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Originally Posted by BrianFantana  The title of this thread is Christian Extremism: Good or Bad? But the OP doesn't really address the issue.
Obviously, Fred Phelps is a thorn in the side of everyone who respects individual rights. He is a power-hungry fascist with the intent of brainwashing his congregation against homosexuals and a number of other groups. In this sense, he is bad.
However, he also, like it or not, has a right to do this. I personally do not fell that someone who is outright declaring hate for another group based on prejudice and lies should be allowed to speak publicly. But, I must respect his right to do so under the Constitution. So, if this shows us anything, it is that the Freedoms of speech and expression are still alive and well, and in that roundabout sense, it's good.
I would personally like to see Phelps and his crew shipped off somewhere else, somewhere he's not free to speak. Perhaps a place where if he spoke so freely about the government he'd be shot. At least then he'd know how lucky he is to live in such a "fag-enabling" country. |
I try to hold a certain concept of thought in my life. Recently I sat down and read Dawkins book, The God Delusion. The most striking of statement in it being "Religious moderates make the world safe for fundamentalists, by promoting faith as a virtue and by enforcing an overly pious respect for religion." As such Christian Extremists fall very clear into this category. I dont believe that Phelps and his ilk should be allowed to express such treasonous and unpatriotic notions (totally aside from their already outlandish Faith aspects towards Gays, Judaica, or any other likewise group that doesnt fall under their halo) in the ways they do. So my question was, why let them?