Question About Anti-Gay Fred Phelps.

[PresidentObama]

Fred Phelps for those of you who don't know is the pastor at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas that promotes Jesus doesn't love everybody and God hates America and homosexuals. They protest at funerals of gay people holding signs saying "God Hates Fags" and "God Killed Your Son" Keep in mind this church mostly consists of the cult-like Phelps family, but it's website "GodHatesFags.com" is among the most visited hate crime websites.

Even more disturbing is their protests of funerals of our fallen troops, men and women bravely dying in the mistake of W. They hold signs again saying "God Killed Your Son" and "God Blessed IED's"

I first saw my first taste of this organization and Church on the Tyra Banks Show where they promoted their anti-gay, anti-America agenda. They proclaimed that America deserved 9/11.

In another clip I watched on YouTube about an undercover operation to get inside the church compound, Fred Phelps can be heard praising the terrorist bombings in England. And proclaiming the only bad part was it didn't kill MILLIONS of 'sinners'

My question to DU, as a gay American this group really gets my blood to boil....what can you all tell me about this organization? When was it founded, and I'm all for free speech. But some people are just IDIOTS!!

So any further information about this hate group would be most appreciated :toast:

[madeline_con]

1. Here's a Wikipedia article....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

Just Google his name, you'll get as much info as you can stand.

I'm surprised he's lived this long. He was literally chased out of town at one serviceman's funeral.

[PresidentObama]

2. I'm in Missouri, Kansas isn't far away.

I'm tempted to organize a protest of his church. See how he likes it.

What a psycho!

[TlalocW]

6. I wouldn't bother

He used to be a lawyer (had his ability to practice law taken away so now he protests at the University of Kansas' law school graduation each year because by his twisted logic, it's their fault, and if they're against him, they're homosexual or enablers of homosexuality), and a lot of his family that lives in that compound of his in Topeka are lawyers, and they'll go all Scientology on your ass and sue you over and over again just to bankrupt you. Get too close to his enclave, and he'll probably strike back.

If they're out in public, you have a right to protest against them though, and they can't touch you. I've done that before.

TlalocW

[Warpy]

9. His family are all lawyers and they'll all sue

That's how his "church," a scam to keep his money tax free with only his extended family as members, keeps him in enough cash to keep being a pain in the ass.

Lately, though, I've started to wonder if we'd find other names if we could force that "church" to open its books. Clearly, he doesn't give a rip about dead servicemen or gays, he's just trying to get local ordinances against the exercise of free speech.

Phelps is an odious piece of filth, but there are some great ways to deal with him. Here, a couple of men who later said they barely knew each other went into an enthusiastic soul kiss right in front of him. He and his family couldn't leave fast enough! Motorcycle clubs have acted as buffers between Phelps and mourners at funerals, lining up their bikes and standing at attention holding American flags aloft. What hasn't worked is confrontation, heckling, and doing what he wants, passing ordinances against free speech which will be struck down.

He's an old, hateful geezer and doesn't look too long for this world. It will be fun to see what happens with his "church" and his family when he finally does the decent thing and goes to meet his maker.

[MuseRider]

13. We have protested them

here and it never does anything. They LOVE the attention, it is what this is all about for Fred. They LOVE it. If you want Fred to be happy then pay attention to him. I know this from lots and lots of experience with Fred and his family.

[TlalocW]

21. Actually, I pissed them off then scared them off once

When they came to Tulsa to protest the gay pride picnic, I set up in a parking lot across the street from their position - the very corner of the park the picnic was in and got out two signs - Jesus Is Love and Fred Phelps Is a Wanker.

Two of the guys put down their signs, got across from me on the curb, and gave me the hairy eyeball while waiting for traffic to thin out long enough to cross the street.

In that time, I took out some juggling torches, lit them and started juggling to take attention away from them (I figured that pisses them off more than anything). They saw that, looked at each other and decided that it was against their best interests to mess with someone bigger than they, who also happened to have three flaming (no pun intended) weapons. They went back to the group to pick up their signs again. :)

I smiled and waved at them.

TlalocW

[MuseRider]

23. AWESOME!

That is a great story! :hug: Makes me smile really big. Oooh another :hug:

Perfect response to them and I absolutely LOVE a sign that says Fred Phelps is a Wanker. LOL! :) Great job.

