Guy buys house next to Westboro Baptist, paints it rainbow

AreaCode707

Lifer
Sep 21, 2001
18,445
129
106
I can't be the first to post this but I searched, I swear I did.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...ty-house-aaron-jackson-rainbow_n_2906337.html

The Westboro Baptist Church is about to get a big surprise in the form of a new neighbor who plans to give the notoriously anti-gay group a taste of its own medicine.


Aaron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace, a multi-pronged charity that has in the past concentrated on rainforest conservation, opening orphanages and deworming programs, bought a house that sits directly across from the church's compound six months ago. On Tuesday, March 19, he and a team of volunteers are painting it to match the gay pride flag.


The project -- which the nonprofit is calling the "Equality House" -- is the first in a new campaign Planting Peace plans to wage against the group. Westboro is known for its intimidating tactics of protesting (or threatening to protest) what they refer to as America's pro-gay, anti-God agenda, in close proximity to pride parades, soldier funerals and other events like the Sandy Hook memorial services.


"I read a story about Josef Miles, a 10-year-old kid who counter-protested the Westboro Baptist Church by holding the sign that says 'God Hates No One,'" