8.08.2008

"The Most Hated Family in America" Comes to Canada...(tried to, anyway)

(Picture generated by the Westboro Baptist Church Sign Generator)
The Westboro Baptist Church, well-known for their "godhatesfags.com" website and their picketing of the funerals of dead American soldiers -- deaths that they cheerfully applaud, by the way -- announced recently that they would be picketing the funeral of Tim McLean. The reason, not that it matters, is that McLean was Canadian, and his murder was a sign of God's anger towards Canada's tolerance of gays, abortion, etc. The Westboro Church was hoping to come here in order to let us know that.

If you're not familiar with the Westboro Baptist Church (or even if you are), you should really check out this 2007 BBC documentary by Louis Theroux (who was, I think you'll agree, the perfect person to make this). It's one of the saddest and most fascinating things I've ever seen on TV. You really couldn't make this stuff up.


Fred Phelps later claimed that God "raised up" the BBC specifically so it would eventually help him spread his message to the world through this documentary. Wow.

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2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

They really are like looking at a car crash on the New Jersey Turnpike. No, more like why people whach gory horror films. There is a bizarre fascination with the grotesque.

7:30 a.m.  
Blogger PrickliestPear said...

For some people, sure. But I think it's more complicated than that. They reveal in a rather vivid way something about the human mind, and specifically the way reasonably intelligent people can not only maintain elaborate belief systems, but also develop defenses for these beliefs that deflect even the tiniest shred of self-awareness or the slightest exercise of self-criticism.

It's a lot more interesting than a car crash, or even a gory horror flick.

10:34 a.m.  

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