Let’s give America’s most obnoxious hate group a frosty Fresno reception | Opinion
America’s most obnoxious hate group is making itself an unwelcome presence at two Fresno-area high schools.
Let’s be sure to give Westboro Baptist Church the hearty but frosty reception they so greatly deserve.
Constitutional rights to free speech and peaceful assembly are guaranteed by the First Amendment. Few organizations revel in pushing those boundaries more than Westboro, a Kansas-based church known for its anti-LBGTQ+, anti-Semitic and anti-kindness-in-general worldview that has staged protests outside schools, funerals and other events for decades.
The group gained widespread notoriety by picketing the 1998 burial of Matthew Shepard, the murder victim in a notorious anti-gay hate crime, and those of U.S. soldiers killed during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Church members (most of them belonging to the extended family of founder Fred Phelps, who died in 2014) carry signs such as “God Hates Fags,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God Hates Your Feelings” blatantly meant to agitate and provoke.
This week, it’s Fresno’s turn to play host to this campaign of hate. Specifically outside Roosevelt High School on Monday afternoon (3:55 p.m.) and Reedley High School on Thursday morning (7:30 a.m.), where Westboro members plan to “peacefully preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ” in their own mean-spirited way.
What did Roosevelt and Reedley do to get so “lucky”?
Apparently, both campuses are home to student organizations that fit the church’s definition for either being “sodomite” or “faux-christian.”
“False Religion has no place in schools,” the official announcement states, “and neither does abominable sodomite transgender perversion.”
Church members may not be cheery or tolerant, but at least they’re considerate. Yes, considerate, and here’s what I mean: Westboro tells everyone where and when they’re planning to demonstrate next, with ample notice, which makes their events relatively easy to prepare for and counter-protest.
Not only do police and school principals know they’re coming, so too do LBGTQ+ groups and their allies. Foremost among these is Parasol Patrol, a national nonprofit whose members carry rainbow umbrellas and flags that serve as a “wall of love” between protesting hate groups and school children and their families.
Oftentimes, the counter-protestors outnumber the actual protestors. Such was the case earlier this year in Oklahoma, where “a handful” of Westboro church members on hand to picket the death of a nonbinary student were, according to Public Radio Tulsa, “surrounded by roughly 250 counter-protesters” organized by Parasol Patrol “until they got in their cars and drove away.”
That’s the standard we need to uphold.
LBGTQ Fresno helms counter-protest
Unfortunately, Parasol Patrol can’t make it to the central San Joaquin Valley. In collaboration, LBGTQ Fresno is organizing counter demonstrations outside Roosevelt and Reedley high schools using the same “wall of love” formula.
“In response to (Westboro’s) planned visit, a coalition of local LGBTQ+ organizations and allies are coming together to stand against their message of intolerance,” reads a message on the organization’s website.
“The coalition’s counter-protest aims to promote unity, love, and acceptance for all. Through peaceful demonstration, the LGBTQ+ community and supporters will stand in solidarity, sending a clear message: hate has no place here.”
LBGTQ Fresno also lists eight “event guidelines” for those wishing to join the counter-protest.
No. 1 and most important: Do not engage with Westboro church members.
“Don’t yell back at them or confront them in any way. They say things to deliberately provoke a response which they may use against us. If their hate-filled messages and methods begin to get under your skin, turn your back, walk away, breathe.”
That explains why I’m writing this from a safe distance and more than likely won’t be in attendance Monday afternoon or Thursday morning.
You, on the other hand, may possess a cool enough head to give America’s most obnoxious hate group the chilly reception its intolerance justifies.
