The evils of the Westboro Baptist Church

By Matt Rogers
First created 15 March 2009 | Last updated 07 February 2010

So, the Westboro Baptist Church are reported to be getting on a plane from the USA with their banners and their flags and heading to Basingstoke. The reason? To protest against a play the local university are putting on in remembrance of Matthew Shepherd, a student from Wyoming who was brutally murdered by two men. The reason? Because Matthew Shepherd was openly gay, and this offended them. Nothing more and nothing less than that.

I'm strictly heterosexual. I really don't understand the idea of two men coming together for sex, but the fundamental point here is that I really don't have to.

My brother, who also happens to be my best friend, is gay. His partner is also one of my best friends. As long as I accept it, then I don't have to understand it, just like my brother doesn't have to understand a man and a woman coming together for sex. Genetically, I'm attracted to women, and my brother is attracted to men. Why there is still resistance to this ideology is beyond my comprehension.

Okay, a genetic scientist I most certainly am not; however, it doesn't require a great leap to subscribe to the ideology that as you develop, so does your sexual orientation, and you're predisposed to being attracted to men or women, regardless of whether you yourself are a man or a woman. Yes, people can change their orientation during the course of their life, implying that in some cases, there is an element of choice involved. But in the vast, vast majority of cases, I firmly believe it’s all down to your genes. In support of my argument, there are case studies and a huge amount of scientific evidence to support.

But this isn’t what the Westboro Baptist Church believe, no sir, and they’ve got irrefutable proof! Gays, they all a rotten, evil and promiscuous bunch and they gonna roast in the almighty fires of hell! Along with everyone else on the planet of course, let’s not forget them. I wonder where animals fit in? What do you suppose happens if they see a lion eat a zebra on a nature programme? “The zebra’s a fag! Burn that fag zebra, burn him!!! Oh, too late, he’s been eaten. Well the lion’s probably a fag, burn him instead!”

Religion has a lot to answer for. It's often the convenient shield people like the Westboro Baptist Church hide behind and use to attack others, all in the name of God. It's an excuse for them to pour all of their own personal anguish and torment into a movement. Who would honestly be surprised if it turned out Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church founder, had some kind of life-changing experience at a young age that forever defined his views in this way? If he and his followers honestly believe that God is going to welcome them into Heaven for their actions and their expressions of pure hatred at their fellow men and women, I’ve a feeling they may be gravely mistaken.

Despite the above, I’m not against religion. I do understand how important it is for people to have faith and what it brings to their lives. I absolutely respect individual people and their beliefs, religious or otherwise, but I oppose anyone who believes its right to dismiss other people based on their beliefs, to openly attack them as a consequence, and attempt to justify murder and death all in the name of their religion.

We should promote and embrace difference, both in culture, in gender, in sexuality, in appearance and in the many other ways of living your life, but when hate, oppression and violence are used, action should be taken because morally, ethically, whichever reasonable way the majority of us choose to look at it, these ideals are only designed to hurt people, and that's something the human race doesn't need, but regrettably seems to constantly want to reinforce.

I’m afraid this is where my horrible naivety emerges. I cling hopelessly to this view that people are ostensibly good, but how can you consider the Westboro Baptist Church and their message as good? They cherish death and worship torment as their reason for being. It seems the more horror and despair they bring into the lives of those who have lost, the more they have done what they consider to be the right thing. I fail to understand why they think this behaviour, this belief, is morally justified.

Another thing that’s called into question is where do we draw the line with the whole ‘Freedom of Speech’ thing. Can you ever have total freedom of speech? Should we allow the Westboro Baptist Church to come to Basingstoke and preach, even though it’s advocating and potentially inciting hatred? Should we allow radical Muslim Clerics or Christian Fundamentalists to preach their messages, even though they prey on the disillusioned and the disenfranchised, and both justify murder, hate and intolerance through their respective religions?

My problem is, I don’t know. I guess I think no, these kinds of groups shouldn’t be allowed to preach their message as their cause is morally unjust and has no relevance to what we aspire to be as a modern, civilised society of global brothers and sisters. But their argument might be that I’m encouraging repression, something that rather contradicts my argument. I believe you can have freedom of speech but only to an extent. When the line is crossed and your message is to solely inspire hatred and intolerance of others for their respective differences, whether it be religion, sexuality, beliefs etc. then morally this is wrong and a line does have to be drawn.

The Westboro Baptist Church preach hate. Hate is what they believe, hate is what they breathe, hate is all they’re essentially capable of. If there is a God, if there is an Almighty, I don’t think he takes much stock in hate. I don’t think he has much time for hate. If he took 7 days to create the Earth and us and everything else, I think hate is the last thing on the agenda, and he’s got more important stuff to worry about than Adam with Adam and Eve with Eve.

I fundamentally believe in just being good with people; being nice to the people you meet, letting them do their thing and as long as it’s not hurting others then where’s the harm in that? If there is a God, when I eventually do meet him, I’d like to think he or she or it is gonna say, “well done, you had a fair few minor fuck-ups along the way but in essence, you tried to be a good person. Welcome to Heaven.”

Welcome to Heaven. Doesn’t that sound good? Well, I suppose it would, if I actually believed in God...