An Open Letter to the WWR, Veteran's Groups, Vet-and-Police-Support Motorcycle Clubs, and other concerned citizens, re the Westboro Baptist "Church."
Yesterday (January 22) the Warriors' Watch Riders of Southeast Pa, New Jersey, and Delaware attended the funeral of a fallen Soldier in New Jersey.
Also present, outside the church, were at least 20 different MCs, VFW chapters, AL chapters, ALR chapters, and other groups, clubs and individual citizens.
The number of people filling the street in front of the old church was at least 500, I think more. At one point, the mother of the fallen soldier was brought out onto the porch of the church and she gasped audibly when she saw the size of the crowd, most simply standing, holding American Flags, in frigid January temperatures.
The fallen soldier, PFC Benjamin Moore, was a beloved figure in his hometown and that fact accounted for many of the people there. Others were simply drawn to honor an American soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice and to support his family. But many were there for a slightly different reason: because it had been
widely
publicized that the Westboro Baptist "Church" (WBC) intended to "protest" that funeral.
The people, groups and citizens, were understandably outraged. The very thought of such a group of haters having their way in a quiet, conservative New Jersey town had folks boiling over with anger. So people went to the funeral prepared to counter the WBC.
There is nothing "wrong" with that. It is in fact heartening to know that so many people were willing to take a principled stand against such an outrage. And "protesting" the funeral of anyone, much less a young person killed in the defense of freedom, is nothing less than an outrage.
But I submit that a better reason to attend the funeral would be the positive reason of support, honor, and respect. Countering an outrage is a reason, but it's a negative. I suspect that the number of people attending the funeral would have been smaller if not for the threat from the WBC. Not a lot smaller, but smaller.
If you are not very familiar, let me tell you a little about the Westboro Baptist Church (led by Fred Phelps) and their "protest" activities:
I have been attending KIA and veteran funerals as part of one invited group or another since 2005. By the time I stopped counting in 2008, I had attended the funerals of almost 80 fallen soldiers. The number since then has grown by a lot (too much.) In all of that time, the WBC, which had advertised that they would protest all of them, actually showed up three times. Three, out of perhaps 100 or more.
It became apparent to me early on that the fact of announcing the intent to "protest" was mostly talk and bluster, and they actually followed through much less often. In fact, the WBC is able to achieve their purpose without even being present, simply by getting people riled up.
So, in reality, the WBC announces intent to protest at all military funerals (and others), but rarely do they actually follow through. There are not that many of them, for one thing. The membership is small, mostly members of one large family.
What's more, most states have since taken action to restrict "protest" activity at private functions like funerals. In many states it is illegal to engage in protest activity closer than 500 feet (300 in some states), which effectively puts them in a place where, in many cases, they cannot be seen from the place of the funeral.
Protesters cannot go onto private property without the
permission
of the property owners, and most cemeteries are private property. For National cemeteries, on May 29, 2006, President Bush signed into law the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which prohibits protests within 300 feet of the entrance to any cemetery under the control of the National Cemetery Administration from 1 hour before until one hour after a funeral. In 2006 at the funeral of Sgt. Jennifer Hartman, the owner of the funeral home, which was surrounded by open fields, went to each and every property owner surrounding the home and leased the land from them for ONE DAY, at one dollar a day, so that he would have the legal right to deny access to any place remotely close to the funeral home, because the WBC had publicized that they would be there. That was a wonderful idea, and it worked. The police were out in force and just itching to lock up anyone who was not supposed to be there.
In the funerals that I have witnessed, the local police were always very well prepared for any possible interruption. They usually have a specific spot roped off where the protesters must remain. As ugly as the WBC is, they obey the laws because they are evil, but they are not stupid.
The WBC has been at this for a long time, but recently there has been renewed interest because of news reports regarding the lawsuit filed against Phelps and his "church."
On March 10, 2006, WBC picketed the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder. On June 5, 2006, the Snyder family sued for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The family won the lawsuit. Phelps and his "church" were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A federal jury awarded Snyder $2.9 million in compensatory damages, then later added a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (a total of $10,900,000).
But later, in September 2009, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of Westboro Baptist Church and reversed the lower court's award. This was the story that set the American population off in anger. They even ordered the Snyder family to pay the WBCs court costs of $16,000, adding insult to injury.
This is a freedom of speech issue. We Americans take our freedoms very seriously. And the Freedom of Speech is one of the most important. But all freedoms have limits. We are a free people, but we are also a nation of laws. Freedoms tempered and limited by law. My freedom to swing my fist ends at the end of your nose, by law.
There have been other attempts to stop the WBC using the law. In June 2007 Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested in Nebraska and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The arrest resulted from her allowing her eight-year-old son to step on the American flag during the demonstration, which is illegal under Nebraska law. The defense contends that the child's actions were protected speech, and that the state law is unconstitutional. The prosecution claimed that the demonstration was not intended as political speech, but as an incitement to violence, and that Phelps-Roper's conduct may also constitute child abuse. Prosecutors later dropped charges against Phelps-Roper.
In this case, the Westboro Baptist Church is the swinging fist, the funeral for a fallen American Hero is the tip of the nose. Or at least that is how it should be.
But until the liberal courts wake up and begin to apply laws where they actually should be applied, we will have to take care of business ourselves. (By "we" I mean the Warriors' Watch Riders. I cannot speak for other groups.)
