Feb 21st, 2006
Dykes on Bikes: A new mission?
Okay, never in my wildest dreams did I think Damn Straight would ever link to Army Times, but there’s an article there with a loud but lovely idea.
“Bikers drown out funeral protesters”
by Ryan Lenz, Associated Press
Wacky Fred Phelps is really stretching his case these days. He is known for protesting anyone remotely queer and anyone who publicly supports anyone remotely queer. Phelps describes straight allies as “homosexualists” and claims there is a hotter place in hell for allies, since they should know better than actual queer people; straight people, he says, do not have the excuse of being ruled by “fag lust.” If Phelps is a new name to you, you can tell already how de-light-ful he must be at a dinner party.
Now it seems his Hate Brigade is showing up at highly visible funerals of anyone in the U.S. to show that deaths of soldiers and miners are occurring because of our county’s support for LGBT people. See the connection? No? Well, I told you it was a stretch.
LGBT communities have been very creative in planning peaceful responses, especially to minimize the trauma for the people who are mourning the loss of a loved one. (Who protests a funeral?!) Romaine Patterson and her Angel Action came up with a great counter-protest to the sign-waving Phelps crew by covering up the signs with their wings. But what about the sound of the hateful taunts yelled by the Topeka crew?
Sound like a job for Dykes on Bikes.
The next time Phelps shows up at a funeral in the LGBT community, mourners will find peace and comfort in a high-decible circle of support.