Here’s Why I’m Not Going to the Westboro Baptist Church Picket Tomorrow

The Westboro Baptist Church is coming to Tuscaloosa tomorrow. They plan on picketing on campus of the University of Alabama as a reminder that the 4/27 Tornado was a justified punishment from God for our city's behavior.

When the news was still fresh in my mind, I was angry. I wanted to go and face these jerks toe-to-toe. I wanted to tell them how hard our city has worked since that storm, tell them of how we suffered and what we lost, and most importantly--tell them to get the you-know-what out of our city.

But the more I thought about it... the more I realized I was over it. WAY OVER IT.

The WBC exists to solicit negative reactions from others. They WANT me to get down there and get angry. They want me to pay attention to their caustic hate speech. They want all of us down there--our whole city yelling and angry, playing into their game and giving them the kind of reaction for which they yearn.

Guess what: That isn't going to happen. I am not going. The WBC can picket all day long if they want, but this hate group isn't worth my time. They are wrong; they are vile, and they are so beneath me that I'm not giving up my time to go down there and try to reason with them.

You can't reason with crazy. You can't reason with toxic hatred, either. My going down there and yelling at the members of the WBC isn't going to change their minds or move their hearts. These people deal in hate--they spew it out and wait for it to come back from others.

I don't--and won't--play that game.

The WBC is coming tomorrow? Whatever. I'll be on my couch watching a Law & Order: SVU Marathon in my PJ's.