NOT IN OUR TOWN!

[loyalsister]

I'm very proud of this effort. Over 1,000 people have responded to the event on Facebook.

A family from Kansas that calls itself Westboro Baptist Church plans to protest during the funeral, said member Shirley Phelps-Roper.....

"Friends and supporters are organizing a gathering outside the church on the day of the funeral to show respect for the family. The so-called human wall — being organized by two groups through Facebook — calls for people to wear red and form a protective barrier around the funeral site, in part to shield the Wyatts from potential negative messages...

Sherry Wyatt, on her Facebook page, asks that friends not acknowledge the group's existence.

"I love the idea of the wall for Sterling," she said on the phone today. "That will address the issue of some ignorance and vileness that has been threatened to us. … I'm not going to waste any more breath on that."

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2012/jul/18/procession-planned-for-fallen-soldier-sterling/

[DCKit]

1. I'm going to have a big glass of scotch when Phred dies, then pray for Satan. nt

[jerseyjack]

2. Westboro came to our town.

Counter-protestors carried a sign, to the effect, We will give $$ to PFLAG for every minute Westboro protests in our town.

They didn't stay long.

[Ineeda]

3. Send donations in their name.

PFLAG or Planned Parenthood or whomever generally sends an acknowledgement/thank you note. That will grind their asses even more.

[loyalsister]

4. The family requested no signs

They don't want to politicize it. They only want to protect the funeral peacefully.

"They have been planning since we found out about the tragedy. As he said, this is for the family, it is not a protest."

https://www.facebook.com/events/460316447320687/

"Not in our town" is a non-confrontational community response we have adopted as a strategy based on a movement we adopted in reaction to a hate group in Billings MT.

http://www.niot.org/action-hub/local-lessons

When a NAZI group applied and received a permit for a parade here, the human rights commission got together quickly to create an event that would keep people away from it. It was essentially a BBQ\picnic with free food and music. We celebrated the diversity of our community. It was very well attended and only a few people stood back and observed the parade.

That group targeted our town because the university publishes a newspaper in Spanish. We quietly did as you suggested and raised money for the Southern Poverty Law Center.

According to the literature they have distributed, they are protesting "for their 1st Amendment rights, homosexuality and a myriad of "other sins." This young man was engaged to marry a woman, so I am not sure what advocacy organization this family would want to support.

Note: We have had time to coordinate this response because they had to apply for a permit, and they have coordinated with law enforcement to protect the red wall.