Draw The Line
My girlfriend sent this article to me today. Her husband is a Marine.
This article mortified me. I believe in freedom of speech and protesting but dammit I draw the line when you do it at a place or a time like this, let alone with the message that these people are sending/supporting. These poor people should be allowed to mourn and bury their loved ones in peace. These are just cruel, ignorant, selfish, unappreciative, homophob, publicity whorish assholes with nothing better to do with their time then to harress grieving strangers. Why can't they just leave these survivors alone whose loved ones supported the very same country these church people live & breathe in allowing them the right to protest, basically uneffected by the war?
The bottom line here is that these protestors are marching around the wrong people with the wrong message. These poor families had/have enough to deal with by having someone they love leave them to fight for a cause they may or may not have believed in, for who knows how long and come home dead. Let them be. Once this cult masquerading as a *church* hones in a message that is not 100% asinine, can not be outlined in a DSM book and has an ounce of credibility, take it to the steps of Washington instead of a grave.
And just to level things out here, by all means this does not imply I support this war.
Funeral- Friday, 09 Dec 2005 1230, w/ Interment at Abraham National Cemetary, Elwood IL
By Tim Waldorf/ Suburban Chicago News
staff writer
From all accounts, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Adam Kaiser lived a quiet life before he was killed serving with the Marines in Iraq. His funeral service, however, may not be that quiet. A church group that protests funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq with signs that read "God Hates America" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" plans to be there.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, the attorney for Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., said a group from the church intends to protest at both Kaiser's funeral and the funeral of Byron resident Lance Cpl. Andrew Patten, 19, who was also killed in Thursday's blast in Fallujah.
The group has already protested about a dozen funerals in Illinois. Fred Phelps, Westboro's pastor, said soldiers' deaths are God's way of punishing America for its "acceptance of homosexuality. " Wade Kaiser, Adam's father, said he heard of the group about two weeks ago, and after his son's death, was told by the Marines to prepare for their presence. Wade said he thinks it is sad that the group wants to do this, but he supports their right to do it. "But I think it will show a lot of people what these people are all about," Wade said. "I think it should be an embarrassment to them, and it does nothing to help their cause."
Naperville Police Sgt. Joel Truemper said the department is aware of the possibility that the Westboro group may protest at Kaiser's funeral. He said Naperville police already planned to have a presence at the service, just as they have for the other funerals of Naperville soldiers recently killed in combat. At past funeral services, police have worked with funeral homes and churches to protect mourners' privacy by asking unwanted parties to leave the property.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing a new law that would prohibit protests within 300 feet of any military funeral. "To have these vile signs and epithets hurled at any family and any funeral is wrong," Quinn told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We should respect the right of any family to grieve and bury their dead with reverence." Phelps said such a law would be unconstitutional, but Quinn said the U.S Supreme Court has allowed the type of restrictions he is proposing.
This article mortified me. I believe in freedom of speech and protesting but dammit I draw the line when you do it at a place or a time like this, let alone with the message that these people are sending/supporting. These poor people should be allowed to mourn and bury their loved ones in peace. These are just cruel, ignorant, selfish, unappreciative, homophob, publicity whorish assholes with nothing better to do with their time then to harress grieving strangers. Why can't they just leave these survivors alone whose loved ones supported the very same country these church people live & breathe in allowing them the right to protest, basically uneffected by the war?
The bottom line here is that these protestors are marching around the wrong people with the wrong message. These poor families had/have enough to deal with by having someone they love leave them to fight for a cause they may or may not have believed in, for who knows how long and come home dead. Let them be. Once this cult masquerading as a *church* hones in a message that is not 100% asinine, can not be outlined in a DSM book and has an ounce of credibility, take it to the steps of Washington instead of a grave.
And just to level things out here, by all means this does not imply I support this war.
Funeral- Friday, 09 Dec 2005 1230, w/ Interment at Abraham National Cemetary, Elwood IL
By Tim Waldorf/ Suburban Chicago News
staff writer
From all accounts, 19-year-old Lance Cpl. Adam Kaiser lived a quiet life before he was killed serving with the Marines in Iraq. His funeral service, however, may not be that quiet. A church group that protests funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq with signs that read "God Hates America" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" plans to be there.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, the attorney for Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., said a group from the church intends to protest at both Kaiser's funeral and the funeral of Byron resident Lance Cpl. Andrew Patten, 19, who was also killed in Thursday's blast in Fallujah.
The group has already protested about a dozen funerals in Illinois. Fred Phelps, Westboro's pastor, said soldiers' deaths are God's way of punishing America for its "acceptance of homosexuality. " Wade Kaiser, Adam's father, said he heard of the group about two weeks ago, and after his son's death, was told by the Marines to prepare for their presence. Wade said he thinks it is sad that the group wants to do this, but he supports their right to do it. "But I think it will show a lot of people what these people are all about," Wade said. "I think it should be an embarrassment to them, and it does nothing to help their cause."
Naperville Police Sgt. Joel Truemper said the department is aware of the possibility that the Westboro group may protest at Kaiser's funeral. He said Naperville police already planned to have a presence at the service, just as they have for the other funerals of Naperville soldiers recently killed in combat. At past funeral services, police have worked with funeral homes and churches to protect mourners' privacy by asking unwanted parties to leave the property.
Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn is proposing a new law that would prohibit protests within 300 feet of any military funeral. "To have these vile signs and epithets hurled at any family and any funeral is wrong," Quinn told the Chicago Sun-Times. "We should respect the right of any family to grieve and bury their dead with reverence." Phelps said such a law would be unconstitutional, but Quinn said the U.S Supreme Court has allowed the type of restrictions he is proposing.
up for sale by melmar at 9:25 AM
3 Comments:
It's very scary and sickening. What makes these peoples' insides rott with so much hate & malice?
What pisses me off is there use of the Baptist church name when they are do not adhere to Baptist doctrine at all. After viewing their webpage and seeing how they justify the bible supporting their position it is evident that they are nothing more than a hate group/cult. As a Baptist I am appalled and saddened that their name will provide a negative association for the real church to do good.
Melmar,
There is a group of Ves that blocks this A'hole from protesting funerals. Several I know would love to "give him a talkin' too" but the police are around. He'll get his in this life or the next. I am embarassed to see that it happened in my neck of the woods. I will try and be more vigallant.
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