I’m Not Exactly Preaching to the Choir…
March, 2006
“Oh God, not Politics! Please don’t talk about politics!!” was the response I received from my sister when I told her that I was thinking about busting out some of my personal political, moral and ethical views in my column.
I have wanted to do this for a very long time and it is surprising that I haven’t yet. Any one who really knows me knows how passionate I am about politics and political administrations, issues of church and state, political parties and moral and social issues. The reason I haven’t? Simply because of the fact that some of my views aren’t very popular in the demographic of “Bikers”.
I don’t want to go deeply into the specifics of what I believe in. I don’t think that sharing my political agenda with anyone is really going to change anyone’s mind. I don’t pretend to be the type of person whose opinion does or should sway anyone; that is not my ultimate goal.
What I have been longing to express is my deepest and most powerful belief which is that it is the duty, right and responsibility of every American to be critical of their government. I don’t mean “critical” in a negative way, but rather in its truest definition which is “characterized by careful, exact evaluation and judgment”. Criticism of one’s government does not mean disagreeing with everything it says and does, but rather being aware of the actions of one’s government and then evaluating these actions and applying critical thought processes to determine your own judgment of any given situation.
This brings me to the recent event that has occurred in the biking community that has caused me to approach my strong political views publicly.
Let me introduce you to the Reverend Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church. This incredibly ignorant “man of God” (not my God, mind you) made a name for himself in the 90’s by showing up at the funerals of homosexuals and even the funeral of gay murder victim Matthew Shepard, to hold up signs reading "No Fags in Heaven" and "God Hates Fags." According to their Web site, they have staged "20,000" protests across the nation and around the world in the last decade. They believe that "God’s hatred is one of His holy attributes."
Incorporated in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization, the virulently homophobic Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) considers itself an "Old School (or, Primitive)" Baptist Church. The Church is led by the septuagenarian Reverend Fred Waldron Phelps Sr., and many WBC congregants are related to Phelps by blood. His wife, several of his children and dozens of his grandchildren frequent the church.
While WBC has picketed the gay community at hundreds of events nationwide, most of the individuals protested by the Church are not homosexual. In fact, WBC most often targets people it mistakenly claims are gay or those it believes to be encouraging homosexuality. Many WBC fliers emphasize the race or religion of these individuals, suggesting that the Church’s hate spreads beyond its abhorrence of homosexuality. What appears to be anti-gay rhetoric is often a vehicle for WBC’s anti-Semitism, hatred of other Christians, and even racism.
Trained as a lawyer, Fred Phelps was disbarred in 1979 by the Kansas Supreme Court, which asserted that he had "little regard for the ethics of his profession."
In 1991, WBC staged its first public demonstration, targeting a park in Topeka allegedly frequented by gays. Thousands of protests have followed, and WBC shows no sign of slowing down. Now families and friends of fallen U.S. soldiers are getting an extra helping of pain as the Rev. Fred Phelps recently turned to protesting soldiers’ funerals.
This homophobic, anti-Semitic, racist piece of crap has pieced together this incredibly stupid, convoluted and hateful little bit of dogma: The reverend and his disciples believe that God killed American soldiers because they fought for a country that embraces homosexuals. He shows up at the funerals of fallen US Soldiers (whether he has any reason to believe that they are gay or straight or Jews or black… now he is just targeting the families and the legacy of fallen US Soldiers) and spreading his message of hate and intolerance.
Do you know why I can say this about Reverend Phelps? It is because it is within my rights as a citizen of the United States of America to say this. It is my freedom of speech. I have this right because my Father and many other valiant veterans have fought and died for me to be able to call this reverend Fred Phelps a piece of crap. God bless them all.
This brings up an interesting conundrum. I am celebrating my ability to exercise my freedom of speech to call this man a piece of crap while he is celebrating his ability to exercise his freedom of speech to further his agenda of hate and intolerance.
Hmmm….
Now there are pieces of legislation in many states that have been proposed, passed and knocked down by the Supreme Court, or being contemplated that would ban Reverend Phelps’ type of protest.
Do I think that Reverend Phelps is correct in his thinking?
Absolutely not.
Do I think that God is really punishing us for embracing homosexuals?
Certainly not.
Do I think that anyone should be protesting anything at anyone’s funeral?
