The Church of Hate
I found this image on Flickr. This is great – I think this joke captures exactly what is going on with Fred Phelps and his daughters.
Headed by Phelps, Westboro Baptist Church is a controversial church, considered by most to be a hate group and a cult. Based in Topeka, Kansas, it runs the websites godhatesfags.com and godhatesamerica.com, expressing condemnation of gay people, Roman Catholics, Jews, and Muslims.
The church first gained national notoriety when they picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a Wyoming college student murdered in 1998 for being gay.
Phelps is famous for picketing the funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq with signs reading “God hates Fags,” “God hates fag enablers,” and “Thank God for dead soldiers.” Phelps and his followers believe God is punishing America for its tolerance of homosexuality.
Albert Snyder of York, PA sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
This week the jury awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. Jurors also decided to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.
Snyder’s attorney had urged jurors to determine an amount “that says don’t do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again.”
