Westboro Baptist protests come to an end in Blacksburg – Roanoke.com

After all the negative publicity this week about the Governor’s Confederate History Month Proclamation ignoring slavery, it’s nice to see folks in my home state doing something to make it look good and positive again.  Standing upt to this hateful group, who pickets soldier’s funerals among other things, makes me proud.  Especially the classy way the Blacksburg folks did it.

They make me proud to be a native Virginian again.

Here is an excerpt from the Roanoke Times article at Roanoke.com and a link to the full story.

BLACKSBURG — Six protesters from Westboro Baptist Church — three adults and three children — spent about 30 minutes at their final stop outside Blacksburg Middle School and then left town.

At their first two protests in downtown Blacksburg — outside the Jewish Community Center and the National Bank — the Westboro Baptist group was flanked by about two dozen police officers and a crowd of nearly 350 counter-protesters. Among them were about 100 Virginia Tech students, who marched from their gathering on campus to join in.

Another 250 counter-protesters filled the sidewalks on Prices Fork Road outside the middle school. Their presence was supported by motorists navigating Prices Fork Road who honked their horns and made rude gestures toward the Westboro Baptist group.

The church is an anti-Semitic group founded by the Rev. Fred Phelps held three 30-minute demonstrations, carrying signs that read, “No peace for the wicked,” among other things.

Shirley Phelps-Roper said was happy to see all the counter-protesters in Blacksburg. “It makes a wonderful backdrop to our message,” she said.

The message? That that God has doomed America for its growing tolerance of gays, lesbians and other sexual minorities. “Their destruction is emminent,” Phelps-Roper said.

“Virginia Tech is just such a sweet spot in our hillbilly culture, and I will just not put up with this,” said Karen Carr, who drove from Galax to Blacksburg this morning. “I’m so proud of the Hokies for putting on a class act.”

More than 100 Virginia Tech students grouped together at Tech’s Graduate Life Center and divided into lines to walk the handful of blocks to downtown, where the Westboro protesters were gathered. The line grew as the students began their walk from campus and some estimates were that the crowd grew into hundreds.

The counter-protesters yelled “Hokies” and held signs that spoke of love and tolerance — such as “Love thy neighbor,” “Virginia Tech is about respect” and “God loves everyone” — to those with a more humorous message, such as “Free hugs.”
Student Johnathan Cace, who led one of the groups walking downtown, said the effort was all student-led and not affiliated with any one group on campus.

The effort was meant to show “Hokie pride” and spread a positive message to counteract the one coming from the Westboro group, which students said was one of hate.

Link:  Westboro Baptist protests come to an end in Blacksburg – Roanoke.com.

Thanks to my friend Kirk for making me aware of this!