By Alex Watkins (News Editor) – Email
The Westboro Baptist Church is all over the media once again, this time surrounding a debate with the hacktivist group Anonymous over the authenticity of a threat it allegedly made against the WBC. The group is no stranger to the public eye – indeed, it seems to actively seek media attention. And because their message is controversial, they generally get it; they believe that God hates homosexuality and punishes all those who are homosexual or support LGBT rights. The WBC also denounces patriotism, saying that God hates countries that are gay-friendly, and thus punishes those who love and support these countries; it most often targets America in particular.
The premise of their entire argument is highly questionable. America is inciting divine wrath because it is so gay-friendly? Need I remind anyone that homophobic hate crimes are on the rise in America? FBI statistics released in November 2010 showed an overall 11% increase in this type of crime from the previous year, noting that it is the third most common type of hate crime (behind race and religion-related violence.) I think it is also important to note that America still does not have federal recognition of same-sex marriage, nor does it have uniformity in its laws about same-sex couple adoption. Pardon my cynicism at the WBC’s claim that America “loves” gays.
The message gets even more convoluted when the WBC tries to bring dead American soldiers into the issue. Let me get this straight: God hates America because it supports “fags” by getting rid of anti-sodomy laws, legalizing same-sex marriage, etc.? And therefore God is punishing America by killing the soldiers that fight for it, regardless of the actual cause, or of the individual soldier’s personal life?
The American military is only just now beginning to dismantle the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prevented gays from serving openly in the military. The policy was very recently repealed, in December 2010. So an anti-gay God has been punishing an army that actively excluded gays, and that is arguably fighting a war that in no way truly protects American freedoms, which includes any freedoms related to sexual orientation? Give me a break.
Shoddy arguments like these seem to only bolster claims that the WBC seeks to profit off of the hate that it spreads, hoping to incite enough rage in individuals that they attack the group or otherwise violate the group’s rights, giving the WBC grounds to sue.
I think that this is an important claim to address. I mean, theoretically, this would be an excellent way to make money – for anyone without the slightest amount of shame or conscience. Pastor and founder Fred Phelps has a rather shady legal history, and (according to the Southern Poverty Law Center) estranged son Nathan Phelps claims that his father’s approach involved making frivolous claims in the hopes that parties would settle out of court to avoid the costs of defense. For instance, he once filed a $50-million class action suit against Sears after a television that he purchased from the company was delivered several days late. It was cases like this that made the Kansas Supreme Court decide that Phelps had “little regard for the ethics of his profession,” permanently disbarring him from state courts in 1979.
Many of the WBC make their living as lawyers, and some of them work for the Phelps Chartered law firm, which was founded by Fred Phelps. This firm handles all of the group’s legal needs, so any legal fees that are credited to the WBC by the courts essentially help to fund the WBC itself.
So what seems most profitable for the group? Having their rights clearly violated. This would help explain why they spend so much time and money trolling controversy, like their (thankfully denied) attempt to visit Canada to picket the funeral of Tim Maclean Jr., who was decapitated on a Greyhound bus. The group claimed that the murder was God’s way of punishing Canada for allowing gay marriage. Furthermore, church member Shirley Phelps-Roper told media that the group is not actually out to win souls with its abrasive technique. Which makes me wonder: why bother?
Does the group actually believe the shockingly hateful doctrine that they preach? Perhaps. However, the answer to this makes no difference to their ability to profit off of the message that they spread.
