Motorcycles Drown Out Effort To Disrupt Funeral/OK

[PeteSC]

Motorcycles Drown Out Effort To Disrupt Funeral

POSTED: 3:23 pm CDT October 11, 2005
UPDATED: 6:52 pm CDT October 11, 2005

CHELSEA, Okla. -- An effort by members of a Kansas church to protest at the funeral of an Oklahoma soldier Tuesday was drowned out by the roar of motorcycles.

About 70 members of the American Legion Riders group from Oklahoma and Kansas revved their engines as five protesters from Westboro Baptist Church held inflammatory signs. The protesters say American soldiers are being killed because of homosexuality in the United States.

The protest took place as family members of Army Staff Sgt. John Doles gathered just down the street at a church for Doles' funeral. Doles, 29, of Chelsea, was killed Sept. 30 in an ambush in Afghanistan.

American Legion Riders' member Cregg Hanson said Doles' family asked the group to rev their motorcycle engines when the Kansas church group arrived.

The riders also formed a barrier and waved American flags to block the view of the protest.

About 40 police officers were also on hand and Chelsea residents joined the motorcycle riders in waving American flags.

[Sven]

Free speech doesn't give you the right to eff up someone's funeral!  (Well, I guess technically it does, but Geez...)

I am curious why the reportor didn't try to make more sense of the muddled concept  "American soldiers are being killed because of homosexuality in the United States".  Are soldiers being killed by fragging from fag-hating* peers?  Or perhaps Amercian soldiers are being slaughtered by God because he doens't condone our gay Americans?  What a bunch of fruit loops!

*Sorry for the use of that word, but the alliteration works too well to use something else.

[Desolation Angel]

I personally would like to slap each of the 5 protesters.  It's a funeral.  Stay the h$ll away!  Rude, hateful, insensitive, alleged Baptist trash!   Some religious types are such @ssholes in how they act and pervert their beliefs.  I rather doubt most Baptists would support this perverse activity.

Surely they can be charged with something for that godawful behavior!

[97RedBird]

I don't exactly call them religious,  That is the good ole Fred Phelps out of Topeka KS.  Family of religious freaks with law degrees.  They give churches a bad name professing "God hates fags" and are laughed at in the court by other lawyers.  

Watch out they will find a way to "try to" sue you if you do anything.  

Give the dying soldier his dignity please! (this remark is directed at MrPhelps).

[PeteSC]

Oh no, not that bunch.  I didn't connect the name of the church.  Can't they find some actual gays to harass in Topeka, and leave the family of fallen soldiers alone in Oklahoma?  

 Somebody send that church some guides to real estate in Guiana, and some coupons for Kool Aid.







A tiny army of hate is on the march
Sunday, September 11, 2005
By SHALYNN FORD
For The Times
A Kansas church rubs salt in the wounds of grieving families

Not long ago, a small group of protesters touting snippets of Scripture and wielding signs that read "GOD HATES AMERICA" and "THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS" arrived in Smyrna, Tenn., to disrupt the funeral of Staff Sgt. Asbury F. Hawn II, the town's most recent casualty of war in Iraq.

After unleashing months of intense heat and humidity throughout the South, it seems summer has finally surrendered to an even more oppressive opponent - the season of hate that follows members of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan., across America.

They come to grief-stricken towns burying fallen soldiers to spread their doomsday message that America is "irreversibly and eternally damned." They come especially to small towns, where they will get the most notice.

Everywhere from Peoria, Ill., to Opelika to Duluth, Minn., to Smyrna. And, on Labor Day weekend, even Sweden (King Gustav and his subjects are doomed to a particularly vile ending, according to the church's Web site) was the recipient of this group's vitriolic vision and mission.

They get around (deep pockets underwriting the extensive travel?). And, predictably, enrage large numbers of otherwise peaceful people.

"Hope your plane crashes" and "Burn in hell" are the only printable epitaphs shouted by the large crowd of locals that formed in a parking lot across the street from the Smyrna lot occupied by Smryna's picketers, who themselves totaled less than a dozen.

Unfazed and completely outnumbered by the local residents heckling them, the picketers continued their antics for one very long hour, including kicking a large American flag back and forth, and then stomping on it.

"You're going to just let her kick the flag around like that?" a middle-aged man angrily demanded as he made his way across the street and stood within a few feet of the protesters, cordoned off from the crowd in a separate parking lot.

