…and this is a 
This is going to be hilarious: Comic-con is next week in San Diego, and the professional attention whores at Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church are going to picket it.
The destruction of this nation is imminent — so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.
I don't know why they've chosen Comic-con; maybe it's because the attendees are mostly able to tell the difference between fantasy and reality, a grave sin to Phelps.
You know what would be really funny? Fred Phelps reading the Sunday funny pages. I can just imagine him fulminating with growing rage as he reads of that hedonistic heathen, Dagwood Bumstead, and he'd probably pop with apoplexy when he encountered that hussy, Mary Worth.
He might like Garfield, though.
Comments
Posted by: mommimus-prime
|
July 16, 2010 7:54 AM
When I first heard about this, I was very sad. The family is actually not making it to ComicCon this year and the disappointment at missing a chance to heckle Phelps was keen. And to watch 100,000 other people heckle him too. Does he have any idea just how many people there are there?
Posted by: Shplane, some shit in french
|
July 16, 2010 8:06 AM
I have a feeling he'd probably approve of Marmaduke as well. No real evidence on that, just a feeling.
Posted by: gussnarp
|
July 16, 2010 8:07 AM
This is hysterical. I'm not sure if he just has no idea what he's getting into, or is simply entirely immune to realizing he's being made a complete fool of. Probably both.
Posted by: Ed S
|
July 16, 2010 8:09 AM
This will just make ComicCon more popular than ever.
Posted by: The Other Ian
|
July 16, 2010 8:10 AM
"...see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry."
Fred Phelps is Rorschach!
Posted by: Abdul Alhazred
|
July 16, 2010 8:16 AM
God Hates Not Getting Enough Attention
;)
Posted by: hyperdeath
|
July 16, 2010 8:22 AM
I wouldn't be surprised if this is a publicity stunt (at least from Comic-con's point of view).
In the UK, a nutcase called Stephen Green (who goes under the name Christian Voice to give the impression that he has supporters) spends most of his time whingeing about pretty much everything.
In 2008, he managed to get a book signing cancelled, claiming that the work in question was "obscene and blasphemous". Predictably, the resulting media coverage gave the book far more publicity than the signing would have done, and sales rocketed. In retrospect, it is pretty obvious that Green was tipped off by the author himself (or his publishers), and was completely taken in.
I think that this is precisely what is happening with Phelps. The Venn diagram between fundamentalist religion and gullibility shows a very large intersection.
Posted by: slugsie
|
July 16, 2010 8:27 AM
The destruction of the nation is imminent? So, what, within a month maybe? Six?
Apocalypse or STFU!
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp
|
July 16, 2010 8:31 AM
Perfect.
Posted by: Alverant
|
July 16, 2010 8:37 AM
I read about this on the Syfy/Blastr news site. It was funny to read the comments of how Phelps wasn't a Real Christian (tm).
Posted by: Aquaria
|
July 16, 2010 8:39 AM
So when one arm of your hate machine starts becoming illegal (protesting soldiers' funerals), your bright idea to fill the void is...protesting comic books?
Why do I suspect they really didn't learn anything from their close encounter with Michael Moore and his Sodomobile?
Posted by: Mike in Ontario, NY
|
July 16, 2010 8:39 AM
@ slugsie: The difference here is that Comicon doesn't NEED any help from the Phelpseses to draw attendees. I'm positive that once the word gets around the comic blogosphere, there will be some very interesting and inventive blowback. I'm hoping that they take the "show 'em lots of skin" tactic. Too many Wonder Woman bustiers might blow the fundie's minds!
Posted by: airbagmoments
|
July 16, 2010 8:40 AM
Can someone please fill me in? Is the Westboro Baptist Church satirical performance art or not?
Seriously.
It has a very Andy Kaufman vibe to it.
Posted by: Alice Bluegown
|
July 16, 2010 8:41 AM
Batman and Superman? Pah! Everyone knows Grace & Thunder are gonna be the ones to sort everything out...
BTW, I'd love to introduce ol' Freddy to a cute little comic called 'Small Favors' - I've a feeling he'd really groove on it (assuming his head didn't explode)!
