I should start by saying ... I'm not one of those people who declared it appropriate to dance on his grave (not that I don't understand the sentiment, it's just that I'm more about grave-urination instead of grave-gamboling ... assuming I outlive those few folks who made *that* list of mine [you know who you are!]). And he may be gone, but a few things will not be forgotten.
For instance, there will still be protests (and in many respects, there *should* be in a free society such as ours) ... but that also means that there will still be counter-protests ... and the creativity and commitment to the cause demonstrated in the past by individuals and groups across the issues that divide us was a silver lining to the Westboro story. Because it wasn't the fact that there was a protest, it was the extremely incendiary way it was done ... at the services of fallen heroes ... that's where the inhumanity entered the picture.
And there will still be those who use religious passages to justify extreme hatred of those not like themselves. Of course, that's not new ... as history is full of bloodshed in the name of the "one true" and the "singularly righteous" ... from the Crusades on through to 9/11 ... and it is a call to action for us all to remain vigilant and open and understanding ... and to always be questioning those who twist words for their own agendas, inciting the good people for the devil's work of expanding hate and sowing discord.
I'm hard pressed to end my Monday posts as I do all others ... with some variation of the words "you will be missed" in the closing comment. So I'll do something I rarely do, and omit those words and refer you to the photo accompanying this post instead ... "protesters" who understood that to sink to the level of Phelps and his ilk would send the wrong message ... and that the appropriate message for funerals of any kind ... is the one on the banner above.
What a way to boil this all down to its very essence.
INCENDIARY PROTESTS FOR THE SAKE OF PUBLICITY ...:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/03/21/westboro-baptist-church-pickets-funerals/6688951/
... BEGAT AMAZING COUNTER PROTESTS:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/20/westboro-counter-protests_n_5001263.html
BUT KANSAS STILL GOT IT RIGHT THE OTHER DAY:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/counter-protesters-westboro-baptist-loss-article-1.1731203
No comments:
Post a Comment