Westboro Church Protest Mega-thread

[northernboy_24]

Creative peaceful counter-protests.  This is what the law of peaceful assembly is all about.  Good on the nerds.  I just wish I was there to see the faces of the westboro baptists.  I am thinking that would have been an amusing time.

 

[Jorkapp]

 

[Nemecek]

ahaha.

Thanks for sharing! Good to know my fellow nerds are just as clever and creative as anyone who speaks fluent Klingon should be. I really enjoyed the constant references to the Hypno-Toad. Definitely one of the best cameo characters in Futurama!

 

[armyvern]

You know, as an athiest, who is descended from the forefathers who founded the Baptist Church in England and then in North America ... (can you say "burned at the stake" twice: IE: "I take it back" .... "uhmmmm no, I don't! Get me up there again"  :-\ ) ...

I say awesome job by the comic book geekies ...

Hoping that I'm not related to any of these Westboro ID 10 Ts.

 

[HavokFour]

Man fires pepper spray on protesters outside Marine's funeral​

(CNN) -- A motorist fired pepper spray Saturday at a group of demonstrators and counter-protesters outside a funeral for a U.S. Marine in Omaha, Nebraska, police said.

The incident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. (11 a.m. ET) as members of a small Kansas church that protests at military funerals and counter-protesters stood nearly a block away from First United Methodist Church during services for Staff Sgt. Michael Bock, 26, who died August 13 in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

A man in a Ford-150 pickup truck drove by, extended his arm and sprayed with a large can, police said. His vehicle was stopped a few minutes later.

"Initial indications are he was probably targeting the Westboro Baptist Church" protesters, said officer Michael Pecha, a spokesman for Omaha police.

George Vogel, 62, who lives just north of Omaha, was booked for 16 counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony assault on a police officer for the pepper-spray exposure, police said. Vogel also faces one count of child neglect because his child was in the truck, Pecha told CNN.

Read more...

This guy is my new hero. It's unfortunate some Patriot Guard Riders go caught in the cross fire though.



edit to show the true content of the thread

 

[PMedMoe]

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of Westboro Baptist Church, said Omaha police did not adequately control roughly 30 counter-protesters, who she said jostled with church members.

:crybaby:    If you idiots weren't there, the "counter-protesters" wouldn't be either.

"Of course it was directed at us," Phelps-Roper, who is Fred Phelps' daughter, said of the pepper spray.

Well, give this girl a cookie for being able to figure out the obvious.    :

 

[SeanNewman]

The title of this thread is condoning (rewarding in fact) violence on innocent people.

While there is a small part of my heart that of course smiles at the thought of these people getting punished for doing something that seems so heartless, that doesn't over-rule the fact that people are allowed to demonstrate/protest without being assaulted.

I've been exposed to pepper spray as staff on the Crowd Confrontation Ops Instructor course and it certainly isn't pleasant; certainly not a stretch to call it assault if you do it to someone else.

People might have no tact, people might be heartless, and deep down you might feel like they deserve to get a face full of pepper spray, but it can not be allowed to actually happen without consequences. 

What would happen if soldiers and families were demonstrating on a Wear Red Friday and some left wing person entirely against spending money on the military drove by and pepper sprayed the crowd because he didn't like what the crowd was saying?

 

[57Chevy]

He could just as easily started his own little sideline protest with his kid.
Keep the pepper spray for some real problems, and all would have
probably turned out just peachy and within the law.
I wonder what the outcome would have been then.

Imagine. The counter-protesters standing nearly a block away......
they might as well have been in another town. 

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Right or wrong, I'm sure there will be plenty that contribute to his defence and any subsequent monetary fine he may garner.

 

[Sapplicant]

These are the same people who were supposed to come protest at the funeral of the Greyhound Bus decapitee (made up word) on account of Canada being a nation a godless fags, n'est pas? I definitely defend peoples' free speech, but not when your intent to cause harm to others, whether it be psychological or physical. But, I guess this is a case of "ask, and ye shall receive", and they were definitely asking for it. They've been asking for it for nearly a decade.

 

[PPCLI Guy]

The title of this thread is condoning (rewarding in fact) violence on innocent people.

While there is a small part of my heart that of course smiles at the thought of these people getting punished for doing something that seems so heartless, that doesn't over-rule the fact that people are allowed to demonstrate/protest without being assaulted.