Posted by: Mike in Ontario, NY
|
July 16, 2010 8:42 AM
Ooops, my post should have been directed to Hyperdeath, not slugsie. More coffee, stat!
Posted by: drunkenachura.wordpress.com
|
July 16, 2010 8:43 AM
I say a bunch of us show up with signs that read "GOD HATES SIGNS"
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp
|
July 16, 2010 8:48 AM
My bet is on this sign making an appearance.
GOD HATES BATMAN AND ROBIN
Posted by: Galactus35
|
July 16, 2010 8:48 AM
In Thor we trust. Not only is he cooler than Jesus but he has that awesome hammer.
Posted by: Abdul Alhazred
|
July 16, 2010 8:53 AM
The WBC had a protest against sodomite Jews in front of the Paramount Building in Times Square about a year ago. There is a weekly (not so liberal) Jewish newspaper with offices in that building, and the New York Times is just around the corner.
According to someone who was there (you'll just have to take my word for it) :
A half dozen or so of them (surrounded by police) yelling waving signs in front of the military recruiter. That's where there is enough pavement to stand on in the middle without blocking traffic. Also right next to a big police station.
The normal crowds of thousands just going around them with no fuss.
And no press coverage.
Posted by: grudgedk
|
July 16, 2010 9:05 AM
In fact it's long overdue. By about 2000 years. "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom." - Matthew 16:28In fact "this nation", by which I assume he means the USA, shouldn't even have existed, if Jesus had been right!
Posted by: Ing: PhD Trollologist
|
July 16, 2010 9:07 AM
NO, what we need to do is have a bunch of people join in with Phelps protest with anti-mutant signs and signs protesting/agreeing with the superhuman registration act!
"NO MUTIES TEACHING MY KIDS"
"ITS CALLED *HUMAN* RIGHTS FOR A REASON"
"GOD HATES MUTANTS"
"GO BACK TO GENOSHA!"
Posted by: ButchKitties
|
July 16, 2010 9:09 AM
I think Phelps-a-thon is a pretty brilliant response. The WBC protest in Indianapolis raised $7,700 for local LGBT groups.
Posted by: PhilJo
|
July 16, 2010 9:19 AM
Not going to be there and regretting it.
This is going to be hilarious, the ultimate humourless fundies V's the people who get me through the morning with their wit until my coffee kicks in.
Looking forward to my daily comic fix in the aftermath of this event.
Posted by: Erulóra (formerly KOPD)
|
July 16, 2010 9:25 AM
Hey, Fred. Start calling on GodMan and SuperJew now, see if they can actually do anything.
Go ahead. I'll wait.
Posted by: Ing: PhD Trollologist
|
July 16, 2010 9:27 AM
Wait who's appearing at this one? Do we get any of the grade A bastards who might actually be happy to make a scene with Phelps?
"Warren Ellis screams at Fred Phelps" is a news article I want to see damn it!
Posted by: Aegis Linnear
|
July 16, 2010 9:29 AM
I hope someone there shows some screenings of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. That's a hell of an alternative to religion: sheer courage. XD
As far as signs go...maybe that demotivational that's floating around the Internet of Optimus Prime on a cross?
"OPTIMUS PRIME: Jesus couldn't turn into a fire engine."
Posted by: Canadian
|
July 16, 2010 9:30 AM
I want to see Phelps at porn conventions... I want to hear him justify that he's evangelizing, not enjoying the view.
Posted by: kanedeuce
|
July 16, 2010 9:30 AM
They are going to laugh their asses off at Phelps & Co. :-)
Posted by: 11zxcvb11
|
July 16, 2010 9:34 AM
"Batman and Superman"? If only Fred knew about Apollo and Midnighter from The Authority? (wink, wink!) I'm sure that as far as his knowledge of comics goes, he only knows about the vague insinuations and homoeroticism of Batman and Robin. The Authority would probably freak him out :)
Posted by: NoYourGod
|
July 16, 2010 9:39 AM
He won't like Garfield - Garfield's gluttony for lasagna will darn him to heck with the rest of us.
Which is perfectly, fine, as long as Garfield brings plenty of lasagna for the rest of us (and Nermal for use as a volleyball).
