Read the following news article and then leave your opinion...
The Article is by the burlington free press in Burlington VT.
"Sept. 1 will be the third day of classes at Montpelier High School. Students will be streaming onto the school grounds early that morning, by car and on foot.
Out on the sidewalk leading to the school, they might be greeted by a band of protesters holding signs with messages such as ?God hates fags? and ?God?s curse is on your brats.?
It?s not what Principal Peter Evans had in mind to begin the school year. ?My job is to create a warm and welcoming start of the school year,? he said.
The Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas-based group with a Web site called www.GodHatesFags.com, has announced plans to protest at Montpelier High School and five other Vermont locations that day, the first day same-sex marriage is legal in the state.
?Your state is poised to begin giving out marriages to homosexuals,? said Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps. ?It is that abomination that has sealed your doom.?
Phelps-Roper said she expects up to 10 members to make the trip to Vermont. ?I have my ticket,? she said Thursday.
The group is well-known for outrageous protests around the country, including at soldiers? funerals, where members make pronouncements such as ?Thank God for dead soldiers? and declare that the death is God?s revenge against a sinful nation. They came to Vermont in 1999 to protest same-sex marriage in front of the Vermont Supreme Court.
The group?s message is so universally regarded as offensive that it has some of those who are targeted in a quandary about the best way to respond. Should they ignore the group? Should they counterprotest?
?On the one hand, I would love a bunch of counterprotests,? Evans said, ?but that?s exactly what they hope for. What do you do, just pretend they?re not there??
In Burlington, where the group has said it will protest at three Jewish organizations (whom they dub ?Christ-rejecting?) that day, the same debate is going on.
Rabbi Joshua Chasan, whose Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington is on the group?s protest agenda, noted that the Anti-Defamation League recommends ignoring such groups.
?We respect the right of free speech, and we know that their primary goal is to garner publicity, and there?s nothing to gain by directly engaging with them,? Chasan said.
So instead of planning counter-protests, a group of local clergy and members of the gay and lesbian community have decided to hold ?a community meeting of solidarity in the face of hate speech,? open to all, the evening before.
?It will reflect our thoughts and feelings about free speech and mutual respect,? Chasan said.
The Rev. David O?Brien, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Burlington, said somebody called him wondering if parishioners should plan a counterprotest.
?I?m thinking no,? O?Brien said. ?All that does is draw more attention. I don?t want to feed what they do.?
At the same time, he said, it is painful to see the group use the Baptist name.
?They give Baptists a bad name,? he said. ?We?re a denomination that works very hard at being inclusive and diverse and tolerant.?
For more info you can look the church up on wikepedia. Their website is usually busy though.
Also, one of their members was on fox news, it should be on youtube.
Feel free to comment...
The Article is by the burlington free press in Burlington VT.
"Sept. 1 will be the third day of classes at Montpelier High School. Students will be streaming onto the school grounds early that morning, by car and on foot.
Out on the sidewalk leading to the school, they might be greeted by a band of protesters holding signs with messages such as ?God hates fags? and ?God?s curse is on your brats.?
It?s not what Principal Peter Evans had in mind to begin the school year. ?My job is to create a warm and welcoming start of the school year,? he said.
The Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas-based group with a Web site called www.GodHatesFags.com, has announced plans to protest at Montpelier High School and five other Vermont locations that day, the first day same-sex marriage is legal in the state.
?Your state is poised to begin giving out marriages to homosexuals,? said Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps. ?It is that abomination that has sealed your doom.?
Phelps-Roper said she expects up to 10 members to make the trip to Vermont. ?I have my ticket,? she said Thursday.
The group is well-known for outrageous protests around the country, including at soldiers? funerals, where members make pronouncements such as ?Thank God for dead soldiers? and declare that the death is God?s revenge against a sinful nation. They came to Vermont in 1999 to protest same-sex marriage in front of the Vermont Supreme Court.
The group?s message is so universally regarded as offensive that it has some of those who are targeted in a quandary about the best way to respond. Should they ignore the group? Should they counterprotest?
?On the one hand, I would love a bunch of counterprotests,? Evans said, ?but that?s exactly what they hope for. What do you do, just pretend they?re not there??
In Burlington, where the group has said it will protest at three Jewish organizations (whom they dub ?Christ-rejecting?) that day, the same debate is going on.
Rabbi Joshua Chasan, whose Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington is on the group?s protest agenda, noted that the Anti-Defamation League recommends ignoring such groups.
?We respect the right of free speech, and we know that their primary goal is to garner publicity, and there?s nothing to gain by directly engaging with them,? Chasan said.
So instead of planning counter-protests, a group of local clergy and members of the gay and lesbian community have decided to hold ?a community meeting of solidarity in the face of hate speech,? open to all, the evening before.
?It will reflect our thoughts and feelings about free speech and mutual respect,? Chasan said.
The Rev. David O?Brien, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Burlington, said somebody called him wondering if parishioners should plan a counterprotest.
?I?m thinking no,? O?Brien said. ?All that does is draw more attention. I don?t want to feed what they do.?
At the same time, he said, it is painful to see the group use the Baptist name.
?They give Baptists a bad name,? he said. ?We?re a denomination that works very hard at being inclusive and diverse and tolerant.?
For more info you can look the church up on wikepedia. Their website is usually busy though.
Also, one of their members was on fox news, it should be on youtube.
Feel free to comment...
