Resist hate

Phelps should be confronted peacefully

Last week, Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. announced his plans to protest the University's gay-friendly policies, as well as Gay Pride Week, which falls around his Feb. 16 visit.

Phelps, who is not affiliated with any mainstream church, is adamantly and intolerantly opposed to homosexuals, claiming that they will burn in hell and ruin the moral character of the nation. He has gone too far in his Kansas-based, "God Hates Fags" campaign, often picketing at the funerals of homosexuals with signs that read, "Fags Die, God Laughs," "Sin and Shame, Not Pride," "No Special Laws for Fags" and "AIDS Cures Fags." His website offensively contains a picture of Matthew Shepard, a University of Wyoming student who was beaten and killed because of his homosexuality, surrounded by flames, as if burning in hell. The site also contains a list of fraudulent statistics about homosexuals, claiming that they "live filthy, unhealthy, dangerous, unhappy and in many cases, violent lives," that they prey on children and should not be a protected class of people because they do not experience discrimination.

The University community must make it clear that his intolerant rhetoric is not welcome in Ann Arbor. Even the evangelical Campus Crusade for Christ finds Phelps' means hateful and misleading. Conservative and liberal groups should join together to oppose his presence on campus, especially during Gay Pride Week. Opposition to Phelps should come not only from lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and trans-gendered supporters, but also from those who may be opposed to homosexuality but still agree that homosexuals are human beings and shouldn't be treated in the degrading manner espoused by Phelps.

The reaction to Phelps' presence must be strong, but not directly confrontational or militant. Phelps expects that, like almost all of his protests, there will be militant opposition from equal rights advocates and it is essential that the University and Ann Arbor communities do not resort to hate-filled tactics like those of Phelps himself. In 1998, when the Klu Klux Klan held a rally in Ann Arbor, the intolerance of the Klan was violently overshadowed by opposition groups. It is crucial that groups opposing Phelps' message do so peacefully without directly addressing him. He is not worth the time of day. Phelps and his supporters will undoubtedly try to antagonize LGBT supporters to spark a violent reaction and it is imperative that Phelps' attempts are ignored and offset by a passive presence, not an aggressive protest. The University community must rally behind the LGBT community during the entire week by attending their programs, supporting their cause and most importantly, peacefully opposing Phelps.