Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Pride Joins in Counter-Protest

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Chants of “God hates America!” and “Two-four-six-eight, God does not discriminate!” rang out across a busy Foggy Bottom intersection last night as members of GU Pride, among others, squared off against anti-gay demonstrators from the Westboro Baptist Church.

About seven church members, including a small boy accompanied by his father, arrived from Kansas to protest George Carlin’s posthumous reception of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the nearby John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The award is given annually to an artist who makes a significant contribution to American comedy, according to the center’s Web site.

Past winners include Billy Crystal, Bob Newhart and Whoopi Goldberg.

The protestors held signs with slogans, such as “America is Doomed,”Fags Doom Nations” and “God Hates Fags” at the intersection of Virginia Avenue and 25th Street, near the Kennedy Center.

Across the street, about three dozen counter-protesters – about 30 GU Pride members and a few others from American University and the University of Maryland – held homemade signs reading “Hate is not a Christian Value,”God Bless George Carlin” and others.

The counter-protesters elicited honks from passing cars, chanting at the church members, while the latter intermittently sang “God Hates America,” with adapted lyrics to the tune of “God Bless America.”

Paulette Phelps, a church member holding a sign saying “Don’t Worship the Dead,” called Carlin a “whoremonger” and an “adulterer.”

“He had a platform that he could have [used to tell] this country the truth, and he did the exact opposite,” she said. “He makes a mockery of the truth of God.”

She said honoring Carlin posthumously violates the Bible’s ban on worshipping the dead, and society often created false idols out of celebrities like Carlin.

Carlin was known for his edgy humor and satire of American culture. His “Seven Dirty Words” skit led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule the government could regulate indecent material on public airwaves.

While Phelps said she believed all the counter-protesters were going to Hell, the counter-protesters did not pay her admonitions much heed.

GU Pride historian Joe Graumann (SFS ’11) said it was important to counteract the message the church members were sending.

“We figured this would be an excellent time to show the greater D.C. community that we as a people don’t stand to let bigotry go unanswered,” he said. “It’s absolutely vital that we show that there are people who think vastly differently from them.”

“We believe that the Westboro Baptist Church spreads a unique kind of hatred that is especially unwelcome here in D.C.,” said Tonei Glavinic, a freshman at American University and executive board member of AU Queers and Allies. “Obviously they have every right to be here, legally, and we have every right to point out that they’re wrong.”

The Westboro Baptist Church has gained notoriety for protesting at funerals of soldiers, leading many states and Congress to pass laws limiting the right to protest at funerals.

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