Today I attended the protest in front of Allen House/UVM Hillel put on by the Phelps family of Topeka, Kansas’s Westboro Baptist Church. I have seen the WBC in the news often, picketing the funerals of fallen soldiers, Jewish community centers and synagogues, and anything having to do with gay rights. This morning I got to face Shirley Phelps-Roper, the church protestors’ new ring leader, first-hand. Since I was attending on official UVM business, our encounter began and ended at the release of my camera’s shutter. There are scores of blogs, newspaper articles, videos, etc. that decry this organization’s hate-spewing messages, so I will not expostulate on it here. I believe the pictures will speak for themselves. (Click on any photo to view full size.)
The WBC brought a grand total of five protesters (all members of the Phelps family), ranging from Shirley (50) to Luke (7), her 11th child. As far as I can tell, they (and GOD) hate gays, women, Jews, Obama, Israel, America...and burgers.
Shirley Phelps-Roper. She said some of the most vile things to those who approached her. Their objective is to provoke the love? protesters, and it is incredible the vitriol that she could spew on command. Good thing the opposing sides were separated by the widest section of South Prospect Street. Shirley led the group in a rousing, rewritten version of John Denver's "Country Roads," replacing "country road, take me home" with "filthy Jew (where's the cash?!), God hates you..." They also chanted other perennial favorite slogans such as "God Hates Fags!" and "America is Doomed!"
The saddest sight of the day, since most of the peace-loving student crowd was wholly unaffected by these wing-nuts, was poor little Luke Phelps, age 7, who stood throughout the rally taking still pictures and video.
This man dressed as Jesus, who was apparently present 10 years ago when the group was in town protesting, stood close to the WBC and verbally challenged them throughout the event. He said the group was much smaller in numbers than they were a decade ago; he hopes, in 10 more years, no one will be left but the child.
On the other side of South Prospect, the mood was decidedly lighter and the crowd was much larger. The group, mostly composed of students, held signs, blew bubbles, and cheered as cars drove by and honked with enthusiasm.
And they chanted. "We say no to hate and fear; Westboro's not welcome here!" "Bigots, bigots, go away! You can't spread your hate today!"
"Gay, straight, black, white--marriage is a civil right!"
Many signs were specific that Vermont does not stand for hate. There's a reason we're here.
"Stop the hate! Stop the hate!" "United against hate! United against hate!" Even from the south side of the street, where the WBC was standing, the chants of the Burlington community members easily drowned out those of the 5 "crazies."
After all was said and done, this group, who has been blasted by religious and secular organizations alike, did little to put a damper on the rightful celebrations of same-sex couples who, as of today, have been granted the freedom to marry for the first time in our state. This couple, and others, were unabashed in their affection before the WBC protesters. Raucous cheers were heard from the student side as a couple crossed South Prospect hand-in-hand.
I will take this opportunity to write an op-ed for the Diversity Task Force newsletter, Diversity Times. As suggested in my quickly-made sign, it's clear that "tolerance" and "acceptance" are not enough to combat the venomous hatred that this group so brazenly displays, or the insidious squeamishness that lies dormant in those who are less vocal. Marginalized groups, our friends, families, and supporters, must be just as brazen with our love as they are their hate.
Happy Marriage Equality Day!
