On Saturday, Oct. 17 members of the infamous Westboro
Baptist Church (WBC) from Topeka, Kansas exited their rental van and became a
dark cloud of “equal opportunity haters” across the street from Chabad of
University City in San Diego, CA.
Chabad is a large Hasidic movement known for hospitality,
technological expertise, optimism and emphasis on religious study. Westboro
Baptist Church is a small missionary group known for hate-filled protests,
pessimism and emphasis on intolerance. Fred Phelps is the patriarch of WBC, and
most of his congregants are related to him and his wife: several grown children
and dozens of grandkids.
WBC has no affiliation with the mainstream Baptist
organizations. Lucky mainstream Baptists!
Phelps’ and his congregation’s goals are to get publicity
for its evil message. This small group shows up at funerals for the military,
Jewish temples and buildings, Catholic churches and schools. The demonstrators
carry expensive signs declaring “God hates Jews” and “Priests and rabbis rape
children.” Besides those evil messages, the group drags the American flag through
the streets.
The First Amendment allows even offensive people to protest
on public lands. Several WBC activists are attorneys who know the difference
between hate speech and criminal action, according to the Anti-Defamation
League.
WBC became a not-for-profit group in 1967. In 2005 the
Phelps clan started to show up at funerals for American soldiers killed in Iraq
and Afghanistan, chanting cruel things about God punishing soldiers for
defending a country supporting abominable lifestyles. “God’s hatred is one of
His Holy Attributes” is another message. Oprah Winfrey is credited with saying:
“You cannot hate other people without hating yourself.”
Fred Phelps’ daughter, who is married and a mother, brings
her young children along. Children hold up signs that have shocking writing on
them about Jews, Catholics and others. This family has participated in 40,000
protests since 1991 and in 600 cities. They have shown up in Iraq, Canada and
Jordan but have been barred from Great Britain.
Morris Casuto is the regional director of the
Anti-Defamation League in San Diego and a University City resident; he showed
up at Chabad. Westboro Baptist Church’s hate group has been in the sights of
the ADL for years. Casuto discouraged folks from showing up in counter-protest groups
because it gives publicity to the WBC. However, he saw a quiet group of civil
volunteers “watching the back” of Chabad.
Among those in the group at Chabad on Saturday morning were
Lutheran Pastor Paul Bieber and his son. All Saints Lutheran Church backs up to
the property of its neighbor, Chabad.
Three young Marines carried the Marine and American flags
and shadowed the Westboro contingent across the street, where they stretched
their flags across the demonstrators’ offensive signs. Nonstop hate talk spewed
from one woman in the group, but the counter-demonstrators lining up in front
of Chabad remained civil.
The police presence was impressive. Three squad cars were
visible to WBC and the counter-protesters. Apparently, lawsuits against
counter-demonstrators are a source of income for this group. The police were
professional and persuasive. They warned the counter-protesters not to engage
the WBC group in conversation.
“In every bad event a seed of goodness can be seen.” Those
who countered the WBC contingent learned a lot, met people of different faiths,
met people of different viewpoints with one goal: looking out for their
neighbors who were being harassed unfairly. Perhaps it is time to talk to our
children about hate and prejudice again.
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