Who of these two communities of hate holds the moral high-ground, the Klu Klux Klan or the Westboro Baptists (who are famous of late for picketing the military funerals of gay soldiers killed in action)? It’s a question that’s perplexing many writers, who are finding it hard to, as Technocrati writer Christine Vega puts it, “determine who is the bigger asshole”.
Here’s how it all came about:
On May 30 during America’s Memorial Day in Arlington National Cemetery three members of the Westboro Baptist Church were on hand to engage their usual protest of US gay military personnel. Their protest got Dennis LaBonte, self-described “Imperial Wizard” of a local KKK group revved up. He and 10 other members of the group who said they were members of the KKK’s Knights of the Southern Cross based in Virginia showed up and counter-protested the Westboro Baptists.
Abigail Phelps (daughter of the notorious Pastor Fred Phelps) said her trio was protesting to let people know they should not “idolize” the dead, especially those who died for an “unrighteous cause.” Of the KKK counter-protesters she said: “That’s fine. They have no moral authority on anything…People like them say it’s white power … white supremacy.The Bible doesn’t say anywhere that it’s an abomination to be born of a certain gender or race.”
So who wins the moral high ground on this one? Caitlin Dickson of the Atlantic Wire thought long and hard on this one. For her it appeared the KKK managed to (barely) win the moral high ground:
It looks like what we have here are two nationally recognized hate groups fighting over who’s brand of hatred is more justified. The answer: neither. It’s both comforting and disturbing to know that even the KKK denounces the Westboro Baptist Church, but this might be one of the more spectacular pot-kettle cases in recent memory. Though LaBonte insists that the Knights of the Southern Cross “are not about hate,” KKK history makes that a pretty tough sell.
It’s hard to declare anyone a winner here, but if we have to, it’s LaBonte and Co. for grabbing publicity and recognizing the ridiculousness of Westboro’s protests. Still, according to the Supreme Court, it is within the WBC’s First Amendment rights to rally at as many soldiers’ funerals as it wants–KKK disapproval isn’t going to do much. Finally, let’s not forget: the funeral protests may be largely offensive, but Westboro at least doesn’t have any lynchings in its organizational history.