Motorcyclists Roll to Soldier Funerals

Started by Sportsdude, Feb 21 06 05:53

Previous topic - Next topic

Sportsdude

[H1][DIV class=source][img height=20 src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/us/nws/p/ap_small.gif" width=120 border=0][/DIV]Motorcyclists Roll to Soldier Funerals [/H1][!-- END HEADLINE --][DIV id=ynmain][!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --][DIV id=storybody][DIV class=storyhdr][SPAN]By RYAN LENZ, Associated Press Writer[/SPAN][EM class=timedate]Tue Feb 21, 6:11 AM ET[/i]

[DIV class=spacer][/DIV][/DIV]Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier's funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.

They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals.

Phelps believes American deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. His protesters carry signs thanking God for so-called IEDs — explosives that are a major killer of soldiers in Iraq.

The bikers shield the families of dead soldiers from the protesters, and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a sea of red, white and blue flags.

"The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares," said Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain. "When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement."

At least 14 states are considering laws aimed at the funeral protesters, who at a recent memorial service at Fort Campbell wrapped themselves in upside-down American flags. They danced and sang impromptu songs peppered with vulgarities that condemned homosexuals and soldiers.

The Patriot Guard was also there, waving up a ruckus of support for the families across the street. Community members came in the freezing rain to chant "U-S-A, U-S-A" alongside them.

"This is just the right thing to do. This is something America didn't do in the '70s," said Kurt Mayer, the group's national spokesman. "Whether we agree with why we're over there, these soldiers are dying to protect our freedoms."

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a daughter of Fred Phelps and an attorney for the Topeka, Kan.-based church, said neither state laws nor the Patriot Guard can silence their message that God killed the soldiers because they fought for a country that embraces homosexuals.

"The scriptures are crystal clear that when God sets out to punish a nation, it is with the sword. An IED is just a broken-up sword," Phelps-Roper said. "Since that is his weapon of choice, our forum of choice has got to be a dead soldier's funeral."

The church, Westboro Baptist Church, is not affiliated with a larger denomination and is made up mostly of Fred Phelps' extended family members.

During the 1990s, church members were known mostly for picketing the funerals of AIDS victims, and they have long been tracked as a hate group by the Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project.

The project's deputy director, Heidi Beirich, said other groups have tried to counter Phelps' message, but none has been as organized as the Patriot Guard.

"I'm not sure anybody has gone to this length to stand in solidarity," she said. "It's nice that these veterans and their supporters are trying to do something. I can't imagine anything worse, your loved one is killed in Iraq and you've got to deal with Fred Phelps."

Kentucky, home to sprawling Fort Campbell along the Tennessee line, was among the first states to attempt to deal with Phelps legislatively. Its House and Senate have each passed bills that would limit people from protesting within 300 feet of a funeral or memorial service. The Senate version would also keep protesters from being within earshot of grieving friends and family members.

Richard Wilbur, a retired police detective, said his Indiana Patriot Guard group only comes to funerals if invited by family. He said he has no problem with protests against the war but sees no place for objectors at a family's final goodbye to a soldier.

"No one deserves this," he said.

___ On the Web: Patriot Guard Riders: http://www.patriotguard.org

[/DIV][/DIV]
"We can't stop here. This is bat country."

