Fred Phelps to NOT protest the VTech killings, with condition...

[surferboy]

that condition being that he's given 3 hours of radio time.

WBC Cancels Virginia Tech Protest » Constitutionally Right


on one hand, he and his inbred family won't be at the funerals spewing their bullshit. but like, on the other hand, he;s given 3 whole fuckin hours of radio time. and you know he's gonna like, talk shit about those who died at VTech. and fags. and everyone else who doesn't deserve to be talked about in that manner by that fuckin...ya know, i can't think of a word that describes him.

it takes a lot for me to hate someone. so far in life, i've only ever hated my mom's ex-fiance (the older members here know why i hate that fuckin bastard so much) and fred phelps.

 

[SteveHd]

In a weird sense, I think of that as a bribe.

 

[rob_just_rob]

I look at it this way: The families and friends of the victims need to grieve, and if there was picketing and the usual Phelpsian hate-spewing at the funerals, it could be terribly traumatic for them. It's not like the families and friends can just NOT go to the funerals in order to avoid Phelps and his fellow scum.

On the other hand, radios (much like TVs and computers) can be turned off. So those who don't want to hear Phelps can avoid him. So yes, it's a bribe, but it's better than the alternative.

 

[surferboy]

of course it's a bribe. and rjr said, a radio can be turned off. but why the fuck should we even have to bribe someone to not protest at a funeral?

 

[rob_just_rob]

I gather that it's a freedom of speech issue. I know that where I live, there are categories of speech that are not constitutionally protected, and "hate speech" is among these categories.

I'm not sure if there is an equivalent exception to freedom of speech provisions in the USA, and if the bile Phelps spouts would be captured by such an exception.

Presumably church/cemetary grounds are private property and any unwanted protesters could be expelled. But I gather that protesting outside on public property (i.e. the sidewalk or street) is pretty much unstoppable.

(Unless you're protesting the government, of course. )

 

[rob_just_rob]

of course it's a bribe. and rjr said, a radio can be turned off. but why the fuck should we even have to bribe someone to not protest at a funeral?

And to answer your question more specifically: A bribe is necessary because Phelps is a fucking asshole who doesn't care about anyone else's feelings; he just cares about getting his hate message out. Appealing to his sense of decency is pointless - he hasn't got one.

 

[madame_zora]

We don't have a cohesive definition of "hate speech" or laws against it as of yet. While I consider it a very slippery slope, I would be interested in seeing how this has worked in the UK, how the laws are worded and such.

 

[Hatched69]

Let the fool get on the radio, but just have the station engineer power down the transmitter to its lowest output for "maintenance" for the three hours he's supposed to get.:wink:

 

[anon265]

I'm tempted to say turn the power up as high as it will go. Syndicate the show. Pre-empt the sitcoms. But ... how would I feel if it were my children, and this guy comes on television with this stuff?

Hopefully the more this wreck of a human being exposes himself for the caricature that he is, the sooner he'll get help. It's actually sad to watch him. As horrible as what he says is(and it is truly horrible), he's obviously mentally ill, and he needs psychiatric treatment. He's a psychopath ... lack of empathy, superficial charm, irresponsible behavior, disregard for law, satisfies his needs with no regard for others ...

The truly dangerous part about it is that he has enough cognitive ability to lead and administrate his organization, and articulate his vision (warped as it is) to his followers.

 

[Hatched69]

I'm tempted to say turn the power up as high as it will go. Syndicate the show. Pre-empt the sitcoms. But ... how would I feel if it were my children, and this guy comes on television with this stuff?

It could make a good lesson for what happens after generations of inbreeding, I suppose... The language he'd use wouldn't be fit to hear, though.

Hopefully the more this wreck of a human being exposes himself for the caricature that he is, the sooner he'll get help. It's actually sad to watch him. As horrible as what he says is(and it is truly horrible), he's obviously mentally ill, and he needs psychiatric treatment. He's a psychopath ... lack of empathy, superficial charm, irresponsible behavior, disregard for law, satisfies his needs with no regard for others ...

The truly dangerous part about it is that he has enough cognitive ability to lead and administrate his organization, and articulate his vision (warped as it is) to his followers.

He's a disease, and a disease always spreads faster than a cure. Hence, the danger.

 

[DaMoose]

It sounds like he is using fear to get his point across. If I knew someone like that would be at funeral I'm going to, I would be afraid, because many people can be blinded by their beliefs into doing very dumb things. He sounds like a terrorist, bribing America into allowing him radio time in exchange for not harassing mourners. Funerals are for the living, not for the dead, they're ceremonies that allow grieving, acceptance, and allow people to move on.

Is he allowed to protest even though he will be infringing on others' rights? If a serial rapist-murderer died (after killing/raping 20 people) we can't interrupt the funeral that his family might hold for him/her. That's their right, they didn't do anything wrong.

Can't we, as Americans, look the other way as a few people take him behind a dumpster, and dispose of him. For real.

MOOSE

 

[kalipygian]

I am glad that the group will not be protesting the VT funerals, that would be cruel and distressing to the students, friends and families.

