The Controversial Westboro Baptist Church comes to Asheville

Westboro Baptist Church, the Topeka, Kansas based Independent Baptist church known for its extreme ideologies came to Asheville on June 12, 2012 to picket a course taught at The Cove.

First, let me give you some information about the church. The church is headed by Fred Phelps and consists primarily of members of his large family. In 2011, the church stated that it had about 40 members. The WBC is not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations.

The church is widely described as a hate group. They are strongly against homosexuality. Some of the church’s protest activities include picketing funerals of American servicemen, desecrating the American flag, picketing funerals of celebrities and public events that are likely to get it media attention. The WBC pickets funerals of American servicemen because their “attitude towards what’s happening with the war is that the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime.”  Phelps and his family picket approximately six locations every day. One of Westboro’s followers estimated that the church spends $250,000 a year on picketing!

Notice how young this kid is!

The church runs numerous web sites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com and others expressing condemnation of homosexuality. The group maintains that God hates gays above all other kinds of “sinners” and that homosexuality should be a capital crime.
WBC came to Asheville to picket a course taught at The Cove. The Cove is Billy Graham’s Christian training center. The course that the WBC is against is the Rapid Response Team Training course in which volunteers are trained to go into disaster-stricken areas to spread the word of God.  The WBC nicknamed the course, “How to effectively lie to people about God for money.” This is what was stated on WBC’s website: “Anyone with any sense would not walk, but run away from anything associated with Billy Graham. The truth of God is not in that place. Graham preaches the doctrine of satan.”

I decided to go to the picket to see what it was all about. There were about a dozen WBC protestors waving signs, playing music, singing and making statements accusing Billy Graham of putting profits before preaching the gospel. The protestors used boomboxes to play popular rock and pop tunes, with the words altered to suit their message. There were about 20 counter-protestors. Among the counter-protestors was Tuesday Feral, a self-described gay Christian, who told reporters that Westboro distorts the Bible. “They’re presenting a very inaccurate picture of what Christianity is,” she said. “Their message is, God hates this, and God hates that. God hates everything.”

My thoughts:

Seeing the WBC protestors made me sick to my stomach. It is sad to see and hear people that are so filled with hate. It seemed as if they had all been brainwashed. It is sad to see parents teach their children hate. I couldn’t imagine being gay and being at the protest right across from the protestors. It would be so hurtful. I am in total support of gay rights. I have friends who are gay. In my opinion, I believe that you are born gay and that you are not able to become straight. Embrace who you are.

I don’t understand protesting. Are you actually making a difference? Do you think this is the best use of your time?

Counter-protestors:

The other side wasn't all about love...

It should be illegal to serve pregnant women alcohol

The other day Kyle and I toured the Highland Brewing Company. We noticed a woman who obviously looked as though she were pregnant. And yes, she was drinking beer…every sample and had a pint. This disturbed us. She had to know about fetal alcohol syndrome, right? We also wondered if it was illegal to serve alcohol to pregnant women.

Here is some information about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome if you don’t know about it. Fetal alcohol syndrome is growth, mental and physical problems that may occur in a baby when a mother drinks alcohol during pregnancy. Alcohol use appears to be most harmful during the first three months of pregnancy; however, drinking alcohol any time during pregnancy can be harmful. A baby with fetal alcohol syndrome may experience poor growth, decreased muscle tone and poor coordination, heart defects, delayed development and problems in thinking, speech, movement, or social skills, and problems with the face.

I did some research and found that according to law, a bartender is unable to refuse to serve a certain group of people, unless there is a reason for them not to, such as drunkenness. What this means is that, legally, a pregnant woman would be able to bring up a lawsuit against a bar if they made the decision to refuse serving her alcohol, based on discrimination.  

I would not serve alcohol to a pregnant woman even if it would get me fired. The baby can’t speak for itself and alcohol has negative effects on unborn babies.

There is a lot of controversy. We give service to mothers who feed their obese children fast food and let them buy violent video games for their kids, so why deny service to pregnant women? Some may argue that it would essentially reduce pregnant women to second-class citizens because we are denying them the basic constitutional rights. They may say it is not the waitress’s call to make. It’s not her body. It’s not her baby.

Many of us assume that women know the effects of alcohol on their baby. Unfortunately, there are some who do not. If a bar knowingly serves a pregnant woman alcohol without informing her that alcohol may have a devastating affect on her unborn baby, a pregnant woman very well may have a good lawsuit on her hands.

What do you think? Should it be illegal to serve alcohol to pregnant women?