So the Westboro baptist "church"

[binny]

are going to be picketing our church tomorrow.

I figure we must be doing something right!

 

[Buckalew11]

Why? And good luck. Leave your gun at home because you might be too tempted to use it. Ugh.
They threatened to come here just a few years ago (maybe 2 or 3) when 4 little children burned up in a house fire. Very sad and tragic--4 little coffins. I can't remember what the police told them to keep them away but I remember there was something...

 

[LilyWDW]

There were rumors they would be heading out this was to protest at the airman's funeral. Based on what I saw today, I don't think they will. At least, not if they want to leave the area in one piece.

*Note: I am not promoting violence, just stating what the feel was like at the airman's "homecoming"*

 

[bluerendezvous]

My son performed in The Laramie Project a while back. They posted on their website that they would picket the theatre. We hired extra security, and they didn't show up. Cowards

 

[KPeveler]

DO NOT engage them in any way! The entire family (and the church is all one family) are lawyers and lawsuits are how they fund their protests! They sue people who shout profanity at them or get in their face or anything they construe as "threatening."

 

[binny]

I guess they are targeting a few churches in our area, mainly the larger ones from what I understand. Who knows why they do anything?

Wont stop me from going to church and if approached I will "kill them with kindness". They are only looking for attention and they will not get it from us. Although it is tempting to give them a piece of my mind, I will leave to the Pastoral staff as they have requested. I will be praying for them for sure, our Pastor and his staff are incredible.

 

[JerseyJanice]

I'd accidentally-on-purpose shoot them with a water gun.

 

[KPeveler]

We need to be careful that this does not become a discussion of either religion or politics - not only does it not end well, but it is against board rules... So be careful with what is posted

 

[binny]

We need to be careful that this does not become a discussion of either religion or politics - not only does it not end well, but it is against board rules... So be careful with what is posted

Theyve been discussed here many times before. I wasnt trying to post something against the rules. I was simply saying that we might be dealing with what others on this board have dealt with.

 

[woodkins]

They said that they were going to protest at a local funeral for an army soldier recently killed in Afghanistan, but no one ever showed. It was reported (by them) that there were 3 protesters about 2 miles away, but no one saw them. It may have helped that his funeral was held on Shelter Island, NY which can only be reached by a small ferry.

 

[browneyes106]

The WBC tried to picket a soldier's funeral here in NM a couple years back. But many Patriot Guard riders and off duty police officers lined up and patrolled the area around the funeral for at least two miles. The WBC ended up leaving after 20 minutes. They didn't get as close as they wanted to. The next day the mayor of Topeka called the mayor of the town of where the funeral was and apologized for what WBC had done and he said that the WBC is an embarassement to Topeka.

There are still people who have done touching tributes to the fallen such as a Lorraine Melgosa. Hopefully someday more people will know about Lorraine and commend her for what she has done.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/29/nation/na-funeral-carriage29

 

[Aisling]

I can't believe they haven't been sniped in the head already.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Binny, it sounds like you and your church are handling it perfectly. I hope they no show today and you are all saved the stress WBC causes.

KPeveler--Reminders to follow the rules are always good That said, I have never seen a thread on the WBC turn political or religious. Thinking they are scum seem to be one of the few things everyone on the DIS can agree upon.

 

[Darsa]

There are still people who have done touching tributes to the fallen such as a Lorraine Melgosa. Hopefully someday more people will know about Lorraine and commend her for what she has done.

http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan...ral-carriage29

Thank you for sharing that link, browneyes; what a wonderful article!

 

[Pig Pen]

They visit us in Vermont fairly often. Their methods are quite appalling. Most recently they protested in front of a local high school because our state passed gay marriage. The students responded by creating a facebook page where people could donate one dollar to charity for every minute Westboro spent protesting.

 

[Patricia]

They threatened to picket a soldier's funeral held at our church a few weeks ago. There was no sign of them on the actual day. Hopefully, the same will happen for you and your church.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

What is most interesting about this groups is the question about whether they are authentic, or just trying to cause lawsuits.

Everyone is related, and the pastor of the "church" was a lawyer before he was a pastor and worked on Al Gore's senator campaigns in the 70's.

 

[KPeveler]

I think warnings about how this group of people works is great - I just really did not want this to degenerate into a discussion of their views - not only would it get the thread locked, but it would also give their ugliness more airtime!

People need to know that these people SUE EVERYONE! All the time!

Also they tend to say they will show up, wait until they are threatened, then sue that person even if they did not show up.

I think the whole business they are engaged in is very ugly!

 

[SandrA9810]

i wonder how much that school raised...??

 

[browneyes106]

Thank you for sharing that link, browneyes; what a wonderful article!

YW. I first learned about Lorraine a few months back when NBC Nightly News did a segment on her. It was good to see someone doing some good at funerals unlike the WBC.