Westboro: A rally for tolerance

Clowns are coming to Gonzaga. They are also coming to Whitworth, Rogers High School, the Moody Bible Institute, Eastern Washington and the Synagogue Chavurat HaMashiach.

    Two weeks from now, on Oct. 21,  Spokane will be invaded by the most hateful and hated family in America: the Phelps family. For those who don't know, they run a "church" called the Westboro Baptist Church. These are the same individuals who picket military funerals. The reason? They believe that dead soldiers are a message from an angry God coming to punish Americans for not taking a hard-line against homosexuals.

These men and women are coming to protest Gonzaga. The reason? Taken from their website it's because our professors teach that being "gay is OK" among other things. These people also target Gonzaga because of our proud Catholic heritage which they believe promotes pedophilia. They are nothing more than a domestic nuisance but they are a deeply offensive one. The fact that they have decided to attack our school, as well as others in our area, is an assault on all of us. We have to tell these individuals that we do not welcome messages of hate at Gonzaga, in Spokane, or in the state of Washington. However, we also have to challenge these individuals the right way.

We need to have a strong show of force not only at Gonzaga but at every single location. It is important that we stand with the rest of our community. We may go to Gonzaga, the people north go to Whitworth, the people west  go to Eastern and the people in the synagogue on the South Hill practice a different religion from us, but we are all members of this community: An attack on one is an attack on all. We need to be out there as much as we can to show that we do not stand for hate.

But we also need to separate ourselves from them. They will shout awful things to everyone and no matter how angry some of us might get, no matter how much we want to shout back at them, we need to rise above. One suggestion was to sing songs from the civil rights era or others as well that promote tolerance and love. Another has suggested that we ask the local biker vet group to come out. If we can do both I think we should, but the importance is that we have a cohesive and clear message: We do not tolerate hate on our campus or in our city. Another great idea, one that  I believe everyone should take note of, is turning this event into a fundraiser. Some of our fellow classmates have set up donations for an LGBT charity that has yet to be named and for Operation Homefront, which supports military families. I strongly encourage everyone to donate.

I am also asking the administration to allow this demonstration to occur peacefully. We have the right to show Spokane that we care about this community beyond Gonzaga. We need to show that we care about this community beyond the walls of Gonzaga.  

I admit wholeheartedly that this is a call to demonstrate. I also admit that by doing this we might be empowering the very people we want to detract from. That only happens though, if we become an unruly, angry mob versus a demonstration for peace, love and tolerance. These people have decided that our home will be the next target for their bile. Let us show them what real Christians, what real human beings, are really like.