Westboro Baptist Planning Protest At Fallen Soldier's Funeral
Hate group, which has made a name for itself by celebrating the deaths of American soldiers, has announced its intent to demonstrate during the funeral of Justin Whitmire.
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A group that has made national headlines in the past for its protests of both homosexuals and the U.S. military has announced that it plans to hold a protest "in respectful, lawful proximity to the memorial of Pfc. Justin M. Whitmire," according to a flyer posted on the group's web site.
Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, led by its pastor Fred Phelps, has used its hyper-Calvinist brand of Christian philosophy to justify anti-gay protests and demonstrations during funerals for fallen soldiers for years now — with a sudden rise in notoriety coming during the high casualties of the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Phelps, a former attorney, attended Bob Jones University in Greenville before dropping out in 1948.
Westboro Baptist members posted the attached flyer to make known their intentions of protesting near the funeral service of Whitmire, 20-year-old Hillcrest High School graduate who was killed earlier this week while on patrol in Afghanistan. He was killed by an improvised explosive device.
Pastor Terry Rogers of Faith Renewed Outreach Center in Mauldin, where Whitmire attended church, said that he had looked at the bulletin posted on the group's website and had also checked the group's picket schedule.
Rogers said at this time the funeral is not featured on the picket schedule, but did provide details of where and when services were being held.
Rogers said the wording for each of the bulletin's for fallen military personnel reads the same.
"The bulletin is very disrespectful," Rogers said. "They call Justin a fallen fool."
At the bottom of Westboro's flyer about their planned demonstration of Whitmire's funeral at First Baptist Church in Simpsonville, a common mantra of the group is repeated.
"Thank God for IEDs," it reads.
Don Lybrand
10:51 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012
They can exercise their first ammendment rights and I will exercise my second amendment rights and lets see who wins!
Cold War Vet
5:16 pm on Friday, January 6, 2012
I like the way you think! Thumbs up!
Carol Crane
5:33 pm on Friday, January 6, 2012
Just tell us where to be and we will be there
stanley seigler
5:37 pm on Friday, January 6, 2012
@Don Lybrand: I will exercise my second amendment rights and lets see who wins!...@Cold War Vet: I like the way you think! Thumbs up!
COMMENT
unbelievable this "thinking" is still alive and well in the 21th century in a state that claims to have christian values...sound more like the 19th (maybe 18th) century cowboys and indians.
Cold War Vet
6:45 pm on Friday, January 6, 2012
@stanley seigler: If the members of the Westboro Baptist Church can't stand behind our troops, they should stand in front of them. The members of this church, especially their misguided leader, are hypocrites. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than spoons made Rosie O'Donnell fat. When a military person, such as Pfc. Whitmore die in the line of duty, it's incumbent upon all Americans to show show honor and respect for person, not use his death as a platform to wage personal or political rhetoric.
stanley seigler
7:19 pm on Friday, January 6, 2012
@Cold War Vet
agree westboro's stupidity is inexcusable...as is the reaction of those who give a thunbs up to the 2nd amendment response...and;
westboro "christians" are no more hypocrites than those who profess to be Christian and believe a thumbs up to the 2nd amendment response is the christian, or appropiate, response...eg;
"the ethical position is any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Christian pacifists state that Jesus himself was a pacifist who taught and practiced pacifism, and that his followers [as did MLK] must do likewise" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_pacifism
Cold War Vet
8:59 pm on Friday, January 6, 2012
Well stanley, it's been fun exchanging views and opinions. It's obvious that we agree to disagree and that's OK. And let me clarify that I'm not a Christian, but I believe in God. I also believe, according to Leviticus 19:17, Jesus said, "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him." What's not OK is the Westboro Baptist Church masterfully twisting the intended purpose of the 1st Amendment to spew their rhetorical, disrespect and unlawful "hate speeches" against Pfc. Whitemore cloaked under a false pretense that they have a "right" to do so. Lawfully, any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group. (Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech). Fair winds and follow seas.