I would hope not.
Do I think that we should pass legislation banning protests in public spaces near or adjacent to funerals?
Never.
And I will tell you why. As much as I hate that Reverend piece-of-crap and his hateful message, legislation barring free speech would not bar just the speech that we are talking about here, it would infringe on every American’s right to express themselves and that is a right and responsibility that I hope we never have to give up for any reason.
So what do you think the answer is for Reverend Phelps and people like him? Well, if we can’t legislate people into being sane, respectful, peaceful, loving and tolerant, we can still do something to them.
Leave it to the bikers to come to the rescue. Reverend Phelps is now up against a powerful and unexpected force — a biker gang.
The Patriot Guard Riders are larger than the average biker group, numbering about 5,000 across more than a dozen states, according to the Associated Press. Wearing vests covered with military patches, the diverse coalition of motorcyclists has been riding across the country, sometimes hundreds of miles, to attend soldiers’ funerals in an attempt to respectfully counter Phelps’ anti-gay jeers.
At one funeral in Fort Campbell, Ky., Phelps’ followers wrapped themselves in upside-down American flags and danced and sang songs condemning homosexuals and soldiers. Facing off against them were dozens of Patriot Guard Riders, clad in red, white, and blue, who shouted patriotic slogans to support the soldiers. Members of the community joined the Riders in the freezing rain to chant, "USA, USA."
"This is just the right thing to do," Kurt Mayer, the Riders’ national spokesman, told the AP. "Whether we agree with why we’re over there, these soldiers are dying to protect our freedoms." An Indiana Patriot Guard spokesman told the AP that his group would only come to funerals if invited by a family.
The most amazing thing about the Patriot Guard Riders is that they were formed specifically for the purpose of contradicting Reverend Phelps. It all started back in early August of 2005 with the American Legion Riders chapter 136 from Kansas. They were appalled to hear that a fallen hero’s memory was being tarnished by misguided religious zealots who were protesting at funerals. They decided to do something about it. At the ALR 136 August meeting, Director : Chuck " Pappy " Barshney appointed members, Terry “Darkhorse” Houck, Cregg “Bronco 6” Hansen, Steve “McDaddy” McDonald, and Bill ”Wild Bill” Logan to form a committee to strategize and form a battle plan to combat Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church.
The growth has been phenomenal. Within a week their membership included many riders from associations like the VFW, American Legion, Rolling Thunder, ABATE, Combat Vets Motorcycle Association, Intruder Alert, Leathernecks Motorcycle Club, and almost five hundred individual riders. To the credit of Hugh and “Waldo”, the PGR website had received almost 566,000 hits in the first two weeks! Patriots from all over America and several foreign countries responded. Emails were pouring in from people wanting to support and join the newly formed PGR.
Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project, told the PlanetOut Network that the Riders’ actions are the largest organized protest against Phelps’ followers to date. "There have been tons of gay rights organizations who counterprotested Phelps, especially when he attended Matthew Shepard’s funeral in supporting his killers," Beirich said. "But I have never seen a protest this large or this organized by a single group."
I have just joined a new biker club. I am a member of the Patriot Guard. The mission statement of the Patriot Guard exemplifies exactly the point I am trying to make. It is not up to the legislature to pass laws to control the speech of anyone. It is up to the active, conscious and critical citizens of the United States of America to stand up and be counted. Removing the right to freely speak from one narrow segment leads to the loss of speech for all, but standing up and preserving the things that you hold dear and believe in is the best medicine against a cancer on our society that is Reverend Phelps and others like him.
Patriot Guard Riders Mission Statement
The Patriot Guard Riders is a diverse amalgamation of riders from across the nation. We have one thing in common besides motorcycles. We have an unwavering respect for those who risk their very lives for America’s freedom and security. If you share this respect, please join us.
We don’t care what you ride, what your political views are, or whether you’re a "hawk" or a "dove". It is not a requirement that you be a veteran. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what your income is. You don’t even have to ride. The only prerequisite is Respect.
Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.
1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.
We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.
It makes me proud to be an American.
Please go to http://www.patriotguard.org/ if you agree and show your support for the Patriot Guard. They are just members of the society just like you and me who have chosen to stand for something more. I will proudly stand with them.
