Renthead Mommy Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 Apparently Westboro Baptist Church is planning or already has protested at one of the vigils in Fridays horrific shootings. Their feeling is God sent the shooter because CT allowed gay marriage. Upon reading this article: http://news.yahoo.co...-185802032.html I found two links to petitions at the White House. One to have their tax exempt status investigated and one to have them recognized as a hate group. Will signing it do anything? I don't know. But I thought I'd post it in the hopes it would make some people feel better. Feel like they are doing something to try and fix some of the bad in the world. Feel like you are making a difference, however small it is. While WBC has nothing to do with Friday tragedy, they certainly are not making this, or so many other horrible things better, only trying to make them worse. Stopping WBC won't prevent things like Friday's tragedy, but it may stop some other suffering family in the future from having to deal with WBC's crap while dealing with their own tragedies. https://petitions.wh...church/YrKbHYtV https://petitions.wh...mpaign=shorturl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 These people make me vomit in my mouth. I hope something can be done about them. I fear that freedom of speech will prevent any reasonable action from taking place. Sigh... Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I'm going to repeat what I've posted in another thread, and said many times in the past: WBC's modus operandi is to announce that they will picket something very high profile just to stir up attention for themselves. They rarely ever show up for these things -- it borders on almost never showing up for these things -- it is purely a promotional tactic. In the wake of a high profile event, they manage to steal some limelight away from it and onto themselves. They will also use any negative statements or attempts to block them as bases for lawsuits. I believe several of them are lawyers, so they have 24/7 in-house counsel on hand. They fill their coffers with the public outrage because they know how to poke and prod people into a frenzy and then twist the law to their financial advantage. This is how they make their money and continue to propagate and fund their hate crimes (well, at least in Canada, they are considered hate crimes). I really do wish that the media would not give them the satisfaction of even mentioning it. I think the best weapon to use against WBC is to ignore them completely. Petitions to have them blocked from protesting just draw the kind of attention they want. Those petitions only help WBC because it promotes awareness of their hate-message and it even serves to draw in the fringe elements to their side. Believe it or not, WBC are not the only hate-mongers around. As for petitions to revoke their tax exempt status or to have them listed as a hate group, those might seem useful on the surface, but they have no effective power unless there is an organization or individual willing to push the petition through. That organization or individual may then become a target for a lawsuit from WBC. They have won monetary judgments before on such things. So, while I really despise (and that's a mild way of putting it) WBC and all they stand for, I do not think petitions are the way to go. What is needed is for someone in power in government to make a stand against them. So, don't sign petitions, write to your elected officials as individuals and demand that something be done. Write to every elected official until some displays the cajones needed to take those haters down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 So, don't sign petitions, write to your elected officials as individuals and demand that something be done. Write to every elected official until some displays the cajones needed to take those haters down. This is the only thing that can be done. Write, call, email, fax. Jam up their lines so they know decent people want action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 With those White House petitions, doesn't the president look them over and reply if they get above a certain number of signatures? I swear I thought I heard something like that some time back. I wonder who it is that has the power to revoke their tax-exempt status? Would it be the IRS? ETA: Ugh. Looks like as long as they don't take the part of any specific political candidate, they get to remain tax-exempt forever. http://ffrf.org/faq/state-church/item/14005-churches-and-political-lobbying-activities Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A.Balaban Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 As of now, there has been no confirmed sighting of the Westboro Baptist "Church" anywhere in CT. I've heard they are in Kansas. I heard earlier today that the group Anonymous hacked their twitter and webpages. There is a heavy police presence in Newtown, at both the funerals, and at area cemeteries to protect grieving families. CT has a state law which prevents protesting/picketing a funeral from one hour prior to the event, and not allowed throughout the duration of the funeral up till 1 hour after the end. There are also limits on exactly where a demonstration could take place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 CT has a state law which prevents protesting/picketing a funeral from one hour prior to the event, and not allowed throughout the duration of the funeral up till 1 hour after the end. There are also limits on exactly where a demonstration could take place. Sounds good to me. All states should have something like that in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TranquilMind Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 I'm going to repeat what I've posted in another thread, and said many times in the past: WBC's modus operandi is to announce that they will picket something very high profile just to stir up attention for themselves. They rarely ever show up for these things -- it borders on almost never showing up for these things -- it is purely a promotional tactic. In the wake of a high profile event, they manage to steal some limelight away from it and onto themselves. They will also use any negative statements or attempts to block them as bases for lawsuits. I believe several of them are lawyers, so they have 24/7 in-house counsel on hand. They fill their coffers with the public outrage because they know how to poke and prod people into a frenzy and then twist the law to their financial advantage. This is how they make their money and continue to propagate and fund their hate crimes (well, at least in Canada, they are considered hate crimes). I really do wish that the media would not give them the satisfaction of even mentioning it. I think the best weapon to use against WBC is to ignore them completely. Petitions to have them blocked from protesting just draw the kind of attention they want. Those petitions only help WBC because it promotes awareness of their hate-message and it even serves to draw in the fringe elements to their side. Believe it or not, WBC are not the only hate-mongers around. As for