辩论 Club
加入
Fanpop
New Post
Explore Fanpop
Just kidding. Below are a few 问题 I’ve attempted to answer about the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). This isn’t formal research, just a few points that I believe need to be brought to attention.

What is this ‘Westboro Baptist Church’ 你 speak of?
The fine folks at Wikipedia have summarized that in far fewer words than I ever could have, so if 你 are unfamiliar with the WBC, I would suggest 阅读 the first paragraph link.

How does a church from Kansas have enough money to send members to protest all over the US?
Since the WBC classifies itself as a church, they are not required to disclose their finances to anyone - including church members. It wouldn't matter anyway, because about 80% of the WBC's members are members of the Phelps family so they probably know exactly what's going on. I'll get to that later.

Why do they hate so many people?
The WBC has targeted pretty much every major religion - Judaism, Catholicism, Islam, even some Christian groups that don't conform to their ridiculous ideas. They are also known for their anti-gay protests and the picketing of American soldier's funerals. 更多 recently, however, they have been protesting 名人 like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Why would a group like this bother with a pop singer and some kid? Media. Think about it. Out of everything they protest, what gets the biggest reaction? What makes people truly angry? What makes the news? When their protesting hits a nerve, they get sued. That should make them pay, right? No. It doesn't.

What happens when the WBC gets sued for being so obnoxious?
A nice group called the Phelps-Chartered represents the Westboro Baptist Church in court.

What is Phelps-Chartered?
Phelps-Chartered is a legal firm started in 1964 由 费雷德 Phelps. In its early days, the firm supposedly took on clients that no other law group wanted - mostly cases involving African-Americans. This caused a stir for the Phelps family in not-quite-ready for desegregation Kansas - possibly giving them their first taste of what it was like to be controversial. Over the years, the Phelps-Chartered grew to include several of his children. The current attorneys of the Phelps-Chartered include Jonathan B. Phelps, Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, Rachel I. Hockenbarger, Rebekah A. Phelps-Davis and Margie J. Phelps. Eleven of the thirteen Phelps children are lawyers, with the exceptions being Mark and Nate, who have been estranged from the family.

Okay, they're all lawyers. What's that got to do with anything?
There's a lovely little law called the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976. Sometimes referred to as "Section 1988", this law allows a federal court to award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing party in certain civil rights cases.

So wait... what?
When the Phelps-Chartered law group wins a case defending the Westboro Baptist Church in civil rights cases, the federal government pays them an attorney's fee because of this law.

So the federal government pays for the Westboro Baptist Church to travel all over the place and be obnoxious?
Pretty much.

That is ridiculous. Just when I think they can't get any worse, it turns out that they're lawyers too.
It is my somewhat humble opinion that these people aren't really as crazy as they look. Their tactics are so shocking and inhuman, most people can't (or won't) see past that. The protests and the picket lines are a front – they do it to get attention and for the money. Maybe the Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps family really does believe all the crazy things written on their picket signs, but there is also the possibility that they're just conning everyone in one of the most shocking money-making schemes the US has ever seen.

Further Reading:
link
link
link
link (the official site for the Westboro Baptist Church)
 Captions 由 a young WBC member, 发布 to Twitter 由 @meganphelps (granddaughter of 费雷德 Phelps and WBC member)
Captions by a young WBC member, posted to Twitter by @meganphelps (granddaughter of Fred Phelps and WBC member)
added by greekthegeek
Source: http://www.comics.com/editoons/kelley/index.html Steve Kelly
added by zanhar1
posted by pandawinx
Pro-life quotes.

“Ive noticed that everyone who is for abortion is already born.” – Ronald Reagan


"There are two victims in every abortion: a dead baby and a dead conscience." - Mother Teresa

"We must not be surprised when we hear of murders, killings, of wars, 或者 of hatred...If a mother can kill her own child, what is left but for us to kill each other?" - Mother Teresa

"...is it surprising that today we have become so morally blind (for wickedness blinds) that we save the baby whales at great cost, and murder millions of unborn children?" - Alice von Hildebrand

"Count yourself lucky your...
continue reading...
added by tamore
Source: https://www.facebook.com/youdontsaycampaign
added by AudreyFreak
Source: tumblr
added by midnight-stars
Source: where ever
added by ThePrincesTale
Source: https://www.reddit.com/user/rekthor
added by amazondebs
Source: campusprogress.org
added by amazondebs
Source: arizonacap.com
Credit: JaclynGlenn
video
transgender
suicide
leelah alcorn
added by Sappp
Source: super-fun-pak comix
added by blisslikethis
Source: Okanagan Awareness Movement FB group
 Child recites from the Koran
Child recites from the Koran
First of all, let me preface this 文章 由 saying that I am far from an expert on Islam. The only thing that qualifies me to write this 文章 is a handful of research and experience with Muslims. I feel that maybe a Muslim would be better equipped to tackle this issue, however it is so important to me that the Western World understand the difference between 伊斯兰教 and Radical 伊斯兰教 that I felt compelled to write this article.

In this article, I will clarify that normal 伊斯兰教 is as peaceful as any other mainstream religion, like Judaism and Christianity. However, that does not mean that radical...
continue reading...
added by alismouha
added by tessajanuary
Source: Dan Piraro, King Features Syndicate
added by Cinders
Source: Courtesy of Kegel
posted by DarkSarcasm
 Pamela Anderson goes PETA.
Pamela Anderson goes PETA.
Originally 提交 for school on December 6, 2006.

PETA – Is It Really Ethical?

Who would think twice about questioning the motive of a nonprofit animal-loving organization with the word “ethical” in its title? The word “ethical” usually refers to someone who is doing the right thing. After all, who wouldn’t want to treat 动物 ethically?

I sat behind an avid PETA supporter one 年 in my high school English class. PETA, as I was later informed, was an acronym for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and was an organization dedicated to saving 动物 and promoting veganism....
continue reading...
So crazy, so awesome. From Current TV.
video
politics
humor
george w 衬套, 布什
dick cheney
hillary clinton
rudy guiliani
mitt romney
john edwards
barack obama
john mccain
added by Dragonclaws
Source: Marlise Richter
added by whatyousay
Source: 脸谱