Editor-in-Chief
Shortly before midnight last Thursday,
infamous Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps died of natural causes. He
founded the church in 1955 with just a few members, but nearly 40 years later
began garnering attention for its picketing of public events and places, trying
to push their radical and often bigoted views on the public. Their infamy
recently spread to sensational levels via social media coverage of their
protests during the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and of
many public places, even other churches.
People have taken the death of the church’s leader in many different ways. Some have taken a bitter approach, feeling grateful for the death of the figurehead of a much despised organization, this sentiment being epitomized with the release of T-shirts by the band Touché Amoré with a picture of Phelps prominently displayed emblazoned with the phrase “Good Riddance”.
It can seem easy to express such as strong a feeling as hatred in this way; but then again, hatred is the reason we dislike the church in the first place. If people find it wrong for the Westboro Baptist Church to express their hatred of certain things, isn't it hypocritical for the public to lash right back with hate? During a church protest of a Lorde concert in Kansas City on Friday, a counter-protest was formed, with members holding a sign reading, “Sorry for your loss.” This is the message which shows everyone how they should react to the Westboro Baptist Church, by killing them with kindness.
Comedian George Carlin warned us, “Never argue with an idiot. They will
bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.” It is this kind of
thinking that the counter-protesters used, and the kind that everyone else must
use. Rather than sneering at the church over their fallen leader or just in
general, in the process being brought down to their level, holding your tongue
is the best option. The best way to be above people like those of the Westboro
Baptist Church is to lead by example, embodying the sense of morality rather
than screeching words and hate that are useless to the ignorant. If we become
hateful hypocrites looking for vengeance, then nothing will separate us from
those we despise; we will instead become just like them.
