@The Black Cat,
I agree with you 100% when you ask, where were people when they were protesting the funerals of murdered homosexuals and AIDS victims. People need to rise up and stop this kind of hatred.

If it was set by one of Phelps’ guys, then they’ll just claim Satan or he was framed by the evil government. If it was set by someone against him, much as I’d like to applaud him, he just made the situation worse.
If it was by accident… doesn’t matter. He’ll milk it. Hopefully those kids will grow up and get their own mind someday, I feel sorry for them.

So please, when you make fun of Christians because of people like Phelps, keep in mind that most Christians hate him just as much as you do. Possibly more, since he’s the voice people hear from Christianity.

Research indicates it’s a reaction to species stress, especially from overcrowding. Just one more way Nature has of limiting an overly successful species excessive reproduction.

On the other hand, in humans at least, brain development in gay humans seems to be more conducive to developing artistic talent. I have no problem with that. Artists, like scientists, are cool.

One item to remember: human sexuality is very complex and is seldom as simple as straight vs gay. People exhibit a range of behavior, from one end of the curve to the other. On a scale of 1 to 10, I prefer being in the middle,,,I get to meet so many interesting people that way,,,

GAry 7

I wouldn’t. When they showed up the day of the funeral, police required them to be 100 feet away from the chapel per a recent Illinois state law. They were on a corner to the north on the only available public land in the area. Regardless of the law, I doubt they would have been given permission by the property owners south of the chapel, so that was really their only alternative.

They were noticed by some, but the distance really mitigated their impact.

You have no idea how much it hurts to see these people show up when people’s emotions are raw with the pain of loss.

Has anyone else had a direct experience with this group?

I was proud of those high school students who chose to bring a positive message to a painful afternoon.

This reminds me of a wonderful Babylon 5 quote. Centauri ambassador Londo Mollari was attempting to justify the ongoing feud between the Centauri and the Narn. (”Feud” is putting it rather lightly; conquest, slavery, revolution, war, reconquest, genocide…. It’s one of the major threads of the series.)

“Physics tells us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. They hate us, we hate them, they hate us back. And so, here we are, victims of mathematics!”

Except that people don’t have to follow that. We are masters of our destiny. We can choose to end the cycle at any time. Because neither the Centauri nor the Narn were ultimately willing (as a people) to do so, it continued, costing many millions of lives. If this was arson and not an accident, then it’s sad that someone has chosen to continue the cycle — and perhaps escalate it. After all, disgusting as Fred Phelps and his followers are, they have not attempted violence to my knowledge. But if they believe that this is war, then perhaps now they will. I doubt they will; it doesn’t seem to be their style. But they’re kooky enough that I can’t say I know what goes on inside their heads.

“I would personally consider it far more plausible if it was arson that someone else did it. If Phelps wanted more attention there are numerous other ways to do it that won’t put them at legal risk. Starting the fire themselves would be illegal, and they have a lot of lawyers so they would know that. So far they have been very careful not to break any laws, and to the use the law for their own purposes. I find it unlikely they would suddenly break it now.”

You are making a whole lot of sense. Especially, since they take care to not break the law. So, that leaves spontaneous combustion of materials in the garage, or stranger arson, then. In my mind, anyway.

I brought up the possibility of one of Phelps’ group starting the fire partially as a serious consideration to keep on the table, but also partly playing to conspiracies. I am duly chastised.