This Is The Only Rational Thing To Do When A Hateful Jerk With A Sign Shows Up On Your Street

[DainBramaged]

http://www.upworthy.com/this-is-the-only-rational-thing-to-do-when-a-hateful-jerk-with-a-sign-shows-up-o?c=bl3

[Thinkingabout]

1. How long did the man stay when the second one showed up

[marble falls]

2. What's really important is that he showed up.

[petronius]

47. Yep. The fact that it's hilarious is just a bonus...

[marble falls]

49. I hope I have what it takes to get there if the time comes. And I hope its funny.

[klook]

3. Beautiful. (n/t)

[Paladin]

4. K&R. We need to see more of this sort of thing. (nt)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. God hates figs: Mark 11: 12-14

[RILib]

19. I had to look this up

The poor fig tree! How unChristian of God.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

24. Heh heh! :) n/t

[Cassidy]

6. Humor is preferable to threats

I empathize with the frustration, but by responding with anger and hatred, we play right into their hands, in spite of how legitimate our anger and frustration is.

Humor is a much better way to respond. For example, when a woman, presumably associated with the same hate group, showed up in Syracuse, NY, with a sign that read, "Homosexuality is a sin, Christ can set you free." A young man countered with a sign that said, "Corduroy skirts are a sin." (see photo in link below)

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/11/30/god-hates-corduroy-skirts

His humorous response made the point without vulgarity, without threats of violence, and it got a great deal of publicity at the time (safe for work, safe for kids, etc.).

[Sheepshank]

9. "Fuck" in this case had a secondary meaning

....the irony of which I found pretty humorous.

[rhett o rick]

50. Yes, ironic. nm

[datasuspect]

13. thank you for your concern

[DainBramaged]

14. Thanks for the advice!!!!

I think FUCK is proper in this instance....

[Paladin]

15. Lighten The Fuck Up (that's a suggestion, not a threat). (nt)

[Cassidy]

57. You may intend it as a "suggestion,"

But the language you use is, by its nature, threatening. Is not sharing your sense of humor a crime worthy of verbal attack?

[defacto7]

25. Whatever works!

It's a good tactic.

[Hekate]

28. The accompanying story is great! His sign drew many more in solidarity.

Whatever works against the hateful nutjobs, I say.

But good luck trying to get DUers to abstain from the F-word.

[SomethingFishy]

32. What threat?

The fact that you see this guy as a threat says more about you then it does about him.

[Cassidy]

55. Tell me more about how I should feel and how I should respond to things

Wow. Maybe you are right. I am female. I have been raped. Yes, I am sensitive to implied sexual assault. That is the world I live in. And in that world, rape - what is implied when someone says "f*** you" - is never funny. Sorry I am so lacking your type of humor. Thanks for mansplaining for me.

[Treem]

56. Oh please.

What happened to you is awful. It also has fuckall to do with some guy trolling a fundie with a "fuck this guy" sign. Semantics and all. If it bothers you this much, you are probably not highly functional in our culture and probably need some counseling.

[Cassidy]

59. Wow, again.

What is the point of your ad hominem? My initial point was that there may be other ways of responding to hate groups. I am surprised at how I am being so hatefully attacked for simply offering an alternative. My life experience has to do with how I respond to things. Is that not the same for everyone? I do not like it when others tell me how to feel about things, do you?

[SomethingFishy]

65. I am sorry for what happened to you

had you included the information in your original post then I would have already known why, what you said about his sign, said more about you than him, and I certainly can understand your position now. I apologize for any misunderstanding. Please know that there was no animosity on my part, just a different perspective.

[BlueStreak]

41. Actually, I thought that was a great use of humor

[SamReynolds]

44. I found it hilarious!

Rife with humor, in fact!

[Cha]

52. Oh, the OP is quite humorous. n/m

[AtheistCrusader]

7. I should make up a couple of those counter-protest signs and keep them in my car.

[mountain grammy]

8. What a great idea!

[rhett o rick]

51. Never know when a "fuck this guy" sign will come in handy. nm

[titanicdave]

10. Fantastic

Those lower class twits from that so called "church" need this kind of treatment all the time every time......Westboro Baptist Church is not a church that the vast majority of people can associate with and support.....I love that young man's courage and the sign is just fantastic....... love it love it love it

[2naSalit]

18. ...and "calling" themselves a "church"

also allows them to evade taxes...

[Roy Rolling]

11. LOL

I literally have tears in my eyes from the picture and the comments. Great way to start the week in a high note.

[siligut]

12. I do like the little graphic on the sin sign

Nice artistry for a hateful, stupid message.

[defacto7]

26. That's his hidden sin!!!!

His fetish. He's trying to tamp down his need for gay love, but making and carrying those little graphics is a subconscious turn on. He gets off on it.

