2008 Woodie Awards
Fred Phelps would be hailed as a national hero
Michael Tate
Issue date: 4/20/07 Section: Opinion
Fred Phelps, for those who don't know, is the gentleman who parades around the state of Kansas, I think maybe even around the country, protesting.
What is he protesting? Well, I'm sure that he would protest anything that goes against his ideas of what religion ought to be, but his fame exists mostly because of his protests regarding homosexuals. They're going to hell, he claims, as does his throng of followers that protests in front of churches and other significant places in communities. It wouldn't even surprise me if the group protested outside of a hospital where a gay man was dying of AIDS. The idea of protesting outside of a hospital when someone is dying strikes something deep within me, and I wager that it does for many people.
What is that deeper feeling? I think, perhaps, that the feeling in me that leads me to feel in my gut that the idea is so wrong is that, well, perhaps trying to scare somebody straight (which is a laugher anyway) does too much harm in the first place. I would think, by now, that the message could have gotten across to people who protest homosexuality that they can't scare the homosexual-ness (if I may) out of people, but still they try. Even more than the feeling that the protesters are fighting a ridiculous, losing battle, the inkling that the death of a friend or loved one is so much stronger of an event to bind people together than even resisting attack makes me believe that the attackers have gone even farther than too far.
This is significant because I believe in acceptance, most of all the acceptance of things that I cannot change (including things that do not need to be changed). I believe that, if something is inevitable, such as the fact that homosexuality is going to exist, and in fact has existed throughout history, whether I like it or not, that I should accept it is a reality. Since I accept it as a reality, I must ask myself why others do not. In this case, I believe that I must, unfortunately, disagree with the writers of the Bible verses that, I believe, misinterpreted God's intentions about how to regard homosexuals. Because of this belief, when I meet anyone who disagrees with me, I must politely and respectfully stand by my belief in the face of that person's animosity.
What is he protesting? Well, I'm sure that he would protest anything that goes against his ideas of what religion ought to be, but his fame exists mostly because of his protests regarding homosexuals. They're going to hell, he claims, as does his throng of followers that protests in front of churches and other significant places in communities. It wouldn't even surprise me if the group protested outside of a hospital where a gay man was dying of AIDS. The idea of protesting outside of a hospital when someone is dying strikes something deep within me, and I wager that it does for many people.
What is that deeper feeling? I think, perhaps, that the feeling in me that leads me to feel in my gut that the idea is so wrong is that, well, perhaps trying to scare somebody straight (which is a laugher anyway) does too much harm in the first place. I would think, by now, that the message could have gotten across to people who protest homosexuality that they can't scare the homosexual-ness (if I may) out of people, but still they try. Even more than the feeling that the protesters are fighting a ridiculous, losing battle, the inkling that the death of a friend or loved one is so much stronger of an event to bind people together than even resisting attack makes me believe that the attackers have gone even farther than too far.
This is significant because I believe in acceptance, most of all the acceptance of things that I cannot change (including things that do not need to be changed). I believe that, if something is inevitable, such as the fact that homosexuality is going to exist, and in fact has existed throughout history, whether I like it or not, that I should accept it is a reality. Since I accept it as a reality, I must ask myself why others do not. In this case, I believe that I must, unfortunately, disagree with the writers of the Bible verses that, I believe, misinterpreted God's intentions about how to regard homosexuals. Because of this belief, when I meet anyone who disagrees with me, I must politely and respectfully stand by my belief in the face of that person's animosity.
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ihategays
posted 11/20/07 @ 12:04 PM CST
i love fred phelps
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