On September 1st, members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a group know nationally for outrageous and offensive protests, plans six protests in Montpelier and Burlington (on the first day that same-sex marriages become legal in the state).
• 7:20-7:50 a.m.: Montpelier High School.
• 7:55-8:25 a.m. Statehouse, Montpelier.
• 8:30-9 a.m. Montpelier City Clerk’s Office.
• 9:45-10:15 a.m.: University of Vermont Hillel, Burlington.
• 10:15-10:45 a.m.: Chabad of Vermont, Burlington
• 10:45-11:15 a.m. Ohavi Zedek Synagogue, Burlington.
Local organizations plan a “Community Meeting of Solidarity in the Face of Hate Speech,” 7:30 p.m. Aug. 31, First Congregational Church, 38 S. Winooski Ave., Burlington.
At that meeting, speaking to a packed house at the United Congregationalist Church in downtown Burlington, a Rabbi said, "We gather together here tonight because we will not gather to respond to the hate on display tomorrow. We will ignore them." He understood that this is what the churchmembers want, and it gave me chills to hear him say that, and to listen to the spontaneous burst of applause that immediately followed.
It is my sincere opinion that the churchmembers' purpose is to offend people to the point of retaliation, during which it is likely that violations of the churchmembers’ civil rights will occur, thus giving them grounds for lawsuits. I believe this is how a community of ~70 with no known source of income sustains a comfortable lifestyle. Financially comfortable, that is. The anger shown through counterprotesting the Phelps' is the anger the Phelps' are going for.
Here are some interesting sites with more information. I definitely recommend the link to the transcript, as well as the story of Fred Phelps' son...
This transcript of an interview is just one example of how Phelps fights dirty from word one to elicit an emotional and aggressive reaction out of his interviewer:
http://crooksandliars.com/2007/11/02/rev-fred-phelps-loses-11-million-in-lawsuit-cries-hogwash/Another example of this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCdT9dfrb-QFred Phelps is a damaged man who may find hating the world around him easier than facing his own demons:
http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:nOE4p0EXGrMJ:www.skeeterbitesreport.com/2006/06/exposed-dirty-secret-that-anti-gay.html+Pastor+Fred+Phelps+%22source+of+income%22+suing&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us&client=safariThe Story of Fred Phelp’s Estranged Son (absolutely fascinating!):
http://www.stoppingthehate.com/News-Article1302_Nate_Phelps_Estranged_Son_Of_Fred_Phelps_Speaks_Out_Publicly.htmTimeline of the Church:
http://www.stoppingthehate.com/News-Article999_They%27re_Creepy_And_They%27re_Kooky_Mysterious_And_Spooky_They%27re_All_Together_Ooky_The_Phelps_Family.htm
