Of course as an impartial member of the media I had to observe, shoot and air their side of the story which is one filled with hate and hostility but it made my stomach turn!
These are the members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. They are the ones protesting at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. The main members of the Church are the Phelps family headed by family patriarch Fred Phelps.
Showing up carrying american flags, or rather, standing on the flag, holding them upside down, spitting on them and holding signs with nasty messages inscribed.(see pictures) the group consisted of people of the aproximate ages of 4, 10, 12, 14, 17, and other young and middle aged adults.
Their message is that God hates homosexuals(see pictures) and that God doesn't forgive. Of course, they may be onto something there. Jesus was sent as the saviour, so going past their rhetoric, they've messed up their own message. They came to Greensboro to call Billy Graham a lying whore.
A group of Soldiers and Marines also showed up to stand across the street and give them the death stare. That thumbs up in this picture isn't for them!
They generally think that they are the chosen ones and that they will go to heaven for living the life they live, which isn't exactly 'Love thy Neighbor'.
Wiki-Pedia has an interesting article on Fred Phelps and how this group of fanatic protestors came into existence. They also have several websites spreading their hate, one of which is titled www.GodHatesFags.com.
3 comments:
I grew up in Topeka and remember watching the twelve Phelps kids, when the youngest were between five and six, out selling candy for the church. In the rain. In the snow. They often came into restaurants, too, and went table to table asking, "Do you want to buy some delicious candy?" Even the smallest of them already had the thousand-yard stare, no doubt from living in a home filled with hate.
I've seen many appearences from that crew lately (on TV, papers, etc.) They make me sick. They better not come out west.
That is crazy stuff! Glad you got some shots and blogged about it - knteresting assignment.
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