"God Hates America" – Says The Phelps Family…
Monday, April 2, 2007Posted in: rabid homophobia, the phelps family
Sorry for the lack of posts, but TTG and I were away for the weekend.
I watched a programme last night, that amazed me no end.
I can’t believe that people like the Phelps family actually exist.
The Phelps family pickets mourners across the country, to mark what it describes as God’s revenge on the US for tolerating homosexuality.
Their actions are in the name of the Westboro Baptist Church, which numbers 71 and is headed by “Gramps”, preacher Fred Phelps. The church, which is based in Topeka, Kansas, mostly comprises his extended family.
WTF?
I can’t believe that any sane human being would choose the funeral of soldiers, killed in Iraq, to protest about gay people.
I was just as shocked and stunned to see seven year old kids with banners that read ‘Fags will burn in hell’.
I went on their God Hates America website, and found a message of hate so vile, that it took my breath away.
God Hates Fags. God Hates You. The World is Doomed. This very well may be the last warning this doomed mass of mankind will receive before Christ returns in fire and glory to punish you. Whether you will hear it, or whether you will forbear, it is of no consequence to us. You have been warned.
All this hatred preached by one little inbred man, who obviously doesn’t have all his faculties. Why do these people buy into this rubbish? What is about them that makes it so easy for them to be brainwashed?
It seems to me that there are plenty of times when freedom of speech isn’t such a good thing.
These kind of extremists are part of the reasons why I abhor organised religion.
If I had my way, they’d all be shot like the rabid dogs they are.
rozlips
April 2
10:45 pm
Near as I can tell everyone in his so-called ‘church’ is related to him. Clearly there are no branches on that family tree.
Back in December we had a tragedy in our town. There was a school bus crash and five kids were killed. They came to protest the funerals. Obviously, folks wanted to confront them, but they’re all attorneys. Apparently they fund their ‘work’ by provoking people into attacking them, then suing for damages. Anyway, we turned it into a fundraiser. People donated cash based on how long these people protested. I think they raised $70,000.
Lauren
April 2
10:54 pm
Fred Phelps and his wife are evil, vile people who make my skin crawl. But they’re attention whores who use god to get it – god doesn’t hate gay people, god hates people like the Phelps and their attempts to use hate to incite fear and violence against others.
My grannie, who was a very religious woman would have thrown them an evil eye and told them off in Portugese – it would have ended with a “SHAME!” as she pointed in their direction.
People have the right not to like gays or religious freaks or romance authors or democrats or whatever – but I draw the line at inciting violence and the attack on Matthew Shepard was a result of this kind of shameful behavior on the part of Phelps and his ilk. Shame is too light a word for what they should feel. If they had hearts at all.
Whoops, I’ll get off my soapbox now…
Ann(ie)
April 2
11:01 pm
That’s incredibly disgusting.
There are so many worthwhile things people could devote their lives to. It makes me sad to see so much energy going toward blind hate.
Mark me down as another one who distrusts organized religion.
Kat O+
April 3
12:27 am
I think I saw these people on another program about US soldiers. I thought they were appalling then, too. I’m not sure I would call this family an “organised religion”, though.
Someone ought to send them down here for the Mardi Gras. They might expire just from the shock of being so close to so much glitter, feathers and Gloria Gaynor.
Keira Ramsay
April 3
2:52 am
They tried that shit here in Oklahoma (we’ve got 3 Air Force Bases, two massive Army posts and a gaggle of National Guard/Reserve posts) and got shut down pretty quickly.
The alternative rock station in Oklahoma City rallied over 500 people to basically stand in front of them so no-one could see ’em. Last I heard, they hadn’t come back. And if they did, I’d be the first one standing in front. Grrrrr
Rebecca
April 3
2:59 am
Oh. My. God. That site is absolutely disgusting. It does actually make you think that there should be some definite limits on free speech – websites that incite hatred and glorify such vile bigotry like that are really quite terrifying. Does he really have followers??
