We all know them: the church that harasses funerals, events and now, the Internet.
Westboro Baptist Church is a problematic group, yet it is interesting to wonder what the groups real intentions are. The Westboro Baptist Church pickets funerals and concerts, as well as any cause they feel contributes to America’s tolerance of homosexuality, which in their eyes is what brings tragedy to our country.
Their signs often read, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “God Hates Homosexuals” and “America is Doomed.” Their rationality is that God is giving us dead soldiers, AIDS, cancer and all of the world’s problems as a consequence of being accepting of the gay community.
They also use social media to spread their message. On their website are parodies of pop songs, rewritten to remind us God is going to burn us. From “Rumor Has it God Don’t Love You Christians No More,” to “Hear Him Roar” (yes, as in Katy Perry’s “Roar”), to even their own version of Frozen’s “Let It Go” Westboro’s efforts feel quite humorous to listen to, even if their message is disconcerting. The church now also has a Vine account. On this Vine are small snippets that are all somehow tied back to the fact that God hates homosexuals or even America. This behavior really makes me wonder how many of them seriously believe in what they are doing, and how many of them are just simply attention-seeking, tasteless trolls who care only about their own group.
AP Photo:
Fred Phelps, founder of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church.
What is disconcerting about this group is the children being used in their Vine songs. This clearly shows they don’t have the rest of the world or even their own children in mind when perpetuating their beliefs. They are willing and able to convince their children to either believe or act in their “principles” they continue to force on everyone. If the church’s true intentions are to gain attention, they are only held by the founding members of the church. Westboro’s leaders, notably the Phelps family members, have experience in law.
That being said, they know how to find loopholes in order to abuse their freedom of speech; it is no secret that assaults on the church members at funerals have earned them money in court cases. This means they either manipulate their members for their own entertainment and financial gain, or they are just truly hateful people who lead even more hateful people. Either one is extremely upsetting.
Most members of the group will be stuck in that mindset, and will never, ever get out of it. In that respect, I feel sorry for the wasted potential of human beings. In the end, that is what they are. I feel for them regarding Fred Phelp’s death, and even though they deny caring (one member said “We do not worship the dead”), a loss is a loss. I think the hope in this situation, is that most people see this church as an appalling organization.
A group called the Freedom Riders, along with many others, often stand in front of the protests to obstruct them from the families of funerals. Members of the church have also left on their own accord, and lead lives of happiness while trying to do good for the world around them in order to make up for their actions; these members also try to convince their families to stop their actions.
When Fred Phelps himself passed, the first funeral Westboro Baptist Church members picketed were met with signs reading “Sorry For Your Loss,” an act of both empathy and forgiveness. While the Westboro Baptist Church community may be full of negative human beings, it is safe to say they do not represent even the slightest portion of humanity.
Their actions will persist, but in no way will they be taken with more than a grain of salt.
Anthony Munoz can be contacted at amunoz@keene-equinox.com