Having said that, it is also very important to remember that any action taken against the protestors at the funeral runs two risks:
1. The risk of turning the funeral into a circus, which is exactly what the WBC wants.
2. The risk of being arrested yourself (and possibly sued later) for assault, which is also exactly what the WBC wants.
The Warriors' Watch has no "official" policy regarding interaction with the WBC. We trust each state coordinator and RC to handle any situation with maturity and intelligence, keeping the honor and dignity of the event (funeral) in mind. But there are a few things you should do:
1. Calm people down.
When the WBC announces their intent to disrupt a military funeral, people understandable become upset and plan to go to the funeral themselves to "counter" the protests. The best thing you can do is to explain to them what you have read here, that even when the WBC says they will be there, in most cases they do NOT come. Also the police are ALWAYS ready for these situations. They have a pre-determined spot all roped off and ready for the WBC, should they show. They have bomb-sniffing dogs checking cars. I have even seen SWAT teams - one was at the funeral of DJ Bentz in New Jersey. Let the police do their work and stay out of their way, UNLESS you are asked by them or the family to take some sort of specific action (if it's legal.)
2. Explain that this is NOT a "church."
Many times, people who should know better call the WBC a "right-wing" "church." The WBC is neither of those. They have NO politics, left or right. And they are NOT a church, they are a CULT.
The Westboro "Baptist Church" is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations. They describe themselves as following Primitive Baptist and Calvinist principles, though mainstream Primitive Baptists reject the WBC and Phelps.
Westboro has been labeled as a cult by the website apologeticsindex.org, as well as by anti-cult figures such as Rick Ross. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an anti-discrimination group, has added the Westboro Baptist Church to its list of hate groups.
Westboro's theology differs considerably from mainstream Christianity by espousing that individuals will be given eternal damnation for any number of sins. The members justify their messages, which they acknowledge to be alarming and hurtful, because the messages are intended to turn people from their current paths which will cause them to be sent to hell.
3. Be prepared IF they DO show.
If the WWR is at a funeral, then our purpose is to bring honor and dignity and respect to that funeral, for the sake of the family. Preventing dishonor and disrespect is within that mission.
The RC of any mission where the WBC might make an appearance has to be ready to move, adapt, and improvise. IF the WBC shows, and IF The pre-determined spot for them is in line-of-sight to people arriving at and leaving the funeral, your job becomes one of concealment - move your flag lines, bodies and flags, to a spot between the WBC members and the family/funeral place. This was the case in York, in the photos you see above. They were 500 feet away from the church, but that spot was still in clear sight of the church. The flag lines were moved to block the view of them, and the distance made it impossible for anyone at the church to hear them. So despite the protest, the family never saw them. (Photos of the blocking action below):
Clauser funeral, York, Pa. The WBC was behind this line of flags, effectively blocked from the view of the grieving family.
CONCLUSIONS: EVIL VS. GOOD I believe that evil exists as a force on Earth. The Westboro Baptist "Church" is, I believe, evil. I also believe that some people are capable of committing acts of evil but are not evil, I believe that other people ARE evil, and beyond any hope of redemption.
The members of the WBC are evil. If you have ever faced them yourself as I have, you probably know this in your gut. You hear their voices, you see their faces - faces twisted by hate into grotesque masks - and you know, you feel, that you are in the presence of true evil.
Two of Phelps' granddaughters, Libby and Jael explain in a video that they hope and pray that no one outside of Westboro becomes "elect," because they want everyone else in the world to die horribly and burn in Hell,and that even if they did not believe their actions were dictated by God, they would still do and enjoy them anyway. They simply enjoy seeing people suffer and die.
They have no politicall purpose or agenda. They have no goal, no desire to achieve some end point. They exist only to hate. They ENJOY hate, they ENJOY inflicting pain on other people. And what could possibly be more painful to a mother, grieving at the loss of her young, 20-year-old son, mourning his death and feeling that her entire world has come crashing down on her, than to see other people CELEBRATING that death with vile, vulgar language, songs and chants? What could possibly cause more pain than that?
The answers to those questions are the very reason that the WBC announcements to be at a funeral gain such wide traction and draw so many people.
But as a WWRider, it is VITAL that you remember that it is entirely possible for a funeral to turn into a circus WITHOUT the presence of the WBC. Or, if the WBC is there, to make it even WORSE by doing what they hope you will do - taking physical and verbal action against them.
Block them from view, but hold your tongue. Bite your tongue until it hurts. TURN YOUR BACKS ON THEM. That is the reaction they hate - to be ignored.
You have it in your power to respond the RIGHT way if the WBC does show up, and to educate and lead others in the fight against their evil.
Evil exists because Humans have free will. Evil infests the hearts, minds and souls of some people and cannot be routed out. But evil can only triumph when good people do nothing to fight it. What we can do is whatever is necessary to minimize the impact of this targeted evil, with overwhelming showings of support, love, and patriotism.
That is what we will do, and that is how we will prevail over this evil force.
- Wayne Lutz
Photos by Warriors' Watch Riders, at York, Pa, 2007
*This newsletter is named "The Weekly Ride" or "The Ride", for short, in memory of and to honor Sgt. Jennifer Hartman, U.S. Army. Sgt. Hartman was killed in Iraq by America's enemies. She died in defense of our freedom at the age of 20. This quote from Jennifer was read at her graveside:
"It's not about what happened in the past. It's not about what might happen in the future. It's about the ride, for Christ's sake."
Click here for a Tribute to Sgt. Jennifer Hartman: "The Ride"
