Thursday, March 20, 2014

Please don't tell people not to be happy that Fred Phelps is finally gone

Fred Phelps, founder and former leader of his family based cult, the Westboro Baptist Church, has finally done something useful: he died!

I'm sure that many people now (myself included) are probably overjoyed that this horrible and abusive and just plain evil person is finally gone, which I'm certain includes many of the loved ones of people who's funerals he and his little cult protested for no reason other than to cause pain.

While I do know that they claimed that they were doing all of these so called "protests" inorder to spread their "message", but really, does anyone actually believe any of that? I doubt it, and even in some sick way that really is the truth... well who cares? It still doesn't make what they do any less wrong because they could have gone some where else and spread their "message", nor does it make any of what they say any less vile.

Now like with any time some despicable person like Fred Phelps dies there are people that will tell you that you shouldn't feel any joy over the fact that this person is dead, and that you should let the family have a chance to grieve, and that you should perhaps even feel sad for them. Normally I would agree with this, but not in this case, because:

1. He and his cult caused a lot of pain to other people for no reason what so ever, and he did so because he knew he could.

2. He wouldn't give other families the same curtsies, so why should anyone do so for his?

3. A lot of his family is just as bad as he was and "protested" at other's funerals simply to cause other families pain.

There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of people who are right now just waiting to go and protest his funeral, and I also know that there are some people out there who think that "wouldn't protesting his funeral  put you on the same level as him and his cult and make you no better than he and his cult?"

No, it wouldn't. He and his little cult protested at the funerals of soldiers, children, murder victims, people who died of AIDS, and a whole bunch of other people that he and his cult had no reason what so ever to protest other than to cause the families of the people who died pain.

I can understand reasoning behind the belief that doing to them what they did to so many others would make you no better than them, but the shear fact that they "protested" at other people's funerals for no reason what so ever other than to cause the families pain, and the fact that these people didn't deserve to have their funerals protested, coupled with the fact that he and his cult has done a lot of stuff (including the funeral protests) that would warrant protesting his funeral invalidates this belief.

Sadly there will be no official funeral for him as the WBC claims it does not have funerals, which in retrospect is a good thing because a funeral would mean that there would be a celebration of his life, which is not something to celebrate. On the other hand (assuming that they are not lying and really are going to have a funeral for him in secret, or aren't having a funeral because they don't want a taste of their own medicine) this is also a bad thing because they are denying people the right to finally do to him and his cult what he and his cult did to so many others.

Still, being glad that Fred Phelps is doesn't make you a bad person, and wanting to protest his funeral doesn't put you on the same level as him or his cult. Those who do believe that it makes you a bad person and puts you on his level are wrong and in a way are excusing him and his cult.

Saying you shouldn't be happy that he is dead is in my opinion the same as saying that "sure he was a bad person, but not someone you should be glad that is dead." No, he really was that bad of a person, and there is no reason for anyone for anyone not to be happy that he is dead.

You can tell person that you feel no joy over Fred Phelps death, but don't tell someone else they shouldn't, because there is no reason why someone should not be happy that this person is gone.

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