The Westboro Baptist Church, located just outside of Topeka, Kansas has been under scrutiny for as long as I can remember. I remember going to see Taylor Swift in concert in middle school and the Westboro Baptist Church protesting for reasons unknown to me at the time. While their scare tactics didn’t stop me from attending the concert, it certainly shook me up and continues to do so each time I attend an event that they protest at.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve seen their presence at the Women’s March in 2017, other concerts in downtown Kansas City, and they even came to my brother’s high school his freshman year (2 years ago) to protest “gay students, divorce, and fornication” (Kansas City Star). They stood across the street from the school and shouted hateful things at the students walking either from their homes or cars.
The incident at my brother’s high school shook me more than any of the other events I’d attended where the Westboro Baptist Church had been present. The difference, in my mind, was that I had chosen to attend the Taylor Swift concert and the Women’s March. I knew that they would most likely be present ahead of time and was not forced to attend either event, but chose to regardless. Going to public high school, however, is not a choice. Children are legally mandated to go to school and many don’t have the choice to skip if they are uncomfortable with the Westboro Baptist Church’s presence. Their presence has been known to be triggering to many, especially if you’re a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially as an adolescent.
A quick Google search reveals that I’m not the only one uncomfortable with the demonstrations especially at a mandatory event where students are not allowed to opt out of attending without special exemption. The Kansas City Star reported on the event when it happened back in early 2018, saying the entire student body came together to make students feel welcomed and loved during this time. While this response helps students feel safe, the question of whether or not the Westboro Baptist Church should be allowed to protest a public institution like this when it directly causes harm to students hangs in the balance.
The Westboro Baptist Church has been living under Supreme Court protection for almost ten years now, despite the clear hate speech. Back in 2011, the supreme court case Snyder v. Phelps decided that the subject matter of what The Westboro Baptist Church speaks/protests about is protected by the first amendment because it falls under public matters and concerns. The decision was 8-1 and has given the Westboro Baptist Church the freedom to continue their hateful protests and speech.
The ruling of the case is logical, yet doesn’t make it any easier to digest. Considering spaces like public schools and funerals, where attending is less optional than a concert or already existing march, subjecting oneself to their hateful words can have a larger impact. The luxury of turning off your computer or not attending an event is lost when the circumstances do not lend itself to the option to not participate. The spaces the Westboro Baptist Church enters that are not optional in attendance cause emotional harm and could be argued is dangerous speech.
I hope the Westboro Baptist Church ceases to exist for many reasons: lack of support, lack of legal protection, and lack of tolerance of hate by the general public. It’s 2019: our society can do better.
First of all, I loved hearing what you had to say about the Westboro Baptist Church. While I've certainly heard of the "church" and am fairly familiar with their beliefs, I really didn't know much about their demonstrations. It was quite interesting to hear from you, someone from the area and has witnessed these demonstrations first hand.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading your post, I couldn't help but think about the conversations that we have been having in class concerning student speech. We've talked about what kinds of speech are and are not allowed in public schools. We've learned that in a school setting speech is considered intolerable if it results in substantial disruption of normal class activities and/or invades the rights of others. These are limitations on student speech, but do they still apply to non-students on school property?
Of course, I believe they should. Just because the members of the Westboro Baptist Church are not members of the student body does not mean that their speech is free of disruption or doesn't remove rights. Shouldn't they be held to the same standard as the students are if they are on school property? This is a stipulation I hope we discuss in class! Thanks again for writing this. It was really fascinating!
The Westboro Baptist church is one of the organizations that is a household name but not in a good way. Again, to call this organization is called a church I think this is a gross mistake. The fact that they are calling themselves a church is something that in my option needs to be changed. They are using the name church as a protection and probably for tax benefits because it is not a church in my mind. The founder of the church and his family are the main starters of the “church”. This is basically a church that is ran by one man and his family and coerced others into believing and following him.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of the choice of going to an event and then if you see protesters you should not be surprised if they are their and maybe saying vulgar things or things you don’t agree with. I think there needs to be protection on them for protesting outside of things that people don’t really have a choice on attending. Your example about the church protesting outside of a high school support the idea of resisting it in some way. Yes, they do protest on public property and do it at public events so then they are complete covered under the first amendment. I think that they should not be able to protest at schools because the kids don’t have a choice but to walk past them into school because they cannot skip because that’s a federal law. The kid in these schools probably don’t have a say in any type of polices so why should the students have to be yelled at just when they are trying to get an education that they must get. Public land is protected but leave the kids alone, let them learn in a hate free environment and don’t need hate outside the school that could cause hate and problems inside the school. This can and does cause a substantial disruption and should not be allowed in or around the school.