OSU students use hugs, cookies to counter Westboro anti-gay rally
70 replies, posted
[quote] Nearly 100 students gathered on the corner of 11th Avenue and High Street Monday morning to vocally - but peacefully - oppose a short rally staged by members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who are known for their anti-gay and anti-America sentiments.
Armed with free cookies, rainbow umbrellas and signs proclaiming "Love not Hate" and "God Loves All People," the counter-protesters easily outnumbered the six adults and two children who represented the Kansas-based church.
Westboro, an independent baptist church known for protesting at funerals of dead U.S. soldiers and gay people, was originally slated to appear in front of the Ohio Union. Police denied The Lantern's attempts to speak to the protesters to see why they chose to rally at OSU, but according to a statement on their website announcing the stop at the Union, the church said OSU students "spend more time pursuing their drunken sins than their academic studies" and that OSU professors "happily teach … the ubiquitous lie that ‘It's OK to be gay.'"
Most of the counter-protesters, separated from the Westboro group by a line of Columbus and OSU police officers, came to mock Westboro's slogans, displaying signs including "God Hates Trekkies" and "I'm feeling fat and sassy."
OSU employee Jason Johns said he agreed with Westboro's statement about OSU students drinking too much.
"I'd make it my Facebook status if it weren't so long," he said jokingly.
But Ferraro said he disagrees with what Westboro stands for.
"They're just a small group of people who are trying to get their own in the spotlight - by any means necessary - so they will come out and say stupid s---," Johns said.
Fourth-year environmental science student Matt Ripley held a sign that said "Free Hugs." He tried to get close to the Westboro protesters to offer them an embrace, but police told him to leave.
"I'm just out here offering free hugs, because I think what the world needs is free hugs," Ripley said.
Columbus and OSU police said the protest was relatively peaceful and they encountered few problems. Originally supposed to last from 10-10:30 a.m., the protest started late and was over around 10:25 a.m. The members of the church held up nearly 20 different, colorfully decorated signs that said things such as "You Will Eat Your Babies," "Antichrist = Obama" and "Pray For More Dead Soldiers."
Two young children were also carrying signs expressing anti-gay sentiments, and one was wearing a red sweatshirt that advertised another Westboro website. The group danced and sang along to their own original music, including "Fear God Inc." and "Fat-Bottom Whores," parodies of the Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." and Queen's "Fat-Bottom Girls."
Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, was gay and died in 1991 of complications from AIDS.[/quote]
[url]http://www.thelantern.com/osu-students-use-hugs-cookies-to-counter-westboro-anti-gay-rally-1.1663797[/url]
DEFEATED BY THE POWER OF LOVE
Good on them.
The random aside about Freddie Mercury was almost completely unrelated and unnecessary in the article, and all it did was make me sad. I love Queen. :smith:
"You Will Eat Your Babies"
Osu represent.
[QUOTE=blacksam;25256950]Osu represent.[/QUOTE]
high five fellow buckeye
[quote]Fat-Bottomed Whores[/quote]
I never knew they actually sang songs about themselves.
This is excellent. I don't see why Westboro keeps doing this to people, it's dumb.
Fear God Inc.? :ohdear:
Seems like cookies beat the WBC.
Babies.....
OSU is weird
[QUOTE=MegaChalupa;25256947]"You Will Eat Your Babies"[/QUOTE]
"No we'll eat yours"
I plan on doing something of the sort once these people roll around my town :buddy:
[QUOTE=Atchell;25257143]OSU is weird[/QUOTE]
Just add beer and it gets trippy.
why does the Westboro church hate good things?
The guy holding the "I'm feeling fat and sassy" sign better have started screaming and bleeding out of his eyeballs
[quote]Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, was gay and died in 1991 of complications from AIDS.[/quote]
This tells us everything.
So many OSU fp'ers. I love this here place; wish I coulda gone to this.
Hahaha holy shit I have GOT to hear "Fear God Inc."
It sounds hilarious.
I'm already planning to protest the funeral of whichever Westboro member dies next. I'm still trying to decide whether to be just as spiteful to them as they are to others, or to mock them with kindness. So, either a "No, I'm pretty sure God hates Westboro Baptist 'Church'" sign, or one showing [url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=matthew%207:1-7:6&version=VULGATE]Matthew 7:1-2[/url] ("Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself."). I'll decide whenever one of those fuckers finally dies.
[QUOTE=Led Zeppelin;25257712]So many OSU fp'ers. I love this here place; wish I coulda gone to this.[/QUOTE]
You go to OSU as well? Maybe we should hold an FP gathering.
If they can do it in England, why not OSU?
I would just have everyone laugh at them. Because their cause is a joke.
Westboro needs to just give up before they all get shot.
[QUOTE=New Cidem;25257836]Hahaha holy shit I have GOT to hear "Fear God Inc."
It sounds hilarious.[/QUOTE]
I posted it in the video section
[quote]"God Hates Trekkies" [/quote]
goddamn so I can't like dicks or star trek?
Wait a second.
This was on Sunday? So THAT'S what the crowd was there for.
Odd, I didnt see this in the columbus paper today
Cool.
Lol. I see "OSU" and automatically think the Oklahoma OSU. Either way, good for the Ohio college.
They should have made pies and thrown them at the WBC.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.