This is from the opinion page of the Wausau Daily Herald:
Don't offer fertile ground for hatred
First you're baffled. Then you're almost speechless. Next, you're outraged. And if you make it past the outrage, you might end up being sad and maybe even saying a prayer for them.
That's the typical reaction when one reads about the Rev. Fred Phelps and members of his Westboro Baptist Church. The Topeka, Kan., group that protested the 2003 Wausau performance of a play about the death of a gay man is returning to central Wisconsin.
Last time they visited, the sang "God hates America, the faggots' home," to the tune of "God Bless America," while protesting outside a theater. This time, they plan to picket the Antigo church where Marine Corps Lance Cpl. John J. Mattek Jr.'s funeral service will be held Monday.
Their logic is that soldiers who die in Iraq are being taken by God in punishment for American tolerance of homosexuality.
If you're baffled, speechless and outraged, you're not alone.
Phelps and his group preach hate, not hope. They seek to divide, not unite. Rather than filling souls with the love of God, their words harden hearts.
And you know what? The one thing they crave, more than salvation or forgiveness or redemption, is notoriety. Like a self-absorbed 2-year-old throwing a tantrum, they thrive on attention.
So phooey on them. Forget them. Ignore them. Don't give them what they want. Don't allow hate to poison you, too.
Let them shame themselves by sullying the memorial of a proud and honorable man who gave his life in support of the Constitution - the very Constitution that guarantees Westboro the right to protest.
And let their repugnant words fall upon a silent and empty Antigo street.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. - Psalm 23.
Kudos to the Daily-Herald for coming up with the best way to address these people.
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