Right-wing preacher Fred Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an "anti-gay hate group," is planning to picket former White House press secretary Tony Snow's funeral. WBC members are upset because Snow was a "critic" of their operation and "a high-profile representative of godless Big Media and Big Government." In the past, WBC has said that "war casualties are divine revenge for America tolerating gays and lesbians."
Yes, somehow you just had to know that the passing of Tony Snow was not going to be a quiet, solemn, and dignified event- not as long as Fred Phelps and his merry band of inbreds are engaged in a never-ending search for free publicity. No, it doesn't matter how offensive and over the top the WBC troglodytes are or who they offend. All that matters to them is the ability to spread their message of hatred and sheer, knuckle-dragging innocence. If these folks are Christians...well, then I'm the Queen of England.
I was never a fan of Tony Snow and his willingness to blindly parrot and defend Right-wing talking points as if they were the most natural and obvious things in the world. That was his job, though, not who he was, and even someone whose politics I abhor deserves to be remembered with dignity and grace...and without the shouts and insults of intolerant, brain-dead inbreds devoid of even the barest shred of decency and compassion. I may not have respected Snow's public persona, but even he had friends, colleagues, and family who loved him...and that's what he should be remembered for. If Fred Phelps and and his band of knuckle-draggers can't be bothered to recognize this, then we can only hope there's a special place for them in the Hell they so avidly shill for.
Why can't more of us view Tony Snow's passing as Elizabeth Edwards does, for the tragedy it represents?:
Tony Snow has died. And lots of people who valued the same things Tony did -- a family well-loved and work well-done -- have died and will die of colon cancer, those who have preceded Tony and those who will follow him. Can't we start with something easy on which we can agree? That no one should die of a disease we can find and stop?
Indeed. Snow was all of 53 when he died. His wife, his family, and his friends deserved to have him for far longer than they did. His death should rightly be viewed as the tragedy it is, for Snow succumbed to a disease we should be able to stop. Regardless of what one may think of his politics (and I detested them with every fiber of my being), he deserved more than 53 years. Lord knows that he deserved better than to have Fred Phelps and his band of idjits spreading their ignorance and hatred at what should be a celebration of his life.
Jesus called; He wants His religion back....
