Fred Phelps is dead and I can't take any pleasure in it. When word got out that the founder of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church or 'God Hates Fags' church was dying, there were many on the Internet who responded with remarks of satisfaction, promises of picketing his funeral or hoping for a speedy and harsh judgement of this sinner in the hands of an angry, pro-gay God.
My reaction is a simple grief. I grieve for the life that Fred Phelps led. I grieve for the people who Fred Phelps hurt. I grieve for his wider family that has been torn apart by the viciousness of their religious commitment that Phelps first modeled. I grieve for his children and grandchildren who have lost someone they once loved.
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