You can like him or you can hate him, but is this really appropriate? I've always been a proponent of free speech, but perhaps group hate speech at funerals should be examined. There was Dio, now Jobs and I'm sure countless others that I'm not aware of, or that don't make it into public awareness.

Protest at Steve Jobs Funeral

Westboro has been doing these things to more than just deceased CEO's. For years upon years they have constantly bombarded funerals of soldiers K.I.A. - dead homosexual soldiers mostly, with radical hate speech. They vocally attack grieving families during processions for supporting the deceased relative, and scream (from the allocated distance by the courts who've upheld their right to protest at funerals) that their loved one, who not only deserved to die, is in Hell being burned and tortured, and that the same fate awaits the entire family, children and all.

What I find truly ironic here is that these people scream and shout outside funerals, they stretch the limit of our First Amendment rights with their hate speech, they psychologically attack others with support from their brainwashed children at their side, and then complain of intolerance when people protest against their church group!

Yeah westboro baptist church is a very unfortunate side effect of free speech. I have a feeling that some day Karma is going to be pretty nasty for their funeral protests. IMHO.

Peace.

Wow, these creeps have surfaced once again eh? I remember watching their bile filled rants on Louis Theroux's show all those years ago and thinking they would all either end up in a looney bin or dead. But no, seems like the general public are keeping their end up and not sinking to their level.




I would love to picket their Church services. But probably wouldn't go as far as funerals etc, that is just distasteful at every level. So much for being an 'upstanding Christian'

There's a funny vid somewhere of a smart kid who, directly across the street from a Westboro protest, set up a charity donation station for all the causes the loonies were ranting against. It was a brilliant way of starving the trolls and attracted large sums. I hope the tactic is being repeated.

Strange why the US government seem to let the Westboro "Baptist" Church protest at US soldiers' funerals and don't bring in a law to stop it (unless they have or are trying to and I'm not aware of this), yet we all know the strict legislation against drugs. No consistency whatsoever.

As much as I don't like it, I'm glad they do it. I would hate to see police stop them from doing this. It goes to show that maybe there is hope for our rights. But then again maybe I just like playing devil's advocate...

I think what would stop them from their funeral protests pretty quickly would be if Muslim activists started showing up to picket their funerals. What would they say? Can they paint themselves as even more hypocritical than they already are? They may be so thick headed, I don't even know if the message would get through.

Whenever someone succeeds, no matter the time, area or context, there are always at least a few haters standing in the wings, grumbling under their breaths. When the fame becomes epic, the numbers and quotient on this "hate factor" increases. I don't know why, other than people are people. In the case of historical or war-driven victory (e.g. large amount of hatred for Alexander the Great in the East even today) I suppose I can understand, but the fame thing confuses me. I recognize it but do not fully understand it.

Add religious fervor to this all too human equation and this is what you get. Not our finest hour imo.