Debate Club
Join
Fanpop
New Post
Explore Fanpop
Just kidding. Below are a few questions I’ve attempted to answer about the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). This isn’t formal research, just a few points that I believe need to be brought to attention.

What is this ‘Westboro Baptist Church’ you speak of?
The fine folks at Wikipedia have summarized that in far fewer words than I ever could have, so if you are unfamiliar with the WBC, I would suggest reading the first paragraph link.

How does a church from Kansas have enough money to send members to protest all over the US?
Since the WBC classifies itself as a church, they are not required to disclose their finances to anyone - including church members. It wouldn't matter anyway, because about 80% of the WBC's members are members of the Phelps family so they probably know exactly what's going on. I'll get to that later.

Why do they hate so many people?
The WBC has targeted pretty much every major religion - Judaism, Catholicism, Islam, even some Christian groups that don't conform to their ridiculous ideas. They are also known for their anti-gay protests and the picketing of American soldier's funerals. More recently, however, they have been protesting celebrities like Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Why would a group like this bother with a pop singer and some kid? Media. Think about it. Out of everything they protest, what gets the biggest reaction? What makes people truly angry? What makes the news? When their protesting hits a nerve, they get sued. That should make them pay, right? No. It doesn't.

What happens when the WBC gets sued for being so obnoxious?
A nice group called the Phelps-Chartered represents the Westboro Baptist Church in court.

What is Phelps-Chartered?
Phelps-Chartered is a legal firm started in 1964 by Fred Phelps. In its early days, the firm supposedly took on clients that no other law group wanted - mostly cases involving African-Americans. This caused a stir for the Phelps family in not-quite-ready for desegregation Kansas - possibly giving them their first taste of what it was like to be controversial. Over the years, the Phelps-Chartered grew to include several of his children. The current attorneys of the Phelps-Chartered include Jonathan B. Phelps, Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, Rachel I. Hockenbarger, Rebekah A. Phelps-Davis and Margie J. Phelps. Eleven of the thirteen Phelps children are lawyers, with the exceptions being Mark and Nate, who have been estranged from the family.

Okay, they're all lawyers. What's that got to do with anything?
There's a lovely little law called the Civil Rights Attorney’s Fees Award Act of 1976. Sometimes referred to as "Section 1988", this law allows a federal court to award reasonable attorneys' fees to a prevailing party in certain civil rights cases.

So wait... what?
When the Phelps-Chartered law group wins a case defending the Westboro Baptist Church in civil rights cases, the federal government pays them an attorney's fee because of this law.

So the federal government pays for the Westboro Baptist Church to travel all over the place and be obnoxious?
Pretty much.

That is ridiculous. Just when I think they can't get any worse, it turns out that they're lawyers too.
It is my somewhat humble opinion that these people aren't really as crazy as they look. Their tactics are so shocking and inhuman, most people can't (or won't) see past that. The protests and the picket lines are a front – they do it to get attention and for the money. Maybe the Westboro Baptist Church and the Phelps family really does believe all the crazy things written on their picket signs, but there is also the possibility that they're just conning everyone in one of the most shocking money-making schemes the US has ever seen.

Further Reading:
link
link
link
link (the official site for the Westboro Baptist Church)
Captions by a young WBC member, posted to Twitter by @meganphelps (granddaughter of Fred Phelps and WBC member)
Captions by a young WBC member, posted to Twitter by @meganphelps (granddaughter of Fred Phelps and WBC member)
added by audreygrace412
added by Dragonclaws
A simplistic explanation of why some believe involuntary taxation to be fundamentally immoral.
video
politics
political
taxation
libertarianism
voluntaryism
anarchism
individualism
added by ThePrincesTale
Never Talk Politics At Family Dinner - Frank Coraci via FilmCourage.com.
video
politics
debate
family
political
news
media
film
filmmaking
movies
“There’s about as much socialism in the US political sphere as there is folk punk at a dubstep party". New up-and-coming youtuber, funny dude.
video
left
right
us politics
trump
biden
leftist
socialism
anti-capitalism
usa
america
Here's what we would like to have seen during the hearings... starring useless politicians, and national treasures Andrew Heaton and Austin Bragg.
video
politics
supreme court
senate
hearing
parody
comedy
andrew heaton
austin bragg
reason
2020
you're welcome
added by ThePrincesTale
added by DarkSarcasm
The media makes people think that life is getting worse, but Reason Magazine shows how our lives are actually healthier, richer, and safer than ever. For now. Stossel, September 2019.
video
debate
issues
politics
life
quality of life
media
news
john stossel
reason
2019
By Carey Wedler, from WeAreChange @ YouTube.
video
election
2016
usa
united states of america
president
carey wedler
we are change
Penn & Teller discuss the "ethics" of PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) in an episode of "Bullshit!" 3 parts on YouTube.
video
penn & teller
bullshit
peta
people for the ethical treatment of animals
truth
exposed
full episode
ted nugent
ingrid newkirk
added by ThePrincesTale
added by ThePrincesTale
added by kateliness2
Source: MarcellosSendos
added by DrDevience
Source: unk.
Now, what I mean by campaigns is that in the UK (and I’m sure in America and other countries too) there's a lot of leaflets, adverts and campaigns to try and get more people to ride bikes to work and school;
1)because Britain is the third unhealthiest nation
2)to cut down on car emissions
which don't get me wrong I understand the need to try and fix both of these problems, however rather than wasting money on these campaigns, if they spent a bit more on making Britain a more 'bike friendly' place, then they'd see a much larger difference.

Some of you may ask how can a nation be bike unfriendly?...
continue reading...
added by amazondebs
Source: arizonacap.com
This video juxtaposes ads from fifty years ago with ads from today, and asks the question - are we really post-sexist?
video
sexism
feminism
advertisements
media
ads
women in advertising
violence
murder
rape
images
added by zanhar1
added by adavila
Source: me