Fred Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church/God Hates F-gs Tries to Protest Chicago's Center on Halsted

http://www.bilerico.com/2008/12/fred_phelpss_westboro_baptist_churchgod.php
Yasmin Nair
December 16, 2008 1:30 PM


These guys are not giving us any rest. As some of you know, I've been covering and photographing the group as it makes its way through Chicago.

Most recently, on Saturday, December 13, they decided to picket the (LGBTQ) Center on Halsted, in the city's Boystown area. I was there to capture the very intense encounter between WBC/GHF and the over 100 counter demonstrators who showed up to support the Center. The Church even brought along two very young children, as you'll see in the photos.

One of Phelps tactics is to provoke people into having a confrontation and then suing them. Never, never confront them. It will do you no good.

You can provoke them instead.

Old Freddy can't be all bad -- he totally pisses off all of the conservative Baptist and Pentacostal fundies I know. 


By the way, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE GODHATESFIGS.COM WEBSITE??!!!

Quote from: Alyssa M. on December 17, 2008, 12:01:18 AM
By the way, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE GODHATESFIGS.COM WEBSITE??!!!

I hadn't heard of this one before... and I don't read Japanese 

You might like God Hates Shrimp http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/

Z

Jebus loves me, but he can't stand you.

They're just like Miss Watson from Huckleberry Finn.

QuoteHer sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me now, with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up. I couldn't stood it much longer. Then for an hour it was deadly dull, and I was fidgety. Miss Watson would say, "Dont put your feet up there, Huckleberry;" and "dont scrunch up like that, Huckleberry set up straight;" and pretty soon she would say, "Don't gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry; why don't you try to behave?" Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She got mad, then, but I didn't mean no harm. All I wanted was to go some-wheres ; all I wanted was a change, I warn't particular. She said it was wicked to say what I said; said she wouldn't say it for the whole world; she was going to live so as to go to the good place. Well, I couldn't see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn't try for it. But I never said so, because it would only make trouble, and wouldn't do no good.

Samuel Clemens was a rabble-rouser, troublemaker and did little but mock conventional social ideals.  We need more people like him.

Quote from: Zythyra on December 17, 2008, 09:06:31 AM

Quote from: Alyssa M. on December 17, 2008, 12:01:18 AM
By the way, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO THE GODHATESFIGS.COM WEBSITE??!!!

I hadn't heard of this one before... and I don't read Japanese 

You might like God Hates Shrimp http://www.godhatesshrimp.com/

Z

That's what I mean. It used to be English. And funny. Alas. I think I found a link to it about a year ago from landoverbaptist.org.

--

I always thought this was the most powerful passage from Huck Finn, just after he writes a note selling Jim down the river, in order to repent of his "sin" of helping Jim escape from slavery:

Quote
I felt good and all washed clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life, and I knowed I could pray now. But I didn't do it straight off, but laid the paper down and set there thinking -- thinking how good it was all this happened so, and how near I come to being lost and going to hell. And went on thinking. And got to thinking over our trip down the river; and I see Jim before me all the time: in the day and in the night-time, sometimes moonlight, sometimes storms, and we a-floating along, talking and singing and laughing. But somehow I couldn't seem to strike no places to harden me against him, but only the other kind. I'd see him standing my watch on top of his'n, 'stead of calling me, so I could go on sleeping; and see him how glad he was when I come back out of the fog; and when I come to him again in the swamp, up there where the feud was; and such-like times; and would always call me honey, and pet me and do everything he could think of for me, and how good he always was; and at last I struck the time I saved him by telling the men we had small-pox aboard, and he was so grateful, and said I was the best friend old Jim ever had in the world, and the ONLY one he's got now; and then I happened to look around and see that paper.

It was a close place. I took it up, and held it in my hand. I was a-trembling, because I'd got to decide, forever, betwixt two things, and I knowed it. I studied a minute, sort of holding my breath, and then says to myself:

"All right, then, I'll GO to hell" -- and tore it up.

It was awful thoughts and awful words, but they was said. And I let them stay said; and never thought no more about reforming. I shoved the whole thing out of my head, and said I would take up wickedness again, which was in my line, being brung up to it, and the other warn't. And for a starter I would go to work and steal Jim out of slavery again; and if I could think up anything worse, I would do that, too; because as long as I was in, and in for good, I might as well go the whole hog.

Quote from: Alyssa M. on December 17, 2008, 12:56:43 PM
"All right, then, I'll GO to hell" -- and tore it up.

Yes. The most poinent line in the book.

Quote from: tekla on December 17, 2008, 11:24:58 AM
Samuel Clemens was a rabble-rouser, troublemaker and did little but mock conventional social ideals.  We need more people like him.

Yes, we definitely need more people like Mark Twain in today's world!

Z

Quote from: tekla on December 17, 2008, 11:24:58 AM
Samuel Clemens was a rabble-rouser, troublemaker and did little but mock conventional social ideals.

*saunters in*