Nothing is Black and White

So as I was browsing through my RSS reader I say a story posted on Says Uncle. Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder was tragically killed while in Iraq. As is standard protocol his body was brought back and his funeral was help. Not surprisingly Dipshit Fred Phelps and his merry band of fuckwits in the Westboro Baptist “Church” decided to throw decency to the wind and protest Lance Corporal Snyder’s funeral.

The father of Matthew Snyder sued Phelps for their actions. Well judgement has been passed down and Mr. Snyder lost and the judge decided to make him pay for Dipshit Phelps’ legal expenditures. The legal fees ended up coming to $16,510 which the family is going to have troubles paying. They’ve set up a donations page if you would like to help with the legal fee.

Of course with the title of this post you are probably expecting something else to be posted and that most certainly is the case. Needless to say by the terms and titles I’ve used in this post you know how I personally feel about the people involved. Now it’s time for me to explain what I think about this case.

As much as I despise those pricks in the Westboro Baptist “Church” I also believe they have a right to say what they’re saying. Yes it’s the unpopular route to take but the first amendment is there to protect all speech not just popular speech. As much as I hate what they’re doing they have a right to do it. I feel any lawsuit brought against an organization to prevent them for freely using their Constitutional right is wrong and the party bringing forth the suit should be made to pay for the legal fees of those they are trying to silence. From everything I’ve been able to gather I believe the purpose behind Mr. Snyder’s lawsuit was simply to silence those fuckwits claiming to be a church.

I know this is an unpopular position to take but I can not turn against my principals and beliefs. Personally I find disruption of any funeral to be distasteful. Let the friends and family of the deceased grieve in peace even if the guest of honor is your worst enemy. After all that person is dead and therefore is no longer a problem to you. But as it often happens my personal feelings collide directly with my principals. I am a man who practices what he preaches and therefore can not make an exception for something I hold to dear (the Bill of Rights) just because a I despise the person(s) using it.