The Observer, March 9, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 20
Hate groups have profound impact
Just the other day on the public radio, there was heated talk about how a group of extremely homophobic fundamentalists disrupted the funeral of a fallen Iraq veteran with protest slogans such as "Thank God for Dead Soldiers and "Thank God for IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices)." Members of this so-called "Christian" group belong to the Westboro Baptist Church, a group which almost seems like a distasteful joke.
The Westboro Baptist Church seems bizarre, almost purposely irreverent for its own sake. The stated purpose on their website proclaims that "God Hates Fags." Their site depicts various other obscene and odd depictions such as one of an African-American mayor as a gorilla with a swastika. Their views seem purposefully scathing in order to provoke a strong emotional reaction. While the anguish this so-called 'church' has caused for an untold number of people should not be tolerated, there seems something inherently self-deceptive and exhibitionist about their views.
In 2006, after the Sago Mining disaster in West Virginia, the Church sent members to picket the area with the unoriginal slogan of "Thank God for Dead Miners." The group seems to closely follow major media events in order to simply attract attention. The church seems to be less about any sort of ideology than acquiring attention for their notoriety as they've attacked the full spectrum of American life from the Catholic church to evangelical Christians to September 11. There seems to be no segment of society outside the criticism of this group. The church seems to want to evoke a strong emotional reaction from almost anybody in a quest for disrepute. Unfortunately, their tactics seem to be working.
After the Amish shootings in Pennsylvania, the group planned on picketing the funerals, proclaiming that the victims were supposedly going to "burn in hell." Only after Mike Gallagher, a radio personality, offered a monetary reward and an hour of unrestricted air time did the group back off.
Fred Phelps, a leader of the Westboro Church, was ironically also a civil rights attorney in the 1970s, taking cases on behalf of African-American clients and even receiving an award from the NAACP in the 1980s for his work. Phelps was ultimately disbarred for harassment and professional misconduct. This kind of behavior suggests a man whose current ideology is not completely genuine.
In fact, the entire Westboro Church has been criticized as a sham by Phelps' sons as a clever manipulation of political opinion in order to create a cult with Phelps as a demigod over his congregation and family. Phelps has succeeded in misdirecting the public's attention to focusing upon his ridiculously superficial rants. By garnering a false sense of importance through media attention and subsequent isolation for their views, the Westboro Church becomes more isolated.
Phelps' tactics make the public complicit and even necessary in his strategy of creating an atmosphere of social isolation in his group when we give attention to his ridiculous claims and react negatively. It makes a mockery of our freedom of speech laws when a man uses our society in order to further oppress his own neighbors and family. It is truly regrettable that we seem to have fallen to the devices of a man whose misguided charges are perhaps victims as well.
