A quarter million people petition for the Westboro Baptist Church to be reclassified as a hate group

[Erttheking]

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/legally-recognize-westboro-baptist-church-hate-group/DYf3pH2d

I have to say, I really don't have any problems with this, manly because they seem less like a religion and more like IRL trolls that are going out of their way to piss everyone that they don't like (IE everyone who isn't in their organization that doesn't reach into the three digits)

 

[Rose and Thorn]

People should be allowed to voice their opinions, but what those people do...go out of there way to make people feel like shit. I would personally love to burn that fucking church down.

There is no love, faith or understanding in that place. It isn't a church, it is a sewer.

I agree, it is a hate group.

 

[Strazdas]

People should be allowed to voice their opinions, but what those people do...go out of there way to make people feel like shit. I would personally love to burn that fucking church down.

There is no love, faith or understanding in that place. It isn't a church, it is a sewer.

I agree, it is a hate group.

church is not about love or understanding, purely faith. blind faith is what WBC do and that is what makes them a church. not a very good one but still a church. if you want to ban them ban all churches, else where do we draw the line? how much hate is too much?

 

[Rose and Thorn]

People should be allowed to voice their opinions, but what those people do...go out of there way to make people feel like shit. I would personally love to burn that fucking church down.

There is no love, faith or understanding in that place. It isn't a church, it is a sewer.

I agree, it is a hate group.

church is not about love or understanding, purely faith. blind faith is what WBC do and that is what makes them a church. not a very good one but still a church. if you want to ban them ban all churches, else where do we draw the line? how much hate is too much?

Then we have differing opinions. I would continue this conversation, but I have a feeling it would turn sour.

 

[NearLifeExperience]

I have heard of the WBC having picket rallies at memorial ceremonies for deceased American soldiers, harassing the attending family members and holding up signs that said the dead soldiers are now burning in hell.. as much as I'm against the american military agenda, this is a FUCKED UP thing to do.

I can't believe this wasn't already classified as a hate group the moment they started pulling that shit in America..

Is freedom of speech more important than the right to mourn in peace?

 

[NearLifeExperience]

if you want to ban them ban all churches, else where do we draw the line? how much hate is too much?

When people start to harass mourning friends and familymembers of the deceased, in some bizarre quest to announce that the wrath of their invisible skyfather is upon us all, I think it's pretty self-evident that they've blown a fuse and should be quarantined, isolated from society.

Make no mistake, I also think humanity would be better off without religion, and would applaud a global renounce of faith, to focus on progressing as a species, but to say you don't see the difference between the average Christian and these deranged sociopaths is just stupid.

By the way, I think this topic belongs in the religion and politics forum. Despite one could argue that this is not a religion we should take 'seriously', they themselves claim to have religious motivation, which goes to show how dangerous the cocktail of extreme bigotry, mental disorders and religion can be.

EDIT: My apologies for the double post :x

 

[Screamarie]

Well this is certainly interesting...And I'm quite on the fence about it.

Don't get me wrong, there is very little I hate in the world but the WBC is one of those few things. I support their right to believe, say, and think whatever they want about Comic-Con goers, American soldiers, the LGBT community, and any of their other lunatic ideas, but I don't support them hurting others to make themselves feel good and self-righteous. I honestly don't know how they get away with what they do seeing as it's harassment and disturbing the peace...*sigh*.

I think one would have to take a good, hard look at the definitions of hate-group and church to figure out if this is applicable or not...

I don't understand how those people can be so brainwashed though...more than a hate group, I've often felt they were a cult.

 

[Casual Shinji]

One would hope they'll one day all move to South-America to establish their own Jones Town and have a good old cyanide slushy party.

Maybe that sounds harsh, but I'm so sick of these lunatics.

 

[Abomination]

This is NOT a slippery slope, this is NOT about taking a stance against churches, this is NOT about infringing on the rights of others. This is a surgical strike against a group who goes out of its way to be reviled and cause suffering for others. Such legislation should not be feared, it should be embraced. Practical solutions to impractical problems.

The 'church' uses its tax exempt status to make its picketing and harassment even easier to carry out. They have no tax overhead. That is significant.

 

[Strazdas]

if you want to ban them ban all churches, else where do we draw the line? how much hate is too much?

