Westboro Baptist plans to protest in Joplin Sunday

[dixiegrrrrl]

The Westboro Baptist Church — known for its protests at the funerals of soldiers and people with HIV/AIDS — plans to picket in Joplin on Sunday, where at least 125 people have died in a tornado.

On its website, the church says “Thank God for 125 dead,” an echo of its common refrain crediting God with having people killed in retribution for the United States’ tolerance of homosexuality.

Members plans to be in Joplin on Sunday when President Barack Obama is to visit and may attend at a memorial service for storm victims.

Link ( no more info than above at link)

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110525048

[RKP5637]

1. These people are sooooooooooooo F'ed up! n/t

[SpiralHawk]

2. Republcion Family Values to the Nth degree

degenerate

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[yellowcanine]

12. If they keep this crap up it will end badly at some point. You can only push people so far.

And celebrating the deaths of people from a tornado may be crossing a line which will trigger a backlash against them. This is why the SCOTUS was wrong, I believe. This is in fact the equivalent of yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater.

[RKP5637]

16. Exactly!!! " ... the equivalent of yelling "fire!" in a crowded theater." We are too

tolerant in this country of this nonsense.

We talk of freedom of speech, but gross irresponsible freedom of speech can result in the loss of freedom of speech for all, eventually ... if, for example, a totalitarian regime rises under the guise of freedom of speech.

[bobbolink]

38. "totalitarian regime rises under the guise of freedom of speech." I just wrote about that.

You see, this also covers the slurs against women and poor people, but we don't want to look at our own complicity. That is the first tenet of non-violence... to look at how it also exists in US.

I'm hearing a lot of that "freedom of speech" here today... justifying slurs against women.

The Westboro group is evil.... but we also need to look at our own feet going down the same paths, and the people who are hurt in the process.

As for this next show of hate... I hope organizars are in place to block them with signs of support, as they have done in the past.

I would also like to see the same sort of thing done on behalf of the ugliness towards poor people and, today, women.

Targets of hate need protection.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

18. Westboro Baptist WANTS a bad end, a backlash

Their business plan is to goad people and local governments into violence or other illegal action.

Then they sue, settle, and walk the check to the bank.

Can't argue with success!

:hi:

[kentauros]

35. Perhaps we should goad them into protesting at

gang-member funerals ;)

[RKP5637]

13. These people are an outrage to freedom of speech which IMO connotes a

level of responsibility for ones words in terms of making a better society for all. They are crass, gross and rude, and preach the devil's word.

[jberryhill]

36. And who gets to define "responsible" speech?

[RKP5637]

37. That, is very difficult IMO. It's apparently been addressed in UK for some cases, but to my

knowledge we have not. I agree, it's a very slippery slope!

[Le Taz Hot]

4. These people's perpetual grave dancing

is going to lead to their demise. Someone is going to just flat out lose it, shoot 'em all and let their GawdA sort 'em out.

[xmas74]

10. And there are many gun owners in that part of the country.

A coworker passed a similar article on to me and said that there's talk of people showing with guns and sorting it out from there.

[pintobean]

22. I saw on the news

St. Louis County sent 25 cops to Joplin to help their overworked officers. I imagine other departments around the state are doing the same.

[xmas74]

25. We have them on the ground

Our sheriff is there helping them dig.

People are exhausted and this group wants to pull this stunt? Someone's going to drop their basket and open fire eventually.

[hifiguy]

23. Indeed. And it can't come soon enough.

You can only go around poking lions for so long. Karma is going to come back on them with a real vengeance some day.

[hobbit709]

5. Westboro Baptist is proof there is no god.

no self-respecting god would allow these clowns to use his name.

[xmas74]

7. I see it as proof that there might just be a devil. nt

[hobbit709]

8. you have to believe in one to believe in the other.

Two sides of the same coin.

[xmas74]

14. I'm a believer

but I don't expect others to do the same. That's the great thing about being a liberal-we can agree to disagree and still find plenty of other things to agree with! :hi:

[RKP5637]

19. Yeah! I'm not a religious person, but I went to church and all as a youth and

learned the good things in religion, helping others, etc., tolerance, etc. These people represent to me all of the evilness of the world and the devil working under the cloak of religion and god's word.

