Shocking revelation about Kansas' Westboro Baptist Church & other strange tales

By Diane Silver

[updated 4/2/07]
It's a busy day in stormy Kansas, so here are a few interesting things to read while I meet some deadlines.

The BBC finds Topeka's Fred Phelps family to be "kind" and notes that "some of the girls look All American." The BBC's Louis Theroux thinks "Gramps" Fred is "a not very nice person," though.

The most shocking revelation of all is Theroux's claim that if I, as a lesbian, showed up at the Westboro Baptist Church, the Phelps wouldn't humiliate me or even be rude.

They'd shake their (gay) hand and welcome them in.

As someone who has lived near the Phelps for quite some time, my only comment is to say, ah, sure... And if said gay person believed in fairness and equality, then what would happen?

I've never been one of those folks who think the Phelps are demons. They are mere human beings who have been led astray, but forgive me if I don't buy what this fellow is saying. He seems amazed that the Phelps don't have horns and froth at the mouth. The ability to be nice to someone like Theroux who is publicizing their cause does not give them the ability to be kind to anyone else.

[update]

One more thought on the Phelps thing and BBC naiveté ... I live in Lawrence, a city about 30 miles from the Phelps. They picket here frequently. I also visit their neighborhood often, have many friends who live in the Phelps' neighborhood or work in Kansas government in Topeka with the Phelps.

In more than 20 years, I haven't heard of any instances of the Phelps family being kind or charitable to others outside of their church.

Many churches, even fundamentalist anti-gay churches, are known for helping the poor, sending aid in times of disaster like Hurricane Katrina. I know of no instances when Westboro or the Phelps have done that. On the contrary, they have a reputation locally of being a tad disagreeable, even in person. (I know I'm painting with a broad brush here. Many apologies for that.)

I could well have missed something. If so, I hope that the wisdom of the blogosphere would send me some information about Westboro Baptist Church, the Phelps and how they have helped anyone besides themselves. Can you even send me one instance of when they've been kind or generous to others? If you don't want to comment in public, email me at hopeandpolitics@yahoo.com.

Also in the news...

Pam Spaulding interviews a former staff attorney for the virulently anti-gay American Family Association and finds that he isn't all that homophobic and never was.

Democrat Nancy Boyda of the Kansas 2nd District is on everybody's hit list, including Karl Rove's. Meanwhile, the state GOP is sending out emails to one and all (even ole' liberal me), noting the so-called horrible things Boyda is doing. To be fair, these Republican emails slam everything Democratic in Kansas.

The New York Times profiles the fate of an Iraqi widow, a Sunni Arab who resisted being thrown out of her home in a Shiite enclave in Baghdad, only to be shot to death the next day. And this happened during the surge that was supposed to make everyone safer.

An English-only bill in Kansas is stalled and near death, while an anti-bullying bill languishes in a conference committee as the regular session nears the end. Meanwhile, Kansas somehow has ended up entering the casino business. (Should I say this makes me nervous? It does. Yup, I believe in freedom and giving the people the right to gamble if they want it, but all gambling all the time can really ruin a neighborhood.)

Finally, I admit to being impressed. A 64-year-old blogger has financed her own trip to cover the war in Iraq. Darn. I wish I had that kind of moxie.
-------
Photo: One of those All-American Phelps folk.

Kansas: Ann Coulter & Fred Phelps live at the corner of Bigotry & Publicity streets

By Diane Silver

Another day, another cartoon by The Wichita Eagle's Richard Crowson gets right the heart of the matter.

Not only are Ann Coulter and Fred Phelps two of a kind, but these public bullies might well have an impact on the in-the-face bullies who torment schoolchildren. After all, if it's OK for people in the news to say these things, isn't it OK for someone on the playground?

I'm not talking about the normal taunting everyone faces as a kid. A 2005 study comsissioned by the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network showed that the bullying faced by lesbian and gays is relentless.

Three-quarters of students surveyed across America said that over the past year they heard derogatory remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and nearly nine out of ten reported hearing "that's so gay" or "you're so gay" - meaning stupid or worthless - frequently or often.

Over a third of students said they experienced physical harassment at school on the basis of sexual orientation and more than a quarter on the basis of their gender expression.

