Westboro, The Media, and Kids in the Middle

What do you expect from a church that has a web site www.godhatesfags.com?

All photos were taken near the Hillel student center at the edge of the Mizzou campus.  Yes this is the same group that goes to the funerals of slain military personnel:




On the 2ed of October the Westboro Baptist Church brought their show to town for the second time.  They had a parade permit, duly granted by the City  of Columbia, to protest at four locations.   They started their evening off with a protest right outside of Hickman High just as it was dismissing, moved to the Hillel Jewish student center on the Mizzou campus where these pictures were taken, moved from there to Stephens College that was putting on a play about the late Matthew Shepard (the young man killed in Wyoming for being homosexual), and from there to congregation Beth Shalom where they were just in time to be seen by the families gathering for Friday night Shabbos services on the first night of Sukkot.

Is this exploitation of children, in these kinds of conditions, in violation to Missouri Child Protection Laws?

They are professional provocateurs who come with a selection of glossy signs complete with a carrying case.  The signs would change depending on the situation.  At the high school, knowing that many of the students were African American, they had signs proclaiming that God hates Obama.  At the two Jewish locations the emphasis was on God's hate for the Jews, Israel, and signs saying that the Jews killed Jesus.  Of course they had plenty of signs declaring God's hate for "fags"  which is their specialty.

Journalism students flocked to the demonstration site to take advantage of a news story that was at least interesting.

Counter protesters outnumbered the Westboro members by at least three to one although numbers fluctuated.

When I went to cover this to me the real story was the swarm of journalism students that descended on this event as part of their classroom studies, and the Westboro children.  I wondered if the Westboro adults knew what a huge favor they were doing for those journalism students who otherwise would be covering a zoning debate at the local city council meeting.  Did they know that the "stories" they were diligently relaying to convey their toxic views  would just end up in the grading stack of some MU prof?   Instead of manipulating and using the media this trip the tables were turned.  But, what about the children?


Children were repeatedly interviewed, scrutinized, and questioned.  Is this abusive?

What happens when you expose children to this kind of vitriol day after day?  How much school do these children miss to act as human shields for their parents who otherwise would be much more likely to be overwhelmed by disapproving crowds?  When I watched their faces and how they were reacting to the event it was clear that this was not a happy childhood event to be remembered fondly but something very different.  How damaging is it to expose children to this?  For one thing there is the constant talk of hate.  Then there is the issue of children being used to create a public spectacle.  When it was time to leave I watched he children as they almost ran back to the van leading their elders where they were quick to disappear out of the public eye into the privacy of the van.  What is it like to be put on display like this as a child? 

Here the group heads for their van with the press following still interviewing and snapping pictures on the fly. The young man in front had obviously had enough exposure for one day.  Had this kids been pulled out of school to participate in this travesty?

This young couple demonstrates that there are other things to do in the midst of hate and hurt.  A lesson for us all.