Fred Phelps is an asshat, and he makes me furious. It’s not because he finds something objectionable which occurs naturally in God’s creation that I go bonkers. It’s that he is so consumed with his own ego that he is willing to interfere with a family’s life at the worst of all possible times just to make a point. And a stupid point at that.
Phelps’ point is that we tolerate gay people in this country. (A point which is debatable in light of the recent spate of young gay people committing suicide.) The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are, he would have us believe, God’s judgement for our gay-loving ways. (A line of reasoning too twisted to justify an attempt at countering. Let’s just stipulate that this is stupid.) Because they died in these wars, Fred Phelps protests at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. Gay or straight.
That’s tacky as hell. And frankly, I don’t think I have to respect people who are being tacky. Phelps will stand exactly at the limit proscribed by law (in this case 1,000 feet) and say as much as he can without violating the letter of the statutes protecting free speech. From the get-go, however, he violates the spirit because the right to speak freely is meant to protect the dignity in our society. There is nothing dignified in what Phelps does.