Fred Phelps Dead at 84

K

Kittamaru

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Adieu, Sciforums.
Valued Senior Member
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/20/fred-phelps-dead_n_5000577.html

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/20/phelps-obit/6494627/

So... the master hater has finally passed on. Let us hope his hatred can go with him... I pray that actual Christians and other people of faith are kind enough to show him and his family the common decency they and their church would not show to others... for hatred only begets hatred. Let us stop this circle of pain here.

Investigative reporter Joshua Kors interviewed Phelps in 2010 and asked him about his own death:

Kors: Have you thought about what will happen when you die?
Phelps: (Phelps chuckles.) I'm not planning on dying.
Kors: Well, everybody's going to die at some point. I'm wondering about your thoughts on going to heaven.
Phelps: The Lord himself should descend for me with the angels. I'm not looking for an undertaker — I'm looking for an uppertaker.
Kors: Describe that heaven for me.
Phelps: When the time comes, I will leave my old body. My new body will be a part of God. That's our inheritance. God says, "They shall hunger no more. They shall thirst no more." What's the matter with you? Don't you know the Bible? You are about the most ignorant person I've ever seen.
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... even in his old age, his ignorance and arrogance knew no bounds...
 
I do not cheer anyone's death, especially when much of the Westboro church are family members and likely to take up the cause with renewed vigor.
 
Syne said:
I do not cheer anyone's death, especially when much of the Westboro church are family members and likely to take up the cause with renewed vigor.
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My guess is... in a year or 2 "westboro church" will be little more than a bad memory.!!!
 
A champion of free speech has passed. Regardless of his message, he had the balls to stand up and speak his mind and heart. Apparently, all of you have heard it. Quite effective...truly.


PS: Just stopped in for a look :)
 
Bowser said:
A champion of free speech has passed. Regardless of his message, he had the balls to stand up and speak his mind and heart.
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Well, so did the Unabomber. You can support free speech while objecting to the method used to express it.
 
billvon said:
Well, so did the Unabomber. You can support free speech while objecting to the method used to express it.
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Granted, I found the use of funerals objectionable, but the method worked. Overall, I understand your point, but there were those who wanted to ban flag burning...because it was objectionable. BTW: The unabomber was a terrorist who used violence and destruction as a tool. If Phelps and his followers had done the same, they would have found themselves in prison. There's no fine line between expression through words and leaving a bomb in someone's mailbox.
 
Bowser said:
A champion of free speech has passed. Regardless of his message, he had the balls to stand up and speak his mind and heart. Apparently, all of you have heard it. Quite effective...truly.


PS: Just stopped in for a look :)
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Benefitting from free speech and championing it are two different things.
 
Bowser said:
Granted, I found the use of funerals objectionable, but the method worked. Overall, I understand your point, but there were those who wanted to ban flag burning...because it was objectionable. BTW: The unabomber was a terrorist who used violence and destruction as a tool. If Phelps and his followers had done the same, they would have found themselves in prison. There's no fine line between expression through words and leaving a bomb in someone's mailbox.
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Just as there's no fine line between burning a flag and protesting at a funeral.
 
Bowser said:
Granted, I found the use of funerals objectionable, but the method worked.
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That's my point. Had Phelps written long polemics, put up a lot of websites, gave fiery homophobic sermons, did anti-gay parades - no worries. If I disagreed with his message, I (and everyone else) could just ignore it. Likewise, had the Unabomber sent his manifesto to newspapers, given speeches about it, posted it on telephone poles - no problem.

I object to their methods, not to their right to say whatever they want.
 
billvon said:
I object to their methods, not to their right to say whatever they want.
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But there's the slippery slope, one that has been used before, telling people where they can and cannot speak, thereby limiting their liberty. If your on public ground, whether it be outside a cemetery, church, or government building, you should be able to express yourself--in my opinion.
 
Bowser said:
But there's the slippery slope, one that has been used before, telling people where they can and cannot speak, thereby limiting their liberty. If your on public ground, whether it be outside a cemetery, church, or government building, you should be able to express yourself--in my opinion.
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I disagree. Yes, it is a slippery slope - but that does not make it OK to picket dead soldier's funerals, or yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater, or hand out pornography to children.
 
billvon said:
I disagree. Yes, it is a slippery slope - but that does not make it OK to picket dead soldier's funerals, or yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater, or hand out pornography to children.
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Yet, he didn't break the law. He pissed off a lot of people, but that's expected.
 
Certainly no comparison to Phelps' message, but it's a point to be made that Free Speech is a fragile liberty that's easily trampled.


[video=youtube_share;kqzfIitfHjU]http://youtu.be/kqzfIitfHjU[/video]
 
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