I debated on whether or not to post here.

I know I disagree with many of you here about religion, but I felt the need to ask any of you who may be in the NC area for a favor anyhow. If not a favor for me, then maybe someone else on DU.

It appears that a poster here on DU is as disgusted by the Phelps crew as I am and I hope many of you are too. He wants to form a counter protest in the Durham, NC area and wishes to bring as many people on board as possible. Just in case he didn't come here and ask directly, I thought I'd at least let some of you know about this story and try to help in what little way I can. If only one of you decides to join and help out, I guess it'll be worth it to risk posting here despite our disagreements on other issues.

Here's the link:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=170x4169

If you want to get involved, I'm sure he'd appreciate it. As for me, I ask for your forgiveness for trespassing here and hope you will forget I was ever here. Just pretend a little birdie told you. Please. I don't want old wounds to open up. I just want the "I can't" (as in fight the right wing hijack of Jesus) crowd to see that you "can".

Thank you for your time and I will disappear now.

I wish I was able to help, but unfortunately I cannot take any time off for a while....(I start a new job on Monday).

I feel safe in saying that it is a sure bet that the vast majority of us at this grroup don't feel Phelps comes anywhere near representing anything like real Christianity.

The words "God hates" make my blood boil, and I think it is likely most of us feel the same way. I shudder at even using the words "Fred Phelps" and "Christian" in the same paragraph!

I do not, by the way, consider your post an intrusion into anything. I thank you for giving the heads up. I will be sure to spread the word when and where I can.

If you DO know of anyone, I would appreciate anything ya'll can do. I'd really like to see more people of all faiths band together on common ground against the sort of hate that man spreads. I get a little carried away sometimes if my hot buttons are pressed, but I really wish there were more people who had the power and could or would try to use it to derail this man's viciousness.

...(well, at least temporarily). I've been wanting to put the Fear Of God into the Branch FredPhelpsians ever since one of them tried to troll the Anglican list (or, as they put it, the Episcopal Whorehouse of Queers) eleven years ago.

Actually, it's more like I would want to do that to Pastor Fred himself -- after reading "Addicted To Hate," I consider most of his "parishoners" (i.e. family members) to be brainwashed victims of some of the most brutal child abuse I've ever heard of.

As I put it at the time, the Pastor appears to be a psychopath who has created God in his own image.

I'm glad to know someone has the same gut reaction to his hatred that I do. He makes me sick. I cannot understand why anyone would want to picket a funeral. I was raised to believe that that at the very minimum is poor taste. I understand that different people believe in different things when it comes to ethics and funerals, but picketing? And thanking God for the tsunami? That's what Phelps did. I'm flabbergasted that anyone really would do that.

i can't even read the fox news commentators' shit, or ann coulter without snapping and beating the book with a baseball bat, so i don't know if i could get through it