Good morning, Netizens…

Yesterday we were witness to the whirlwind tour of the Westboro Baptist Church demonstrations throughout Spokane, and there were a remarkable number of counter-demonstrations nose-to-nose across the street from one another. Having been involved in several demonstrations in the 60’s and 70’s I was not prepared for the civility and decency that Spokane’s home-grown demonstrations brought to the forefront.

While I did not have enough free time to attend each demonstration, the non-traditional and ordinary news media was well-represented enough I did not feel the need to be at each demonstration.

The Westboro Church’s demonstration was about HATRED, pure and simple, and their entire set of premises, anti-gay, anti-Jew, anti-just about anything you hold near and dear, which brought them to Spokane simply are wrong. They were debated in the streets by hundreds of people who were having no part of it.

The best part, perhaps, is that no one was arrested, despite a strong police presence. However, the people of Spokane told them in language that even deaf elephants understand that we had no use for their hatred. It did me a lot of good to have so many Spokane citizens, from a broad spectrum of societal and social groups, united against Westboro’s hate-filled beliefs.

I cannot help but wonder will they come our way again? In their own words, they came to deliver a message; did they get our message?

Dave

Good evening, Netizens…

Westboro Baptist Church is coming to Spokane to continue spewing more hatred against gays, and from their website, we present the Westboro itinerary for the Spokane area:

Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA October 21, 2010 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Moody Bible Institute in Spokane, WA October 21, 2010 11:40 AM - 12:10 PM

Whitworth University in Spokane, WA October 21, 2010 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Rodgers High School in Spokane, WA October 21, 2010 2:25 PM - 2:55 PM

Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA October 21, 2010 3:45 PM - 4:15 PM

Synagogue Chavurat HaMashiach in Spokane, WA October 21, 2010  6:00 PM - 6:30 PM

Coeur d’Alene High School in Coeur d’Alene, ID October 22, 2010 6:10 AM - 6:40 AM

Lake City High School in Coeur d’Alene, ID October 22, 2010 7:10 AM - 7:40 AM

North Idaho College in Coeur D’Alene, ID October 22, 2010 8:00 AM - 8:30 AM

North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene, ID October 30, 2010 6:45 PM - 7:30 PM

I have been following the statements and actions of Fred Phelps and his band of approximately 70 unaffiliated Baptist Church members for several months now, and I am no more opposed to their exercising their freedom of speech than I am of anyone else. However, like the person(s) who cry FIRE in a crowded theaters, there are limitations. Spitting on the caskets of dead Marines who gave their lives in the defense of liberty seems like a good place to start changing from a hysterically-outrageous little church of 70 hate-filled Baptists into something more worthwhile and reverent. Dragging our US flag in the dirt in parades just doesn’t sit that well for me, either.

However, when I say these people are on the absolute outer fringe of organized religions, I appear to be in good company. Westboro Baptist Church is currently classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. They spend over $200,000 a year on traveling around the country to express their opinions filled with hatred.

If you truly want to know more about the people from Westboro Baptist Church, I highly recommend you read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church and you will see why they are viewed as a hate group.

Dave