Westboro Baptist Church uses iPhone to announce protest at Steve Jobs’s funeral

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/westboro-baptist-church-uses-iphone-to-announce-steve-jobs-funeral-protest/2011/10/06/gIQAJqBjPL_blog.html

lulz

[fezzyfestoon]

Who cares? Is it really in question that these people are so far beyond unhinged that they have no concept of reality or anything that's going on around them in general? I'm so sick of hearing about these people. Cut off their garbage from reaching beyond their sick little incestuous pool of filth and they lose their lifeline of money pouring in to fund these inane protests. The more we talk about them, the more power they gain and the more vitriol they spread.

[King]

I just made a thread for Onion articles, BRTD.

lulz

[Yelnoc]

Who cares? Is it really in question that these people are so far beyond unhinged that they have no concept of reality or anything that's going on around them in general? I'm so sick of hearing about these people. Cut off their garbage from reaching beyond their sick little incestuous pool of filth and they lose their lifeline of money pouring in to fund these inane protests. The more we talk about them, the more power they gain and the more vitriol they spread.

Or we could just toss them in jail.  It is a public disturbance, after all.

[Napoleon]

I'm all for free speech at least these assholes only make their side look even worse. They aren't swaying any opinions to their viewpoint and they make the far-right look even more hateful.

[fezzyfestoon]

Who cares? Is it really in question that these people are so far beyond unhinged that they have no concept of reality or anything that's going on around them in general? I'm so sick of hearing about these people. Cut off their garbage from reaching beyond their sick little incestuous pool of filth and they lose their lifeline of money pouring in to fund these inane protests. The more we talk about them, the more power they gain and the more vitriol they spread.

Or we could just toss them in jail.  It is a public disturbance, after all.

That would probably be the very worst thing to do to them. It's like a petulant child. Just ignore them. The more you yell at them and punish them, the more energy they have to fight and bask in the attention.

[Username MechaRFK]

I wish the Westboro Church goes John Galt and leaves society for once and all. Bunch of real life bigiot trolls that think the sh**t they are protesting isn't harming any human being with a heart that are still stuck in the 1950's definition of marriage.

[Joe Biden 2020]

Just for the record, and I wish all Americans would get this in their mind, Westboro Baptist Church members are NOT real Christians and they are in no way representative of the vast majority of Southern Baptists or any other Christian denomination.  They do not share the views of my God, like they claim.  For starters, I serve a just, yet loving God, not a hateful and vengeful God like WBC believes.

Leave them alone, though, they are making themselves look worse and worse, and one day the entire congregation and especially the leaders will have to give an account for how they treated God's Word and His Son.  Judgement day will come for them, too.

[Mechaman]

Jesus Christ is the only man for me.

[John Dibble]

Just for the record, and I wish all Americans would get this in their mind, Westboro Baptist Church members are NOT real Christians and they are in no way representative of the vast majority of Southern Baptists or any other Christian denomination.  They do not share the views of my God, like they claim.

I'm pretty sure that most Americans already realize that the WBC are a fringe group. Also, while you call them false Christians they would say the same of you. To say someone isn't a 'real' Christian is usually just saying that you disagree with their particular interpretation, and has no real value since there isn't anything close to a universally accepted definition of what it is to be a Christian.

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I'm pretty sure a just and loving God would not punish the entire congregation - most of them were raised in that environment and suffered heavy indoctrination and brainwashing that is to such an extent that I think by reasonable standards it could be called child abuse. The WBC is a cult and like all cults it does everything it can to damage its members until they feel that the only people they can depend on are their fellow cult members. Most of the members need understanding and psychological help, not judgement.

[Free Palestine]

Someone needs to just punch one of these assholes in the face at one of their protests.

[Torie]

Is there anybody this "church" does not hate?

[Joe Biden 2020]

Someone needs to just punch one of these assholes in the face at one of their protests.

I'm sure they would just curse you right back.  It wouldn't really phase them any, to be honest, and would probably land you in jail for A&B.

[LBJ Revivalist]

Is there anybody this "church" does not hate?

Themselves. Well, they might hate themselves too.

[Kevin]

Just for the record, and I wish all Americans would get this in their mind, Westboro Baptist Church members are NOT real Christians and they are in no way representative of the vast majority of Southern Baptists or any other Christian denomination.  They do not share the views of my God, like they claim.

I'm pretty sure that most Americans already realize that the WBC are a fringe group. Also, while you call them false Christians they would say the same of you. To say someone isn't a 'real' Christian is usually just saying that you disagree with their particular interpretation, and has no real value since there isn't anything close to a universally accepted definition of what it is to be a Christian.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

I'm pretty sure a just and loving God would not punish the entire congregation - most of them were raised in that environment and suffered heavy indoctrination and brainwashing that is to such an extent that I think by reasonable standards it could be called child abuse. The WBC is a cult and like all cults it does everything it can to damage its members until they feel that the only people they can depend on are their fellow cult members. Most of the members need understanding and psychological help, not judgement.

Actually contrary to the cult belief there is a financial motive behind what the WBC is doing. As you'll see most of the "Church" members are lawyers who use the negative attention gained form their actions to launch various lawsuits.

http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2001/spring/a-city-held-hostage

This thing with the WBC is also interesting because it is attracting counter-protests from other fringe groups in American society like the following as everyone has probably heard about.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/kkk-protests-westboro-baptist-church-at-arlington-national-cemetery/2011/05/31/AG5eORFH_blog.html

http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2011/01/westboro_bapstis_church_to_pro.php

It's interesting the WBC decided not to show up in Tuscan when the Hell's Angel's announced they would also be there.

[Fuzzybigfoot]

I wonder if they would protest Jesus's funeral if he came back to life than died again....

[Fuzzybigfoot]

Someone needs to just punch one of these assholes in the face at one of their protests.

Thank you for your unique and articulate view on the matter.  I bet no one ever thought of that before.

[John Dibble]

Actually contrary to the cult belief there is a financial motive behind what the WBC is doing. As you'll see most of the "Church" members are lawyers who use the negative attention gained form their actions to launch various lawsuits.

Cults are one of the things I'll often study in my spare time so I'm well aware of all that as I've done the research.

Being a cult and making money off of your activities are not mutually exclusive. Also, litigation is quite a common tactic for cults that have . Just look at Scientology - out to make money, has a cabal of lawyers at their beck and call to sue anyone and everyone who dares criticize them, and is recognized as a cult by pretty much everyone.

The International Cultic Studies Association has a cult characteristics checklist, and one of the items is "The group is preoccupied with making money." Having gone over the checklist, the only one I can say for sure doesn't apply to the WBC is "The group is preoccupied with bringing in new members." because they don't seem to proactively recruit.

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

Jobs had a private Funeral on the 7th. Did WBC make it there somehow?

[John Dibble]

Jobs had a private Funeral on the 7th. Did WBC make it there somehow?

Haven't heard any news on it. It's not unusual for them to say they're gonna protest something but not actually follow through - I think they like making the counter-protesters scramble. It could also have been too short of notice for them to make the arrangements in this case.