An open letter to Fred Phelps

Dear Mr. Phelps,

I've read that you and several other members of your Westboro Baptist Church will be protesting the Southern Baptist Convention taking place in Greensboro this week. Specifically, you'll be protesting the statue of Billy Graham that is to be unveiled - and I can't say I blame you. It does seem a bit idolatrous of the convention, and that would make them hypocrites. Of course, if I were to protest them I could think of a much longer list of complaints, but I digress.

Your group has gained notoriety nation-wide by protesting American soldiers' funerals by waving signs with messages such as "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "Thank God for 9/11." Obviously it's your opinion that our servicemen, or "typical fag-ass American soldiers" as your church's website so eloquently puts it, are in disfavor with the Lord.

These messages have caught you a lot of flak in the past few years, a few states going so far as to create laws banning specifically what you do at these protests. Recently President Bush signed a federal law completely banning all protests at funerals in the entire country, which I assume has shut down the funeral protesting business for you. Now you're moving on to conventions, which is probably a good move. It was time for you to get some bigger gigs anyway; the funeral act has been done to death.

Full column - Failure to Communicate