Posted by: AJ Milne OM
|
July 16, 2010 9:51 AM
It has been previously discussed that Fred Phelps is, in fact, the Poe to end all Poes. He is Poe personified. He is the uber-Poe*.
Whether he does, in fact, believe all this crazy, and just went completely bugfuck nuts at some point after he brought down the Jim Crow laws those many years ago, or he's secretly an unbelieving former civil rights lawyer who's been systematically abusing his children and running a virulently homophobic cult entirely to bring religion into disrepute for the past decade and change, I suspect, is a fact he will take to his grave. Granted, if he's the latter, it's one hell of an act. But suffice to say: whatever he is, unbelievers should probably thank him. He is among religion's worst enemies, intentionally or no.
(*/No, Poe in this usage does not mean he's some sorta meatspace Loki troll. Poe means: you really can't tell. He might be. He might not be. That's the very point of the law.)
Posted by: snurp
|
July 16, 2010 9:54 AM
Recommended cosplays for this year:
Batwoman
Renee Montoya (please?)
Rawhide Kid
Obsidian
Pied Piper
Northstar
Rictor and Shatterstar
Shrinking Violet and Lightning Lass
Any other suggestions?
Posted by: mistereveready
|
July 16, 2010 10:02 AM
Batman and Superman have a better track record for atrocities vs kind acts than Yaweh. Plus those comics have much more believable story lines.
I mean virgin birth? Really? At best it was jesus's mother being fucked hard screaming "O GOD!" and joseph thought she really was being visited.
I would much rather read the Scarlet Spider series or the Maxx than any passage out of the bible.
Posted by: moochava
|
July 16, 2010 10:05 AM
Good. Every moment these assholes are yelling at people who'll laugh off their message is a moment they're not attacking people who can actually be hurt by their insanity.
Also, someone should give a stump speech as Senator Kelly.
Posted by: Ubi Dubium
|
July 16, 2010 10:10 AM
No need to heckle. Lots of people should bring signs and join Fred in protesting. In costume. The best would be Fred surrounded by Borg holding signs saying "You will be Assimilated" and "Resistance is Futile".
One year WBC held a protest on Talk Like a Pirate Day. The Pastafarians in that area held a counter-protest and had a field day! The Pirates got all the media attention and the Phelps clan gave up and left. http://www.venganza.org/2008/09/a-proud-day/
Posted by: skullsinthestars.com
|
July 16, 2010 10:11 AM
The RiffTrax guys started a #riffpicket tag on Twitter a few days ago that ended up with lots of hilarious suggestions for counter-protest signs.
My favorite: "God hates me because I touch myself at night -- and I'm okay with that"
Posted by: MikeMa
|
July 16, 2010 10:21 AM
I think ol' Freddy has figured out that he can get nearly as much press from threatening as he can actually showing up. He was expected at Denver Pride a few weeks ago and bailed even though that was relatively local to his Tokeka horde. I have read of other instances where his asswipe band failed to show when expected.
I doubt seriously he'll go all the way to San Diego for comics. Plus he'd need new signs as I do not think there will be any soldiers buried at the convention center.
Posted by: draneor
|
July 16, 2010 10:25 AM
I hope they show up at an anime con sometime. That would be fun. Especially if I'm there to see it.
Posted by: PS9
|
July 16, 2010 10:35 AM
Of course Phelps would like Garfield, it's just like him: old, boring, outdated, stupid and not funny.
Phelps is probably the only moron who would dislike a Jack Chick comic because "it didn't go far enough".
.
Posted by: Balstrome
|
July 16, 2010 10:39 AM
Oh why, oh why was I not born in America land of the wonderfully weird shit. Sure Japanese Anime beats Disney Cartoons, but your religions are the funnests. Do you guys have a "Oscar" awards for the most crazy cult of the year ?
Posted by: PS9
|
July 16, 2010 10:41 AM
slugsie (#8) said: "The destruction of the nation is imminent? So, what, within a month maybe? Six? Apocalypse or STFU!"
Wouldn't it be great if there were a law like this? "Anyone who predicts the end of the world by a specific date must be euthanized if they are wrong."
