Group opposed to homosexuality protests at funeral for fallen soldier
Toni-Lee Scarano, Contributing Writer
October 12, 2005
Inside Grace Lutheran Church last Wednesday family and friends of fallen Ripon soldier Sergeant Andrew Wallace grieved. Outside, others stood with signs with messages including 'America is doomed,' 'God hates you,' 'Your pastor is a whore' and 'Thank God for dead soldiers.'
The protesters were part of the anti-gay organization, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), which believes God is punishing America for supporting homosexuality.
"It was hard to take in," says junior Liz Molitor, who witnessed the protest. "I had heard about the group before, but I never imagined it all to be this graphic."
The graphicness of the display was furthered by the difficulty many faced in understanding the connection between an anti-gay message and Wallace's funeral.
Wallace, 25, of Ripon, was stationed in Kuwait as part of the Appleton-based unit known as the Red Arrow Brigade. His and a fellow guard member's deaths were the result of a roadside bomb.
At the funeral wake, the protesters spread out along a designated area in front of the church, each of the five members wearing a T-shirt with the words God Hates Fags written across their chest.
"Our purpose is to cause America to know her abominations," says Shirley Phelps, one of the protesters, who held signs and cited Bible scripture with her two sons, Noah, 5, and Gabriel, 7. "We're helping America to connect the dots to see that since they've turned this country over to fags, now they're coming home in..." Phelps' son Noah proudly cuts in to finish the statement, "...body bags."
The Phelps' are from Topeka, Ka., but travel around the country to protest. The protesting is in an effort to follow the mission of their church, listed on the Westboro Baptist Church's website, located at
www.godhatesfags.com, to show the world "the Gospel truth about the soul-damning, nation-destroying notion that 'it is okay to be gay'"
The organization was founded by Shirley Phelp's father, Fred Phelps, in 1955 and has been publicly present ever since WBC protested the funeral of Matthew Shepard in 1998. Shepard was a young gay man who was brutally murdered because of his sexuality, and WBC's presence at his funeral gained the group national notoriety for the first time, says Jody Roy, associate professor of communication, who specializes in the communication strategies of social movements.
"Too often we think of hate as somebody else's problem because we are not a target, at least at the moment," says Roy. "When a group like WBC comes to a town like Ripon to disrupt the funeral services of a young teacher killed serving his country, it's a wake up call. It can happen here."
From her research, Roy is able to offer insight into how this group operates.
"WBC and many other counter-conspiracy groups view themselves as God's agents, believing they have been given unique insights into reality," she says. "Counter-conspiracy groups, or groups who believe they are reacting to a conspiracy of threat to their people, normally express their arguments in tightly constructed webs of logic. Although to outsiders, the gaps [in their logic] are quite obvious, those gaps close in around people who take the leap of faith into the web. The logic of a conspiracy theory can appear perfect."
Much of the logic the WBC bases its anti-gay stance on is biblical text. At Wallace's service, the protesters continually quoted Bible verses.
"This nation has holy apostatized," says Timothy Phelps, Fred Phelps' youngest son, "We came up to Wisconsin to answer a loud lie being told: God bless America. Fags are going to Hell for eternity. They deserve that. Here's a reality check: if God can bless America, God can curse America."
These and other conclusions drawn by WBC are the result of the interpretations of the Bible. The group focuses on passages from the Old Testament, which they say indicate homosexuality is punishable by death.
However, Brian Smith, professor of religion says direct conclusions can't necessarily be drawn from these passages.
"Jesus never mentioned homosexuals or people who condone it," says Smith. "There is no way this group can scripturally justify the killing of American soldiers as God's punishment to our country for allowing gay and lesbian rights."
Smith believes the WBC to be a dangerous group because they use anger and pain to gain publicity, especially at funerals of soldiers. "That should be a time of love and support for the families of the fallen in battle," says Smith. "Compassion is the first and foremost Christian obligation. This group is re-writing the Bible."
Although the arguments made and harsh words given by the protesters were troublesome for most onlookers, many were most shocked by Noah and Gabriel, happily protesting alongside their mother.
When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Noah, 5, responded with excitement, "A fag hater."
His mother, Shirley Phelps, smiled lovingly and laughed in response.
Although many attending Wallace's visitation found the demonstration shocking, others hardly even noticed the small group and some refused to allow hate to influence them.
"Hate is learned and, as such, is cyclical," says Roy. "My research has taught me that the best way to prevent hatred is to interrupt the cycle. Because many of the underlying thought processes of hatred are fallacious, developing critical thinking skills is one of the best long-term prevention strategies."
Roy continues, "The challenge is to remember that when protesters aren't in town, we must live, behave and speak everyday as if tomorrow we too might be the target. It's hard to be apathetic about hate when you remind yourself you too could be a victim."otion that 'it is okay to be gay.'"
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