Poll: Picketing the Future Funeral of Fred Phelps (Leader of the Westboro Baptist Church)

[Lunar Templar]

no, why even give that filth the attention

 

[Macgyvercas]

I've got money on the WBC itself picketting his funeral, just because it seems like something a bunch of idiotic amoral asswipes would do.

 

[Irridium]

No. They don't deserve the attention.

 

[AngryMongoose]

Wait, Picket at his funeral? Ofcourse not. I whole heartedly support his death.

 

[someonehairy-ish]

It's about the fact that we are against picketing funerals, because they're sacred and incredibly sensitive.

Why would you want to do something you despise and are against?
Makes no sense to me.

There's a difference between picketing the funeral of a soldier or black person or a gay person and picketing the funeral of an evil hateful nazi bastard who will be going to hell anyway.
That's how I see it anyway.

So you're saying it's okay because you don't agree with his life views?

That means he's right in doing it too. He does not agree with the life views of homosexuals, soldiers and so on.
Why should your opinion be more important than his?

Don't forget that it's this mentality that makes him act like he does. He justifies it by saying it's wrong and god hates it. Just because I agree with you (that he's a fucking awful human being), doesn't mean I can turn a blind eye to this horrible display of double standard.

True. But... Fuck it. Not doing it feels to me like showing sympathy for Hitler. I think this goes deeper than just 'double-standards,' this guy has literally devoted his life to ruining everyone else's lives. If there is ever a time when sinking to somebody's level is appropriate, this would be it.

Meh. You're probably right though.

 

[PatrickXD]

My initial reaction was "hells yeah, show them what it's like!"
But wouldn't it be better if a group of hundreds of regular people - be they soldiers, athiests, Jewish, gay straight, whatever - showed up to pay their respects to the guy?
Naturally the WBC compound would be firebombed, too.

 

[Twilight_guy]

No. You don't protests the actions of a group by doing doing exactly what they did in revenge, that's just perpetuating the thing you hate. You fight these actions by being the bigger man (metaphorically) and choosing not to preform these actions in an act of revenge.

Here's the thing though. We're working with people who seem to have no actual sense of empathy. They don't know or don't care how the families of those who they do this to feel, which if true actually makes them psychopaths, but we'll leave the discussion of just how crazy WBC is for later.

IN this way, we know being nice to them doesn't work. We know taking the high ground has no effect on them whatsoever.

Want proof? Watch Louis Theroux's documentaries on them. As usual, Theroux attempted to get competely unbiased look at his subjects, indeed, he may be the only man who has ever attempted to bring their side of the story to mainstream media, and they hated him for it. He's now actually commonly mentioned by them as the devil.

I'm not saying it's necessarily morally right to picket this man's funeral, yes, it goes down to their level, but at least this way, there is a small chance that some of them may finally see what they do to others, whereas the high road is clearly achieving nothing in this case.

Its not about teaching them the error of their ways, its about not about stooping to their level, its about that fact that your saying X is a dick because he did Y and then saying I'm going to do Y and I'm not a dick because I'm special. No. If you do the kind of stupid things the WBC does, for whatever reason, you are being like them and that's not acceptable. It's clear to me that they aren't going to change. Being mean and doing annoying things to them is not only going to fuel their trolling but also make them more obstinate. The correct action is to do what the right thing is and ignore these trolls as the attention whores they are.

 

[Doclector]

No. You don't protests the actions of a group by doing doing exactly what they did in revenge, that's just perpetuating the thing you hate. You fight these actions by being the bigger man (metaphorically) and choosing not to preform these actions in an act of revenge.

Here's the thing though. We're working with people who seem to have no actual sense of empathy. They don't know or don't care how the families of those who they do this to feel, which if true actually makes them psychopaths, but we'll leave the discussion of just how crazy WBC is for later.

IN this way, we know being nice to them doesn't work. We know taking the high ground has no effect on them whatsoever.

Want proof? Watch Louis Theroux's documentaries on them. As usual, Theroux attempted to get competely unbiased look at his subjects, indeed, he may be the only man who has ever attempted to bring their side of the story to mainstream media, and they hated him for it. He's now actually commonly mentioned by them as the devil.

I'm not saying it's necessarily morally right to picket this man's funeral, yes, it goes down to their level, but at least this way, there is a small chance that some of them may finally see what they do to others, whereas the high road is clearly achieving nothing in this case.

Its not about teaching them the error of their ways, its about not about stooping to their level, its about that fact that your saying X is a dick because he did Y and then saying I'm going to do Y and I'm not a dick because I'm special. No. If you do the kind of stupid things the WBC does, for whatever reason, you are being like them and that's not acceptable. It's clear to me that they aren't going to change. Being mean and doing annoying things to them is not only going to fuel their trolling but also make them more obstinate. The correct action is to do what the right thing is and ignore these trolls as the attention whores they are.

But we've tried ignoring them. We haven't tried to do exactly the same things they do to others. Again, I ain't questioning that it's childish, and sinks to their level, but we can't say sinking to their level doesn't work until we've actually tried.

