Hate is a four letter word...so is Hell

Fred Phelps died yesterday. If you are reading this some day far in the future and you don't know or care about who he is or was, that's okay. He probably got a lot more attention while he was alive than he could ever earn in 10 lifetimes. His "church" and I use that term with sarcasm and skepticism, was responsible for more hatred and bigotry in the name of God than any other in our lifetime. Westboro Baptist Church picketed funerals and Gay Pride Parades. They tormented the families of dead soldiers and ostracized, shamed and humiliated multiple groups of people. They famously held signs proclaiming that "God Hates Fags" and told the grieving families attending the burials of service members that they were glad that person had died. They twisted and manipulated Bible passages to suite their sadistic ends and likely drove many to depression, suicide or perhaps beyond. During his lifetime, Fred Phelps espoused so much vitriol, violence and filth that my stomach clenches whenever I hear the name "Westboro Baptist Church".

He's dead. He died yesterday at the age of 84, much older than many of the soldiers whose funerals he picketed. Much older than many of the LGBT individuals who his followers harrassed on a daily basis. He is dead and people are reacting. I've seen expressions of pity, forgiveness, elation, rage and a whole lot of judgement. Even now, people of every shape and size are condemning the man to hell. If anyone every deserved damnation, they write, it is Fred Phelps.

Don't get your signs ready just yet

I expected this kind of thing to happen. I knew people would have mixed feelings. Make no mistake, I'm not upset he died. I didn't know the man. I'm not taking his side. I don't think the world is any worse off now that he is passed. I also don't think, as one commenter suggested, that the world is a little less hateful. It seems that all I have seen is an outpouring of hatred for this man. What is interesting to me is that this chorus of individuals (much like the Munchkins in Oz) are metaphorically foaming at the mouth to protest his funeral. I guarantee you that somewhere right now, some righteously angry person is busy shaping the exact verbage of their signs. I think we are going to see a very interesting demographic at that post-funeral party too. 

The death of someone famous always brings out two camps. We saw it when Amy Winehouse died, when Heath Ledger died and so on. There always seems to a wave of people willing to rip the deceased to shreds. There's also a more conciliatory group who just hopes that the world will move on. I guess that's my camp. I don't blame people for having some sense of relief at his passing. I expected and didn't bat an eyelash at the comments of 'good riddance' or 'I'm glad he's dead'. I was most pleasantly surprised by my LGBT friends. I didn't see a single hate-filled status or judgmental 'burn in hell' condemnation from any of my friends who are arguably the group most insulted by WBC. Mostly, I've seen expressions of pity, forgiveness and hope for his soul. 

But so so many people are saying 'Let's picket his funeral' or ' I hate him he deserves to burn in hell'. So let me just address the first. Ummm.....didn't anyone ever tell you two wrongs don't make a right? Or how about 'an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind'? If even a single person goes to that funeral with a sign spewing hatred, they will have singelhandedly vindicated every gay bashing, soldier hating, funeral picketing movement by that Church. Because if you have a right to do it, you darn well better believe they're going to keep on keeping on. And to the second point, I must have missed the vote for the "Judge, Jury and Executioner" position. Everyone has a right to his or her opinion, sure. But as heinous, disgusting and puke-worthy I find his speech, I don't hate him or hope he burns in hell. 

4 Letter Words

You heard me right, I don't wish him to burn in hell forever. My dearest hope is that he goes to heaven and sees all the people he condemned to hell there. I hope he spends eternity seeing how very wrong her was. In truth, I don't want to see anyone in hell. I wish hell didn't have to exist. I wish people weren't so bad that the rest of us felt they needed eternal punishment. Truthfully, I think Fred Phelps must have been a very miserable man. How hollow he must have been to need to fill that gaping hole with the suffering of other people. He filled his life with anger, bitterness and judgement. I pity him. I can't imagine holding on to all of that rage for 84 years. I can't imagine what kind of life he must have lived to imbue him with that much negativity. I think he is probably better off now that he is dead, the rest of the world notwithstanding. 

I don't want to see so many people so angry. I don't want to see so many people filled with hate for a man who is long gone now. I think now is the perfect time to begin healing. I would love to see signs at his funeral with "I forgive you" written in rainbows and glitter. I believe that regardless of where Fred Phelps is, he cannot hurt anyone again. Hell is a 4 letter word. So is hate. But then again so is LOVE. The truth is that we will never win against the Fred Phelps's of the world with hate. As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said ' Darkness cannot drive our darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that'. 

I think of things differently now that I am a mother. I think about the world my children will inherit. For a moment today, it looked pretty bleak. Seeing an outpouring of hatred for any reason, even as valid as you might feel his death was, is not exactly streets of gold. I wish we didn't have a world where human beings could tear one another apart like Phelps and his church. I wish men did not twist God and his word to hurt others. Mostly, I wish there wasn't so much hatred. I am sure this anger will die down. In a few days, we will move on. People will begin to get over his death and find another topic to pontificate on. When my children get older, there will be a new villain. He will die and the world will again rejoice. But perhaps, our children will change the world. Maybe they'll fill it with so much love that the villain will have no room to grow and like a weed that needs sun a water, it will find no nourishment. Hatred needs hatred to grow. I'm not naive. I know evil will always exist. But perhaps...if we stop feeding it, it will have to work harder. Perhaps...we can keep it at bay.