JUSTICE? or GREED?

[jay_a2j]

This is insane. Arrest them, charge them with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace but MILLIONS of dollars? Fine the church for each instance (say $100,000) but come on...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,307058,00.html

[heavycola]

Justice.

Next question please.

[insomniacdude]

Technically justice. I don't think the guy asked for $11 million, and the picketing was out of line.

[Dancing Mustard]

The attorney urged jurors to determine an amount "that says don't do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again."

Whoopsie!

Looks like the jury decided on the amount, which was intended as a deterent sanction rather than an assessment of loss. Did you also miss the part that mentioned the whole amount would not be recoverable by the claimant? All goes quite some way to torpedoeing any allegations of greed on the part of the claimant wouldn't you say?


So, no greed here... guess that means this was justice then eh Jay? After all, you haven't given us any other options...




But just before I go, let me tell you this: God hates not only fags, but also people who start retarded threads in the clubhouse.

Heyfoxymophandlemamma, that's you.

[heavycola]

This is insane. Arrest them, charge them with disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace but MILLIONS of dollars? Fine the church for each instance (say $100,000) but come on...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,307058,00.html

What is insane is that
a) these animals actually believe what they spout
b) anyone - ANYONE - would argue with this decision. These people are the unacceptable face of christianity, and this fine is a strong message that their sort will not be tolerated by normal members of society, of whatever faith.

The mainstream mulsim population in the UK has come under fire, and rightfulyl so IMO, for not rejecting and casting out the hate-mongering fringe element within their culture that gives the rest a bad name.
Here is your chance to do just that.
I am frankly surprised you have complained about the size of damages and not celebrated them with the rest of us.

[xtratabasco]

boo hoo

a marines father gets emotionally abused.


f*ck him.





got to remember Jay the US Constitution is no longer valid.

[Anarkistsdream]

Were I at the funeral, and I was honoring that man, I would have stabbed the first bible-thumping whiney cunt that had shouted in my general vicinity.

I am sick of fucking loser pseudo-believers shooting off their mouths with no recompense.

However, when a mother pickets George W. Bush with anti-war sentiment, she is immediately thrown in jail... Even though her son died fighting for this country.

I say that peaceful congregation is just that... Peaceful... When anti-abortion people or anti-war people or anything else go on a tirade, it's time to fucking shoot them dead.

[Guiscard]

And what would you have said had the funeral been an upstanding Christian barracked by, I don't know, Richard Dawkins... Any punishment too harsh? I doubt it.

[Anarkistsdream]

And what would you have said had the funeral been an upstanding Christian barracked by, I don't know, Richard Dawkins... Any punishment too harsh? I doubt it.

Was that aimed at me???

Again, I am all for peaceful congregation, no matter the reason... That is something our founding fathers wanted us to have. But it has become something much different than that now.

When abortion clinics are surrounded by pro-life people who physically block people from entering the clinic, or throw things at them as they walk by, then they need to be arrested.

But the government- being ran STILL by a bunch of 80 year old, rich, white men- allow them to get away with things like that.

[Guiscard]

And what would you have said had the funeral been an upstanding Christian barracked by, I don't know, Richard Dawkins... Any punishment too harsh? I doubt it.

Was that aimed at me???

Again, I am all for peaceful congregation, no matter the reason... That is something our founding fathers wanted us to have. But it has become something much different than that now.

When abortion clinics are surrounded by pro-life people who physically block people from entering the clinic, or throw things at them as they walk by, then they need to be arrested.

But the government- being ran STILL by a bunch of 80 year old, rich, white men- allow them to get away with things like that.

No, aimed at Jay obviously.

[Anarkistsdream]

Oh... Sorry...

Ya bastage!

[Nephilim]

the clubhouse has seen threads about westboro "church" and their hatemongering before.....they should be sued out of existence

[MR. Nate]

Look, I'm personally offended that this guy uses his poor interpretation of Scripture to justify protesting people that have lost children (not exactly christlike, you know ignoring the "mourn with those who mourn" stuff) but doesn't this (like the arrest of Cindy Sheehan) make us ask to what extent we're allowing freedom of speech? I mean, they weren't, that I'm aware of, inciting violence or being personally violent.

