinion. In July 2005, when the
Church intended to picket the funeral of Carrie French, a nineteen year old
ammunition specialist killed in Iraq, Phelps Sr. was quoted as saying,
"Our attitude toward what's happening with the war is [that] the Lord is
punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth
a dime" (Yan, 2012). The following
month, when they protested at the funeral of soldier Edward Myers, who died in
Iraq, Shirley Phelps-Roper told a
television reporter that Myers was “burning in hell.” And the best one of all,
in the picketing of the funeral of Marine Matthew Snyder, the church held signs
saying “God Hates Fags,” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”
As if
picketing anything to do with homosexuality and soldier funerals was not
enough, the Westboro Baptist Church has also begun to picket Jewish
institutions. Fred Phelps and his church member led a protest in 1996 at the
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. (History Anarchy,
2012). While picketing outside the Washingotn office of the Anti-Defamation
League one day, Phelp’s daughter Margie told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that
the group is now focusing on the Jewish community because church members have
been “testifying” to gentiles for 19 years that “America is doomed” and they
haven't gotten the message (Fingerhut, 2009). Margie Phelps added, “one of the
loudest voices” in favor of homosexuality and abortion is “the Jews, especially
the rabbis” (Fingerhut, 2009).
It is surprising
to me that some people still hold some of these ignorant point of views. In the
documentary Religulous, comedian Bill Maher travels to numerous areas to
explore different religions and the mindset behind them. Using the fake title
“A Spiritual Journey,” Maher is able to obtain interviews from the devoted
religious members. The film explores the aspects of religion that do not add
up, and basically mocks each person interviewed. Many parts of the documentary
were unexpected. It was shocking to see that some people actually believe
homosexuality does not exist. The man who believed this was interviewed, and
had supposedly been homosexual at one point, and then turned heterosexual. Even
he did not support homosexuality. We as a society should be encouraging people
to follow their true sexual orientation and not condemn them for it. If someone
has their own beliefs, no matter how bad they are, they are entitled to them.
However, we must draw a line when certain people try to impose their beliefs on
other people, especially if their impositions involve violent or hateful
actions
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