That is scary fucking stuff.
sallahdog
April 3
3:25 am
He and his family are nothing but attention whores. I live all too close to them, and cringe every time I see them on tv, because I know someone is going to say that they come from Kansas…
In Kansas, we try very hard to ignore them, and not to give them the attention they crave.. which is why they go to other states so much these days… The truth is, I doubt they even believe most of the vile crap they spew… They just do it for the publicity..
Grrrl
April 3
4:39 am
for publicity? sweet baby jebus, who the hell wants to be known for that kind of asshattery?
i did hear a while back though that there was a counter group that showed up at soldiers’ funerals whenever the phelps’ did: bikers that would stand between the phelps’ and the families, ride escort on the procession and stand guard outside the church during the service. i can’t for the life of me remember what they were calling themselves… nevermind, i found their website. maude bless google. 🙂 it’s the the patriot guard riders.
Dawn
April 3
8:15 am
When I saw the trailers for this on Sunday, I debated whether to watch it, but in the end decided not to. It is so sad – that’s not the right word – that people can expend such energy on hatred.
I thought that they picketed funerals of gay servicemen and women, I didn’t realise that they did it to all funerals!
Words fail me.
sallahdog
April 3
11:41 am
I am not even sure of that 74 number on the congregation… Its been a few years, but unless those guys are doing a bunch of inbreeding and counting the babies, they numbered less than 20, not that many years ago…
Who knows though, maybe they have managed to con some other mental midgets into joining…
Ole Fred, has been doing this for over 20 years, at one time, it was him and 4 of his kids showing up to protest. They started doing gay pride kind of things, then moved on to AIDS funerals, then when that didnt get enough attention, they switched to funerals of veterans…
Thats what I meant when I said they are publicity whores. They don’t bother to do much in Kansas now, because they won’t get in the paper and more than a dirty look from the mourners, here… Heck, they inform the authorities where they are going to picket, hoping the news will show up.
rozlips
April 3
1:47 pm
The media gave them absolutely no coverage when they came here. They weren’t on tv or in the papers, at all. I went to one of the funerals and they were confined to an area a block away from the church and you couldn’t see them because of all the counter-protestors. The Patriot Guard did come. They’re very respectful and only come if the families request it. Dude is simply a nut-job, nothing more, nothing less.
sallahdog
April 3
5:34 pm
Exactly Roz… a complete nutjob and he ends up giving all religious people a black eye…
Not to mention Kansas…
Look at the “church faithful” some time… They are definately swimming in the polluted side of the gene pool…
Eve Vaughn
April 3
10:26 pm
If heaven is full of people like that, then I welcome hell.
Shiloh Walker
April 4
1:52 am
Heaven isn’t full of people like that. Hatred has no place in heaven.
it’s sad that so many people look at these like that and think that is indicative of a true Christian.
Desiree Erotique
April 4
5:35 am
Just a former Christian Sunday school teacher/ now Pagan here.. but how can a genuine, practicing follower of Jesus forget, “And thou shalt love thy brother as thyself”? I don’t recall Jesus ever saying that Love Is Conditional.
byrdloves2read
April 4
1:34 pm
We’ve had two funerals for veterans that rumor said the Phelps family would attend. They never showed, BUT the Patriot Riders did and it was awesome. A very special honor guard.
As to God loving gays, or not. Oh good grief. Well said, Desiree Erotique, I’m proud that my church has a gay bishop. I believe the spirit speaks wherever it wills, not where simple humans think it ought – Christian, Jew, Moslem, Pagan, Hindu, gay or straight, non-believers and believers alike. And I guess I’d better get out of the pulpit now. LOL
sallahdog
April 4
2:27 pm
Thats the part that is so infuriating to me. This is not a church in any real sense of the word. They aren’t affiliated with ANY reputable religion.
Churches all over Kansas and especially in Topeka where they are located, don’t agree with these idiots.
I think if your looking to go to hell to get away from Phelps and his gang, your going to be sad of the company you may be keeping.. Because if there is a hell, Freddy and his followers are likely to be there…
I am no big fan of large, organized religion. But please don’t paint these people as Christians.. because they sure don’t live by the Golden rule or the 10 Commandments or any rules of common decency..
