Phelps group plans protest at Burk funeral
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By Jaime Lakin
Opelika-Auburn News Bureau Reporter
Published: March 7, 2008
Westboro Baptist Church, a group known for protesting and picketing funerals and memorials of fallen soldiers, is planning to picket at the Sunday afternoon funeral of 18-year-old Auburn freshman Lauren Burk, according to the group’s Web site. Burk was killed Tuesday night. Police are investigating her death as a murder.
Westboro Baptist Church, established in 1955, is an Kansas-based organization lead by Pastor Fred Phelps.
The group is also planning to picket the funeral of Eve Carson, UNC student body president who was killed Wednesday morning.
Both funerals are listed on the WBC site’s online picket schedule for Sunday.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( Rad Geek ) on March 08, 2008 at 3:21 am
Viwy,
The Phelpses have been down to Alabama before; they showed up to picket on behalf of Roy Moore (who promptly issued a press release repudiating any association with them), and one of the Phelps brothers sent a long letter to the Plainsman ranting about the feature story they’d run a couple weeks before on the Auburn Gay and Lesbian Association. Based on my past experience with them, I’m pretty sure I know what they’re thinking: that using this poor girl’s death as an occasion to court public hatred will get them and their websites mentioned in the news again. And they’re right; it will.
You know the saying “No publicity is bad publicity?” Well, the Phelpses actually believe it. If there were something even lower than the lowest of the low, they’d rush to be it, as long as it got their names in the paper.
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Posted by ( spridle728 ) on March 08, 2008 at 3:02 am
What on earth is this world coming to, to have a bunch of idiots go and protest at a slain girls funeral??
I hope there will be enough police in force to keep these poor excuse for human beings away from there.
What would posess someone to say such horrible things like, “Thank God for another dead college student - This one at Auburn University in Alabama.”
There is something terribly wrong with those people, and it’s a disgrace to call themselves a church organization.
To the Burk family
I am truly sorry for your loss, and the uncalled for pain that may endure because of these idiots that call themselves churchgoing people.
My heart goes out to everyone who knew her, and loved her.
War Eagle and God Bless!
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Posted by ( fthomp ) on March 08, 2008 at 2:50 am
If they hate America so much, why don’t they move out? There are plenty of other places to live on this Earth.
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Posted by ( Virgil Soule ) on March 08, 2008 at 2:02 am
Jesus said, “You shall love your neighbor as you would your own self.” If you look at the Westboro website, the word “love” does not appear - only the word “hate”. That’s their mind set.
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Posted by ( patd ) on March 08, 2008 at 12:51 am
As a former resident of both Kansas and Alabama, I’m appalled the Phelps menagerie will be at Ms Burk’s funeral. I hope there’s something that can be done to restrict them. Over the past 20 years, since I first encountered them in Topeka, they have become increasingly bizarre in their claims and behavior. They claim to be Baptist Christians but have never, to my knowledge, behaved in a Christian manner. I hope the people of Alabama are not “taken in” by these hypocritical fools.
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Posted by ( audw ) on March 08, 2008 at 12:05 am
These people are inbred attention whores.
They have posted the following on their website: “Thank God for another dead college student - This one at Auburn University in Alabama.”
These people are a declared hate group, and are routinely abuse freedom of speech. Their “hate speech” is harassing, defamatory, and likely to incite violence. Furthermore, they picket with obscene signs.
Yelling “Fire” in a crowded theater is a violation of free speech, and so are picketing demonstrations by the Phelps and their pseudo-church.
These people suck.
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Posted by ( Auburnrules2008 ) on March 08, 2008 at 12:00 am
I sure hope all O/A area residents gather and run this group of religous idiots out of town as fast as they come into town.....gather together O/A area, time to stand up for what is right and run these freaks out of town.
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Posted by ( Tennessean ) on March 07, 2008 at 8:16 pm
This short article fails to mention several key facts about the depravity of the WBC, including their designation as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. I don’t advocate violence against them...but I do hope enough people show up to form a shield between the WBC and the grieving.
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Posted by ( Vivvy ) on March 07, 2008 at 6:53 pm
My GOD! What are these morons thinking? What do they mean by picketing an already emotionally charged gathering of people who are hurting and suffering inside! What did Lauren Burk have to do with these ‘attention crazed’ psychopaths! These people are a mockery of Christianity, and I hope Lauren’s family have them removed---with police force!
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