unalove

From 12-1:30 on March 9, Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting at the U of C. I believe their primary objective is to protest Obama's homeplace, so to speak, but I'm sure there are a lot of other things they wouldn't approve of on our campus, too.

If you're unfamiliar with this organization, I suggest you search them on google and steel yourself for what you're about to read. They are an extremist group on many levels, and they're good at getting people angry and not much more.

I've gotten a flurry of e-mails from people with creative counter-protest or just alternate activities. I think some people will be carrying spoof signs, but I think others are just going to go out, hang out with people, maybe do some interfaith prayer, and show support for our campus community.

Anyway, if you do plan to visit campus on March 9, be aware that it's not going to be a typical day by any means...

RhymesWithGreen

Could you post a brief update of that here afterwards? It sounds like things could get interesting.

"They're good at getting people angry and not much more" is darn right. I'd like to know how UofC responds.

CountingDown

I'd heard they were coming and about the counterprotest...

unalove

Sure thing.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the U of C is one of many WBC targets, as one look at their itinerary (available online on their homepage) will show that they protest at a lot of places, including high schools that have GSAs. That, to me, is more appalling than anything they could do to a school like ours, which is wide open about queer scholarship and has lots of LGBTQ students and resources. I can't imagine what a closeted or quiet queer must feel like if WBC showed up at the high school!

I do not know exactly how much fanfare there will be, but students have been told not to engage the WBC folks and to respect their right to free speech. The Maroon ran a very convincing editorial that encouraged students not to take notice of the protests, citing that the church gets their money from lawsuits and that this branch is so radical as to protest them would be like protesting other extremist groups. So perhaps if we are smart, we will give the WBC their due and let their protests fall on deaf ears. Lots of us have final exams to work on, anyway. ;-)

kumitedad

These idiots protested my church where there was a funeral going on for a murder victim. It seems that a main source of their income is The Civil Rights Attorney's Fees Award Act of 1976, which awards resonable legal fees to the prevailing party in a civil rights case. So when their disgusting message not heard, they sue and collect the legal fees

uchicagoalum

I think this calls for a Bruno spoof.