The why behind the Westboro Baptist Church - One man's observation and opinions.

This post is mostly for my step-children, but it can also help anyone who is having a hard time understanding why the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC for short since I'm a lazy typist) does what they do.

Truth of the matter is that I do not know why for certain. I have a few theories however.

1. Fame.
As annoying as these people are, what they do is still not as abhorrent as the pedophile priests that have come to light in the Catholic Church. However, unless you live in one of the parishes that have had one of these, I'll wager that you would be hard pressed to think of the name of any Catholic Church that has had a Pedo-Priest.

I know I certainly can't without hitting Google.

Yet, when asked "Hey, do you know the name of that group that protests funerals?" The first thing that pops into your head is "Oh! You mean the WBC!"

You know them by name. You know them without having to think about very hard. Odds are you barely heated up a pair of neurons coming up with them. They are what in the advertising circles are called "Top of the mind" product. When someone asks you to think of a Chocolate bar, you think Hershey's. When asked about Chicken, Tyson or Perdue comes to mind. Think of a fast food burger and McDonalds is there rolling off the tip of your tongue.

That is what they have achieved. You can't think of a parish that has a "Butt-Buggering Bishop" but you know THEM.

2. Advertising
Advertising is costly. For the major corporations to make the money that they make and to become as big as they are, they have to spend a shitload on advertising. One Superbowl slot costs $2.5 million dollars for 30 minutes of advertising.

However, you take your parishioners and work them up into a frenzy over a subject that you hate and that you can get them to hate with you and they'll do all the work for you. They'll empty their wallets of extra money and chuck it into the donation plate during services.

Not only that, point them in a direction (in my case LaPlata Maryland) and they'll do your bidding and protest.  Further to that, they will do so at their expense. Even those that can't make it there themselves will carpool with others, or you can charter a bus for cheap (compared to other forms of advertising). The simple fact is. You get two bus loads of people out to one funeral and the news media will talk about it for a solid week.

That's getting a weeks worth of advertising in the local papers, the local news outlets, the major networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox), CNN, Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, Google News, Fark.com...the list is too huge to fully list here. But you get all that press on dozens of media outlets for the cost of a few charter buses (average of $20 per person per day) and for a full week's coverage. Far more bang for your buck than $2.5 million per 30 second slot on one network.

This fuels the fame above.

Now you might be wondering why I haven't included the message. Well that's because I'll be fucked in the ass with a red-hot agave cactus if I can figure out what the message is. From their website I can't figure out what they are trying to accomplish.

They hate gays. That is clear.
They blame America's problems on the fact that there is homosexuality.
They say that America is doomed.
But they say that America is beyond saving.
All other religions are evil
In fact they do not seem to actually want to save anyone.

So...what in the name of Zeus's hairy, sweaty nut sack are they trying to do? Again I do not know. Their universal condemnation of anyone not a part of the WBC and lack of a desire to try and "save" the wicked leaves me to believe that the message is pure horse shit. Sure they may believe the things that they do, but in the end is that the real reason that they are doing this? It doesn't strike me as being true.

The KKK believe in what they believe in and they do their part to spread their message. In fact they have a clearly defined message of racial purity in America. Neo-Nazi's likewise have a similar message. Anti-Abortionists believe in the sanctity of life, Pro-Choice people believe in the right of a woman to choose. "Birthers" are convinced that President Obama is in office illegally and want him removed under the Constitutional laws regarding the President. PETA believes in not harming animals in any way, shape or form.

All these people and more have clearly defined agendas and goals that they would like to see (unobtainable as they may be) achieved. The WBC seems to just want to stand on a street corner and say how horrible the rest of America is. To me this is an indication that WBC is less about the message and more about getting the world to look at them and to notice them.

This is backed up by the fact that the WBC gets donation from other people who do not like Homosexuality all over the country. The WBC is raking the money in left and right. They'd have to be considering that they were wanting to protest the United Kingdom.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_baptist#Banned_from_entering_the_UK

Yes they were going to fly a protest group across the Atlantic and protest at a cost of $1500 (cheapest I could find) per person round trip. With that sort of expense, they have to be making some money somehow.

So I know that my step-children are upset that this group is being they way that they are. I know that you support the soldiers. I know that you were brought up to not hate anyone based on sex, race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation. I know you're upset that these people hate your Uncle Nax for being gay.

But being upset is what fuels them. What makes them keep on doing what they do. They want you mad. Because by being mad, they hope that you'll do something stupid that they can sue you for. Suing you and winning means that they make tons and tons of money. Suing you and losing means that they still get more media coverage and attention. They want you mad. That way you win.

I'm not mad. I am as calm as I have ever been about a subject. I do not like them, I do not agree with them and what they are doing is very distasteful to me. But I am not mad. If I could go tomorrow, I would just stand there calmly and be a shield. Being calm takes away one of their weapons.

And besides. Being calm when someone is being a douchewaffle only makes them mad. And if they're mad, then they they might make the mistake and we can sue them for a change.

And should anyone from the WBC read this, remember that the same rights that protect you doing what you do also protect me. I have the right to express my opinion. And this is just that, an opinion and nothing more. This is just a theory based what I've seen of your works, your actions and your website.

This is a Constitutionally protected expression of that opinion through Freedom of Speech. If this offends you, tough.