sauromatian wrote:
Essentially they did. Their goal is to create experiences that will alienate their members from society in general, creating greater dependancy upon their cult leader. How do you think Gygax did it?

Are you talking about the church group or the guy in the star trek uniform?

At this point, the Westboro Church has effectively lost.  They have been marginalized and reduced to a giggly "point at the freak" sideshow due to people finally not taking them seriously.  Genius move really. At this point the Westboro's will really have to ratchet it up to avoid becoming as ludicrous and taken as seriously as the guy at the football games with the multicolored wig who sits in the endzone....

Unfortunately early appearances by the Westboro Church turned into annoyingly pious "Freedom of Speech" gobbledy gook talking head sessions where moderators put on their "serious face" and sonorously droned on about the rights of respecting free speech no matter what the source, conferring some odd legitimacy on the proceedings, as if they truly existed to promote some sort of philosphy (they don't, they are in it for the $$$).

You have to understand something about the Westborons....they make a living off suing cities, municipalities, and individuals that mistreat them due to their provocative signage.  Most of the adults are lawyers, and a continuous stream of filing lawsuits has supplied them with the money to further their cause.  They were able to win several suits early on before people became hip to their schtick.

Finally people have wised up. Rather than take them at face value as hate mongers, it's now realized they are a freak show and their "provocative" signs are merely the equivilent of walking up to Lebron James and calling him an N-word, hoping he'll take a swipe at you and you can retire on the proceeds of suing him.

Recently they appeared in Texas for four funerals, after saying they would never appear here again due to death threats and cancellation of earlier appearances a couple of years ago.  Two appearances were less than five minutes, as they weren't pleased by the level of protest at the event.   Jugglers, clowns, people dressed in costumes, and revelers with silly signs ("God Hates Pies" and "God hates Klingons" were two of the ones I saw on the very short news report locally) were partying at the events instead of stridently shouting opposition. This my friends is exactly the opposite of the atmosphere the Westborans must create to further their cause (money from lawsuits), and seeing no financial gain, they quickly packed up and left.  

The appearance at the comic con has to be looked at seriously by the Westborans, as it might be the most damaging appearance they have yet made in terms of subjecting them to ridicule and turning them from a "hate" group to a walking joke.  I predict they'll put their heads together soon and figure out a way to ratchet up the protests beyond "God Hates Dead Soldiers" to keep the money train rolling.

Mike B.

Badmike wrote:Beating the 49s in the NFC Championship game that year was much sweeter at the time than the demolition of the Bills

That was back in the heady decade+ when the NFC Championship game was refered to as "The Real Super Bowl."

Cowboys fans know all about the NFC Championship game, because the Cowboys have lost so many of them.  

FormCritic wrote:
What lawsuit profits have they gotten, Mike?

Let's say you push past a cop and spit on a Westboran.  They will:

Sue you for assault and damages due to your attack;

Sue the police department for failing to "protect" them from your attack;

Sue the municipality/city they are protesting in as they have failed to protect their application of "free speech";

Etc etc. They have gotten settlements in several actions like this over the years (like the one Jason mentioned), enough to keep them going, some in the tens of thousands of dollars. As time goes on they have attempted to become more and more provocative to provoke the kinds of reactions and attacks that will keep them in the money. That is why the best strategy is to ignore, ridicule, and ostracize these morons rather than confront them in any way.

People are finally starting to understand that this is not a religious organization (they are no more "Christian" than I am a Muslim), not a group advocating free speech, not a "family" in any real sense. They are a cult perfectly organized to achieve the maximum financial potential from abusing the law system of the United States.

Mike B.

gvaughn1 wrote:
As a Niners fan (raised in SF), God do I hate the Cowboys!!  "The Catch" back in 1981/82 was truly a seminal moment for the niners!  Those Jimmy Johnson years when you guys beat us sucked!  I've been revelling in watching the 'Boys get pasted every year in the playoffs lately.  Tony Romo is so easy to root against!

Anyway, the Niners have sucked the past few years.  But I'm hoping Coach Singletary has them at least going in the right direction.

But you guys had '94.  Then we stole Deion from you, LOL. There is really no doubt that the NFC Championship Game from 92-95 was the real superbowl.

Mike B.

gvaughn1 wrote:
As a Niners fan (raised in SF), God do I hate the Cowboys!!  "The Catch" back in 1981/82 was truly a seminal moment for the niners!  Those Jimmy Johnson years when you guys beat us sucked!  I've been revelling in watching the 'Boys get pasted every year in the playoffs lately.  Tony Romo is so easy to root against!

Anyway, the Niners have sucked the past few years.  But I'm hoping Coach Singletary has them at least going in the right direction.

I wish for SF the same thing I wish for philadelphia eagles fans....eternal 8-8 seasons...and/or painful losses in the big game.  

They each have to have it happen about 10+ more times to equal how many times Cowboys fans have had to eat it.

sauromatian wrote:
Geez, I had no idea regarding this aspect of what they do; I don't think the mainstream media has covered this side of the story. Still it's no surprise - the law works mainly for the enrichment of lawyers.

Not surprising, the media ocassionally stumbles across a story but most reporters are barely above functioning special needs people when it comes to cognition skills (and I apologize to any special needs people who read this by comparing them to the media).  Not surprisingly they are caught up in the "free speech under any circumstances" and "horrible Christians, look how intolerant they are" aspects of the story and can't see the forest for the trees.  The Westborans are intelligent enough con men to throw out enough smoke and mirrors to distract most of the moronic reporters who cover their protests, but sometimes you will find a good story or two that digs a little deeper.  Recently one of the membrers of the Westboran family who escaped their cult has published some remembrances of his time with them.

Mike B.

Kingofpain89 wrote:I think I posted this before but I'll do it again in case someone wants to read it.  One of Fred Phelps' estranged children wrote about his childhood in all its horrific detail.

http://natephelps.com/10801.html

Fred is a pretty lucky guy.  If he were my father I probably would have beaten him to death.  

After reading the article, here are my thoughts:

1)  This is not about religion or money.  This is about untreated mental illness.  We're not talking about religious views or money schemes.  We're talking about symptoms.

2)  We're not talking about a "church."  We're talking about a family that styles itself as a church.

3)  Don't kid yourself.  Everyone always thinks, "But I would know better."  More likely, you'd be down there with your own children supporting your dad and agreeing with everything he says.

FormCritic wrote:3)  Don't kid yourself.  Everyone always thinks, "But I would know better."  More likely, you'd be down there with your own children supporting your dad and agreeing with everything he says.

Disagree wholeheartedly.  I have been in a similar place Nate Phelps was years ago.  My father wasnt the twisted, evil zealot that Fred Phelps is but the abuse was there.  Lets just say that ten seconds and my mother intervening was all that separated me from a completely different life.  I didnt speak to or see my father for five years and didnt reconcile with him for almost ten years after that.