Reply
Sun 28 Aug, 2005 06:35 am
SMYRNA, Tenn. -
Quote:Members of a church say God is punishing American soldiers for defending a country that harbors gays, and they brought their anti-gay message to the funerals Saturday of two Tennessee soldiers killed in Iraq.
The church members were met with scorn from local residents. They chased the church members cars' down a highway, waving flags and screaming "God bless America."
"My husband is over there, so I'm here to show my support," 41-year-old Connie Ditmore said as she waved and American flag and as tears came to her eyes. "To do this at a funeral is disrespectful of a family, no matter what your beliefs are."
The Rev. Fred Phelps, founder of Westboro Baptist in Kansas, contends that American soldiers are being killed in Iraq as vengeance from God for protecting a country that harbors gays. The church, which is not affiliated with a larger denomination, is made up mostly of Phelps' children, grandchildren and in-laws.
The church members carried signs and shouted things such as "God hates fags" and "God hates you."
About 10 church members protested near Smyrna United Methodist Church and nearly 20 stood outside the National Guard Armory in Ashland City. Members have demonstrated at other soldier funerals across the nation.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050828/ap_on_re_us/soldier_funeral_protests
Love thy brother as thyself.
This part's cool, though:
Quote:The church members were met with scorn from local residents. They chased the church members cars' down a highway, waving flags and screaming "God bless America."
Well, sort of. Also kind of creepy.
Fred Phelps is an idiot . . . he is also a failed attorney with many allegations of fraud laid at his door.
This is his website:
God Hates Fags-dot-com
This isn't the first time this gobshite has been in the news.
It's all kind of creepy to me.
This is nice:
"Thank God for the bombing of London's subway
Thank God for the bombing of London's subway today - July 7, 2005 - wherein dozens were killed and hundreds seriously injured. Wish it was many more.
"But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the Lord their God, nor receiveth correction; truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth." Jer. 7:28.
England: Island of the Sodomite Damned
Tony Blair and his Bitch Barrister Wife
These two have let England to irreversible doom, pushing the fag agenda. It is now a crime to preach God's truth about fags in England. Blair wants to be president (Antichrist) of EU (European Union), whose laws also criminalize Gospel preaching."
All the Phelps stuff is emphatically creepy.
I like the idea of people fighting back and using such "patriotic"/ conservative tools to do it... but it's still weird.
Feel badly for them that they were put in that position.
Goddess - I knew the religious right had some real loonies - but just how many groups as nasty as this inhabits its fringes, I wonder?
I tried looking for a few at one time - but I just couldn't bear reading them after a bit.
They really are just like the Islamist extremist sites - only less flowery.
Hate sucks.
The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League both keep close track of such loonies. If you ever want a stroll through a twisted wonderland, go to the website of either of them and have a look around.
Phelps and his "congregation" of in-laws is, without a doubt, the most over-publicized group in America. You see one person at a rally with a sign "Fags = Death" and they get attention from the media.
The New York Times ran a long article on them several years ago where they reported the "church" is mostly this guy's in-laws. Yet every time they carry a few signs at some event, the press looks upon them as if they represent some genuine movement.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace