I still love it here. Edmonton made me proud when people counter-protested against Westboro Baptist Church on November 13. WBC was threatening to to come to Edmonton to protest a production of a play called "The Laramie Project". The play "tells the story of a small town's reaction to the real-life murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard." (Vancouver Sun)
Of course, nobody from WBC showed up, so there was no protest to counter-protest against. Ha ha! Excellent. So it was just hundreds of Edmontonians milling about and voicing their disdain for bigotry. Yay Edmonton!
Citytc.com ran a story about WBC's threat: http://www.citytv.com/edmonton/show/news/article/99553?showuid=78194
There's a photo there of people who are presumably WBC members protest against something gay-related. Curiously, two of their signs read "Thank God for Sept. 11" and "Boston = Sodomy". There's a great way to get one's fellow American's on-board, eh? But wait, if you read even just a bit more of the text on their website, it become apparent that WBC actually does hate the U.S.A. Curiouser and curiouser, hey? And there's even more! WBC has written 145 short essays, each about why God hates a different earthly nation. The instructions at www.godhatestheworld.com say "Click a completed country to find out why God hates that country, and why this world is doomed." Why do we pay Hollywood writers when there's entertainment like this for free?
Of the WBC, Citytv.com says "It is headed by Fred Phelps, and most of the estimated 70 members of the church belong to his extended family." Ha ha! Classic.
WBC's picket schedule (http://www.godhatesfags.com/schedule.html; what a lovely little URL) insults Matthew Shepherd's mother Judy for raising a gay son and says that she got what she deserves. Of course, WBC members are clearly not kind or compassionate. We get that. But what struck me was their statement on this webpage that said "Shame on Judy for glorying in her shame." So, if one ought to be ashamed, and they "glory" in that shame, then they receive more shame. But doesn't that just give the person more to glory in? Doesn't that just create a spiraling feedback loop of glory?
I guess that's to be expected from people like that. What I want to know is how WBC feels about the fact that Jesus explicitly said "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26, http://kingjbible.com/luke/14.htm)
That's quite the conundrum for a church that's made of people who all belong to the same family!
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