Our magazine - Rebel Yell - is a magazine about activism. Exploring local and international causes around the world. For my article I wrote about how sometimes protesting can cross the line. I scored an interview with Shirley Phelps-Roeper from the Westboro Baptist Church and we discussed how the church goes about their protesting and if it's making an impact. I also spoke with Chris Vogel, a pro-gay activist, and founder of the Manitoba Gay and Lesbian Archive.
I'll warn you first, the language in this article is EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE and if you're sensitive to any kind of anti-gay sentiment I wouldn't read any further. It is also important to note that I DO NOT support any of what Phelps-Roeper is saying.
God hates fags. At least, that’s what the Westboro Baptist Church wants you to think.
The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) was founded in 1955 by Fred Phelps and is still run by him today. The group is best known for the hate-based picketing of funerals of dead soldiers with signs that say “Fag Troops,” along with similar messages. These rallies are organized by Shirley Phelps-Roper, Fred Phelps’s daughter.
“Obey your God, that is your duty,” says Phelps-Roper, 52. “Fear and obey God, and give the glory of all his amazing works. Hurricanes, dead soldiers, that fag disease AIDS and decapitated Canadians.” That last part refers to the August 2008 beheading of Tim McLean on a Greyhound bus just west of Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. The WBC attempted to come into Canada to protest his funeral. Almost everyone was denied entry, although a few did get into the country, but none appeared at the funeral.
I ask Phelps-Roper to explain her motives for coming to Winnipeg. McLean was just a regular nice guy who had his young life tragically and horrifically taken away from him, no?
“I want to connect the dots for you,” explains Phelps-Roper. “Dot A, your rebellion against the commandments of God, to dot B, you beheaded and snaked upon the carcass of your fellow countryman.”
So just so we’re all clear now, Tim McLean was murdered because of his rebellious nature against the word of Phelps-Roper’s God. I wonder why that was never discussed on the news as a possibility.
Freedom of speech is a remarkable thing. It gives us the power to say whatever we want and is the backbone of any activist group. We wouldn’t have protests if free speech didn’t exist. This is what gives groups like the WBC the right to say the outrageous things they do. It is also freedom of expression that allows them to take their opinions to the street and have their protests, just like everyone else.
Therein lies the hypocrisy in their argument against homosexuals. Is it right to condemn them for using their freedom of expression by being homosexual? The short answer is no, but let’s put the wisdom of Phelps-Roper back into the equation.
“God gives both the responsibility and the right to do what we do. Homosexuality is an abomination,” Phelps-Roper laughed, then added, “You have two gay rights, AIDS and hell.” That certainly isn’t the same gay rights I’ve always heard about. I think it’s time we hear from someone on the opposite end of the spectrum for some clarity.
Chris Vogel, the founder of the Manitoba Gay and Lesbian Archive, played a big part in pro-gay activism in the 1970’s. Vogel, now 62, is a very friendly open-minded person who – get this – hates no one. Hopefully this is enough of a contrast. It would be easy to understand that as a gay man, he has faced some serous prejudice in his life. It must feel enraging to see signs that say “God Hates Fags.”
“It causes a slew of emotions. It makes me angry, and sad, I also think it’s humorous sometimes just because of how ridiculous these people are,” says Vogel. “However, it is also important to understand that what they do and say don’t matter, and that prejudice will go away one day.”
Vogel is soft spoken, but you can tell that he is still very passionate about gay rights. Surprisingly enough, he doesn’t think the WBC should be held back from getting their message heard.
“There is a time and a place, of course. Protesting the funerals of dead soldiers is a completely different animal than holding a protest in front of a government building,” Vogel says. “Let them protest to their heart’s content. If you’re a reasonable person, you’re not going to buy what their selling, anyway.”
I bring to Vogel’s attention Phelps-Roper’s belief that the WBC has “bound this generation to their standards.”
“These people are very closed-minded,” Vogel laughs. “The church does a lot of lying. They have to make up these ridiculous claims so that people will listen to them. The truth of the matter is, they’re the minority.”
We may think that homosexuals are a minority but the numbers of gay, lesbian and bi-sexual people are constantly on the rise. “Historically and socially everything is going right for the gay community,” says Vogel, “and no amount of closed-minded sign holders is going to stop that.”
Uhhh! Everything the Westboro Baptist Church stands for I am against and though their claims are crazy and unfounded, it still gets me riled up and it's especially upsetting to think that their children are prone to grow up thinking what they're doing is right or just. Does the Westboro Baptist Church get protests regularly at their church every Sunday?
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't know. That would have been a good question to ask.
ReplyDeleteStill though, I know exactly what you're saying. It's hard not to get angry about the things she says, even if they're completely wrong.
Excellent article. I find what the WBC believes in horrifying, and have difficulty wrapping my head around such intolerance. But at the same time, I grew up in an environment where I was taught tolerance and acceptance for all, and many members of the WBC weren't raised like that. I just hope that as time goes on, fewer and fewer people subscribe to that line of thinking.
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