Comments on: Fred Phelps Planning To Picket Student Funerals

By: Kathy

Kathy — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 14:49:35 +0000

Either way, good for the bus drivers! I'm so glad the families didn't have to see or hear those creeps. I don't know if the cordoned off space was due to a city ordinance or the new Alabama law about picketing funerals; perhaps Wheeler can fill us in when he comes back from his Thanksgiving break.

By: Del

Del — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 13:59:04 +0000

City buses, I love it. That’s even better than the angel wings idea, because it completely wipes them from the public view. If not for the counter-protesters it would have been a non-event.

And a cordoned-off picket space—guess they are taking a page from W’s book. I wonder if the officials chose a space behind where the buses routinely park, or if the drivers “just decided” to pull up there during the funeral procession.

By: Don

Don — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 12:22:08 +0000

Kathy, the creeps did show up after all. This is extracted from The Huntsville Times @ http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/index.ssf?/base/news/11644498115340.xml&coll=1

Hundreds attended (Nicole) Ford’s funeral, including several of the 39 other students who were on the bus.

Protesters from Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka, Kan., set up across the street and about 100 yards down from the Pulaski Pike church before the funeral. The group frequently pickets soldiers’ funerals and spreads an anti-homosexual/anti-America message.

City buses were parked in front of the protesters’ cordoned-off picket space, and drivers going to the funeral saw barely a glimpse of them. Across the street, counter-pickets held signs that said, “God is love,” “Judge not and ye shall not be judged” and “Let them grieve in peace.”

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 18:34:18 +0000

Thanks, Kiki. Come back anytime. I’m afraid Phelps and his family are mired in this sickness until they die off. They’ve been at it for years and just seem to get worse over time. I’m praying for the families.

By: Kiki

Kiki — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 17:46:45 +0000

When I saw this on the news, I was sickened. Then I learned about your blog this morning. I hope these poor families will be protected by family, friends and community, and that these Phelps people somehow see how twisted they are! They are the complete antithesis of being a Christian!
I’ll be continuing to read your blog with interest in the future!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 04:08:35 +0000

What a freak!! I can’t even begin to fathom burying my child while some nutcase pickets about sodomites burning in hell. They say it takes all kinds, but these are the kinds I can do without!!!

By: The Sandman

The Sandman — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 00:55:34 +0000

I saw an interview on local TV in Huntsville where they interviewed one of Phelps’ clan. They are 100% looney tunes.

As a born-again Christian, I am absolutely sickened by these morons misrepresenting God and His Son in such a manner. You know, Jesus Christ cleared out the temple of the moneychangers because they misrepresented God and what He stood for. Since Phelps and his idiot followers are doing the same thing, maybe we need to clear the temple of them if they do happen to show up in Huntsville tomorrow.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 16:38:39 +0000

If Fred & co. do show up, I’d like to see something along the lines of what was done at Matthew Shepard’s funeral — people dressed as angels who simply stood around the family and used their wings to shield them from Fred’s hate.

By: Don

Don — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 14:05:02 +0000

Kathy and Pam, unless the Patriot Guard Riders (http://patriotguard.org/) stray from their stated main mission they won’t be there for the funerals because their mission is “to attend the funeral services of fallen American (military) heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.
1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.”

Last month Phelps announced that they would protest at the funeral of Pfc Stephen Bicknell in Prattville. A large contingent of the PGR was there as were hundreds, possibly thousands, of citizens from the surrounding area who came to honor Bicknell and to stand as a human shield (NOT protesters) between the Phelps creeps and the mourning family and loved ones. Phelps never showed according to reports from one of the local cyclists who participated. Hopefully, a large and peaceful crowd will do likewise in Huntsville and Phelps’ folks will chicken out again.

Peaceful shielding of the families is preferable to having any confrontation at such times.

By: Ka'Dield

Ka'Dield — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 14:01:26 +0000

I’m always horrified by these type of protests.

It’s one thing for people to be against “sodomites.” I think that it’s sick and twisted to hate someone for their sexual orientation, but God speed if you have to hate like that.

But, someone’s mother is grieving at this funeral. And, I don’t really care if that person is really going to hell (which, I definitely don’t believe in this case with a bunch of children…or gays for that fact). That mother and their family has the RIGHT to grieve for the loss of their loved one.

To think that someone has the constitutionally protected RIGHT to protest at such an event is vile. We all should have the right to bury our own family/friends without having someone standing outside of the funeral, protesting the person’s life and condemning them to eternal damnation.

If I wasn’t such a loving person (and I’m not *grins*), I’d say boycott some of the member’s family’s death and see how they enjoy it.

Sorry, that just always burns my toast. And I hate burnt toast.