That would certainly cut down on the 2012 nutbags.
.
Posted by: Forbidden Snowflake
|
July 16, 2010 11:01 AM
Pfft, the Westboro Baptist Church? They couldn't get the Landover Baptists?
Surrogate band.
Posted by: Forbidden Snowflake
|
July 16, 2010 11:05 AM
Anime con? Yaoi vey!Posted by: Manny Calavera
|
July 16, 2010 11:09 AM
Surely these folks could save a lot of time and money by simply telling us the things God DOESN'T hate.
Posted by: btthegeek
|
July 16, 2010 11:34 AM
See, I knew it. All of Pharyngula bow before me and worship at the altar of my Batman tattoo. I would have got Jesus, but i'm into heroes, not villains.
Posted by: Falyne, FCD
|
July 16, 2010 11:35 AM
Required reading for discussing Fred Fucking Phelps: Addicted to Hate
I'm preeeeeetty sure they're just saying this as a publicity stunt on Fred's part. They don't actually picket a lot of the places they say they're going to picket, they just enjoy the media kerfluffle the announcement itself gets.
On the OTHER hand, I kinda hope they do show up. The potential entertainment value is high. ~30 cultists vs. ~130,000 nerds? There's usually more people *waiting to cross the trolley tracks* at any given time than has ever lived in their whole compound. Add in the jokers who'll make an actual POINT of countering the crazy peeps, and they'll be drowned out easily.
Posted by: timrowledge, Ersatz Haderach
|
July 16, 2010 11:37 AM
Ooh, hope he doesn't catch on to Menage a TroisPosted by: greg95111
|
July 16, 2010 11:38 AM
Truth is, Freddie just want's to be there for the Twilight panel.
Posted by: btthegeek
|
July 16, 2010 11:40 AM
Please also note that Comic-con was SOLD OUT this year in March. Atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed!
Posted by: Hurin, Nattering Nabob of Negativism.
|
July 16, 2010 11:43 AM
Its because they reached the pinnacle of offensive and ostentatious attention whoring when they protested at the funerals of the Iraq war dead, but now people have gotten over that.
Phelps literally can't think of a more effective way to be an obnoxious self-aggrandizing boil on the ass of humanity, so now he is going for the post-modern novelty approach. Barring the occurrence of any other major disasters he can easily use, his protests will become more and more absurd and irrelevent, until eventually the whole entourage is protesting outside the Belagio in Vegas in with signs that say "God hates Elvis".
I hope the rage he feels at his coming obscurity never leaves him a moment's peace.
Posted by: Falyne, FCD
|
July 16, 2010 11:45 AM
More about one of the sons who escaped, and became an atheist:
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2703846
http://natephelps.com/
In all seriousness, I feel so sorry for the whole family (with the obvious and total exception of Fred himself). This is what sustained, unrelenting, and calculated mental and physical torture results in. The children (both Fred's grown children, and the kids who are children now) don't know anything else, they don't know what reality looks like. I hope for the fucker's death, for their sake, and I hope they can find a new, saner life afterwards.
Posted by: Roland Smith
|
July 16, 2010 11:45 AM
If Mr Phelps & Co really show up, a symbolic welcome is in order.
Rotten eggs and tomatoes might be a bit harsh, but a nice cream-filled cake delivered on a flat ballistic trajectory sounds about right. :-)
Posted by: Qwerty
|
July 16, 2010 11:47 AM
Fred also might approve of Chick tracts.
Posted by: Owlmirror
|
July 16, 2010 12:40 PM
Phelps sign:
Fixed it for them.
(Rom. 9:13 -- "...but Esau have I hated")
(Gen. 25:25 -- "And the first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.")
Posted by: Owlmirror
|
July 16, 2010 12:45 PM
Or:
(Gen 25:27 -- "...and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field...")
Posted by: Rev. BigDumbChimp
|
July 16, 2010 12:48 PM
While I understand this is a joke, the absolute worse thing you can do when Fred Phelps' merry band of fuckheads shows up is confront them in anything more than carrying signs and possibly shouting.
