Westboro Baptist Church

The Westboro Baptist Church is a Kansas-based “church” originally founded by Fred Phelps in 1955. It currently has approximately 50 members, the majority of which belong to the same family. Westboro usually makes headlines for its picketing of military funerals, waving signs with slogans such as “God Hates America” and “Fag Troops.” They believe the United States is being punished because of its tolerant views toward homosexuality, and that this is the reason soldiers are dying in Iraq. According to its website, “God is America’s enemy.”

My main point of contention with Westboro Baptist has to do with their lack of tolerance. I was raised to be tolerant of other people, and taught that, if you respect others, they will afford you that same respect. The Westboro members are completely void of any semblance of tolerance. They hate homosexuals, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, African Americans, and almost every other group that doesn’t consist of white Christians, as well as people who support these groups. Their refusal to tolerate others makes me wonder why we, the American public, should even bother tolerating their demonstrations. If they won’t tolerate us, why should we tolerate them?

In my opinion, there is no way to have a real conversation with members of Westboro Baptist. I’ve read articles about these people and seen a documentary in which they were depicted, and I believe their beliefs are so solidified that there is no way to reach out to them. From what I’ve seen, they respond with hatred rather than words. I think it’s unfair that Westboro members are unwilling to engage in conversation because, although they want the public to hear their point of view, they are completely unwilling to listen to any other views. In 2006 Westboro lost a lawsuit brought on by the father of a soldier whose military was picketed by church members; the father was awarded a total judgment of $5 million (which he doubts he will ever see). Although Westboro’s appeal is still pending, my hope is that the judgment will put the church out of business once and for all.