 

[chowderface]

No, by and large I don't believe in celebrating the deaths of others. I wasn't even comfortable with all the celebrating going on surrounding Osama bin Laden's death, and as an American citizen I was culturally obligated to masturbate myself to sleep thinking about it happening for the last ten years.

That said, I'm not gonna even remotely pretend to be actually sorry he's gone, and the only comment I'll pass is good riddance to bad rubbish.

 

[Varitel]

I'm undecided on this, but I think the people worrying about stooping to their level are being a little bit silly. Picketing his funeral would not make someone as bad as they are. It might make you a bit less desirable a person, but you aren't picketing the funeral of someone who died fighting for any sort of good, or rallying against other people's private sexual views. You just want some damned justice in the world.
Would I do it? Well, if I wasn't lazy, I would definitely consider it. I feel like they deserve far, far worse after all.

The concern is not so much sinking down to their level as it is that picketing a funeral is in poor taste as I said above

Well for that argument I just don't really see it.
Yes, picketing funerals tends to be in poor taste. That is a time of mourning that is very important to people.
But when you have spent years and years doing that to people who have had to deal with the difficulties of being a military family just so you can tell another group of people that tends to have a very tough time getting by socially in this world that god hates them? You've given up the right.

In my mind, it has nothing to do with whether or not someone deserves the treatment. I just believe that if you picket at a funeral, you're being a dick. Phelps is a dick, granted, but why should I let someone else's twisted morality mess with my own.

 

[Broknhead]

The head said "No, as us rational humans should do everything to set an example and not lower ourselves to the level of the likes of him."

The heart did a spittake and said "Phwa ha ha ha up his! Hells yeah, that stupid old git deserves a taste of his own medicine."

I know that doesn't look like a moral choice, but for a long time I genuinely couldn't decide. Usually I'm all for the rise above point of view, but... man, that would be some sweet poetic justice.

For me the only way to resolve this is to imagine myself picketing his funeral, and I have to say I'm immediately uncomfortable with that idea. Irrespective of what he and his family did, it would still be the swan song of a human life, and despite his abhorrent views, it just feels wrong to ruin what is an important ceremony for some people. (This coming from a bisexual atheist.)

when your brain and heart are at odds, let your penis decide

edit:

also, u hear a lot of people saying about one group or another "they arent true christians", but WBC beliefs are true to the bible, so essentially they are the truest christians of all because they dont cherry pick from the bible.

 

[Phlakes]

No. [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim] I don't have much to add to that, except that dropping to his level for the lulz only makes you look worse.

 

[Mrrrgggrlllrrrg]

Don't give them attention, if you want to insult those people then by all means treat his death with apathy. To hate on his funeral will only feed them, to console will only recognize them, to treat them with apathy like they don't matter even in death is an insult worthy of that traitor.

He fancies himself a man who understands law but by now he's committed treason by its definition I'm amazed he hasn't been arrested yet to stand trial.

 

[Saltyk]

Personally, I say no. While every action the WBC makes is a disgusting abomination, while I choke with rage at the thought of them picketing the funerals of dead soldiers and children, while everything they do I find offensive, I don't give a damn about that man. I hate his actions and his followers actions. But I don't care about him. He never crosses my mind. I think that is a more fitting punishment.

However, on the day he dies, and goes to burn in Hell, while Satan preforms actions upon him that I doubt I can say in a civilized conversation (also for fear of Mod wrath), I will shed no tears. If others wish to picket his funeral an evil smile will cross my lips. It would be an oddly appropriate punishment for his rotting, maggot infested corpse and those who respect him.

Don't expect me to be there. Don't expect me to cheer you on. But, hey, I'll understand.

 

[electric_warrior]

No because they really wouldn't care that much. If there was something we could do that'd actually get to them, I'd be fully in favour, but it wouldn't be that.

 

[Stg]

At our local college, we had a few Westboro members who were beaten severely when another student's brother was killed in Iraq and they decided it would be a good idea to make some signs that were in extremely bad taste towards the dead soldier.

Considering they were all standing on the American flag while cheering on the Iraqi soldiers for "yet another great kill", they got less than what they deserved. Even a few of the faculty which shall remain nameless, stood by as long as possible until they had to try and step in to stop the beating.

Now, the thing that pisses me off so much is this is what the Westboro people want. They want us to become enraged at their stupidity because as two of them were hoisted into an ambulance, they were smiling and laughing about the people who just attacked them - calling them pathetic patriots and ignorant fag lovers. There is too much ignorance coming from those people that they cannot be helped nor will anything teach them a lesson. They just need to cease to exist as a whole for all this nonsense to stop.

 

[Sectan]

I'm sure we would all love to do it in our minds, but it's just giving the group more attention. Not picketing shows that we don't care. What they're doing has no effect on us and we can be better and all that 'n such. How do you get rid of a troll? You ignore the hell out of it. It gets bored and bothers someone else.

 

[TheTim]

I can't believe i'm about to use this silly little quote for pacifist sissies,

"An eye for an eye makes the world go blind"

While the world is much better off without this worthless piece of trash, do you all really want to take the plummet down to his level and do what he's been doing for so long?