Their level of validation is in direct proportion to the level at which they are noticed and tolerated. Someone needs to stuff them in a dumpster with 5 gal. of kerosene and a hot Zippo.
Below are a few ways of dealing with them that hopefully will limit your intense disgust at these foul-mouthed losers from Kansas.
1. Do not get too close – Many of their successful lawsuits come from people assaulting them. I mean, if you see a couple of jerkoffs who traveled halfway across the country to protest at your best friend’s funeral, you’d be bothered too. Avoid physical contact
2. Keep your cool – No need to rile them up. Keep in mind these are just words, and, while deliberately made to be as hurtful as possible, they can’t actually physically hurt you. If you try to threaten them or in any way bother them, they’ll leave.
3. Make out – Uh, if you were a part of a giant, cult-like, hate-filled family, imagine how angry you’d be if you saw other people making out. That’d annoy you, I’d imagine. Bring a boyfriend. Bring a girlfriend. Bring multiple friends. Kiss in front of them, effectively melting their hearts (just kidding, but your love will counterbalance their hate to some degree).
4. Not Today, Fred – This is a great sign. Fred Phelps heads up whatever you want to call them (they aren’t a church since no church recognizes them as such). Let him know you’re not okay with him today. My God loves everyone.
5. Raise money – For every minute they protest, have people contribute money. You’d be surprised how energized an 81 year old man can be by hate alone. Usually there’s a few of them, I guess they take turns protesting everything on Earth.
6. Make a website called “Godhates____.com” and refuse them the weblink – This is a good idea. They have websites like “GodhatesAmerica.com”, “GodhatesSweden.com”, and so on. Block this problem. Create sites like “GodhatesBelgium.com” or “Godhateslefthandedpeople.com” or “Godhatesitwhenpeanutbutterstickstotheroofofyourmouth.com”. Creating these limits the amount of websites they have, or at least bothers them. Apparently one of the members of this cult is fairly skilled with website layout. I have zero idea of how that happened.
7. Counter-Protesting in General – Every time I’ve counter-protested some ridiculous group (something that happens quite often in New York) I’ve ended up meeting great people. So while they are awful, countering their arguments is fairly easily. You know, you just might make a new friend.
8. Call a couple of Motorcyclists to Protect you – A motorcycle club who acts as a buffer between the Westboro Baptist Church and normal people. They go around the country, helping others just like you. The Patriot Guard Riders are a great group of peoples.
9. Ignore them – This goes under the age old advice to dealing with internet trolls: don’t feed the trolls. By paying attention to them you encourage their behavior. If you’re unable to do this, to ignore their awfulness, feel free to use the other tips.
10. Go to the UK – They can’t go there. Under the UK’s quintessentially English-named law “Least Wanted List” they are barred from ever entering the country.
Basically, ignoring them is the best strategy.