petitions to revoke their tax exempt status or to have them listed as a hate group, those might seem useful on the surface, but they have no effective power unless there is an organization or individual willing to push the petition through. That organization or individual may then become a target for a lawsuit from WBC. They have won monetary judgments before on such things. So, while I really despise (and that's a mild way of putting it) WBC and all they stand for, I do not think petitions are the way to go. What is needed is for someone in power in government to make a stand against them. So, don't sign petitions, write to your elected officials as individuals and demand that something be done. Write to every elected official until some displays the cajones needed to take those haters down. They do actually show up. They showed up at the synagogue down the road from me a couple of years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted December 17, 2012 Share Posted December 17, 2012 They do actually show up. They showed up at the synagogue down the road from me a couple of years ago. Yes, sometimes they do show up, but that is very rare. They make far more of their threatening announcements than they do their actual appearances. Because they do, on rare occasion, show up, their threats have the power to incite fear/anger. That is what they want. That gets them more attention. They may be a bunch of loonies, but they're a bunch of media and legal saavy loonies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I've seen them show up...more than once. And they do a good job getting ones blood to boil. As much as I despise them (and I do) we have free speech rights in this country, and those include being offensive. Ignoring them (not always easy) is the best tact. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I've seen them show up...more than once. And they do a good job getting ones blood to boil. As much as I despise them (and I do) we have free speech rights in this country, and those include being offensive. Ignoring them (not always easy) is the best tact. Bill Okay Bill, but I still think that I should be able to hold them accountable for making me sick! Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 They are nasty little attention seeking emotional terrorists. Ignore them and deny them the attention they seek. The video about taking them down which was released from Anonymous is hilarious. It's a nice antidote for hearing about their vile little evil plans, realized or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Don't feed the trolls—including real-life ones. The Patriot Guard Riders and others do a good job of shielding families from that "church" (more like cult) at military funerals, and other groups provide the same type of shield at non-military funerals they attend. Given how much traffic TWTM gets, I'm surprised that a certain member of that group hasn't gone trolling here on the boards. I've seen her (the daughter of He Who Shall Not Be Named) spew vitriol in the comments of blog posts and tweets that mention the group before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justLisa Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I've seen them show up...more than once. And they do a good job getting ones blood to boil. As much as I despise them (and I do) we have free speech rights in this country, and those include being offensive. Ignoring them (not always easy) is the best tact. Bill They are nasty little attention seeking emotional terrorists. Ignore them and deny them the attention they seek. The video about taking them down which was released from Anonymous is hilarious. It's a nice antidote for hearing about their vile little evil plans, realized or not. I REALLY wish they could just be totally ignored. No publicity, no media. No one looking, hating them, nothing. They can melt back in to the shadows with the rest of the nasty people burning with hate. Sadly they get too much attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 Okay Bill, but I still think that I should be able to hold them accountable for making me sick! Faith "Accidentally" vomiting on them is likely not punishable by law or actionable in court. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I was taking my cat to the vet a few years ago and I saw a large demonstration. The large demonstration was against WBC and apparently there were a few of them there somewhere. I hadn't known about the demonstrations or I would have gone another way. As it was, I was very happy to see how many people came to counter demonstrate. This was near a university and I suppose they were protesting students or something like that. I don't think there was any funeral around that day at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I know I'll get flamed for this (it being illegal and all, lol) but I get a freakin' KICK out of what Anonymous is doing. For those who don't know, Anonymous is a group of hackers. Here is their message: http://vimeo.com/55671721 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer in MI Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I know I'll get flamed for this (it being illegal and all, lol) but I get a freakin' KICK out of what Anonymous is doing. For those who don't know, Anonymous is a group of hackers. Here is their message: http://vimeo.com/55671721 My kids are following Anonymous. And I totally agree with this one!!! Good for them. My 16 yo informs me that Anonymous published the names and ALL contact info for the people in this "church". They also hacked their website. He also told me that most of the people at Anonymous are teenagers. When they came to Detroit and picketed at our church and at another one down the street, they were just ridiculous! The most effective thing that gave them pause was when a parishoner stood on our front steps and LAUGHED at them!!! They stopped for a little bit, not sure what to do. So, more people laughed. It was awesome! My dh tells me that when they picketed the church down the street, they told the priest there that he was going to HELL because he was wearing a "dress." Said priest responded that he was wearing what Jesus wore! This guy said, "Jesus wore PANTS!!!!" HA!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 My dh tells me that when they picketed the church down the street, they told the priest there that he was going to HELL because he was wearing a "dress." Said priest responded that he was wearing what Jesus wore! This guy said, "Jesus wore PANTS!!!!" HA!!! They're probably the kind of people that would get all upset if you tell them Jesus was a Jew, too. "He was not! Jesus was a Christian!" :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audrey Posted December 18, 2012 Share Posted December 18, 2012 I know I'll get flamed for this (it being illegal and all, lol) but I get a freakin' KICK out of what Anonymous is doing. For those who don't know, Anonymous is a group of hackers. Now THEY have both the cajones and the power to actually DO something about WBC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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