When a small Kansas City, KS high school came under attack by the lunatics from the Westboro Baptist Church, the community and the students fought back, loudly. Hundreds of Shawnee Mission East High School students and many adults gathered to counter protest the hate group yesterday.
The high school has an active Gay Straight Alliance and elected an openly gay student as homecoming king. Since Westboro Church members believe that God is punishing America for tolerating homosexuality, that didn't sit too well with them.
Jake Davidson, a
16-year-old junior who organized the protests said, “Everyone is equal whether you’re gay or straight… It’s really cool that everyone wants to be involved and take a stand
against this. It doesn’t surprise me that everyone wants to help out.”
I think it's wonderful to see such a crowd gather in support of gay students. The church and others who preach homophobia should be scared, this is the next generation and they have shown time and time again that they will not stand for this bigotry. What do you guys think of the demonstration?
– Andy
Photo Credit: Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City
For another picture of the protest, and to see how the WBC shamelessly uses their children, follow the JUMP:
WOW! This is truly amazing! It’s so wonderful to see how truly supportive even a small community can be! And it’s extremely sad that the members of the Westboro Church brainwash their children! I mean really… move into this century. $0 years ago I bet it was their parents who were protesting against African-American rights!
BTW… i mean 40 years above. LOL!
it’s to bad these children can’t be taken away from their parents since this truely is child abuse. i’m glad they fought back, it will be great when more and more people fight back against these nuttjobs. my prayers go out to the children since they are innocents. on the other hand, even though my prayers also go out to the adults, they are in for one rude suprise when they finally do die and stand before the creator!
yep, if the state can’t even manage to take away the FLDS kids, with various reports of girls 12 or younger being forced to marry, I doubt they’ll have any chance with this group. Hopefully these kids learn on their own, but I’m not betting on it.
You know, Fred Phelps would be doing the world a favor if he’d just take a shotgun and aim it at himself – and fire. The guy is a number one jackass, and a**hole.
Wishing anyone to kill himself, no matter how vile a person he or she is, is not a positive message we would want to send within our community. Yet repeatedly we read comments of hate against the very ones who incite hate. Take the high road, people.
Unfortunately I do not feel the same way as the post above mine.
I believe that Fred Phelps and his lunatic family should be tortured and killed the same way the Jews were by the Nazi’s.
I have had the unbearable ability to interview Shirley Phelps-Roper when she visited Westminster, MD in late January. She and the “WBC Klan” are the epitome of hatred; right beside Jerry Fallwell.
How many of you reading this story can truly withhold any anger or malice to these people? This is the same thing that has been the catalyst for change in America. This is the reason why we started this country. We were tired of being bullied by the crown and decided to take matters into our own hands.
I get so sick of the Bigotry and HIPOCROCY from the church that it just sickens me! As a Black Gay Male living in Omaha, Ne I here and see it all the time. My former pastor of the St. Mark Baptist Church told the Congregation one Sunday Morning that, “anyone in the church that came out of the closet needed to go back in there where they came from!” There are so many minister that are nothing but whoremonger’s and believe that they will make it to Heaven before I do…..Good Luck Pastors’!
Brad Brown writes: “I believe that Fred Phelps and his lunatic family should be tortured and killed the same way the Jews were by the Nazi’s.”
…killed the same way the Jews were by the Nazis?!! Are you freakin’ kidding me, Brad??!! With a statement like that, what sets you apart from the deranged mindset of any other hate organization? So where would it end, Brad? One Phelps gets killed, kill another? It would no longer be a Phelps issue. You would instead raise red flags by giving cause for any religious group with anti-gay platforms to arm themselves because their conservative beliefs, though not as extreme as WBC, are now being threatened. Congratulations, you’ve just made Fred Phelps a martyr.
Among the many reasons for this country ever existing was to fight for religious freedom (as well as away from religion altogether); the right to believe however, whoever and whatever we so choose.
The Phelps loons are exercising their rights to preach what they believe in; which is no different from liberals speaking out in anger against religion and the conservative right. Not everyone agrees with these groups, or their brand of hate speech. But we live in this country to accept what we believe is right in our hearts, no matter who disagrees.
People spend too much time angrily reacting to them instead of using careful arguments to refute their own ad hominem statements.
There are plenty of things in the Bible that refute many of their out-of-context pronouncements, also well-known things about their personal lives too.