[xmas74]

20. That's how I see it.

I do believe, though I don't always live as I should. I try my best. IMO, he (won't print name) is one of Satan's minions, pure and simple.

Of course, I have no problems with people believing otherwise. :toast:

[xmas74]

6. I was just coming to post this.

The difference is that I refuse to use their names, since I know they have bragged about googling themselves in the past.

I refer to them all as "Satan in Topeka", "Shitheads in Topeka"-I think you get the idea.

[LeftinOH]

9. It's just possible that there is limited tolerance for homosexuals in Joplin-

but the Westboro assholes don't care about that. It's too bad there wasnt a tornado in Topeka -specifically at the Westboro compound.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. I rarely become infuriated.

That bunch does raise my blood pressure tho.
I cannot fathom any useful purpose they have on this planet.

[Newsjock]

15. It's a business model

1. Provoke people with stupid, over-the-top statements.
2. Wait to see who reacts outside the law.
3. Sue the hell out of them.
4. PROFIT

This isn't about "religion" one whit. It's how the Phelps clan of lawyers finances their lives.

[jberryhill]

24. Wow, I didn't read your post before mine

But it is depressing how people get sucked into the WBC stunts. You'd think enough people would know by now.

[lapislzi]

33. Raw nerves are their currency

They know full well that frazzled, traumatized people don't always use good judgment.

[Zorra]

17. Forrest Gump would say, "Stupid is as stupid does".

and he'd be perfectly spot on in this case.

[jberryhill]

21. ZZZZZzzzzzz......

It's a formula.

1. Awful thing happens.

2. WBC announces they will come to gravedance for the purpose of pissing folks off.

3. Pissed off folks give WBC lots of free advertising for their appearance, to make sure that other folks get pissed off.

4. Motivated pissed off people show up, and give WBC grounds for lawsuits.

5. Profit.

Please. Stop participating in their game.

[xmas74]

27. They are idiots in this case.

They've been chased out of Missouri before. Now imagine a whole state hurting, a state full of proud gun nuts who'd love nothing better then open season on them.

This could end up bad-really bad.

[jberryhill]

31. Bad for whom?

Touch one hair on their heads and they will make a lot of money out of the event.

You really don't get this, do you?

When you say they got "chased out of Missouri", do you know what happened next?


http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/aclu-eastern-missouri-applauds-decision-free-speech-case

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit found in favor of Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, a member of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), in a case challenging a Missouri law that stripped her of her constitutional rights to free speech and religious liberty by banning protests at funerals. The court’s decision in Phelps-Roper v. Nixon reverses an earlier decision that denied Phelps-Roper’s request for a preliminary injunction while the constitutionality of the law is reviewed.

-----

Hey, chase ME out of Missouri sometime, so that I can get in on the deal.

[rocktivity]

26. Protest what? The weather?

If anything, they should be protesting the guy who embarrassed their religion by miscalculating the rapture -- again!

:crazy:
rocktivity

[MatthewStLouis]

28. What cognitive dissonance many christian conservatives must have with this bunch!

The Westboro people are courting violence, especially in that neck of the woods. Interesting dichotomy down there. For such a right wing area, Joplin has a fair sized gay community.

[guitar man]

29. Joplin could be a dangerous place

I mean, there is a lot of debris piled up, debris hanging from damaged buildings that could fall... any number of bad things can happen in an unstable environment like that....I'm just sayin' :evilgrin:

[Bake]

30. Tornados have been called the "finger of God."

If so, God, PLEEEEEEASE send two: one to wipe out Westboro Baptist Church, and one to "rapture" its members if/when they show up in Joplin.

Amen.

Bake

[ejpoeta]

32. what if people just ignored these jerks. what they want is attention.

as others have posted, they want to get people to hit them or do something they can sue them over. if people ignore them then they have no reason to keep doing it. these people make me sick, but they get too much power... too much energy. people react and it seems to just make them do it more. how do you get everyone to ignore them. turn their backs? refuse to cover them collectively? would that even be possible? publicly shun them? they deserve it and it seems if it were possible to be the only thing that would hurt them in any way.

[Shagbark Hickory]

34. Unrec for empowering the inbreds.