Sportsdude

[H1 class=firstHeading]Fred Phelps[/H1][DIV id=bodyContent][H3 id=siteSub]From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/H3][DIV id=contentSub][/DIV][DIV id=jump-to-nav]Jump to: [A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps#column-one"]navigation[/A], [A href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps#searchInput"]search[/A][/DIV][!-- start content --][DIV class="thumb tright"][DIV style="WIDTH: 209px"][A class=internal title="Fred Phelps, c. 2001" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fred_Phelps_on_his_pulpit.jpg"][img height=257 alt="Fred Phelps, c. 2001" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Fred_Phelps_on_his_pulpit.jpg" width=207 longDesc=/wiki/Image:Fred_Phelps_on_his_pulpit.jpg][/A] [DIV class=thumbcaption]Fred Phelps, c. 2001[/DIV][/DIV][/DIV]Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (born [A title="November 13" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_13"]November 13[/A], [A title=1929 href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929"]1929[/A]) is the highly controversial leader of the [A title="Westboro Baptist Church" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church"]Westboro Baptist Church[/A], an alleged [A title=Cult href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult"]cult[/A] based out of his home in [A title="Topeka, Kansas" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topeka%2C_Kansas"]Topeka[/A], [A title=Kansas href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas"]Kansas[/A]. Phelps is best known for preaching that [A title=God href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God"]God[/A] hates [A title=Homosexuality href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality"]homosexuals[/A] and will punish both them and "fag enablers" (which his church defines as anyone whom they find to be insufficiently anti-gay). He claims events such as the [A title="September 11, 2001 attacks" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11%2C_2001_attacks"]September 11 attacks[/A] and [A title="Hurricane Katrina" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Katrina"]Hurricane Katrina[/A] are caused by God because of this hatred. He and his followers frequently picket various events, especially [A title="Gay pride" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_pride"]gay pride[/A] and funerals of gay men, feeling it is their sacred duty to share their views with others.

Phelps is a self-described "fire and brimstone" preacher who believes that homosexuality and its acceptance have sentenced most of the world to eternal damnation. His group, which has roughly 100 members (90 of whom are related to him through blood or marriage), is built around an anti-homosexual core theology, with many of their activities stemming from a mantra that homosexuality is the lowest sin one can commit. He also refuses to use any word other than "fag" to describe homosexuals. [A title="Gay rights" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_rights"]Gay rights[/A] activists, as well as [A title=Christians href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christians"]Christians[/A] of virtually every affiliation, have denounced him as a producer of [A title=Homophobia href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophobia"]anti-gay[/A] [A title=Propaganda href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda"]propaganda[/A] and violence-inspiring [A title="Hate speech" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_speech"]hate speech[/A].

Phelps rose to national prominence in 1998 when he and congregants from Westboro picketed the funeral of [A title=Gay href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay"]gay[/A] murder victim [A title="Matthew Shepard" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard"]Matthew Shepard[/A], delivering an obscenity laden sermon (with focus given to graphic descriptions of homosexual sex acts) informing the mourners that Shephard had gone to hell and that everyone in attendance would join him there. Ever since, Phelps and Westboro have remained in the national limelight for their regular pickets of events ranging from [A title="Gay pride" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_pride"]gay pride[/A] parades to the funerals of soldiers killed in the [A title="Iraq War" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War"]Iraq War[/A].

[/DIV]
"We can't stop here. This is bat country."

Sportsdude

some of this guys websites:[/DIV][A href="http://www.godhatessweden.com/"]http://www.godhatessweden.com/[/A]  - the swedish royal family is suing.[/DIV][A href="http://www.godhatesfags.com/"]http://www.godhatesfags.com/[/A][A href="http://www.godhatescanada.com/"]http://www.godhatescanada.com/[/A][A href="http://www.godhatesamerica.com/"]http://www.godhatesamerica.com/[/A]
"We can't stop here. This is bat country."

Pecky

"The scriptures are crystal clear that when God sets out topunish a nation, it is with the sword. An IED is just a broken-upsword," Phelps-Roper said. "Since that is his weapon of choice, ourforum of choice has got to be a dead soldier's funeral."

[span style="font-weight: normal;"]Oh yeah, that all makes PERFECT sense. Who could doubt after hearing that thoughtful analysis?[/span]

kitten

The article states that most of his congregation are family members.  This is what happens when there is too much inbreeding.  What a sick one he is!
Thousands of years ago cats were worshipped.  They have not forgotten.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiight

"with many of their activities stemming from a mantra that homosexuality is the lowest sin one can commit."

I see...so being gay is worse than being a murderer? Boy, those are some real "family values" he's got.

As Dr. Evil would say, "Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight."
[img alt="http://www.ctgilles.net/images/pictars/dr.evil_one_miliion_dollars.jpg" src="http://www.ctgilles.net/images/pictars/dr.evil_one_miliion_dollars.jpg"]