Thank You, Fred Phelps

With the death of the gay-hating Fred Phelps, there was near universal condemnation of his life’s work. Phelps, of course, was crude, insensitive and just plain mean. The Westboro Baptist Church’s unseemly protests of funerals, including military ceremonies, rightfully earned the scorn of millions across the world. However, we can always learn from our adversaries and it’s clear that even as we condemn what he did during his life there are reasons to thank Fred Phelps at his death.

1. He exposed a sentiment many believe but try to hide

In politics ‘messaging’ is everything. Opinions, especially unpopular ones, need to be made more palatable for public consumption. Fred Phelps did not feel the need soften his message so ended up exposing the true beliefs of many on the Right. We will never see Conservative politicians carry “God Hates Fags” signs but we will now understand what they mean when they say “I have nothing against gays personally but the Bible condemns homosexuals so I do too.”  Frankly, that’s precisely Phelps’ three word message toned down a bit to avoid criticism.  So we should be grateful that no matter how much anti-gay pols try to pretty up their words, Fred Phelps laid bare what they really mean. And who knows, perhaps some of these fire breathers will now realize just how ugly their message is and move toward a more tolerant point of view.

2. He helped the cause he sought to hurt

Years ago many people were ambivalent about gay rights but were repulsed by the Phelps-led Westboro Baptist Church. Their intolerance and hatred forced people to rethink their views on homosexuality and see it more as a civil rights issue rather than a moral judgement. Some gay rights leaders believe this helped advance the movement.

“The world lost someone who did a whole lot more for the LGBT community than we realize or understand,” said Cathy Renna, a longtime consultant to LGBT groups. “He has brought along allies who are horrified by the hate. So his legacy will be exactly the opposite of what he dreamed.”

3. We answered his hate with love and forgiveness

Certainly when word of Phelps’ illness hit the news, the first instinct of many was to protest his funeral and mirror his vile tactics and style. But many others used it as an opportunity to encourage people to step back and remember that you don’t answer hate with hate.

Mr. Phelps will die a lonely death and in my flesh I hopes it hurts, but does it give more power to his message to attend his funeral screaming the exact same message he did? What if there was a funeral and nobody showed up? Even better, what if protesters showed up, not with banners of hate but instead with messages of forgiveness? Instead of “God hates Phelps” what if the message reads “we forgive you, we’ll leave the mercy to God.”

So when Fred Phelps is laid to rest give a word of thanks. Through his misguided life he taught us a lot about tolerance and the fight for individual liberty.  No longer will we be blind to the ongoing oppression of our gay brothers and sisters. We should now be less fearful of our adversaries with an understanding of how they can help to further our cause. Finally, the life and death of Fred Phelps can remind everyone to resist the urge to lower ourselves to the standards of the intolerant and hateful. It’s an opportunity to remember that love can conquer hate and how thoughtful reactions to our enemies is a powerful tool too often underutilized.

By: Mark Quincy Adams

A proud 'pragmatic progressive' Mark Quincy Adams has been a political
talk show host and prolific pontificator since 1992. Find him on Facebook and Twitter @politicalglutton