After picking up some provisions from a Topeka Wal-Mart last Monday, I headed to my first stop of my week-long Kansas tour: the Westboro Baptist Church, the "place of worship" led by Fred Phelps. They're the group who has gained infamy over the years by their funeral protests, first of gays, lately of US soldiers killed in the War on Terror.The first thing I learned was why the church is called "Westboro." Well, it's in Topeka's Westboro neighborhood. The area is solidly middle class, my only gripe with it--besides Phelps' presence there, is that it is dominated by nonsensical one-way streets--it's not an easy place to drive through.
A few weeks ago guest on the Fox News Channel described the church as being built like a fortress--that's a minor exaggeration. It is fenced off, like a lot of suburban homes. Part of the fence is wrought iron, the remainder is wooden--with a row of hedges obscuring the planks.
Are the bushes there to prevent graffiti taggers from expressing their displeasure?
Many of the homes adjacent to the church are protected by similar fencing; in my research I learned that many of the members of WBC live on the same block where the church is. Westboro's congregation is small, Phelps' flock consists almost exclusively of his family and some in-laws.
On the right is the front door of the Wesboro Baptist Church, behind a fence, naturally.
Something else that is strikingly different about WBC is that there is no parking lot nearby--a necessity of almost all churches in the developed world, save city storefront churches and those in urban centers such as New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, a onetime Phelps picket site. As you can see in the picture, not only is Phelps church much more modest than the NYC landmark.
I parked on a nearby side street, and encountered a building contractor who was, no surprise, working on one of Westboro's fences. They assured me the whole gaggle of Phelpsters were out of town. At a protest? The compound was eerily quiet--however, a thunderstorm had just ended.
It's pretty easy to look into the WBC compound. There's a basketball hoop and court, as well as a playground set--nothing unusual there.
But then there is a flag pole, with the US and Canadian flags flying upside down. Phelps and his followers claim the flags are flown that way to warn of distress-- and yes, flying an American flag upside down is a generally accepted way to indicate an emergency.
But coming from a group that operates a site called GodhatesAmerica.com, I'm sure they do this for the shock value. And Canada, you're not forgotten. Phelps' group operates the GodHatesCanada.com site.
Others must agree, because surrounding the flagpole is another wrought iron fence. This fence is much different: Instead of the tops of the metal posts ending pointing upwards, these posts are bent outwards--to prevent people who are offended by Westboro's flag display from lowering the flags and then hoisting them back up in the proper fashion.
I'd seen enough, I hopped back in my car, and headed south from Topeka for the Flint Hills and a talk with a gas station operator who told me "Fred Phelps is not too popular in these parts."
Related posts:
My Kansas Kronikles: An overview
My Kansas Kronikles: This has to stop
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