When people start to harass mourning friends and familymembers of the deceased, in some bizarre quest to announce that the wrath of their invisible skyfather is upon us all, I think it's pretty self-evident that they've blown a fuse and should be quarantined, isolated from society.

Make no mistake, I also think humanity would be better off without religion, and would applaud a global renounce of faith, to focus on progressing as a species, but to say you don't see the difference between the average Christian and these deranged sociopaths is just stupid.

By the way, I think this topic belongs in the religion and politics forum. Despite one could argue that this is not a religion we should take 'seriously', they themselves claim to have religious motivation, which goes to show how dangerous the cocktail of extreme bigotry, mental disorders and religion can be.

EDIT: My apologies for the double post :x

i hate WBC just like any other guy, but thats exactly the point. does our hate justify banning them? wouldn't then their hate justify banning us? of is this a "we have more people therefore we are correct" type of thing? and if "They are bad enough" and "average christian" is "not bad enough" who is to decide that? where do we draw the line? how do we know how much hate is ok and how much is too much?
im obviously playing devils advocate here, but when you can use our own argument against us doesn't that kinda make us hypocrites. i would like all religion to go away as well. but do i have the right to make it so? no. i would be no better than the people who claim that gays arent human.
this thread do belong in that section, but i have no moderating power to make it so.

 

[NearLifeExperience]

-snippu-

If you believe shielding society from harmful organizations led by delusional bigots counts as being hypocritical, I think you should look up the word hypocrisy, because I don't think you know what it means.

These people are nothing but an ulcerous cancer, that we need to take a stand against. You ask how much hate is okay, don't you see how silly that question is? NO amount of hate is ever okay. I fully realize that we are human, and such irrational emotions are kind of our handicap, but to base a religion on it and shoving it down people's throats is just WRONG. It doesn't need defending, nothing good can come from that. "we have more people therefore we are correct"? Try "we have common sense and are therefor correct"

Yes, I know you're not a mod, I was just putting it out there.

 

[Strazdas]

-snippu-

If you believe shielding society from harmful organizations led by delusional bigots counts as being hypocritical, I think you should look up the word hypocrisy, because I don't think you know what it means.

These people are nothing but an ulcerous cancer, that we need to take a stand against. You ask how much hate is okay, don't you see how silly that question is? NO amount of hate is ever okay. I fully realize that we are human, and such irrational emotions are kind of our handicap, but to base a religion on it and shoving it down people's throats is just WRONG. It doesn't need defending, nothing good can come from that. "we have more people therefore we are correct"? Try "we have common sense and are therefor correct"

Yes, I know you're not a mod, I was just putting it out there.

i believe shielding in its roots are bad. but censorship, which is what this is, is not the same as shielding. you are nto trying to make somone be deaf, your making the guy be mute.
if no amount of hate is eve ok, then 99,99% of people should off themselves for not being ok. in fact, game is natural emotion just like love. everyone hates something and everyone loves something. and trying to quantify hate of "this is too much" and "That is ok" simply does not allow for rational comparison. emotions in general are human hnadicaps, but thats who we are, and forcing people to be robots simply doesnt work.
common sense is not so common. if you were to go around and talk to people you would soon find out that its a rarity. if "Average person" is where you look for "common" sense we would still be in the dark ages. while WBC does go a bit too far with forcing other people to believe thier stuff and thats not ok, they did no crime in voicing their side of argument, as stupid as that voice is. unless you found a 100% fail-proof way to mute ONLY the stupid any action attempted to take there are not going to be successful.
im sure youll come swinging with KKK and nazi groups now, but ill stop you there. i dont support them, but i could defend their right to voice thier viewpoint if it came to that. shutting people off jsut because you and many other people dont like what they got to say is not a "smarter" viewpoint.

 

[chadachada123]

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/legally-recognize-westboro-baptist-church-hate-group/DYf3pH2d

I have to say, I really don't have any problems with this, manly because they seem less like a religion and more like IRL trolls that are going out of their way to piss everyone that they don't like (IE everyone who isn't in their organization that doesn't reach into the three digits)

The White House petition website won't even respond to the petition, because it calls for legal action.

It's happened several times, for people that have ACTUALLY and OPENLY broken the law beyond just being hateful assholes.

