Days later, someone sends me a link to the local paper that did a story about us standing watch and coming together for support at the funerals. The first day my friend S took the front of the crowd and I stood up the hill at the back. He kept people enthused and focused and I stood watch for trouble makers or the hate group that said they were coming to protest the funerals. You may have heard of that group. Westboro. They claim to be a church and demonstrate the absolute worst aspects of religions short of actually doing physical harm to someone. They spew hate. They show up at military funeral and gay funerals with signs that say "God Loves Dead Soldiers" and God Hates Fags" and all sorts of hate-speech. They show up at political rallies. They hide behind the bible, but their real purpose is to incite and provoke violence so they can sue vulnerable people and towns/cities. Most of the family, and the "church" is actually one big family of about 50 people, are lawyers. It is considered a cult by anyone with sense. They ask for police protection before they come and if they provoke someone with their hate speech (or stepping on the American flag), they sure the police for failing to protect them. They won six figures more than once. They won five figures from the family of a veteran because one of the family members reacted to their provocations at a funeral. I won't mention them any more because they don't deserve the attention. Our job was first to support the families.
Our first purpose for gathering is to say #lovewins and support families and mourners. Part of that support is blocking any view of their vitriol from the families and mourners. Our job is to remain calm, positive, and united in supporting the families no matter what anyone does. We succeeded well today. :)
Meanwhile, all day people were coming up to ask me what was going on in the Facebook group and because I don't have Facebook on my phone I had to say I don't know, but there were conflicting posts from the Group Administrators. When I got home after another 12 hour day out in the heat and rain, I went to the group and found I and all the other Admins were removed as Admins by one of the new Admins. No discussion, he just took the power he was given and removed everyone in the first hour he was there. More than 20,000 people joined that group in the first afternoon, including most of my friends because I invited them, and they were all confused because the message the new Admin was putting out was the opposite of why the group was formed. He told everyone not to go out to the funerals and all sorts of other nonsense. I tried to correct the message and he banned me from the group.
So one of the banned Admins created another group and 5,000 people moved to the new group. I wondered why the turnout was much lower today and was sad and angry to find out the support for the families was being undermined by some egomaniac who just took over without any plan other than to stop the support. It is possible he was a supporter of the hate group that slipped in just to undermine the community.
Whatever that guy and that group does, we will continue to support the families.
People can be so cruel.
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