On October 6, 1998, 21-year-old Wyoming student Matthew Sheppard was attacked by two thugs in an apparent gay-bashing, resulting in his death a few days later. The incident shocked the nation, not only for the sheer brutality visited upon Shepherd, but because of the cruel reaction by a small group of protesters outside of Shepherd’s funeral. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, led by Pastor Fred Phelps, picketed outside of the funeral home where Shepherd was laid to rest with signs saying “God Hates Fags” among other reprehensible slogans.
The protest was a coming out party of sorts for Phelps and his group of hatemongers, who also picket the funerals of people who have died of AIDS, dead soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as notable celebrities like Coretta Scott King and Jerry Falwell. Members of the group even crossed the border into Canada to protest the funeral of Tim McLean, a young man who was murdered and beheaded on a Greyhound bus in 2008.
Their views are largely rooted in a literal interpretation of the Bible, and they believe God is punishing America and other countries for its tolerance of gays and lesbians, pointing to acts like 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as proof of God’s damnation. In the BBC documentary Louis Theroux: The Most Hated Family in America, Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Fred Phelps, explained the purpose of the pickets as a message to Americans that they are going to hell for supporting homosexuality. "You think our job is to win souls to Christ. All we do, by getting in their face and putting these signs in front of them and these plain words, is make what's already in their heart come out of their mouth," she said.
Major news outlets like Fox News, MSNBC, BBC and CNN have given the group an almost disproportionate amount of news coverage. Perhaps because of the jarring nature of their demonstrations some media coverage is warranted, but there is a line being crossed when that coverage provides these hatemongers a platform to spread their message.
Fox News alone has given the Westboro chuch an inordinate amount of coverage. On Hannity & Colmes, Phelps-Roper appeared on the show to talk about the church’s plan to picket outside the funeral of five little Amish girls who were murdered in Pennsylvania. Both hosts took turns calling Phelps-Roper crazy, sick, demented, and other pejorative words, which she was only happy to respond to in kind. On the Big Story Weekend, host Julie Banderas got into a shouting match with Phelps-Roper over the group’s picketing of dead U.S. soldier Matthew Snyder. Bill O’Reilly, host of the O’Reilly Factor, refuses to allow any members of the church on his program, but doesn’t shy away from having guests like Ann Coulter on his show to attack the group as well as judges who uphold their right to protest these funerals under the first amendment.
The media has a responsibility to report the news, and certainly bringing attention to Phelps’ actions in the case of Matthew Shepherd’s funeral was newsworthy. The murder was a brutal example of the violent homophobia many gay men and women are subjected to, and the protests outside the funeral and the trial of the men accused of killing Shepherd brought that out almost as much as the murder itself. But there’s also an ethical obligation to not showcase extremist and dangerous messages and behaviour either.
Would Fox News give coverage to a Ku Klux Klan rally? Would Tyra Banks interview a member of Revolution Muslim, a radical Islamic group that backs Al-Qaeda?
In the Most Hated Family in America, Phelps-Roper concedes that the reaction they receive from the press and the public that show up to attack them confirms what they believe about the Bible, gay people and society in general is correct. Therefore, the media is in some way reinforcing their beliefs with the amount of coverage they give them.
One might argue it serves a public interest to expose Phelps and the extremist view he represents. But according to the Anti-Defamation League, there have been no reports of violence caused by the Westboro church (some of its members have been attacked however). In the Most Hated Family in America, Phelps and his daughter Shirley made statements against committing violence of any sort. Their pickets are a blatant tactic to warn America of the danger in tolerating homosexuality. If they were intending to inflict physical harm on gays and lesbians, or anyone that doesn’t conform to their skewed interpretation of the Bible, than the argument that media coverage of their actions might make sense. However, the harm they cause is largely emotional, and accentuated by the media’s continued willingness to provide them coverage.
Allowing them to speak on cable news programs in order to challenge them on their views is flawed as well. Their irrational and hateful views cannot be changed or challenged, as the Most Hated Family in America shows. Talking or reasoning with them has no effect either; they are blinded by ideology and beholden to a man that has been likened to a cult leader.
The media does not have to cover every lunatic fringe element in our society, no matter how ridiculous their actions and views are. Phelps’ group is certainly reprehensible, and their pickets outside of funerals and their signs in particular test the limits of freedom of speech. But giving them a chance to air their views on mainstream media outlets only fuels their message of hate.
The media should cover this group at least for two reasons. One, they put themselves in the story. The story of that funeral would not be complete if they were not mentioned. For good or bad they are there and causing pain to the loved ones of soldiers and of gay teens. That and the reason they are doing it must be reported.
Secondly, it is always important to show moderate religious people exactly what fundamentalists look like. As disturbing as Phelps sounds, the bible agrees with him. If a homosexual read the bible, what other conclusion could you come up with, other than "God Hates Fag"?