[Neoma]

3. Well..

You could probably get more information by looking up evangelicals. I think they've been around for quite awhile though.

[TlalocW]

4. Wikipedia has a lot more info but...

Considering I've run into them a couple of times... and have actually scared them off twice... :)

Phelps actually used to be quite liberal in the 1960s as he was a civil rights lawyer, but something snapped in his head, and now he thinks that anyone that doesn't hold his exact views is a satanist. This primarily holds for his views on homosexuals, but divorce also gets his hackles up. When he came to Tulsa to protest a gay pride parade/picnic, half of the protesters went to Oral Roberts University because Richard Roberts (Oral's son who is now head of the "university") is divorced.

So taking their logic to its extreme, because American law does not make homosexuality a crime punishable by death, it is forsaken by God, and anything bad that happens to it, it deserves. So 9/11, terrorist attacks, dead soldiers, natural disasters, etc. = God has forsaken us because not all of us hate homos.

TlalocW

[madeline_con]

10. "... but something snapped in his head ..."

IMO, he probably got hit on by a gay guy, and freaked completely out. :eyes:

[TlalocW]

12. Personally, I think he's gay and doesn't realize it or can't reconcile the fact

The Wikipedia article in this thread has him stating that he wasn't that interested in girls in high school, and I have seen interviews of him on television where he literally looked like a former drag queen that had no fashion sense - and I don't mean to stereotype here, but I could see Nathan Lane's character from the Birdhouse aged 40 years (and a few blows to the head to get rid of fashion sense) appearing as Phelps has - bright rouge on the cheeks, lipstick, a pink cowboy shirt - the kind with the pockets on the vests that are outlined with embroidery and then further embroidery above them in twirly patterns. I'm a heterosexual with absolutely no gaydar - when friends and classmates have come out, it's always a shocker, but he just set off the alarms with that ensemble.

TlalocW

[madeline_con]

14. What? He actually wore this ensemble you described?

I thought you were illustrating an aging Nathan Lane!

Yep, he's afraid to come out, and know he's an "abomination"! That's it! Dumb self-loathing shmuck...

:rofl:

[TlalocW]

17. I forgot the white cowboy hat he was wearing at the time

He seemed very weak and feeble, and he had a simpering little smile on his face while he was talking to the camera. No real fire and brimstone antics. It was bizarre, but he was wearing that outfit.

TlalocW

[Dulcinea]

37. That's my guess.

He's a self-loathing closet homosexual. Anyone that obsessed with the private lives of others has to be.

[Staph]

5. Check them out on Wikipedia

Phelp's church is the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas. The Wikipedia article on the church (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church) and on Phelps himself (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps) are both instructive and very frightening.

[LeftCoast]

7. I found this article on the Southern Poverty Law Center's website:

On The Inside
In a complex not far from downtown Topeka, the extended Phelps family lives and disseminates its hatred

TOPEKA, Kan. -- A tall wall connects Westboro Baptist Church to the five houses it owns on this block bordering 12th Street, and a huge upside-down American flag dominates the sky.

Inside the church is a large office that serves as headquarters of a nationwide fax harassment campaign, complete with manila research folders, stacks of archives and a huge, industrial-strength facsimile machine.

Just past the office is the sanctuary, with its cheap carpeting, wood paneling — and about a dozen Day-Glo picket signs stacked in a corner. The sign on top is typical: "Fag Navy," it reads.

Welcome to the world of Fred Phelps, Sr.

Read the rest here

More articles can be found on this page

[2008]

8. Here's a sh*tload on Fred Phelps...

Addicted to Hate, as reproduced here, is the full contents from Addicted to Hate of Exhibit A of the lawsuit filed in Shawnee County District Court in Topeka, Kansas by Jon Michael Bell against Stauffer Communications in June of 1994, Case number 94CV766. It was transcribed into digital form during the course of the lawsuit by persons unknown, and distributed first as pamphlets and then over the internet.

http://smithbrad.nventure.com/phelps.htm

[atommom]

34. You beat me to it. Addicted to Hate is a great resource.

Hard to stomach, though. :(

[Scout1071]

11. I am from Kansas and they are crazy.

Fred is originally from Mississippi. Moved to Kansas and basically started a sick cult. He pretty much has a compound. Many of his family members, including Fred himself, are attorneys. And they know their rights very well, that is why it is hard to shut them down. I've driven past their church in Topeka and you just want to scream.

