UNCOMMON SENSE: Solving a Problem Without Addressing One Tuesday, March 15, 2011 By Editor Zane Clark - Advertising How often do we come across situations where we know what someone is doing isn’t right, but it isn’t against the law? Miley Cyrus smoking her legal weed substitute or Kanye walking out taking the spotlight from Taylor Swift at the Grammy Awards two years ago are both prime examples. What these two people, nay celebrities, did was wrong. There is a fine line where human nature should intervene and tell you that what you are doing isn’t morally or ethically correct even if it is within your legal rights. Reverend Fred Phelps (although it pains me to call him that) of the independent Westboro Baptist Church out of Topeka, Kansas is known for his anti-gay, hateful, and hurtful protesting of military funerals. A few years back this group of extremist idiots protested a military funeral for a young man in Maryland, the late Matthew Snyder. Matthew’s father, Albert Snyder, filed a lawsuit against the Phelps clan. Originally he won eleven million dollars in his case where he charged the Westboro wackos with causing intentional emotional distress. This was later reduced to five million dollars. Then the Court of Federal Appeals in Virginia threw out the verdict saying the Constitution shielded the church members from liability. Finally the case was brought to the Supreme Court where the ruling of the Court of Appeals was upheld. The issue here is the Constitution ensures the freedom of speech and to peacefully protest and the followers of Fred Phelps were simply exercising their right at the expense of one grieving father’s pain and suffering. Don’t misunderstand me, our freedom of speech is a defining factor of our country and I would much rather keep it than have it stripped from me. So instead of continuing to rant on and on about Phelps and his sick and twisted beliefs, I’m going to offer solutions to the problem at hand. The Westboro schmucks have to get to places somehow don’t they? Then who is to say on the day they come to your city there may not be a very coincidental traffic jam keeping people locked on the outskirts of town for an entire day? Maybe the police officers will be out working on a training exercise or maybe they will be busy grabbing a bite to eat? It’s not flawless and it would take a joint effort from the community, but it’s a solution that would peacefully stop the protesters and deny them the attention they so much desire. If Cameron was ever again plagued by the presence of these pests maybe Poland Thompson Funeral Home and other local businesses could rent out their property to citizens of the community for the day. Charge them maybe a dollar or so and the people of Cameron would have claim to enough land for the day to keep the crazy convent far enough away they would go unnoticed. No feelings would be hurt, nothing illegal will have gone on, and for once the problem will be solved without arguing back and forth with an ignorant group. It seems quite clear to me that the major motivation for these nut jobs is attention. They want to be heard and the media in America gives them the face time they so crave. If we would simply ignore them, and as hard as it is maybe we could solve the issue without arguing for a cause so valiant. You can then hold your head high knowing the family of Fred Phelps durst not bother you or your community again.

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