Is The Westboro Baptist Church A Hate Group!

I understand the opening title is a bold question to ask. But as an American I feel deep down that I need to ask it out-loud where people can hear me. I have written on the topic of The Westboro Baptist Church in the past which generated quite a bit of bitter and hateful statements towards me, my family, and of course my blog. Let me make something very clear here before anyone gets their panties in a knot. I am NOT talking about all Baptists, I am NOT talking about any religion, I am just talking about the fucktards that run this church, go to this church, and believe in the vile provided by this particular church. If you are part of The Westboro Baptist Church cult following than this information is not anything that you didn’t already know. Now, the information I gathered was dated back in July 2013, so the rest of y’all might have seen it as well. I would point y’all to the actual petition sent for President Obama’s approval but it appear that the We The People website has been temporarily disabled so nobody can look at the public record. I have looked at this topic before, I saw the petition before as well, there were close to 675,000 signatures well out doing the 100,000 required. However, even though President Obama believes the actions of The Westboro Church to be reprehensible, he turned down the request (petition) to label the church a hate group. The President said that it is not the place of the Federal government to do so. Why do the petitioners want the church to be labeled as a hate group? It’s simple, the petitioners want The Westboro Baptist Church to have its tax exemption revoked. However, the White House refuses to label them a hate group or revoke their tax exemption status.

Since the government does not maintain a particular list of hate groups that there is no jurisdiction over the different organizations and does not have an official opinion. But, even though the White House has not officially called the church a hate group, it does condemn their widely known practices. Sounds like bullshit to me. So why does The Westboro Baptist Church protest? Let’s explore that a little. We can start with the basic theological views of the WBC. The theology of the WBC is an extreme variant of Calvinism according to their beliefs and values. I will remind everyone reading today that Phelps’s organization, Westboro Baptist Church, is based in Topeka, Kansas, US. Its first public service was held on the afternoon of Sunday, November 27, 1955. Today, the church has about 40 members, most of whom are Phelps’ family members. The church is described and monitored as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center but not by the United States Government.

• Man is in a state of sin, and can only be saved by the grace of God.
• This grace is not given freely to all, but only to God’s “elect”.
• The elect are the people whom God has foreordained to salvation. All others are reprobates, who have been created for the express purpose of being sent to Hell. This is the Calvinist belief of unconditional election, a.k.a. “double predestination,” which is a form of determinism; it explains why the Westboro Baptist Church protests aren’t about proselytizing. The intent of their protests is to thank God for smiting us.
• Those whom God chooses to condemn, he causes to sin by “hardening their hearts” against himself.
• It is the duty of the elect to proclaim God’s word (even though God will not cause the reprobates to listen). Their goal is not to win converts, or to “save” others, but simply to rebuke others for their sins.
• All events on earth happen because of God’s will. This includes natural disasters and actions committed by people. Events such as Hurricane Katrina, the September 11th attacks on New York and the financial recession of 2008-09 are therefore celebrated by the WBC as God’s righteous destruction of reprobates.
• It is also the duty of the elect to praise and thank God for all such judgments. This is why the Phelps family is often seen with signs reading “Thank God for 9/11” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers”. They offered similar thanks for the recent $11 million judgment against them, because they see it as proof that God is hardening the hearts of men against them.
• The Elect pretty much includes the members of Westboro Baptist, and practically nobody else.
• Their obsession with homosexuality is the result of the widespread acceptance of homosexuality in the world. For the members of the WBC, all sins separate man from God, and they do not claim that the elect are without sin. However, according to their beliefs, people must sincerely repent of their sins before they can be forgiven. For the members of the WBC, “gay pride” and the acceptance of homosexuality is tantamount to having “murderer pride” or thinking of child rape as being just another, equally valid form of sexual expression. Anyone who doesn’t condemn homosexuality as evil is, according to the WBC, a “fag enabler”, and deserving of divine retribution.
• Phelps’s sermons, some of which have been broadcast on radio or on his website, tend to last for around an hour, and consist of an old man rambling incoherently to himself, getting agitated and shouting every few minutes, and quote mining the scriptures to support his warped and hateful attitudes.
• WBC members typically hold signs and shout at family members attending soldiers’ funerals, shouting such things as “Thank God For Dead Soldiers”.
• Finally, Fred Phelps, the “pastor” at the church believes that God allows the soldiers to die as their punishment of their sins of homosexuality.]