[siligut]

27. DU doesn't like it when we infer anti-gay sentiment as a reaction formation

But damn, that is a cute little sign he made.

[defacto7]

42. Did I do that?

Maybe I should have added the sarcasm thingy. But your next post seems to get my point. Oh well, now it's not a joke anymore and we all tiptoe a little lighter as we tread DU. The last thing I am is anti-gay... believe me!

[siligut]

43. I know you aren't anti-gay

What I meant is that implying that the reason someone is anti-gay is because they are in the closet tends to irritate some people on DU. I used to know why, but now I don't remember. Maybe someone will remind me.

[defacto7]

54. Ooops...

I didn't think about that being a problem. No offence to anyone intended. Thanks for the heads up in case.

[sibelian]

63. It can be seen as a way avoiding any discussion of heterosexuals being homophobic.

Not that there ever IS any discussion of why heterosexuals can be homophobic. I've been living among heterosexuals all my life. The vast majority of them are either very happy with me or totally uninterested in me. Every so often there's one that isn't.

One day I'd like to sit one of them down and say:

"Okay. I'd really like to know. What your ACTUAL beef with me? Every time you talk about it seems to be something different about me that you don't like."

[siligut]

64. Thank you, this is a very good reason

Your reason removes pat excuses for bad behavior and keeps the discussion open and as a firm believer in communication therapy I will certainly remember this time.

I do want to say that there is a good deal of evidence that fearful people just don't like people who are different from them. This is what you seem to be describing. A person who can't really pinpoint why they are uncomfortable with you may not actually recognize that they are a xenophobe.

That said, kudos for being an unofficial ambassador for gay people. People tend to like people who seek to be liked.

[siligut]

29. Maybe this is his punishment for his gay desires

Like the guy who didn't pay child support and has to wear a sign. But this guy just has to hold one up. So he made it enjoyable.

[SunSeeker]

17. K&R

[LTR]

20. Should've been "I'm with stupid <-----"

[xtraxritical]

22. You mean "I'm NOT with stupid".

[talkingmime]

21. That's what I would do. And what's up with the graphic on the "FAG SIN" sign?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

30. "And what's up with the graphic on the "FAG SIN" sign?"

The guy's piddler when he made it.

[olddots]

23. humoring dosen't help someone that insane

these westboro people have a death wish and hope to get attention for their insane cause.

[Kelvin Mace]

31. Actually, the better response would be Shakespeare

"Methinks he doth protest too much!"

[TommyCelt]

33. Oh I disagree

The offending sign was short, nasty, and direct...IMO, the counter called for the same.

[Kelvin Mace]

35. True, but my response

Is more "bystander" friendly. If we are trying to get people on our side, we cannot fall to the opposition's level. Regardless of what you or I may think of "profanity", some people are offended by it, and the do NOT appreciate it out where their kids can see it .

Also, my response is more likely to rile up the hateful asshats from WBC, especially since we have seen it turn out to be true many, many times.

Show me a person who is virulently anti-gay and I will show you a self-loathing gay person.

[TommyCelt]

38. I guess I can see that...

About the profanity, anyway. I've 2 boys under 16 myself.

The thing is...outside of the WB church members (all 120 or so of them), you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who was NOT against them. When a hate group like the KKK feels obligated to put out a press release to distance themselves from any connection with the virulent WBC, that's pretty damned fringe.

[Moostache]

34. AMEN!!!

That would be a PERFECT rejoinder to the fools who parade around like that with their hate signs.

What I can't understand is where are all the "legitimate" Christians demanding that he stop using those signs and hijacking their religion? Why aren't THEY standing up and defaming the misuse of the message of Christ? Couldn't possibly be that they are much like the Muslims who likewise do not condemn their own crazies?

[Kelvin Mace]

36. Oh, they would condemn them in a heartbeat

they just won't make an actual effort to do so that involves standing for something.

Just my opinion...

[TlalocW]

37. *ahem* Not to toot my own horn...

But I'm going to toot my own horn.

http://colddaypontooning.blogspot.com/2007/04/fun-with-fred-phelps.html

TlalocW

[juxtaposed]

39. Same thoughts

I took this shot during the RNC in Tampa

[BlueStreak]

40. I'm not even gay and I wish I could have been this guy. :)

[Lionessa]

46. Mine would've said...

Honk if you hate bigots like him <----------

[shenmue]

48. Yay!

Peace through being funny. Awesome!

[zeeland]

53. K&R n/t

[opiate69]

58. Kevin Smith vs Westboro...

Funny stuff.. kinda long, I think he really gets into it around the 25 minute mark...
http://m.

[lonestarnot]

60. LMAO. Dude needs a sign for the other side, "And the horse he rode in on."

[Kennah]

61. I grew up on the cusp of the South, so my sign pointed at them would have read, "Fuck Y'all!"

[Rhiannon12866]

62. K&R! This is hilarious!