Nearly one-in-five students reported they had been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation and over a tenth because of their gender expression.

...The study also showed that bullying has had a negative impact on learning.

LGBT students were five times more likely to report having skipped school in the last month because of safety concerns than the general population of students.

We end our meditation on the big-time bullies like Coulter and Phelps by heartily applauding our neighbor to the north. Iowa's governor just signed an anti-bully bill into law. Let's hope Kansas is next. Tell your lawmaker that you support the anti-bully bill currently in the state Legislature.

Kansas: Bullying isn't a joke

The need for an anti-bully law was illustrated last night at the Lawrence School Board's meeting. While discussing its own policy on bullying, the board heard about the horrifying tale of Dylan Theno -- a Tonganoxie student who was harrassed into dropping out. Theno eventually won a $440,000 setttlement from the school district.

The story of Dylan's trial was recounted by his father, Alan.

Theno said the bullying of his son started in February 2000 when a boy in his son’s seventh-grade class announced loudly in the school cafeteria that he had seen Dylan Theno masturbating in a boy’s restroom.

“It wasn’t true, but he said it and it was heard by a large group of boys,” Theno said. “My son’s name went from Dylan to ‘jerkoff,’ ‘jack-off boy,’ ‘masturbator,’ ‘fag,’ ‘queer,’ ‘flamer’ and many other filthy names. My son complained about it to the principal, but the principal forgot about it.”

Dylan Theno is not a homosexual.

The names became worse as the boys found they wouldn’t be punished, Alan Theno said. He said he and his wife went to the school 40 times to complain.

Kansas: Has the anti-bullying bill been turned into a Trojan Horse?

By Diane Silver

Honestly, I don't know the answer to the question posed in the headline, but we need to take a look at what happened to HB 2310. I have to admit, though, that the more I examine the situation, the more I'm beginning to worry.

I didn't realize when I posted about the anti-bully bill last night that it had been amended heavily on the House floor. The amended bill is available online. The key issue is the newly added section 2, which requires school districts to institute "character-development program(s), such as Character First or Character Counts."

At first glance, I don't see anything problematic about teaching about positive qualities such as those named in the bill. These qualities include, "but are not limited to, honesty, responsibility, attentiveness, patience, kindness, respect, self-control, tolerance, co-operation, initiative, patriotism and citizenship."

Of course, it all depends on how you define these qualities. Is patriotism, the blind obedience of an unthinking patriot? Is self-control, the control over any behavior that might deviate from what one church or the other preaches as being Biblical law?

I'm also not certain how well any school can teach these qualities. As a mother, I've always thought teaching character was my job.

The bill specifically states that each program will be "secular in nature." Again, on the surface, that sounds just fine.

However, I would hate if a bill designed to protect students from harm is turned into something negative. But as I said, I don't have enough information yet. Thus, I'm calling on the collective wisdom of the blogosphere. Does anyone have more information on these programs? Have these kinds of programs been used as a Trojan Horse to hide other agendas?

UPDATE
I was just getting ready to post this when I decided to do one more Google search. Based on the story, "The Cult of Character," published by In These Times, I'm now becoming more concerned. I've also confirmed that the amendment was offered by Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City. Kelley gets a 100 percent favorable ruling from Kansans For Life. She voted to ban same-sex marriage in 2005.

Other troubling stories about the Character First movement include one about problems in Florida, a Wikipedia entry about an evangelist that shows the movement's ties, and a Texas Observer story about the movement in that state and its Christian reconstructionist ties.

Kansas House passes anti-bullying bill

By Diane Silver

The Kansas House voted 109-13 today to approve an anti-bullying proposal and send it on to the Senate.

The proposal requires school boards to adopt policies prohibiting bullying and requires each district to adopt a strategic plan to stop bullying.

I can't say right now how much HB 2310 will help with the problem of bullying in schools, but it can't hurt. I'm worried about all students who might be bullied, but of particular concern are the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered students who are often the targets of attacks. The bill has been supported by a variety of school and children's organizations like the Kansas Children’s Service League and Kansas Families United for Public Education. The Kansas Equality Coalition has also worked for the proposal.

Here is a copy of the bill and a link to the supplemental note, which provides the plain-language, Cliff's Notes version of the legislation.