In other words, to shorten terms for everyone, the Westboro Baptist Church hates the following but is not limited to the list provided.

• Gays
• the United States Military
• the United States
• Jews
• Catholics, Protestants, and Eastern Orthodox
• Hindus
• Muslims
• Any religion other than their own
• Logic
• Swedish people
• Anonymous
• You
• Me
• the world
• Lady Gaga
• Italians
• Divorcees
• Coretta Scott King
• Obama
• Black People in General
• Over-weight people
• All people who aren’t predestined to go to heaven (everyone who’s not a member of the WBC)
• Love
• Thought
• Dissent
• They hate hypocrites that are not part of the WBC
• Heavy Metal, Rock & Roll
• Musicians of all genres in general
• Canada & the UK for banning the WBC
• Hackers
• The KKK
• Your freedom of speech
• Additionally, women are second class citizens.

I promised myself when I was writing this piece that I would keep calm and not get pissed off at this useless human being. But I can’t do it. I can’t continue to bite my tongue. What would Fred Phelps think of me? I hold the word hate to a high regard and I can only name about 3 people who I actually despise enough to hate. He is not one of them. I cannot and will not give in to his way of thinking. What I will do is to continue to share what an arrogant bastard he is while he preaches from his very tall pedestal. Does he feel as if he can’t be touched by mankind? I think you know the answer without me saying it. Take some time one day and read up on the history of Fred Phelps, his family, the WBC, and his followers/parishioners. When you do you will first let out a large sigh, that will be followed will the immediate need to vomit, and then you will just be pissed. For what you ask? It’s simple, and it should be real simple for Christians, because there needs to be an end to him preaching and spreading hate. Granted, with a churchful that counts in the 40s one would think that they aren’t much of a threat, but they are, they are a hate group whether the United States Government and President Obama think so or not.

We all know, especially those who know me or are close to me, that I don’t get into two things, those are politics and religion. If you have read closely I kept up my end of the deal, we didn’t discuss religion or politics. The people mentioned in this post were mentioned because they are key aspects and key players resulting in the continuation of the WBC. My final thought is actually a question. What the fuck is wrong with Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC)??? I will be too kind and pass a farewell to them all, fuck you Fred Phelps and fuck you Westboro Baptist Church.

Moving Madness Multiplied

I like to think that I’m real easy-going most of the time. In person, people know that I usually have no problem helping out someone when asked. People know I have certain equipment and that I usually work pretty cheap. With that being said, a few weeks ago I was asked by my wife to contact her pastor so I could sit down with him because he had a “favor” to ask of me. At first I was in shock because she had the absolute brass balls to come to me with something he wants. You see, the pastor and I have a little history of bad blood. In other words, I wouldn’t piss on him if he was on fire. Get the connection. I don’t like him or what he stands for. However, money is money if there is money involved. She told me that they would “rent” my time and the use of my dually and my 48′ box trailer. Rent me? apparently my time and equipment is worth money now, who knew. Perhaps I could chat with the jackass and see what he has in mind. The whole meeting was real uncomfortable for me because, in no fewer words, I despise him as a human being. The meeting was short and involved the details, which were pretty sketchy if you ask me. Anyway, I needed to be in place at the church by no later that 6 a.m. on Saturday 14 September 2013 with my truck and trailer and should be done somewhere around 3 p.m. that same day. I was pre-paid the entire “rental fee” as it was listed on his receipt I signed and noted as “other church services” at the bottom. What was I paid? I was paid $1,500.00 for my services. Which, after doing a little research was real cheap since most rentals of the same caliber, like a 48′ box truck, had a $1,5000.00 deposit, $495.00 per day rental, $1.09 per mile, and the cost of the amount of fuel used. So, I was real cheap in comparison. He never asked me what I wanted to charge, he just told me what he needed and what he was willing to pay, take it or leave it. I should have left it right on the table. I shouldn’t have just returned his call and told him to kiss my ass and never looked back. But, for some reason, my wife gets involved and she asked me nicely. Her, I respect her opinion.

