The opinions within this post are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those held by Fusion Magazine or its other staff members, contributors, or advisers.
At this time there is little to go off of, but it appears that the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas has plans to picket at the funerals of the students who were slain on Monday in the tragic Chardon school shooting. Margie Phelps, a representative of WBC, recently tweeted the following messages:
“WBC to picket funeral of Daniel Parmertor,Sat,3/3, 9a,Chardon,OH.He died for the sins of this nation.”
“3 funerals to picket if public. Shouldn’t have lied them to hell. 3 dead from school shooting at Chardon High.”
“End result of teaching kids to flip off God! Chardon HS Shooting 1 Dead, 4 Injured, by Fellow Student.”
“Fags doom nations. That boy’s blood is on your hands. Our thoughts & prayers are w Chardon, OH community today.”
I am so utterly disgusted by this that I have a hard time coming up with a response to this, which I’m sure many of you realize is a rarity for me. I feel compelled to completely ignore the situation as reacting to the WBC never does any good, but we’re not talking about idle picketing at a Pride Parade, we’re talking about WBC picketing the funerals of innocent children.
Several counter protests have popped up on Facebook, and everyone commenting is understandably furious. For many the concept of the Phelps’ Inbred Church of Hate picketing at the funerals of soldiers, political figures, LGBTQ individuals, and pretty much anybody whose death receives media attention. As a community we are better equipped to deal with these people than a bunch of angry high school students. I don’t mean for that to come off as me condemning the anger that we all face when the WBC pulls a stunt like this, as anger is a very natural response.
Whether anybody likes it or not (and certainly nobody does) the Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting these funerals. If you plan on going to the counter-protest I implore that you are peaceful. Set a good example for those who are going to fight the WBC and simply create a human barrier so the family can’t see them. Don’t bring signs, and don’t meet hate with hate