Caroline
11:02 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012
These people are rude, hurtful, and ignorant! They give Christians a bad name! The bible says "love thy neighbor". What if this soldier was one of their loved ones? Regardless of their beliefs I seriously doubt they'd want anyone to disrupt their mourning process! Shame on them and their ignorant insensitivity!
Lesley Moore
11:08 pm on Thursday, January 5, 2012
Agree with you Don and Caroline!
Heather
12:53 am on Friday, January 6, 2012
Justin, as all soldiers, fight for rights like these people use. They are extremists. To acknowledge them during the service will take attention away from where it needs to be. Hasn't his family been through enough? Let the police handle them, let his loved ones attend the funeral without more stress. Think of the family, please.
Heather
5:57 am on Friday, January 6, 2012
As I understand it, they use women and children,
so any threat to them would make for an ugly situation. Please remember what they're like when voting, religion and politics do not mix.
Mike N.
6:29 am on Friday, January 6, 2012
Agreed...any 'incident' will just play into their hands. The only effective counter tactic to date has been the Patriot Guard blocking and drowning out their appearance with flags and motorcycles.
Kristin Collins
8:08 am on Friday, January 6, 2012
I will be there with my flag! If I can help make this families day a little better by drowning out this so-called church thats protesting then consider me there! Rest in peace fallen HERO Justin!!!
SMRTNUP
10:17 am on Friday, January 6, 2012
A HUGE GROUP OF GOOD OL' VETERANS NEED TO SHOW UP DOWN THERE AND KICK THE CRAP OUT OF THESE IDIOTS !
Melinda Holley
10:59 am on Friday, January 6, 2012
My preference would be to ignore them. However, unless everyone does that (including all forms of the media) and stays away from the area, it just won't work. So I say counterprotest by getting enough people there to drown out their chants and yells and make sure any media presence is NOT on them!
stanley seigler
11:28 am on Friday, January 6, 2012
opine: there should be a large non violent, christian (any religion) gathering honoring Justin and his family...the tone, demeanor, of the gathering should be similar to an outdoor Easter sunrise service...
any violence would be counter productive...remember the words, actions, of Jesus, gandhi, MLK.
might even consider hugging the idiots :) :)...show them the true meaning of Jesus' words.
BTW full disclosure: .i am not a fan of any organized religion...but am a fan of many of the teachings of Jesus.
Larry Carter Center
12:37 pm on Thursday, February 2, 2012
typically a van full of these criminal theocrats offend graveside mourners, 5-10 fanatics carrying twice as many signs of hate, ignorance & biblical content .... yes what Phelps declares is biblical, though many comment above with many contradictory bible passages of love or tolerance, the US Sup Ct was wrong to reverse a lower court award of damages for infliction of emotional harm to the father of a dead hero... just as it was wrong for the US Sup Ct to deny Doctor Michael Newdow, Esq., the right to protect his child from theocracy... Phelps is a gov't tool of tokenism that refuses to consistently enforce our neutral secular US CONSTITUTION, A GOV'T THAT refuses to remove the lie: In god We Trust from coins & currency since 1955. A gov't that is still McCarthyistic pretending labor unions & Atheists are not patriotic but corporations are "people" with more rights than real people.... Phelps et al is a jerk enabled to intimidate others by wrongful mis-application of laws while Atheists are made whipping boys & kept as 2nd class citizens.... until we kick off the 6 papal US Sup Ct Justices & replace them with real patriots for law, not theocracy, we will have the double obscenity of Phelps with rights & Atheists without 843-926-1750
Christian Someone
10:16 am on Sunday, July 8, 2012
Stanley Seigler, I don't condone what they are doing at all whether it's protesting the death of gays and especially the death of soldiers that defend their very freedoms, but if you think Jesus was a Pacifist, you should to read the Word of God more carefully. Jesus was far from a Pacifist. Matt. 10; 34-36 "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." Jesus is talking about the fact that his very presence of Truth would cause all of this because he knew "Truth" divides those who seek it from those who don't. Pacifist are against war and violence. GOD is a GOD of war and always has been whether in the Spirit or in the flesh as he led that Israelites in many wars, Jesus is the "Word" that became flesh. Jesus is the law and righteousness of GOD incarnate. Jesus came for the purpose of dying violently!