Few straight people outside the local community gave a rip when Phelps was protesting Matthew Shephard and other dead faggots.

Straight people only became concerned when they started picketing soldiers’ funerals (none of which were gay, to my knowledge).

I understand your frustration, Eshto but please don’t let that frustration turn to resentment against your straight allies. We have been here long before Phelps. There were four gay people in my family and they were entirely part of the family without any condition. They are all now deceased. I saw what they went through every day of their courageous lives and I have worked against the discrimination I saw against them all my life. I have faced down bigots, donated money, campaigned against political candidates, written letters and been the only “straight guy” in protest efforts. Phelps is evil equally for his homophobia and his cruelty to straight soldiers’ families, and you’re right he’s only a tiny part of what must be opposed. More straight people work to oppose it than you know.

Yes, the majority of Americans still vote the way Phelps probably does, but it’s just barely a majority. As you pointed out it’s about half. Every day it gets weaker and you do have genuine friends in the straight community, not just people outraged by Phelp’s victimizing of straight people.

So do they also picket the funerals of dead Westboro church members?

You beat me to it, Craig. Fred looks like he’s getting old, unless a steady diet of hate is what does that. When he dies (hopefully today) will his minions have a hate fest over his corpse too, saying that he’s burning in hell along with the others he has condemned? He’s part of America too. Or is being a disciple of hate the way into heaven?

Notice the parenthetical. What do you want to bet that he said something a bit more descriptive?

I had exactly the same thought, Siamang! Too bad they couldn’t print exactly what he said.

Sorry Hemant but it kind of takes the thunder out of your outrage when you call a group of bigots “bitches” seeing as it’s a term commonly used to degenerate women when it’s not being used to impugn the masculinity of (other) men.

America does not generally support the gays. Few straight people outside the local community gave a rip when Phelps was protesting Matthew Shephard and other dead faggots.

Straight people only became concerned when they started picketing soldiers’ funerals (none of which were gay, to my knowledge).

Everyone acts outraged, and yet real gay soldiers are still getting kicked out of the army (even after getting purple hearts) under Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, and lawmakers are still fighting tooth and nail against hate crime legislation, against the ENDA law which would prohibit workplace discrimination, against gay marriage rights – and mainstream America is still voting in favor of all this anti-gay legislation.

At least half of America votes the exact same way that Phelps probably does – against gay rights. So forget about Phelps, he’s not the problem.