April 10, 2007

• Part 1 = pretty freaking scary. I'm going back in now.
• Considering that he had already decided to talk to the insane people, he might have stopped even trying to argue, and just ask them neutral why questions. Let them damn themselves in their own words. Confrontational journalism is the best way to handle mealy mouthed politicians, but with people who are so adament in their positions it makes more sense to give them the bounce back treatment - ask them why they do what they do, how they feel about it, etc.
• I watched a couple of these the other day. My conclusion: As amusing as it is to watch Theroux, this type of coverage just encourages this group. He never should have given them the affirmation of this attention. There are two ways to respond to these people, if you are not fortunate enough to accidentally run the group down with a gravel truck, the next best approach is to ignore them, especially if you are a media person.
• The still living Fred Phelps Now that's a qualifier for ya.
• Looks like they're cranking up the Attention Whore Transmitter. "God hates fags" was edgy source material ten years ago, but now it's passé. The new millennium is all about God hating the troops.
• married fags, MCT. Which, as you know, is the most serious threat to civilization, like, evar. see also; 9/11
• Yeah, I was wondering why he failed to come back with, "What about homosexuals who aren't married?"
• I don't know if the best thing is to ignore them. All of the attention has brought out how crazy they are -- and I think actually hurt hateful churches everywhere. Now when people hear homophobic insults and hell-fire out of a church (and there are far many more churches who do that as well), they will associate that with actions like picketting funerals (which everyone agrees is horrible). I don't really care what they say amongst themselves. Their actions towards the bereaved and their disrespect for the dead is abhorrent - and they should be prevented from doing that. Free speech does not allow harassment or slander/libel. But not talking about them lets them just go on harassing people. Talking about them gets out to the rest of the world what they are doing, and we can see that it is wrong - also, that they are very irrational. Picketing a hardware store to protest Sweden? Why not go to the Swedish embassy/consulate? As much as I think what they are doing is wrong, I was shocked and horrified when someone threw a cup at one of the children. Perhaps they had been aiming for one of the adults - but even brain-washed children holding hateful messages - that half of them don't understand -- should never be attacked.
• someone threw a cup at one of the children What, half a bra? Aren't they a bit young to have fragments of undergarments flung at them?
• Yeah, how do you think I became an Underpants Monster?
• The situation the children were born into breaks my heart. What possible chance do they have? Whilst it's easy to feel anger for the adults they don't deserve to be attacked anymore than the kids do.
• As a gay male, I find the movement on whole (with the exception of the uncalled-for cursing of the dead), mildly amusing. The whole movement makes an excellent, if unintentional fifth column.
• Hate to be such a party pooper (heh) but if only Phelps were so hang-snaggled representative of large swaths of the red states. If he weren't would he and his cohorts last a day? Where do they get all that money anyway?
• shite. If only Pelps, et. al. weren't so etc.
• Yeah, you're right, large swaths of the red states support these folks via local and state tax dollars.
• My sarcasm detector must be broken. How does Phelps get the local and state tax dollars?
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faith_based_initiatives
• Didn't see anything in that wiki article specific to, but did google up this: In 1993, tax-payers learned they footed the $26.69-an-hour bill to protect WBC protestors. About three years later, the State Board of Tax Appeals ruled the 1995 Ford F-150 pickup truck purchased by Phelps' church didn't qualify for a tax exemption. The ruling forced him to pay property taxes on the new blue pickup truck he uses to haul about picket signs.