[Vision2020] Thought to Ponder . . .

[Tom Hansen]

"I'm here to send the world a memo: There is hatred in this town, but
there is way more love."

- Kyle Richardson at a Spokane counter-rally against the Westboro Baptist
Church

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Students at Gonzaga University organized counter-ralllies against Westboro
Baptist Church.

http://media.spokesman.com/photos/2010/10/21/westboromalone_t620.jpg

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Courtesy of today's (October 22, 2010) Spokesman-Review.

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Spokane unites against Westboro’s message of hate
Kevin Graman, The Spokesman-Review

There’s nothing like an extremist hate group to bring out the best in
Spokane residents.

Hundreds arrived to counterprotest today and advocate for peace, love and
inclusion in the face of bigotry preached by Westboro Baptist Church, the
Topeka, Kan., organization that has gained national notoriety for its
brash denunciations of gays, soldiers, Jews, the United States, and
private and public colleges and schools.

About 600 people met eight Westboro pickets at Gonzaga University and
dominated a stunning October morning with a raucous yet respectful
demonstration of hugs and laughter, cheers and music.

Another 200 students staged a sit-in across campus, bringing a rainbow of
balloons.

Within an hour the activity spread to nearby Moody Bible Institute, along
East Indiana Avenue

Although Moody students were told by administrators to avoid the pickets,
about 300 people did their best to drown out the Westboro message.

To some the event was tragic.

“The fact that they have their children holding those kinds of messages –
at that age – is troubling,” said Adam Pospychala, at the Moody
counterdemonstration. “It leaves you wondering just what sort of life
those children are going to have. It’s sad.”

Westboro member Megan Phelps-Roper said that her family chose the Inland
Northwest because North Idaho College, in Coeur d’Alene, is presenting
“The Laramie Project,” a play about the aftermath of the murder of Matthew
Shepard, a gay college student, in 1998.

The Westboro members, all of them relatives of independent Baptist
church’s founder Fred Phelps, also picketed at Whitworth University,
Ferris High School and Eastern Washington University. The group plans to
picket at both Coeur d’Alene public high schools and at NIC on Friday.

Westboro pickets have gained national attention by shouting anti-Semitic
and anti-homosexual remarks and for carrying insulting signs at funerals
for victims of violent homophobia and U.S. military casualties of war.

“Sometimes you just can’t be quiet,” said Linda Kobe-Smith of the Logan
Neighborhood, who said she came to support Moody, who she said “has been a
good neighbor.”

After the picket at Moody, the Phelpses loaded their signs into a
gold-painted minivan and drove to Whitworth University.

Beck Taylor, Whitworth’s newly inaugurated president, said he doesn’t know
why Westboro members targeted the university, but said students and
faculty showed up in force to “celebrate our values and proclaim God’s
love.”

Nearby, at the intersection of North Waikiki Road and West Hawthorne Road,
a traveling band of counterprotesters were joined by Whitworth students,
including Nicole Conner, of Spokane, who said she “had too see it to
believe it.

“I’m surprised there is still that much ignorance in the world,” Conner
said of the Westboro group.

Ferris High School students were released from school before the Westboro
members arrived to avoid congestion from all of the protesters, said
Terren Roloff, Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman. Administrators also did
not want students to have to be exposed to the church’s hateful and
offensive messages as they left, she said.

Most of the high school students went straight home and did not
participate in the counterprotest, Roloff said. However about 400 people –
mostly university students – did show up to voice their disgust with the
church’s messages.

Westboro’s last stop was Chavurat HaMashiach, a Messianic Jewish
synagogue. About 150 counterprotesters gathered outside, but inside,
people ignored the noisy gathering. The synagogue held “Love of Israel
Night,” which included prayers, singing and dancing. Elders wanted the
night to be about “the things God loves,” not about protesting Westboro,
said Elder William Burnam. People of all faiths were invited to the
gathering.

“We’re not here to confront them,” said Elder Gary D’Angelo.
“Confrontation doesn’t do anything but cause more confrontation. In His
words, He says ‘overcome evil with good.’ ”

Several people donated $1 for every minute Westboro was outside. The
donations will go to Rescue Israel, an organization in Tel Aviv that aims
to reduce drug and alcohol abuse and homelessness.

Westboro was met by the largest crowd of counterprotesters at EWU, where
at least 1,000 people heckled the Phelpses and carried signs with messages
such as “Bigotry Is a Lifestyle Choice” and “I’m for Separation of Church
and Hate.”

Sandy Williams, coordinator at the EWU Pride Center, said the “celebration
of diversity and dance party for love” along Washington Street was an
appropriate “response to hate.”

At each stop, the Phelpses were greeted by the “Traveling Pride Festival,”
comprised largely of members of the Peace and Justice Action League of
Spokane and the Inland Northwest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Center.

“The Inland Northwest LGBT Center respectfully acknowledges Westboro
Baptist Church’s constitutional rights and wishes to thank them for
raising awareness within the Inland Northwest, bringing us together and
making us stronger,” said Carol Ehrhart, LGBT Center board president.

The traveling counterdemonstration was organized largely through the
Facebook skills of Taylor Malone, 21, an Eastern Washington University
student.

Malone said it was important show that “we are willing to unite as a
community with our different backgrounds and support all different
lifestyles.”

Doc Kinney, one of a dozen Combat Vet Riders from Spokane Valley, said he
came to the counterdemonstration at Gonzaga to show his displeasure with
Westboro’s tactics.

“All they want to do is tear down our country, not build it up,” Kinney said.

Kyle Richardson, 24, of Spokane, said, “I’m here to send the world a memo:
there is hatred in this town, but there is way more love.” Richardson is
with the Spokane AIDS Network.

On the GU campus, some students wanted none of the street-side theatrics
and staged a “sit-in for justice.”

Westboro Baptist recently defended its tactics before the U.S. Supreme
Court, but the high court has not yet issued a ruling in that case.
Shirley Phelps Roper, who represented Westboro before that court, was in
Spokane today.

Roper said her group targeted the educational institutions because they
teach “adultery, fornication and to worship idols.”Someone in the crowd
shouted at one of the Westboro pickets who was standing on the U.S. flag,
“Hey, that flag you’re standing on gives you the right to hold those
signs.”

Dozens of sheriff’s deputies, Spokane police, state patrol or Cheney
police were stationed at each event. Dozens of sheriff’s deputies, Spokane
police, state patrol and or Cheney police were stationed at the each
events. Spokane Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said SPD spent
$9,000 to $10,000 for overtime today. No citations were issued or arrests
made, she added.

PJALS founders Rusty and Nancy Nelson said they were pleased that Spokane
had grown so much on the issue of gay rights since the early 1990s when
their headquarters windows were blown out because of the organization’s
support for the cause.

“Now we’re in the mainstream,” Rusty Nelson said.

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If Spokane can, Moscow must.

Seeya at the NSA Candidates' Forum, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"The Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change
and the Realist adjusts his sails."

- Unknown