Let it be known that they are not welcome in our community. Not for one second, but we can't just form a posse and burn the joint down.

[madeline_con]

16. ".... form a posse and burn the joint down."

That's a great idea! :woohoo:

[Scout1071]

22. Well, us Jayhawkers have a history of doing that..........

we kicked those Missouri Ruffians asses in the Civil War and we'd sure as hell like to run ol' Fred out of town too. But, times have changed and we can't just go around chasing the bad guys out anymore.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

15. Addicted to Hate

Addicted to Hate

Important notes from the anti-Phelps underground.

Please make 10 copies of this file and give them to those who find the activities of Fred Phelps unconscionable.

On June 29, 1994 Jon Michael Bell, a former reporter hired to investigate Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church by Stauffer Communications, Inc.,filed a lawsuit in Shawnee County District Court in Topeka, Kansas against Stauffer Communications alleging the Topeka Capital-Journal owed him compensation for overtime and to clarify ownership of his notes and work product. The work product in question, "Addicted to Hate" chronicling the life and times of Fred Phelps, was attached to the lawsuit as Exhibit A making it, therefore, a public document. Learning of the suit, members of Topeka's anti-Phelps underground delivered a certified copy of the lawsuit to a copy shop near the courthouse.
....

[JerseygirlCT]

18. It's not much of a "group" -- more like a bigoted, fanatic

psychologically unstable family.

These big "demonstrations" some of the press about them would indicate happen? A couple of adult family members and a few kids. Signs.

Their gig is they hope to really tick people off -- then they get to make a big fuss, get a lot of press attention, and if they're really lucky, start suing people for attacking them.

The best, and only way to deal with them is to absolutely, positively ignore them. They are SO not worth noticing. It's the one thing they cannot stand.

[cboy4]

19. Don't allow yourself to be consumed by anger because that's

exactly what they want.

I used to want to get my hands on them until I figured out they thrive on people's reactions and outrage.

This is a cult, comprised of psychopaths.

Arguing with these nuts is like driving over to your local mental facility and trying to reason with the people in straight jackets.

What's the point? They're insane.

If you find yourself just simply unable to ignore their hatefulness - - I believe the most effective way of dealing with them (from what I've seen in person and on television), is to form human shields at funerals, etc., to block the "victims" from having to witness their ugly behavior.

Otherwise, just ignore them because they thrive on attention.

My feeling is if you ignore them, they will go away. :)

[MuseRider]

20. Almost perfect

but they will not go away. They will just find something else, it is a nasty pattern with him. Something else would be nice though, I am personally very sick of them.

[cboy4]

26. Oh I know, and I'm not suggesting we leave them alone completely.

However, there are some non-confrontational things that can be done that would get the message across more effectively than getting in their faces and calling them names.

I really think they're so mentally ill, they enjoy getting physically assaulted . . . it's like a proud battle scar for them, and they seemingly post all of the media accounts of what happened on their sick website.

I've seen them on television plenty of times getting chewed out by the interviewer, and all they do is laugh and quote scripture.

As much as we don't like it, they're unstoppable in many ways because of the first amendment.

However, I think the human chain around their pathetic little demonstrations is a very, very good and effective tactic.

[TlalocW]

24. It will be interesting to see what happens after Phelps dies

I'm sure the "church" will hang on for a while, but things will eventually go downhill since they don't have Fred Sr. to unite them in their hatred. I'm looking forward to the future interviews of the children who grew up in that atmosphere and how they found the strength to break away from a hating lifestyle when they got older.

TlalocW

[atommom]

35. One of his daughters has pretty much taken over, though she says

she can't be officially in charge since she's female. My guess is that a male figurehead will be appointed, and she'll keep doing the work.

http://www.pitch.com/Issues/2006-11-02/news/feature.html

[baldguy]

25. .

[PresidentObama]

27. Thanks for the information everybody.

The more and more I 'learn' about this man and his cult, it gets more insane by the second.

That's a hilarious picture of pranksters above :evilgrin:

Fags Die God Laughs?