They THRIVE on lawsuits. That's how they make their money. In fact it's not really much of a stretch to suggest that the only reason they stage these protests is to generate lawsuits.
Posted by: stvs
|
July 16, 2010 1:02 PM
he'd probably pop with apoplexy when he encountered that hussy, Mary Worth.
The offending strip:
Posted by: https://me.yahoo.com/a/hT_dFJpmysde.LpBTmVQlLu31WHN#3135b
|
July 16, 2010 1:19 PM
Phelps is so closeted it's hilarious. He just wants to see men in tight-fitted costumes.
Posted by: Rey Fox, Bird Caller Guy
|
July 16, 2010 1:26 PM
Phelps vs. 4Chan might be interesting to see. Or has that already happened?
Posted by: Gregory Greenwood
|
July 16, 2010 1:30 PM
Like it has supposedly been 'imminent' every year for centuries...
You see, these characters are fictional. Most comic fans understand that fiction and reality are seperate, unlike most xians.
I suppose this clown would rather people called on jebus to save them, what with the fantastic track record of success that has.
Why on earth he thinks that invoking a two millenia old Jewish zombie is the height of rationality, but enjoying comic books as entertainment is evil, is beyond me.
I think he means the mess that he and his xian ilk created by basing their lives and, at times, national policy on a book of ancient, bigoted fairy tales.
Posted by: Abdul Alhazred
|
July 16, 2010 1:46 PM
http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee122/Liara-Shadowsong/pink-K.jpg
Posted by: jdhuey
|
July 16, 2010 1:53 PM
Why did they choose ComicCon? Obviously, they wanted to do some vacationing in San Diego. Demonstrations in the morning then to Sea Port Village for souvenirs and then to the Gas Lamp district for lunch followed by a walk on the Embarcadero. Then SeaWorld.
Posted by: James F
|
July 16, 2010 2:31 PM
I really, really hope they hit Dragon*Con too. If only for the inevitable photo op with Buddy Jesus.
Posted by: smithichie
|
July 16, 2010 3:09 PM
Phelps and his ilk are nothing more than attention whores. Protesting the funerals of fallen soldiers has become old news that rarely gets them the media coverage they so crave. So they search for the next big thing that will get them that coverage, I guess it's comics now. Remember when they threatened to protest the funerals of those Amish children killed in that school shooting? All it took to get them to back down was an hour of free media coverage, but in doing so they showed their true colors, that of attention whores. The protest isn't important to them, it's the attention.
Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline.
|
July 16, 2010 3:41 PM
Well, I wouldn't mind terribly if we could see more of Phelps Without Phelps.
Posted by: morriganscrow
|
July 16, 2010 3:48 PM
Phelps is, by any definition, vile.
Michael Moore, on the other hand, with his Sodomobile and Gay Warriors, is my hero.
Posted by: TimKO,,.,,
|
July 16, 2010 3:53 PM
It's just marketing. Phelps recognizes a large gathering. The reasons for picketing the event are secondary to the size of his audience. (Like any traditional self-promoting snake-oiler). If only a handful of people purchase his product, he'll call it a success and his trip will be profitable.
Posted by: Birger Johansson
|
July 16, 2010 4:26 PM
Mike @ 12 "Too many Wonder Woman bustiers might blow the fundie's minds!"
I was thinking the superhero woman from "Top Ten", the one using body paint instead of clothes.
Phelps has his world-view built around opposing gays and other ungodly minorties. Call the local gay community and ask them to re-enact Apollo and Midnighter's wedding, leather superhero gear and everything.
-Is there any chance Comic-con might get Ralph König from Germany to attend? He has written several graphic novels, such as Lysistrate, with gay themes. Having König fans mobbing the Westboro baptist church crowd wearing the costumes of the books would be uber-hilarious.
Posted by: squillo.myopenid.com
|
July 16, 2010 4:37 PM
When WBC showed up in SF (to protest Twitter--Jeebus knows why)the counter-protesters with the absurd signs got more media attention.
WBC subsequently canceled the protest scheduled for later that evening and slithered out of our godless town.
The signs were pretty good, too.