Rosie
April 4
9:27 pm
One can tell themselves over and over that people like this really do exist but when you see the reality and actual evidence it just takes your breath away.
Monica
April 5
8:42 pm
sallahdog,
We must have been neighbors. I really hated the pornographic signs they exposed my daughters to from infancy, e.g. stick figures of men engaged in anal sex, etc.
Topeka does curl their collective lips over the Phelps, but I think in most other (non-Kansas or Bible belt states) the Phelps would be risking their live and limb to pull what they pull, whether they’re atttorneys or not.
I found Topeka extremely conservative and not ideal at all for a black family. The schools (yes, the more affluent West side) were awful and I defended my young child against racism there (from teachers!) frequently, something I never had to do in another smaller and even more conservative Kansas town with far less black children or have to do in the excellent, completely non-diverse school district that my child attends now. Topeka was special.
I think the Phelps have something in maintaining a home base in Topeka.
sallahdog
April 5
9:11 pm
I havent lived in Topeka for about 20 years now, I do know that it was, and still is a pretty conservative town. My parents were real bible thumpers and even their church, which was right of right, preached against Phelps.. I am sure that racism exists there(lets face it, the isms are just about anywhere, some just hide it better)..
I live in the KC metro area now,in a subdivision that is fairly integrated in the burbs, and I dont think Phelps comes here much anymore, frankly we rarely if ever hear about him, till he hits the national news, since local tv doesnt cover his idiocy.
I do think that they know their rights almost too well in Topeka, and because of their easy suing of anyone who even sniffs in their direction, they may very well have the locals cowed… I still have friends in the Topeka area, but they are not really part of the conservative bible belt culture, if you know what I mean, of Topeka, so my view of it could be colored by my own views.
Ryder
April 22
7:04 am
to the Phelps family, would you like some grapes with your wine.You talk about all the evil in the world, well why fuel the fire. If people decide not to listin to our father then them infact can pay the price. But to go on and say people are all “fag embrassers” or whatever, while you fuel this fire of hate witch is infact just another evil thing in this world. Our Father has made his plan and does not hate, but loves all things he has created. theres reason’s why people do and act the way they do but why bother to wine and complain about all the evil in the world, this evil feeds on people like you and your family look the massicure that just happened people like that only want to be reconized, why bother giving this evil more glory , we all should look at good in life and charish all things our father has givin to us not fuel the evil in the world because that is what he wants all things evil are all things evil, all things good are all things good ether way theres always two sides to every story negative and positive they feed off eachother. Theres no way to fix the evil that sourounds all of us, because the wheels are already in motion god is good and our father stands for everthing that is right not the greed and corrupt, for they will not charish anything but material things on this earth, all things are evil are blind to the true purpose of all that is good and to comeout and say gay people are wrong and all that nonsense,well why fuel the fire when this evil will not change be true yourselves, we are all born in sin witch inturn makes all of us sinners, repent and rejoice for the time is now to change our ways and look to all the good in life and remeber those who moved on to this holy place and not give credit to the evil in the world for there is soo much more evil then just murders and gays evil is everywhere be true to your own harts and be true to our father for this is what he wants , is for his childern to and rejoice not wine and complain and feed that raging fire of hate and evil for even those pretend to be good are sometimes evil themselves just look at all the priests who choose to do evil to children, but yet they live the “good” life so what is good these days? the rich get richer the poor get poorer. we are all children of god,and he rather us do good not just wine and complain about the bad or evil for this is what evil looks for and that is to be noticed. Our father will make life right and cast out the evil back to the fire where it belongs but you and your family are wrong, you can say you read the bible, but have you looked between the lines for that is where the wisdom is. Our Father has no need to laugh and hate all he has is love and has had his plan and seen what needs to be done, even our good is bad in these last days, if you wanna call them that, the lord does not kill for spit ether all these things you have sed did not come from our father but came from that witch is evil.