Hopefully someone protests his funeral like he did innocent people, and they hold a sign Fred Dies...Thank God!

Not that I wish death on any man, but I won't be mourning this loss.

Thank you everybody from this young Missourian wanting a history lesson :)

[atommom]

36. I used to live in Topeka, and saw the Phelps family frequently.

They picketed constantly. One of the most disturbing things to me was their use of children (Fred's grandchildren). Something about seeing innocent-looking children and teens holding "fags die god laughs" signs made it all even more stomach-churning. Read Addicted to Hate, and you'll see they're not kind to their children in any way. :(

[TlalocW]

38. Hahahahahah

I recently saw a Youtube video where a fundy was out on a busy street corner holding up a sign concerning whatever moral failing everyone in America has (except him of course), and a guy with a sign that says, "I'm with Stupid," with the arrow pointing to the fundy came up and stood next to him and just hung out.

More people need to do that.

And notice that Fred is wearing that white cowboy hat I talked about in another post.

TlalocW

[ripple]

28. They're addicted to attention

It's an innately hateful bunch to be sure, but I think they make it a point to seek out targets that will give them the most media attention. Protesting gay funerals was no longer garnering the degree of attention Phelps wanted, so he turned his eyes to other targets. As has his family...or congregation, as he likes to call it.

They still protest funerals of gay and lesbian folks in Topeka, but while "God HATES ****", they've found that the media loves fallen soldiers, 9/11 victims, etc. much more. That's why they're doing it. Besides the fact that they're a bunch of sick, hateful fucks, of course.

[SanCristobal]

29. Their website is actually pretty damn funny,

if you can get past the hate. Listen to these quotes about Sweden (from their appropriately titled GOD Hates Sweden page):

Unconfirmed numbers of Swedes are dead as a result of the tsunamis which ravaged Thailand and the other lush resorts of that region, and thousands more are unaccounted for, either still rotting in the tropical conditions or buried, as they deserve, as asses in mass graves (see Jeremiah 22:19). Scarcely a family in Sweden has been untouched by the devastation. Bible preachers say, THANK GOD for it all!

That's the tamest quote I could find on their site. It gets much, much worse. They hate pretty much everyone, and are very happy to let people know how they feel. They used to protest outside of Kansas businesses they knew hired gays, and send thousands of empty faxes at all hours of the day. It eventually stopped when Kansas City passed some sort of anti-fax harassment law.

As big of idiots as they are, the Phelps aren't stupid. They are all lawyers specializing in 1st amendment issues and know just how far they can legally go when they protest. They talk a good game if you let them, Phelps wife made Tyra look like an idiot, but they fold under pressure very quickly. Try to find the old Michael Moore clip of him interviewing Phelps and friends, it's the single best thing Moore has ever done.

The WBC was planning to protest at the funeral of the Amish girls killed last fall (apparently God hates the Amish too), but were bought off by radio host Mike Gallagher. He gave them an hour of nationally syndicated air time to spread their message in return for their not protesting anywhere near the funerals.

[PresidentObama]

33. The Michael Moore piece

Really got a laugh out of me.

Gotta love Michael Moore :)

[TlalocW]

39. There's a town in Kansas

Which bills itself as Little Sweden. According to Phelps, God was supposed to exact His holy wrath on it as well.

TlalocW

[Hippo_Tron]

30. I think Phelps' organization took off around Mathew Shepard's death

Phelps used to be a legitimate attorney and was a big supporter of Al Gore back in '88. Gore was not particularly progressive on gay rights or abortion back then.

To be fair to Gore, he is now progressive on those issues and Phelps wasn't picketing funerals when they were friends.

[salin]

31. Don't know that I would call it an 'organization' - I think nearly all

members, if not *all* members are family - blood or through marraige.

[baldguy]

32. Its a cult.

[PresidentObama]

40. Wow. Just read Addicted to Hate

Well, I read large parts of it and just skimmed through certain aspects of it.

It was really hard to stomach. The brutality this man forces onto his family to impose this sense of not being able to escape, in order to invest their precious minds to things like hate.

Thanks for those of you who recommended reading that. It's horribly hard to stomach reading that piece, but gives me closure that this man is not only wrong--but INSANE!