I don't actually mind him otherwise (not at funerals) putting a face on extreme homophobia, he can only alienate people. I have not however, been subjected to hearing him myself. When his group protested our local pride parade, three of them stood silently with their signs on a corner of the route. We have been subjected to worse than that by our local homophobes. I think that the publicity helps our side, it gets more people to care and get involved.

 

[Nitrofiend]

ter·ror·ism

1.the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.
2.the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
3.a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

This is terrorism. The Unites States does not negotiate with terrorists. Phelps plans to antagonize and terrorize hundreds of people IF we do not give him the precious airtime that his ego craves. Terrorism.

 

[madame_zora]

It doesn't take a genius to notice that hate speech leads to hate crimes. Aggressors of violence and hate have a tendency to gain momentum and ACT on their opinions, especially when they're in a group. One lone ego-shattered moroan might mutter "fag" under his breath, but get six of them together and watch a good old fashioned beating take place.

We really have no room for this behavior, perverse logic, or hate rhetoric speech. His whole message is that he hates everyone. Great, go ahead, but why is that anyone else's problem? He's famous for hating people? That says more about us than him. Oh yeah, Paris Hilton is famous for....absolutely nothing.

 

[Nitrofiend]

It doesn't take a genius to notice that hate speech leads to hate crimes. Aggressors of violence and hate have a tendency to gain momentum and ACT on their opinions, especially when they're in a group. One lone ego-shattered moroan might mutter "fag" under his breath, but get six of them together and watch a good old fashioned beating take place.

I rather approve of that approach. Let him bitch, he's going to eat a bullet one of these days.

We really have no room for this behavior, perverse logic, or hate rhetoric speech. His whole message is that he hates everyone. Great, go ahead, but why is that anyone else's problem? He's famous for hating people? That says more about us than him. Oh yeah, Paris Hilton is famous for....absolutely nothing.

Infamous not famous. Famous implies a well-known good reputation.

He's infamous because we allow him publicity. The first asshole that gave him a microphone and a camera shot are the ones most deserving of blame. And Paris Hilton is infamous because her money and "class occupation" propagate a steady fund towards the publicizing of her immature escapades. The more that you see of them, the more infamous they become. Cut the publicity vein and they're just two histrionic cunts.

 

[madame_zora]

Nitro, you are so right. "News" should actually be that, and lone groaning insane people should only receive pity. Same with the shooter at V Tech, his "last memoir" should not have received public attention, but been offered a viewing to the police who were involved with the crime, and at a later date to the family members who wished to view it in private. If we'd just STOP making nutjobs infamous, I think we'd have less of them, at least the ones seeking fame. Had he been described as a pitiful young man with no friends and an obvious need for therapy, I doubt that would encourage many kids to follow in his footsteps. EVERYONE knew that kid was nuts, just like phelps.

 

[B_spiker067]

..., but it's better than the alternative.

Honestly, I don't think so. If Phelps showed up the physical ass kicking they would get would be well worth the effort for me to turn on the tube to watch it. It would probably just feed their need for martyrdom of sorts, but I'd still enjoy it.:biggrin1:

 

[Nitrofiend]

Nitro, you are so right. "News" should actually be that, and lone groaning insane people should only receive pity. Same with the shooter at V Tech, his "last memoir" should not have received public attention, but been offered a viewing to the police who were involved with the crime, and at a later date to the family members who wished to view it in private. If we'd just STOP making nutjobs infamous, I think we'd have less of them, at least the ones seeking fame. Had he been described as a pitiful young man with no friends and an obvious need for therapy, I doubt that would encourage many kids to follow in his footsteps. EVERYONE knew that kid was nuts, just like phelps.

I disagree with the idea of lack of public consciousness leading to less occurences. The vast majority of people would not commit the same crimes as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold just to get posthumous media attention. Only people equally disturbed would copycat the same actions. It's downright illogical to think otherwise. And people who "feign" mental illness (as is a popular trend among highschoolers) are often less troubled than they pretend, and are usually consciously trying to attract attention. While that is a personality disorder in and of itself, it is not necessarily psychotic.

This goes back to the debate on policing future actions of suspicious persons (of which I secede on the grounds of incongruity in my thoughts and ideas). Yes, we can quickly determine from a quick evaluation that these people were psychotic, but I believe awareness is important -- especially in this case.

We can see from Seung-Ho's tapes that he was remorseless in his actions, and an abhorrent human being. I know of no one who would actually sympathize with him (especially after viewing his shitty writing, it's a wonder he even got into college let alone became a senior english major). He was a no-talent psychopath who will appeal to no one but other no-talent psychopaths. I do not see this is as glorification at all. Phelps has not killed anyone and neither has Paris. They don't deserve public attention, but this maniac certainly does -- for our own good.

 

[surferboy]

Honestly, I don't think so. If Phelps showed up the physical ass kicking they would get would be well worth the effort for me to turn on the tube to watch it. It would probably just feed their need for martyrdom of sorts, but I'd still enjoy it.:biggrin1:

yah, i was just thinkin that he should be allowed to protest just for the shear fact that the student body would kick his ass so hard that his inbread ancestos would feel it

 

[B_big dirigible]

He sounds like a terrorist, bribing America into allowing him radio time in exchange for not harassing mourners.

If it's anything at all, it's extortion, not terrorism.

If he does his worst, people will be extremely annoyed, but hardly terrorized.