You’ve Got To Be Taught Carefully

“God hates….” Basically, if you listen to Reverend Fred Phelps, God hates anyone and everyone who isn’t a member of the minister’s extended-family Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) congregation.

Hate, not love, is exalted on WBC’s website at www.godhatesfags.com, which describes its techniques, and proudly proclaims, “We display large, colorful signs containing Bible words and sentiments, including: GOD HATES FAGS, FAGS HATE GOD, AIDS CURES FAGS, THANK GOD FOR AIDS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, GOD IS NOT MOCKED, FAGS ARE NATURE FREAKS, GOD GAVE FAGS UP, NO SPECIAL LAWS FOR FAGS, FAGS DOOM NATIONS, THANK GOD FOR DEAD SOLDIERS, FAG TROOPS, GOD BLEW UP THE TROOPS, GOD HATES AMERICA, AMERICA IS DOOMED, THE WORLD IS DOOMED, etc.”

According to the website, “WBC has conducted 43,767 such demonstrations since June 1991.”

One of the latest WBC strikes was aimed at Lady Gaga and her recent St. Louis concert, billed as Monsterball. Phelps dubbed her avid followers “little monsters.” Aware that the WBC hate collective was gathering, the Lady kept her cool.

Hoping to avert any open confrontations or escalation of hate and violence, Gaga spoke to her fans through her website beforehand: “At the risk of drawing attention to a hateful organization, I would like to make my little monster fans aware of a protest being held outside the Monsterball in St. Louis tonight. Although we have had protesters before, as well as fundamentalists at the show, this group of protesters are hate criminals, and preach using lude [sic] and violent language and imagery that I wish I protect you all from.”

Calling Phelps’s group “violent and dangerous,” and urging fans not to engage it in conversation, Gaga stressed, “My request to all little monsters and public authorities is to pay these hate criminals no mind. Although I respect and do not judge anyone for their personal views on any politics or religion, this group in particular, to me, is violent and dangerous.”

Monsterball ran in its entirety without interruption, and following the concert, Gaga remarked, “I wanted to make my fans aware of my views on how to approach, or rather not approach, these kinds of hate activists.

Then, Gaga tweeted her little monsters, “Love and hate met in St. Louis. And love outnumbered the hate, in poetic thousands. Hate left. But love stayed. + Together, we sang.”

Hats off to Lady Gaga and a Monster class act!