One of the four police officers stationed in front of the lot shook his head, "It's their constitutional right to do so, sir." Growing more agitated, the man again implored the officer to make her stop. The officer patiently repeated that it was their right, "just like it's your group's right to protest over there."
The flag was gleefully kicked about several more times, and with increasing enthusiasm. It was admittedly, disturbing to watch.

Then, suddenly, the picketers were hustled into two waiting cars and given a police escort out of town. Their one-hour permit to protest had expired, just minutes before the funeral procession for Staff Sgt. Hawn would pass by.

Undaunted by the growing rage and heckling of townspeople, the picketers continued to smile and wave from the safety of their cars.

 As the caravan passed within a few feet of where I stood, it was obvious the car's occupants were high on hate - giddy from the misery they'd inflicted on a small town in mourning.

Even more disturbing was the look of complete certitude on their faces. They are 100 percent certain they're right, I realized. And there's no arguing with righteousness. End of story.

Well, not quite. To fully appreciate the magnitude of this group's caustic message, you need to visit their Web site. But be forewarned - these people hate you, and you will feel it.

For example, I decided to listen to one of Pastor Fred Phelps' recent online sermons, which ironically was on the subject of the "creative class." According to Pastor Phelps, as a member of the media, "the perverted press," I am damned to hell (sorry, sir, I'm already there - ever tried to make a living as a writer?) and that because "every editorial decision promotes Satan's BIG LIE," God hates me. So have a nice day.

Gays, Clinton, Bush

At least they are equal opportunity haters - gays (public enemy No. 1, according to their Web site), "adulterers," mainstream ministers ("no better than modern day Pharisees"), the press, the military, "Pervert Bush and Pervert Clinton" (no red and blue division with this group) are all loathed by them. They do not, however, hate African-Americans and want to make it clear that they are not racist. Good to know.

Space and sensibility prevent me from elaborating more about this little group of hate mongers who, in addition to picketing the funerals of dead soldiers, proudly announce THANK GOD FOR KATRINA (you can imagine why they're glad to see the Big Easy slide into the Gulf of Mexico) as well as other natural and man-made disasters on their Web site .

Their Web site, www.godhatesfags.com, says it all. And unfortunately, more. May the season of hate pass quickly.

[jared1970]

The fate of America is irrelevant. If you're a Christian, you should believe what the Bible says, that God cursed the earth because of man's sin. Not just America, the wole world. Not only that, it also says God causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. Moreover, the Great Commission given to all Christians by Christ Himself, is to Go forth into the world and teach the Gospel to all nations. That's the most important thing for a Christian to do. NOT go out into the world and protest everything. The Lord said, Love your enemies, and pray for those who despitefully use you. NOT yell at everyone who sins, or cause a big scene, especially in such a disrespectful way. We're all sinners, every one of us. Jesus said, None is good, no not one, save the Son of Man. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Who are these people to run around and harass people when they themselves are fiends? And I hope they ponder this, and that people take them to task on this, the Lord said " O generation of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned." You can know the hearts and intentions of these people by their words. They don't speak in a loving way to people, and try to guide the misled to the truth. Instead they simply berate them.

[aussiebandit]

Unfortunately it's the extremists that cause the problems in any religion, or organisation for that matter. Whether it be Christians, Jews, Hindu or Muslims in the case of religions, or Republican, Democrat parties (for the US), Labour or Liberal/Conservative parties for the Aussies, Kiwis and Poms.  Greenies in general aren't bad people, but you get the odd one or two that just have to take it too far.....

Sorry I'll get of my soap box know....

[PeteSC]

I think Fred Phelps is on the payroll of rich, militant gays.  He does more to further the gay cause, than he does Christianity.
  He's probably a closet dweller, anyway.....    

[B6mick]

Man thats just plain rude, no one has the right to disrupt a funeral, no matter who's funeral. Rev their bikes BS, flag bearers should have found five new places to place their flags. Other peoples funerals is not the place or the time to protest anything. grrrrrr no bloody respect.  

[LowRyter]

damn if we didnt have enough crazy people here in the first place without importing them from Kansas!

[billybandit]

Only in America would "Church-goers" protest at a funeral!

This is deeply saddening, and I wish that vigilante tactics of the olden days (and Hollywood) were still around so the protesters would all have the sh*t beaten out of them

My respects to soldiers killed in Iraq

[Red01]

Only in America would you get protesters at a funeral... in the UK, you'd get bombers.  

[billybandit]

Haha yeah, they sure wouldn't be locals though

[Bazza]

Oh my God!  you have Homo's?