Viwy,

The Phelpses have been down to Alabama before; they showed up to picket on behalf of Roy Moore (who promptly issued a press release repudiating any association with them), and one of the Phelps brothers sent a long letter to the Plainsman ranting about the feature story they’d run a couple weeks before on the Auburn Gay and Lesbian Association. Based on my past experience with them, I’m pretty sure I know what they’re thinking: that using this poor girl’s death as an occasion to court public hatred will get them and their websites mentioned in the news again. And they’re right; it will.

You know the saying “No publicity is bad publicity?” Well, the Phelpses actually believe it. If there were something even lower than the lowest of the low, they’d rush to be it, as long as it got their names in the paper.

Auburnrules2008,

I surely hope that nobody does anything so stupid as that. The last thing that we need is for a group as despicable as the Phelpses to be dignified as free speech martyrs.

When the Phelpses have picketed funerals of soldiers, AIDS patients, gay-bashing victims, etc., what people have done about it is to gather up a group of supporters to form a disciplined, nonviolent circle around the funeral site in order to protect the mourners from having to see or hear the Phelpses’ vile antics. The Phelpses thrive on courting hatred and provoking reaction; the best way to deal with them is to shield the grieving family and friends, and let the Phelpses do their disgusting little rant-and-rave at nobody in particular.