It's possible to go too far.
I have been watching the coverage of the VA. Tech shootings pretty closely since their occurrence Monday morning. I, like any decent person, offer my thoughts, heart, and memories to the victims of this tragedy and their families. And, because of the anger and sadness I feel as per this incident, the following story enrages me.
CBS News posted this article today about a group we are probably all familiar with; the Westboro Baptist Church. They are a religious cult (and I don't use that word lightly) that make their presence known by picketing with signs of hate and cruelty at events like funerals. You can find the "Churches" website here.
I am a firm proponent of free speech, and believe whole-heartedly in every persons right to express themselves and their ideas as long as other people are not harmed by said demonstrations. These people are known to picket at the funerals of the men and women who have died overseas, Iraq in particular, using their constitutional right to voice their opinions. And even though the fact that they perform such acts of hate towards people far greater in every aspect than they could ever hope to be, I believe that the soldiers of this great nation understand that this will happen but believe that the benefits far outweigh the sacrifice. Now don't misinterpret what I'm saying as justification for these peoples' actions. I think that the ideals that these people stand for as just as disgusting and disturbing as those of "people" like Hitler and Bin Laden. Picketing at a military funeral is, however, a mildly arguable place to protest for things like anti-war and pro-peace.
My problem now lies with the fact that this organization would be so heartless and cruel as to hold a hateful demonstration at the funerals of the men and women that have died this week as a result of one troubled mans actions. The people that died at Virginia Technical Institute this week have never done anything that could justify stripping them of their life. There are no words, feelings, or excuses that could explain this series of events as anything other than unbelievable. What this group is doing is just as bad as what the killer did; while the killer took the lives of other human beings, this cult is trying to justify his actions! There comes a point when free speech becomes a terrorizing message, and I believe that line has been crossed.
Anybody that visits Digg today will hopefully notice the link to the same page I referenced earlier in this post. And the person who Dugg the article is right; it is time for decent people everywhere to let this group know that their actions are despicable and uncalled for. People of the internet, now is the time to make your voices heard. This crazy organization needs to be shown that people are not going to stand for this outrage. !!!DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT do anything hateful, or illegal in retaliation towards this group!!! We are better than that. Instead, post on your blog, talk to your friends and family, email, just get the word out.
I also believe that the media has gone too far with this story. I think the world needed to know about this terrible series of events. But publicizing the story as much as has been done encourages other would be killers by offering the attention they so desperately seek. I think its time for the media to back off and let life get back to its course.
Thats all for now. I'm sure I'll have more later.
-out.
