How The Westboro Baptist Church Scam Works

From a comment on Boingboing…

Most of Fred Phelps’ 13 adult children are lawyers, with law degrees from Washburn University in Topeka, KS. Those that are still in the church practice in the family law firm, Phelps Chartered, LLC. Phelps himself had been disbarred in 1979 for perjury, but his children carried on the law firm.

Over 20 years ago, they discovered that if they picketed AIDS funerals in Kansas, distraught loved ones would lose control, and physically attack the WBC protestors. They sued, and won. Sensing a major income stream, they started protesting full-time, hoping to be attacked.

They started picketing full-time at museum exhibits, college graduations, poetry readings, rock concerts, celebrity funerals, and, of course, AIDS funerals… anywhere they could use free speech to get people to attack them.

When soldiers started coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan in body bags, they hit paydirt: Protest *near* (not at) funerals of soldiers, blaming America’s decline on “fags,” and wait for the attacks.

They raise at least $200,000 a year doing this, and probably more. They fund the picketing business with lawsuits.

There is always a family lawyer at every protest. Every protest is videotaped, so they have rock-solid evidence when attacked. They target the highest-profile events they can, and make sure the media knows they are coming, so people are all riled up. They always protest on public property, sidewalks, and rights-of-way, so that they can’t be charged with trespassing. If there’s a legally-imposed “no protest zone” around funerals, they obey it. They are very clever to stay within the letter of the law.

And angry people fall for it, all the time. And the media never bothers to investigate how this scam works.

(Source: Boing Boing)

This was posted 1 year ago. It has 36 notes.
  1. midnightdaydreams reblogged this from jagattack
  2. thecolorbeige reblogged this from frijole
  3. spacepirateninja reblogged this from thepoliticalfreakshow
  4. thepoliticalfreakshow reblogged this from frijole
  5. a-song-of-life-and-fandom reblogged this from theglitterkeepsfalling and added:
    This is absolutely appalling. No words. No words.
  6. wassupdude reblogged this from hedgewytch
  7. hedgewytch reblogged this from theglitterkeepsfalling and added:
    this Church needs to be shut down. #Westboro #scam
  8. jakeyboytellem reblogged this from frijole
  9. dred-pirate-rob reblogged this from frijole
  10. theglitterkeepsfalling reblogged this from frijole
  11. drinkthathenny reblogged this from frijole and added:
    makes a lot more sense now.
  12. jdyeaton reblogged this from frijole and added:
    Wow. Why has no newspaper picked up
  13. mike3k reblogged this from frijole and added:
    DON’T attack them, they’ll go away.
  14. artyucko reblogged this from kryz and added:
    I’ve seen it in action… People reflexively hate the shit out of them and feel compelled to confront them while they...
  15. jagattack reblogged this from 19-cilmaengwyn and added:
    I heard about this before. A guy in reddit heard that the WBC protesters were going to do this at his brother’s funeral...
  16. kryz reblogged this from frijole
  17. 19-cilmaengwyn reblogged this from frijole
  18. frijole posted this