Oh Westboro Baptist Church ... when are you just going to wake up and realise you're a bunch of dick heads?
I know I've mentioned my disdain for this group before, but I really don't think you can overstate something like that. Anyone who protests at a funeral deserves a special and particularly vicious brand of vigilante justice, as far as I'm concerned.
But rather than take the route that most choose when Westboro Baptist Church decide to come knocking, ie. open mocking or calling the cops, Vassar opted to try something different. Why not turn it into a fundraiser and try to collect some money for the very issues they were protesting?
So they spread the word around the college and set a goal of raising $4,500, a hundred bucks for every minute that the Westboro Baptist Church would be protesting that would be donated to The Trevor Project. An ambition sum to be sure, but it only took days for them to have raised TEN TIMES THAT AMOUNT! Hell, with a week still to go, their total is currently sitting at over $84,000!I love when people gather together to shit all over the plans of bigots. Vassar College, you guys get my Official Seal of Awesomeness!
And Westboro dudes? I'd say sucks to be you, but at this point I'm not even sure if you have the mental capacity to understand just what happened and how you contributed to almost a hundred thousand dollars being donated to a charity that supports LGBTQ youth.
Oh sweet irony.
They absolutely infuriate me. Have you seen the episode of Russell Brand's Brand X where he has them on? You should definitely YouTube it. It kind of falls apart at the end, but the first 2/3s is soooooo good. (And I'm not even a fan of his.)
ReplyDeleteThat they protested the Sandy Hook Elementary funerals made me sick, not to mention every other funeral they have "attended." But the problem, as we have seen, is that there seems to be no reasoning with them. Logic is not on their agenda. Le sigh. But go Vassar!
I suppose their particular brand of crazy isn't curable.
DeleteHurrah for Vassar. There are times that I try to understand how religious people can promote an agenda that goes completely against Jesus' teachings and life. Then I get a headache and I stop trying.
ReplyDeleteI'd suspect that it has very little to do with religion and a whole lot to do with sheer stupidity and narrow mindedness.
DeleteJudy C. THey are not religious people. They are homophobes who practice their hate under the guise of religion. Also "They" are to my understanding basically one family that has been brainwashed to hate from the time they learned to walk.
ReplyDeleteCudos to Vassar!
It's hard to know whether to feel sorry for them or not. On one hand, they were practically brainwashed as you said, but on the other most of them are adults who have to be held accountable for their actions.
DeleteI think joeh has it right. They call themselves a religion but it is just a family of haters that have not one inkling of love and totally devoid of compassion.
ReplyDeleteI do love the irony that they are helping to raise funds for the groups that they are protesting against. It does suck to be them.
Yep, hopefully it'll become a thing. If people can raise money every time they do it for causes like The Trevor Project, then it would be the best solution possible.
DeleteI have a feeling this may start a trend of counter-fundraisers being set up for every venue the WBC tries to picket. And it's about time.
ReplyDeleteWe can only hope! Think about how much could be raised if it was promoted properly. The WBC isn't lacking in enemies who'd be delighted to donate.
DeleteAwesome story! And I like the phrase Nate above coined "counter-fundraisers"! Love! I'm sharing this on G+...
ReplyDeleteIt is a great way of dealing with it, isn't it! I hope people keep doing it, I can't think of a more fitting F%^$ You to WBC.
DeleteIt's incredible how united people are in their hatred of this "church." Makes me feel like there is some hope for humanity
ReplyDeleteI guess it goes to show that whether we're right wing or left wing, liberal or conservative, we can all unite in our mutual distain for Westboro Baptist Church :D
DeleteRock on Vassar!!!! After those douchbags tried to protest a funeral near my hometown in PA where innocent children died in a housefire, a bunch of my friends joined a vigilante group to block the protest. Turned out those suckers are cowards 'cause they never showed up to get their asses whooped.
ReplyDeleteThey're idiots, but they're not suicidal idiots. As far as I can tell, they always shoot through when things start to look sticky. That's what shows me that they're full of hate, but they're not zealots. They're just dicks.
DeleteWell this just cements my atheism - if there were a god he/she would just send a lightening bolt down and get rid of these nasty, evil people. Fundamentalists of any kind scare me.
ReplyDeleteGreat thinking by Vassar - and what religion should be about.
I just love the way most people see them as a joke these days. When they're just protesting Universities and not funerals, people just laugh at them and do things like this.
DeleteHow AWESOME is that?
ReplyDeleteGod, I hate those Westboro freaks!
Great post.
It's great, isn't it! I just love when people can take the hate that's being thrown at them and turn it into something good.
DeleteApparently, one son and two grand-daughters of the evil Fred Phelps have left the Westboro church and now condemn it as a hate cult. The son lives in Canada these days -- British Columbia, I believe.
ReplyDeleteHopefully other members will do the same. I just feel sorry for those kids you see in the pictures. They don't know what they're doing, they're just there because their parents are making them. But you just know that in a few years the brainwashing will be complete and they'll be spouting the hate too.
DeleteYay for Vassar for turning a bad situation around! If only there was a way that grieving families could turn the tables on that ridiculous "church." I admire the people who volunteer to shield the families from the westboro crazies during funerals.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that people are willing to do it, but it makes me angry that it's even necessary. The idea that anyone would protest a funeral! I don't think anyone would have even thought it possible before WBC!
DeleteGreat post... Slu
ReplyDeleteWhy thank you, kind sir ;D
DeleteGod, I hate those people. I am normally a very tolerant person, and work hard at accepting all kinds of people, but the Westboro creepers are just pure evil. So THANK YOU for posting this, because that is completely awesome!! That was so brilliant of Vassar. I guess it really IS a smart school :)
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see stuff like this happening, isn't it. It's just nice to know that someone out there is turning their hate into something positive.
DeleteI love when you are on holidays - means you have so much more time to find and then comment on so many interesting things that I would otherwise miss. That said I will be happy to see your smiling face when you return to work! Until then.
ReplyDeleteLOL! I love when I'm on holidays too, although it might have more to do with sleeping in late every morning and going out to brunch a lot than finding fun articles. I miss you guys too though, and I'll see you all in a week and a half!
DeleteThanks!!! :D
ReplyDelete