Westboro Baptist Church: Turning a New Phrase
Remember back in the 80s and 90s when there was a series of postal workers committing mass murders at the post office? What came of those tragic events is the phrase going postal. It means to go crazy and have a melt down usually about something trivial. It is so widespread that it is in common usage. I like this phrase, I think it shows how we rise from sadness and learn to laugh. But I also like how it is use to bring a person back to reality when he or she is acting crazy and making others uncomfortable. Referring to someone as going postal draws his attention and forces him to see what he is doing to others. I think it is an effective way to get someone to stop and look critically at what he is doing. No one while in a rant likes to hear: Don’t go postal.
But the most commonly use of the phrase is one of humor. It is used to make fun of someone being silly. This I also like. It makes the idea of really going postal something of mockery. And says to the person, you are being that idiotic.
I think we need to take the westboro baptist church and create a phrase or phrases that we can use to draw attention to idiots around us so they can look at themselves critically, while making what the westboro baptist church (wbc) does a mockery. Like the anti-wbc protesters with their signs against the wbc, this will be another way for us to fight back against hatred and evil.
Hey dude stop volunteering for the westboro baptist church.
That’s the phrase, but we can mix it up some and have variations.
The general and broad definition of, Volunteering for the westboro baptist church, is: when a person acts contrary to the philosophy that he follows.
But how does one use it? We use it when people act similarly to members of the wbc.
The wbc is famous for their protest at funerals and at schools. But what is it that they are really doing: they are protesting at the wrong places. Look if you are going to be against homosexuals, don’t go to the local high school: there’s only a few there. Go to a gay bar. In every town that they have protested at a high school, there is a gay bar near by. Therefore, the wbc likes to direct their attention to the wrong place. So when you are out and about, or at work, and someone if directing their anger, frustration or complaint at the wrong place you can say: hey stop volunteering for the westboro baptist church.
The wbc also likes to protest and target teens. They say they are trying to influence the kids so that the kids return to God. But it is just verbal abuse and harassment. When you see someone yelling at a kid, or when you see kids being mean to each other, you say: hey, stop volunteering for the westboro baptist church.
If you go to the wbc website, something I do not suggest, you’ll find lots of information supporting their claim that God is a hater. All of their biblical quotes come from the Old Testament. With the exception of one from Paul—where Paul quotes the Old Testament. But this church is a Christian Church, not following the God of the Jews but the fulfillment of the God of the Jews in Jesus Christ. Their Bible is divided into two major sections, the Old Testament and the New. In the New Testament, we learn about God’s love in Jesus Christ: not only with the famous verse, “for God so loved the world,” but with Jesus’ actions. He loved, welcomed, partied with everyone. If you are a follower of Jesus, you can’t forget about the New Testament. But they only look at part of the Bible to support their ideology. So when you are at work, and your boss is only looking at one part of the problem, or only looking at one side of an issue, and discarding the others, you tell him: Dude stop going to Sunday school at the westboro baptist church.
The wbc members like to fly around the country. They spend something like 250,000 dollars a year on plane fares. But what would happen if they used that money to support shelters for battered women? Or a soup kitchen? What if instead of protesting every day, they went out and lived Jesus’ message of supporting and helping the poor by volunteering at non profits and food banks? All things come from God: which means their pay checks. So God gives them this money and they misuse it on plane fares instead of helping others. When you see someone doing something stupid with his money, tell him: Stop living by the westboro baptist budget guide.
The wbc members rejoice in the death of others. When reports come out about the number of soldiers who have died, they times that by 1,000 and ask God to take that many lives next. “Thank God for the nine deaths we are praying 9,000 more.” I can’t think of anything more against the life of Jesus than this. When you see someone rejoicing in the misfortune of others, or wishing harm turn and say: stop praying with the westboro baptist church.
The wbc members yell and rant a lot. Ff you get to close to them during a protest, they will yell at you with threats of suing. They do not take criticism well and retaliate with a protest and more yelling. When you are at work and your co-worker starts yelling and antagonizing you, you just turn to him and say: Hey, stop hanging out with the westboro baptist church.
In the most simplistic terms, Volunteering for the westboro baptist church means not sticking to your own principles. But by figuring how to use it, we can expand the meaning. These are just a few examples of how you can use this phrase. But don’t let that limit you! Jump on the phrase and use it. Soon every time we hear the name westboro baptist church will think someone is being made fun of or being castrated for being bad: we won’t think of idiots that don’t deserve our attention.
