January 11, 201115 yr The Westboro fringe will be attempting to picket the funerals in Arizona including the 9 year old victim. http://www.abpnews.com/content/view/6031/53/ :irked:
January 11, 201115 yr This is really cool, though. Within hours of the church's announcements, Facebook groups sprang up to plan actions surrounding the funerals that would keep the church members -- most members of the extended family of church founder Fred Phelps -- separate from the mourners. Tucson just isn't that kind of town, says Christin Gilmer, 26, referring to the actions of the church. "For something like this to happen in Tucson was a really big shock to us all," she said. "Our nightmare happened when we saw Westboro Baptist Church was going to picket the funerals." Gilmer and others are planning an "angel action" -- with 8- by 10-foot "angel wings" worn by participants to shield mourners from picketers. Angel actions were created by Coloradan Romaine Patterson, who was shocked to find the Topeka church and its neon signs outside the 1999 funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man beaten and left on a fence to die in Laramie, Wyoming. The angel action is part of a larger group, organized by Chelsea Cohen, a 20-year-old University of Arizona senior, aimed at showing Tucson's true colors. "Once I heard that the Westboro Baptist Church was coming, I felt like something should be done to show support for the families," she said. "I don't have any experience in organizing these things. I thought I might get 50 to 100 people." "This isn't a counterprotest," she said. "We wanted it to show support for the families and to show that Tucson is there with love and support." The groups don't want to interfere with the funeral in any way, Cohen said. "We plan on being completely silent, and we're asking people not to bring signs or make comments about the Westboro Baptist Church," she said.
January 11, 201115 yr I read somewhere that the Hells Angels were going to be there to prevent the Westboro kooks from picketing. I'm not a big fan of the Hells Angels, but if they do show up and prevent the Westboro loons from desecrating a little girl's funeral, I will salute them.
January 12, 201115 yr I read somewhere that the Hells Angels were going to be there to prevent the Westboro kooks from picketing. I'm not a big fan of the Hells Angels, but if they do show up and prevent the Westboro loons from desecrating a little girl's funeral, I will salute them. I have nothing but respect for the Hell's Angels. The first year I was divorced, a bunch of Hell's Angels showed up at my front door with food baskets and with tons of toys for my kids.
January 12, 201115 yr This is the only reason why free speech should really be limited in this country. When a member of the Westboro baptist church dies I hope all kinds of people show up to protest, but most people are way to decent for that. Go get 'em, Hell's Angels!!!
January 12, 201115 yr There will be another group there, using angel wings to prevent the "sights" of the protesters from the mourners. http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/01/11/exp.nr.tuscon.angel.action.cnn?hpt=T1
January 12, 201115 yr I have nothing but respect for the Hell's Angels. The first year I was divorced, a bunch of Hell's Angels showed up at my front door with food baskets and with tons of toys for my kids. Really? I've never heard of them doing things like that.
January 12, 201115 yr Looks like AZ has put a new law into place to prevent them from getting very close.
January 12, 201115 yr Really? I've never heard of them doing things like that. Yep. They got our name from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. A girl I worked with had a sister who worked there, and their mother babysat my kids when I picked up banquet serving shifts, and that's how I got on the list. I didn't even know we were on it until the bikers showed up. I was afraid at first, but bawling by the time they left. I don't think my kids have ever had a better Christmas! The toys and clothes took up half the living room. They also do toy drives for the Marines Toys for Tots program. They get a bad rap, but there's actually many good things they do.
January 12, 201115 yr Sooner rather than later something really bad to these people and they will ride off in to the sunset with even more media exposure. I think they want it to happen. The non-stop media world has made people like Fred Phelps and his band of loonies this popular. In an ideal society they would be banished from the internet or any exposure. Sadly you cannot tune out "free speech".
January 12, 201115 yr Yep. They got our name from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. A girl I worked with had a sister who worked there, and their mother babysat my kids when I picked up banquet serving shifts, and that's how I got on the list. I didn't even know we were on it until the bikers showed up. I was afraid at first, but bawling by the time they left. I don't think my kids have ever had a better Christmas! The toys and clothes took up half the living room. They also do toy drives for the Marines Toys for Tots program. They get a bad rap, but there's actually many good things they do. Wow, that is awesome! For some reason things like this never make the news when the Hell's Angels are discussed.
January 12, 201115 yr Yep. They got our name from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department. A girl I worked with had a sister who worked there, and their mother babysat my kids when I picked up banquet serving shifts, and that's how I got on the list. I didn't even know we were on it until the bikers showed up. I was afraid at first, but bawling by the time they left. I don't think my kids have ever had a better Christmas! The toys and clothes took up half the living room. They also do toy drives for the Marines Toys for Tots program. They get a bad rap, but there's actually many good things they do. They get a bad rap for pretty good reasons. I would say not all chapters are the same though. That's awesome they did that for you. Stuff like that should get the same press as the all the bad some do.
January 12, 201115 yr I think the media should stop referring to them as a church, and just call them a bunch of cult members. Or psychos. Or the least compassionate people on the face of the earth. WBC makes Al Queda look half way decent.
January 12, 201115 yr Sooner rather than later something really bad to these people and they will ride off in to the sunset with even more media exposure. I think they want it to happen. The non-stop media world has made people like Fred Phelps and his band of loonies this popular. In an ideal society they would be banished from the internet or any exposure. Sadly you cannot tune out "free speech". We have crazy people running around the country looking for people to harm, and not that I am saying I want these people dead, but how do they escape from being harmed?
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