The Religious Just Don’t Get the First Amendment

On Thursday March 18^th, Westboro Baptist Church protesters of ‘God Hate’s Fag’ fame were to picket a play at Dutchtown High School in Louisiana about the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay student who was brutally beaten and murdered in Laramie, Wyoming.

They didn’t show up… But 500 anti-protesters, including myself, did.

What was most amazing wasn’t merely the number of (mostly student) anti-protesters, but the sense of enjoyment, fun and frivolity that their signs portrayed. I applaud the brilliance of counteracting the hateful and nonsensical signs of “Fags Die, God Laughs”, “God Hates America”, “9-11 Gift from God”, “God Blew Up the Shuttle”, and “Pray for More Dead Soldiers”, with equally nonsensical but hilarious signs such as, “God Hates Signs”, “God Hates Homework”, “God is Lady Gaga”, “God Hates Fat Free Mayonnaise”, and “I was Promised Donuts”.

However, many of the anti-protesters didn’t get the point. Signs such as “God Bless Our Soldiers”, “Who Would Jesus Hate”, and “Love God, Love Your Neighbor”, legitimizes the Wesboro message as there’s just as much evidence for “God is Love”, as there is for “God Hates Fags”. The gay Big Easy Metropolitan Community Church lead by the Rev. Clinton Crawshaw were displaying logical and reasonable statements such as “Equality for All”. But this was NOT an event for logic and reason. The objective was to swamp the hateful Westboro message, one they’re fully entitled to make, with silliness, not an opportunity for debate.

The religious can’t help but take advantage of an opportunity to spread their religious beliefs of ‘stealth hate’ due to imposing their dogma of self loathing and dependence. Alas, even though I got the point and had nonsensical and funny statements, as a Godless Evangelist I also took advantage of the opportunity to make a ‘stealth hate’ dig at religion. See my pictures.