So, anyway, Friday evening my son and I prepped the trailer, meaning we swept it out and made sure all the tires were aired up properly since this trailer has been sitting in the same spot for over a year. Everything checked out which was a relief. We went into town and fueled up the dually then returned and hooked the trailer up. Again, no problems. We were ready to go in the morning. My son and I arrived to the church at 5:30 in the morning. While we waited we ate our breakfast burritos we got on the way, my sons request. At just after 7 in the morning not one person has shown up yet, not one. I called the pastor and my call went straight to voicemail. Seriously. I called my wife, who in turn was on her way to the church to collect my son to go to get his hair cut and do a few errands. She has not heard from the pastor. Promptly at 8 the pastor showed up, parks, and comes to my truck. He asked why I was here so early at the same time I was asking where everyone was. He apologized as he must have “forgotten” to call me, there was a change of plans because a few people couldn’t show up until 8 in the morning. According to him he did tell me when this all developed 2 weeks ago. Thinking back, that would have been the perfect time to just drive away. It was breach of contract on his part. But, I’m a sucker for punishment I don’t deserve, so I stayed. Immediately I was being told to move so I could back up across a sidewalk and across a section of grass, about 30 feet. Doesn’t this idiot know how heavy this truck and trailer are? Come to find out, nobody cared, it will all be okay. Piss on that, I will not pay to get towed out. So, I continue backing up, I hear screeching as the tree branches slide down the sides of the trailer. I’m thinking it just keeps getting better at this point. It made ruts going in I can’t wait to see the ruts when I pull out. Have y’all ever just known that something was going to turn into a great story. I knew that it would be a factoid when I was first told about this crap. Sometimes I can see the future.

Pretty much the entire day I either sat in the a/c in my truck or I would walk around a bit to stretch and see how loaded the trailer was becoming. According to my wife, somebody donated a large sum of money to the administration of the church so the church could update their offices, the two classrooms, and the day care. So, that is what they were loading, all the furniture coming out. I was supposed to take the loaded trailer to a warehouse where the people who bought all the furniture at auction were to unload it. At almost 7 p.m. they finished up. They almost completely had the trailer full and packed pretty well, I was almost impressed. After closing it up one of the men guided me out back into the parking lot. I thought I was stuck coming across the sidewalk, but after the trailer snapped it as it rolled over it everything was smooth getting out. I wonder what will be said about that because I told them it was going to happen, not maybe, but that it would get broken, my opinion was dismissed by the pastor. So, the pastor gives me the address and directions to the warehouse, it was about 30 minutes away. The only thing I can think is I hope they unload it faster than the trailer got loaded. When I arrived to the address I was presented with a rather tight turn into the driveway, it took me a little time to negotiate it but I got it. I went up to the office and explained who I was and I was told that I didn’t have permission to be in here number one and I needed a copy of the manifest or receipt before they would accept it. I was told to hurry up because they closed at 9 p.m. and would not be back until Tuesday. After multiple calls to the good pastor and to my wife I was getting nowhere fast. I was, however, growing more pissed by the minute. At 9 I was asked to remove my truck and trailer from the property. At 9:15 I finally get a call from the pastor who explained he had taken the men and woman who helped him all day out to dinner which is why he couldn’t take my calls. He says he was unaware that I needed paperwork and would talk to his contact about making arrangements. I told him I was going home. When he asked where his stuff was going to be I explained it will be at my house tucked away out of my way. I waited all day Sunday for his call. Finally around 3 I called him and he actually answered the phone. He has been busy all day and has not been able to make arrangements and rushed to get off the phone with me.

Today, being Monday, I still have their stuff inside my trailer which is parked out at my house. At this point I really don’t know when he thinks I will be able to take it to the warehouse. I work, I have a day job that I can’t just up and leave at the drop of a phone call. After Wednesday when I get off work if he has not arranged anything then he will be having to wait until the end of the following week since I have foot surgery scheduled bright and early this Thursday morning. I told my wife I am charging him storage, $150.00 a day and that started Sunday. Snidely, she told me to do what I am comfortable doing and hung up. This has worked out well so far I think. Should be an interesting week. I have a feeling when this is said and done I will never be available to assist these people again. Everytime I do it turns into a complete clusterfuck on their part.