I agree with you completely, and thanks for saying it.

 

[Sapplicant]

.... people are allowed to demonstrate/protest without being assaulted.

That they are, but protesting war is one thing. When you start bringing signs like these, however....

http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonzai-fba/Globe_Photo/2007/10/30/1193783571_6404/300h.jpg
http://www.bleedingcool.com/wp-content/uploads//2010/07/westboro.jpg
http://slog.thestranger.com/files/2007/10/Westerboro_Baptist_Church.jpg

You are NOT protesting. You are being an arsehole of the highest order, and deliberately trying to hurt people. Kind of like the Toronto G8 summit. There was peaceful protesting, with meaningful messages, and then there was the "Black Bloc".


What the heck, one more for good measure...

http://musingsfromthemoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/assholes1.jpg


Someone's quote pretty much said it all. Some people are alive simply because it's illegal to shoot them. I agree with the OP. Decorate this man. These people promote hate, and nothing more. If there truly is a hell, these people won't have to wait in line. They've earned themselves the VIP treatment.

 

[Nostix]

In quite the opposite sentiment to this topic, I actually cringe every time I see someone physically react to the WBC.

It should be well known by now that their protests are (at least in part) financially motivated. Their entire 'church' is funded by civil lawsuits stemming from physical assaults or civil rights violations. There is a reason that there are a disproportionate amount of lawyers in the family.

They have perfected real life trolling. Reacting to their nonsense just reinforces what they're doing, and gives them a financial incentive to escalate it.

 

[PuckChaser]

Get a bunch of friends, make a giant screen, and surround their protests with said screen. Can still hear them, but nobody would have to look at their smug faces.

 

[4Feathers]

I agree with you completely, and thanks for saying it.

I disagree completely. In the country I serve (Canada) this is not peacefull protesting, but would be considered hate mongering, which is illegal here. These protesters are nothing more that racist extremists, and do not reflect the values we cherish here. That being said, I would hope the lawfull authorities would deal with it, not the general public.

 

[Jarnhamar]

People might have no tact, people might be heartless, and deep down you might feel like they deserve to get a face full of pepper spray, but it can not be allowed to actually happen without consequences. 

If you're gonna be dumb you better be tough.

In something like this the consequences are well worth it if you ask me.

Law 3 of the universe. You act like a big enough asshole and sooner or later someone's gonna hurt you.

 

[Franko]

I disagree completely. In the country I serve (Canada) this is not peacefull protesting, but would be considered hate mongering, which is illegal here. These protesters are nothing more that racist extremists, and do not reflect the values we cherish here. That being said, I would hope the lawfull authorities would deal with it, not the general public.

You may want to check out PPCLI Guy's profile. (I just hinted a wee bit for ya, seeing as you missed it before)

Regards

 

[Rogo]

I agree with Petamocto, we all hate what the protesting crowds are doing but they are entitled to do it and should not be physically disrupted when they themselves aren't being physically threatening.  On top of all that, this will only add fuel to their fire to continue to protest and if they need to be dispersed the police can do so. Otherwise it becomes vigilante justice.  :2c:

 

[vonGarvin]

I disagree completely. In the country I serve (Canada) this is not peacefull protesting, but would be considered hate mongering, which is illegal here. These protesters are nothing more that racist extremists, and do not reflect the values we cherish here. That being said, I would hope the lawfull authorities would deal with it, not the general public.

These are two issues.  But first of all, they aren't racist (from what I can tell): they are just whack jobs.  So, the dude with the pepper spray, yeah, I have some Schadenfreude over them getting a faceful; however, just as their messages sicken me, so too does the idea that any person can just take the law into their own hands as judge, jury and executioner.  We aren't savages.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Can't say I'll shed tears for their pepper induced tears.  That being said, I think they were better dealt with at the recent Comics Convention counter protest.  Some peaceful humiliation and scorn can go a long ways.  They too have a soft underbelly somewhere that can be found and used against them, even if it is to ignore them, give them no press time and hope they will dry up and blow away with the other trash.  I suppose they can count their blessings it was OCS and not a MAC 10 they were sprayed with.  American Taliban is all they are IMO in attitude anyhow.  I despise all fundamentalists like this regardless of stripe or creed.