Posted by: dtm
|
July 16, 2010 4:44 PM
One word if you're attending Comic-con: don't underestimate Phelps. His primary goal may be staging the world's most overdone Granpa Simpson impression, but his secondary goal is to get you to do something you can get sued for.
Like punch a protester, or shove them onto the street, or indecently expose yourself to a kid. (They'll bring young children with them to protest too)
Then, he and his lawyers will sue you. In doing this, you'll be helping Phelps pay back the huge judgement he lost for some of his clan's funeral protests. See http://kanewj.com/wbc/
Posted by: glenister_m
|
July 16, 2010 5:11 PM
I still loved that video of an Australian tv station that went to cover one of the WBC protests.
The interviewer started interviewing Fred, then started coming on to him, and he freaked.
Posted by: Quagmire
|
July 16, 2010 5:29 PM
Actually Dagwood/Blondie is written by a conservative nutjob, so Phelps probably likes that one.
Posted by: Venger
|
July 16, 2010 6:05 PM
I'll have to see if I can get them on video, assuming anyone can find so small a group amidst the hordes of twidiots who will show up. Last year they were camping days in advance of the con to secure early spots in line, much to the annoyance of anyone who actually wanted to see things in Hall H that morning before the main twidiot event.
But apparently they sold 20,000 less tickets this year, it'll be interesting to see if anyone notices.
Posted by: Sioux Laris
|
July 16, 2010 7:24 PM
It's with a sort of weird, sick-to-the-stomach "admiration" that anything the Phelps' cult does is impossible for anyone else (so far) to effectively satirize. EVEN in this case, which sort of sounded unintentionally funny for the briefest period.
I mean, that amazes me!
I commented about Dick Cheney's upcoming, last-ditch heart operation somewhere else, mentioning that I could take no pleasure in his suffering and probable death (and that his survival and arrest would be a much better course of events, for the world AND Dick C.) Yet the death of Fred Phelps and the dissolution of his un-insult-able cult would likely be the rare case that I might feel a sense of relieved "well, that's done, finally."
He's as bad as anyone can be without being rightfully removed from civil society.
Posted by: Thunderbird 5
|
July 16, 2010 8:05 PM
@Snerp (32)
Omaha the Cat Dancer. Way back in the old pre-internets, pre-yiffporn days, this was as racy as comics got. My BF liked it but me being queen miseryguts, I much prefered American Splendour.
And Viz.
Maybe they can get someone dressed as Buster Gonad (of Unfeasably Large Testicles fame) to wheel 'em round in a barrow in front of Shirley.
Posted by: Thunderbird 5
|
July 16, 2010 8:09 PM
http://chalkhills.org/images/non/BagsOfFun.jpg
That's a link to a pic of Buster - I dunno how to get the image to actually appear here so maybe someone could sort that out? Ta.
Posted by: csue-n-moo
|
July 16, 2010 9:44 PM
Can we get a mob to dress up as Pfirsich Rommel from The Desert Peach? :>
Posted by: ButchKitties
|
July 17, 2010 6:04 PM
WWBD?
Posted by: Gore
|
July 18, 2010 8:21 PM
"I'm sure that as far as his knowledge of comics goes, he only knows about the vague insinuations and homoeroticism of Batman and Robin. The Authority would probably freak him out :)"
Dude, I'm pretty sure Freddy would have a massive anuerism and collapse dead on the Convention floor. Thus bringing an end to the pathetic life of a professional troll.
Posted by: hznfrst
|
July 19, 2010 11:57 AM
Rev. Not-So-Dumb Chimp #56, I think you've nailed it. The very convincing article linked above describes the Phelps clan as a gang of bottom-feeding lawyers whose sole purpose is to offend people to the point where they cross a legal line so they can be sued. And that's what they do!
Posted by: hznfrst
|
July 19, 2010 7:50 PM
WBC: Westboro Batshit Crazies
Posted by: https://www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawmUT8h7Qn2Wm6gC_iYiNIE4v2xA_y60FY4
|
July 19, 2010 9:41 PM
I just donated to Phelps-a-Thon in counter-protest:
http://phelps-a-thon.com/sdcc.html
Funds raised will go to the CBLDF and the Hero Initiative.