Westboro Church to Descend on Key West

Earlier in the year the boyfriend took me to Key West - I had never been before - and I found it to be not only physically beautiful but also a place that in many ways lives up to it's motto of "One Human Family" through its tolerance of others and welcome mat for all. I was pleasantly surprised how gay and straight residents and visitors intermingled and all respectfully got along at places like the Bourbon Street Pub and La Te Da. However, Fred Phelps and his hate-filled followers might justify rolling up the welcome mat at least on this occasion. It seems the cryptkeeper as Pam Spauding calls him plans to demonstrate un-Christian hate at several locations around Key West, including at Key West High School and B'nai Zion Synagogue . If Phelps and his followers are examples what it is to be Christian, then paganism and non-Christian faiths have much to recommend them on that basis alone. Here are highlights of what KeysNet is reporting:

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Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas are bringing their unique blend of apocalyptic, homosexual-hating religion to the Southernmost City on May 22 for several planned demonstrations. But in a community whose motto is One Human Family, they're hardly being welcomed.

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Fred Phelps founded the church, which isn't recognized by mainstream Baptist organizations and is monitored as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League, in 1955; since then, the congregation has grown to around 70, the overwhelming majority of whom are related to Phelps.

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At Key West High School, Roper-Phelps and her supporters are targeting the student Gay/Straight Alliance. "The curse of god has unfolded right in front of our eyes and that's making these young people absolutely good for nothing," she says. "They have no thoughts of God. Their destruction is on top of them and they don't see it coming. Worthless. Absolutely worthless, that's what the young people are."

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Asked about the slogan "One Human Family," which is intended to imply universal respect for folks with different lifestyles, Roper-Phelps unloaded. "I think that that is a doctrine of Satan. One group at Key West High School is planning a "Phelps-a-Thon," asking people to pledge money for every minute that Phelps is at the school. The money would be donated to the school's Gay/Straight Alliance.

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From a brief Google search, I located this link to the Key West "Phelps-a-Thon" if readers are interested in making a pledge.