Here's an example:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/investigate-chris-dodd-and-mpaa-bribery-after-he-publicly-admited-bribing-politicans-pass/DffX0YQv

Official White House Response to
Investigate Chris Dodd and the MPAA for bribery after he publicly admited to bribing politicans to pass legislation.

Why We Can't Comment

Thank you for signing this petition. We appreciate your participation in the We the People platform on Whitehouse.gov. However, consistent with the We the People Terms of Participation and our responses to similar petitions in the past, the White House declines to comment on this petition because it requests a specific law enforcement action.

People REALLY need to stop giving this We the People petition crap attention. Even in cases where the White House DOES respond, they have absolutely no problem lying to their own people, as seen in:

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/repeal-patriot-act/JF1pdPKg
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/end-destructive-wasteful-and-counterproductive-war-drugs/vQwph88D
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/allow-industrial-hemp-be-grown-us-once-again/V2gV7rWy

Captcha: know your rights

The problem is that I DO know my rights, but the federal government doesn't respect their own fucking Constitutional restrictions.

 

[Maze1125]

i hate WBC just like any other guy, but thats exactly the point. does our hate justify banning them? wouldn't then their hate justify banning us? of is this a "we have more people therefore we are correct" type of thing? and if "They are bad enough" and "average christian" is "not bad enough" who is to decide that? where do we draw the line? how do we know how much hate is ok and how much is too much?
im obviously playing devils advocate here, but when you can use our own argument against us doesn't that kinda make us hypocrites. i would like all religion to go away as well. but do i have the right to make it so? no. i would be no better than the people who claim that gays arent human.
this thread do belong in that section, but i have no moderating power to make it so.

Banning them isn't about hate. It's about the fact that they cause harm to others, non-physical harm, but harm nevertheless.

Quite frankly, it is absurd that America has let this continue for so long, any other country would have had those cult leaders locked up years ago. They've gone beyond free-speech into pure harassment a long time ago.

 

[SonOfVoorhees]

Wouldnt it be funny if the WBC was just the devil having lols with a bunch of easily believing idiots? Yeah, these people are definitely going to hell, wish i could be there to see their faces as the door opens to fire.

 

[lechat]

they suck as ppl but everyone has a right to their own opinion and beliefs

captcha happy full moon. watch out

 

[Dead Seerius]

God(WBC) HATES gays.
God(WBC) HATES America.
God(WBC) HATES soldiers.
Etc., etc...

This is where I can see justification in classifying these lunatics as a hate group. I mean, picketing their hatred seems to be all they really do.

 

[katana-409]

This is NOT a slippery slope, this is NOT about taking a stance against churches, this is NOT about infringing on the rights of others. This is a surgical strike against a group who goes out of its way to be reviled and cause suffering for others. Such legislation should not be feared, it should be embraced. Practical solutions to impractical problems.

The 'church' uses its tax exempt status to make its picketing and harassment even easier to carry out. They have no tax overhead. That is significant.

Sir, you deserve a hug for this post.

 

[chadachada123]

i hate WBC just like any other guy, but thats exactly the point. does our hate justify banning them? wouldn't then their hate justify banning us? of is this a "we have more people therefore we are correct" type of thing? and if "They are bad enough" and "average christian" is "not bad enough" who is to decide that? where do we draw the line? how do we know how much hate is ok and how much is too much?
im obviously playing devils advocate here, but when you can use our own argument against us doesn't that kinda make us hypocrites. i would like all religion to go away as well. but do i have the right to make it so? no. i would be no better than the people who claim that gays arent human.
this thread do belong in that section, but i have no moderating power to make it so.

Banning them isn't about hate. It's about the fact that they cause harm to others, non-physical harm, but harm nevertheless.

Quite frankly, it is absurd that America has let this continue for so long, any other country would have had those cult leaders locked up years ago. They've gone beyond free-speech into pure harassment a long time ago.

Do they? They picket a funeral, and then move onto the next one. That isn't harassment. Harassment (as far as legal precedent in the US goes) involves extended, repeated, intentional, directed attacks against a single person or group.

If they CONTINUED to attack a specific family, then it would be harassment. The court, every time it comes up, agrees.

Whether they're trolls or they seriously believe the shit that they spew, all they've done is piss people off, nothing more, making calls to action against them, in my opinion, silly. Just ignore them, and they'll fade away.