[Snorri1234]

Look, I'm personally offended that this guy uses his poor interpretation of Scripture to justify protesting people that have lost children (not exactly christlike, you know ignoring the "mourn with those who mourn" stuff) but doesn't this (like the arrest of Cindy Sheehan) make us ask to what extent we're allowing freedom of speech? I mean, they weren't, that I'm aware of, inciting violence or being personally violent.

So you think that shouting in the middle of the night on a street and waking up everyone in the whole neighbourhood should also be allowed?
This is not a case about freedom of speech, this is a case about disturbing the peace and offending people.

This is justice. (It would be nice if the father gave some of the money to an institution helping soldiers, though.)

[Frigidus]

Look, I'm personally offended that this guy uses his poor interpretation of Scripture to justify protesting people that have lost children (not exactly christlike, you know ignoring the "mourn with those who mourn" stuff) but doesn't this (like the arrest of Cindy Sheehan) make us ask to what extent we're allowing freedom of speech? I mean, they weren't, that I'm aware of, inciting violence or being personally violent.

Well, picture it from this angle: should people be allowed to picket any funeral? A death, no matter who it is, is a tragedy for someone. You can still say that that person will burn in hell, or that he was a "fag", or that the world is better without them but not in front of the dead man's family. Can you yell "Bomb!" in an airport? I realize this situation is bit different, but it does the same to respect that the airport example does to security. On a side note, I remember when this first happened a teacher of mine said that even if he had just been walking by as that happened he would have attacked the picketers without a second thought. I can't tell you how much I respect him for that. I think the world would be just a bit better without them.

[muy_thaiguy]

To clarify on a few things here, the Westboro Baptist "Church" is hardly considered a church, or even Chrisitian. To sum up what they believe, our small church is mainly family hates everyone in the slightest bit different from us. This also, isn't the first time they have done something like this. As some of you may recall, an infamous murder took place in my town of Laramie, and the person who was killed was a gay man named Matthew Shephard. During the trial and funeral proceedings, The Westboro Baptist Church came down to Laramie and held signs up that said, for example, "God hates f*gs," during a live broadcast. So those of you saying that this church represents others are sorely mistaken. And I agree with jay, lock these guys up and throw away the key. They have been a nuisance to society for to long.

[MR. Nate]

I'm not saying what they did was right, I'm saying that unless they are inciting or participating in violence, what they are doing is considered, legally, speech. Punishing them for speech makes me question how much "freedom of speech" this country allows.

[Snorri1234]

I'm not saying what they did was right, I'm saying that unless they are inciting or participating in violence, what they are doing is considered, legally, speech. Punishing them for speech makes me question how much "freedom of speech" this country allows.

No it is actually not legal. The police can arrest you for it. This isn't about free speech. Noone is saying the can't say it anywhere else, or print it on paper, or write books about it. But they can't disturb a funeral service with it.

[The1exile]

you can't quantify freedom of speech.

[Frigidus]

you can't quantify freedom of speech.

What?

[MeDeFe]

So, Nate, they're allowed to hold up signs that say "Thank God for dead soldiers" within sight of the family of a dead soldier who is just burying him? Is that really free speech?

[The1exile]

Quoth the bald simpson-esque man:

Punishing them for speech makes me question how much "freedom of speech" this country allows.

Since you can;t quantify freedom of speech, i.e. measure it in any particular unit, wondering "how much" you have is useless. better to appreciate that freedom comes with responsibility, and that although me going outside and screaming about sheep jumping over fences in the middle of the night would be speech, it would still be disruptive and quite possibly offensive, and thus probably illegal.

[Guiscard]

I'm not saying what they did was right, I'm saying that unless they are inciting or participating in violence, what they are doing is considered, legally, speech. Punishing them for speech makes me question how much "freedom of speech" this country allows.

Is it not disturbing the peace or something along those lines? Surely they have every right to say those things, but it is a crime to say them disrupting someones funeral...

[Dancing Mustard]

So I think we all conclusively agree that Jay loses big time. Right?

[MeDeFe]

No, jay is sort of a neutral observer so far, but Nate is neck deep in quicksand for claiming that disturbing a funeral and being offensive to those who are in mourning is free speech and should be allowed. Even though he didn't say he agrees with their opinions.