Holy crap. After all the bullshit it took to bring Rent to Corona Del Mar High School in Newport Beach, Calif., students will face one more obstacle: the performance theatre troupe known as the Westboro Baptist Church.
Fred Phelps lunatics plan to bring their “God Hates Fags” signs to the grounds of Corona Del Mar today, when the school debuts the student production of Rent, which Queerty was the first to tell you about in February when the principal, Fal Asrani, initially banned the production because it was too gay. (And they talk about AIDS, scary!)
After students and drama teacher Ron Martin finally received the OK from the administration to produce the show (and only after the media started throwing hot coals), the show goes on tonight at 7:30pm.
Except Corona Del Mar, already facing a lawsuit from the ACLU over tolerated homophobia and molestation accusations against a former teacher, now faces a scheduled 2:15pm protest from the seemingly-everywhere WPC.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Notes the schedule of this crazypants organization:
Corona del Mar High School – Jews Killed Jesus, love fags! 2101 Eastbluff Drive WBC to picket this High School, and the goofy Jewish bastards who pretend they have a cause against the Lord and against His anointed. Check out this good verse: Romans 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Is this what you blind Christ-rejecting Jews are protesting on behalf of? Latest news from Orange County reads: “A former Corona del Mar High School teacher has been charged with molesting two young girls and keeping hundreds of images of child pornography at his home, prosecutors said today.” Stop lying to these children, putting them into the hands of child molesters, repent while you can! “Rent” is but the catalyst for this epic event. AMEN!
Should help ensure a sold out show.
Liz
Trespassing on state property, student endangerment, can anyone else say ACTIONABLE? free speech is one thing I will not stand in the way of, but when you are physically endangering people and their peaceable assemblage, especially of minors expressing themselves as they choose, it’s on, bitches.
BradK
This actually might be a good thing.
The contrast of this whack-job bigot and his flock with their vile statements against the content of “Rent” would only help to prove our point about how much hatred there is to contend with. Do you really think he won over any new converts by picketing Mathew Shepard’s funeral 10 years ago?
Pragmatist
OMG! I’ve always heard about these freaks but have never seen them in person! Now I’ll have a chance! (/sarcasm)
Bruno
I always maintain that the appearances of these hateful THINGS at any event only ever helps the other side.
Jeff Chang
Here are the websites with photos of the counter-protest:
Student-led:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?sid=165d48c029f4e84c75dad6ea09441a28&eid=71391858047&ref=search
Civil Rights Groups:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?sid=165d48c029f4e84c75dad6ea09441a28&eid=71391858047&ref=search#/event.php?eid=73666772169&ref=ts
SurfNicaragua
Bruno: I agree. I’ve heard the WBC called everything from terrorists to Neo-Nazi’s. People show up to counter them because they consider the WBC to be dangerous. The thing is, the WBC is legally savy, and avoids doing anything that wouldn’t give them an advantage in court. So the worst they can do is hold signs and shout hateful things.
And as far as “spreading their hateful message”. oh please, how many people actually listen to these nutjobs? It’s not like there are scores of people moving to Kansas so that they can convert to Westboroism. They are so extreme that there’s a feeling among conservatives that Phelps is really a liberal plot to make conservatives look bad. They make a lot of noise, but I don’t think anyone is listening.
So yeah, the most that the WBC did was inspire a lot of people to come out and… well, have a party on the street corner for a couple of hours.