Blind Prophecy

What would it mean if the crazies at Westboro Baptist Church went all Jonestown/Heaven’s Gate on us?

Via Joe.My.God, who got it from Gossip Boy, the infamous “God Hates Fags” church has posted a cryptic blog for April that might be interpreted as a sign the group has plans to drink the Kool-Aid or something:

BECAUSE IT’S ALMOST TIME TO LEAVE…THAT’S WHY DUMMY!

We are particularly urgent about it, because the time is shortly to come when we will grant you your wicked wish, Doomed america!

Let us see how that is shortly now to play out, my angry little sodomite-loving friends. It’s about time for us to leave this place.

When we’re done, we will leave your filthy land and be placed safely out of the reach of the horror that will then land upon you swiftly and certainly – in one hour.

We pray it to be any day now, for the promises of our God are sure and certain. We finished our job in Napa County – one of the few we have left – and then went to tell the Saints of our God-blessed exploits and our joy.

We gotta go, peeps! We gotta go! And when we do, it’s time for this filthy nation to receive of all the plagues that your Creator has promised. The reason there is such urgency in those words … such passion in the irresistible call from our Saviour, Husband, and Friend … is because when that time comes for this rebellious nation – which is spiritually called Babylon and has become literally Babylon by the inexplicable and forcible snatching of that Mesopotamian land where ancient Babylon sat – it is going to be very fast and very violent, such that all mankind is utterly and simply amazed. Check out the words, fools … it’s all about the words!

Gossip boy points out that the Westboro Baptist Church is bordering on bankruptcy after losing a massive lawsuit (stemming from their protest of a funeral for an U.S. Marine – presumably straight – which some states have passed laws to stop). He also notes that Cryptkeeper-model and family patriarch Fred Phelps is likely approaching the end with or without a dramatic finish. I agree with the other bloggers who suggest that if this is a genuine mass-suicide threat (and I’m not sure that it is), that’s when we send in the FBI to get the children out.

As disgusting and vile as I find the WBC to be, I nonetheless agree with the mode of thinking that says the Phelps clan plays an important role in our society. Namely, they rip off the polite facade of anti-gay intolerance and reveal the true, ugly hate that underlies any message that says being gay (or having gay sex) is a sin that is offensive to deity. The only difference between Fred Phelps and other evangelical preachers making a name off anti-gay rhetoric (i.e. Ken Hutcherson, Sally Kern, Chris Buttars, Matt Barber, Peter LaBarbera, Maggie Gallagher, etc.) is the degree to which their hate is displayed openly.

The world will not miss or mourn the WBC much, they are dinosaurs already, but in their absence, who or what will inspire us to gather in such numbers for counter-protest? I’ve been to three anti-WBC counterprotests in the last 10 years, each time I was struck by how many allies joined the demonstration. How many allies were present at the Focus on ALL families event here in Cincinnati earlier this week (a sort of counter-event to the Citizens for Community Values fundraiser)? Sure, some allies showed up to the protests in the wake of Prop 8, but that lightning seems unlikely to strike twice. However, the WBC was always good for uniting communities as culture war fence-sitters felt compelled to take a stand alongside tolerance in the face of such venomous hate.

What will the mainstream reaction be to news of a possible mass-suicide? Will it make it easier for heterosexists to dismiss them as fringe lunatics? Does that absolve the bigots of this nation from their responsibilities in creating and maintaining a culture that allows this sort of religious obsession with damning and defaming LGBT people?

Finally, to put a human face on this, check out the speech from Nate Phelps, son of Fred, at this year’s American Atheist Convention.

Filed under: queer rights by Jere Keys