The Wrong Reverend Fred Phelps is visiting East Peoria to protest a Marine’s funeral on Saturday.
A lot of chatter suggests some respectful counter protests that honor the fallen Marine while standing up to Phelps. I get the impulse, but frankly, just ignore the idiot.
My wife grew up in Salina, Kansas so the idiot would make frequent stops around there and he’s been to St. Louis on few occasions. One was the 2000 Presidential Debate. One friend tried to jump the security fencing put up in the protest area. Given she’s about 5’2″ it was sort of funny, but frankly gave Phelps too much satisfation.
Another time the Wrong Reverend’s family came and protested my church on a Sunday morning because my church doesn’t bother asking about someone’s sexual orientation. While a few people got upset, more than anything it was just sad. The two kids and the adult were just angry and bitter people yelling and trying to incite a reaction. The proper response was to just go to Church and pray for them. Don’t give them the attention. They don’t deserve it.
His last visit I know of to Central Illinois was to protest the company Electrolux because of the Government of Sweden’s actions. The dude just isn’t right in the head.
I appreciate the thought, but I’m not going to ignore this. He should be stopped. And he will, if I have anything to do with it – at least in Illinois.
It’s good to see some of those on the Right finally understand why this whack-job needs to be dealt with. Republicans were perfectly content to sit silently while Phelps and his band of loons were picketing AIDS victims funerals and gay pride parades for all those years.
And when I say “dealt with,” I mean “confronted” with the people using THEIR free speech as freely as it is afforded to Phelps, nothing more menacing than that..
Although I’d have a hard time opposing a good ass-kicking for Phelps and his adult followers… God knows they have one coming.