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.

5 Things I've noticed about... The Westboro Baptist Church

A lot of things are said about the Westboro Baptist Church (mainly negative) and through all that is said, there a certain things that church tends to do.

So here are five things I've noticed about the Westboro Baptist Church:

5. They believe God hates everyone... but them.

According to the Westboro Baptist Church, God hates everyone (or at least anyone who offends Fred Phelps in even the littlest of ways), and according them everyone (but them) is going to Hell. This even includes people who might share a similar ideology to the church's ideology, but that the church's leadership believes that those people are still going to Hell simply because their hate towards a certain group isn't up to the church's standards, or that they don't hate all the groups that the church hates.

4. They don't mind lying.

Despite being a sin (and according to the Bible a very big one), they have no problems lying, whether it be announcing that they a going to protest somewhere and then not showing up, announcing that they a going to protest somewhere, not showing up, and then photoshopping a picture of them protesting at said place, or just saying things about people that are simply not true.

3. They alienate everyone.

Literally no one can stand them, either because of their blatant bigotry, homophobia, antisemitism, anti-Americanism, or just plain psychopathic behavior. Even the Klu Klux Klan can not stand them, even though they have a similar ideology with the Westboro Baptist Church.

Their actions have made so many people angry that there are now laws to try to curtail their protests, and that the public at large wants their IRS tax exemption to be revoked, and for the government to officially declare them a hate group.

Also, no one cares if someone attacks them. In some cases people believe that it's a good thing to attack them.

2. They encourage their members to be psychopaths.

The leadership of the Westboro Baptist Church encourages it's members to show no empathy for anyone, to have no remorse what so ever for causing anyone pain through their actions, to be happy that they are causing people pain, to be happy when someone dies, to pray that certain people die, and to be happy with the thought thought that someone might be in Hell. In fact they tell they're members that not doing this stuff will get them sent to Hell.

If that is not psychopathic behavior, I don't know what is.

1. They're cowards.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church will protest just about anything, just as long as there are enough police officers around to protect them from the public who might use force to get rid of them.

They're not going to show up anywhere where they don't think they're not going to get enough security to protect them, or where they may be harmed no matter how much security they have. In fact it's even been suggested that communities stop giving them police protection during their protests just to keep them away.

They also haven't taken on Scientology either. Maybe they're afraid of getting harassed and sued by them.