Can you fight hate?

Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. We are allowed to express our opinions because we live in America, where we have freedom of speech and the power to protest what we do not believe in. But the Westboro Baptist Church will put this freedom to the test in a half-hour long protest scheduled for Oct. 28 at 8:45 a.m. outside Rutgers Hillel. While this group has the right to protest, The Daily Targum unanimously joins with members of Rutgers Hillel and the University community in denouncing the vile message of the Westboro Baptist Church. The hatred expressed by this group has no place at our University.
The University community is now posed with the question of whether or not to stand up for what they believe, or just turn the other cheek to the hatred being yelled at them.
The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kan., is bringing about 10 picketers to stand outside Rutgers Hillel and spread their message of hatred against the Jewish faith and gay people. This is the same group, led by Fred Phelps, who stood outside of Matthew Shepard’s funeral, displaying signs with slogans such as “Matt Shepard rots in Hell,” “AIDS Kills Fags Dead” and “God Hates Fags.” They are tied into the Web site godhatesfags.com, where they spew rants about the country and the state of destruction that it is in because of the behavior the people who live in it engage in. There is also the calendar of protests the group has planned, which takes them all around the country. The University is just a stop along the way, because they feel they have to deliver a message to us. Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of this extremist group, said, “Rutgers is a fluffy house of idols. It’s a place where the arrogant, stupid doomed Americans … send their children to educate.” When asked why the group chose to protest at the University, 
she said children anger God with filthy habits, false gods and a belief that they can do whatever they want.
The University is known for being diverse and accepting students of any race, culture or sexual preference. The fact that this group wants to speak against the one thing the University stands firm on should outrage students. The WBC has beliefs that are crazy. They hate everyone who is not in their group and who shares their beliefs. They only see things one way, which is their way of narrow mindedness. Their site states that they believe the “modern militant homosexual movement to pose a clear and present danger to the survival of America.” That belief is the basis of the mindset of this group. They cannot possibly think they are without fault, but when it comes to speaking about their own sins and wrongdoings, they choose not to concentrate on them.
This protest they are planning is not only directed at Hillel, but the entire University student body. We are a school of diverse cultures, where students are free to meet in groups supporting their religious beliefs, sexual preference and ethnicity without judgment. Having this group show up to spread a message of hate against University students, saying we are all stupid and come here for our “edumacation,” is what will bring the students together. No one agrees with the message the WBC is trying to send. Their comments and generalizations about the students that come here are offensive and are said with nothing to back it up. They just blame the world’s problems on the behavior of students, saying the world is breeding “sluts and sissy boys and how there is not a man among them.”
Now there is the question of what exactly to do about these people showing up to the University spitting out ludicrous statements at 8:45 a.m., if there is anything to do about it. The attention they are already getting might be what they are really after. Negative attention toward them just adds fuel to their fire and gives them more to rant about. They are waiting for someone to be disrespectful toward them, that way they can say that it is because of the groups of people they do not like, that people are like this. Their message, whether people believe in it or not, is also being spread with media attention. However, attention should be brought to these people, simply because it has to be known that these close-minded people do exist in society. They actually believe they are right. It is hard to even think about respecting these people, who were disrespectful enough to spew this crap outside of a murdered man’s funeral and just leave them alone while they stand shouting with appalling signs and slogans on College Avenue.
Students must be mindful that anything less than a peaceful response will be seen as a victory in the minds of this group. You cannot fight hate with hate, so it would be wisest just to ignore them while they spread their message. The Targum encourages students to stand united against the members of Westboro Baptist Church protesting at the University by not overreacting to their presence. There will be passers-by who stop to watch the traveling circus that is the WBC group because people are attracted to the extreme. The group is a walking, talking contradiction. The Westboro Baptist Church hates America and everything it stands for — diversity and acceptance — and yet this is the only place they could do what they do without being stopped. These people should “edumacate” themselves on new ideas and realize that they are the ones who are wrong.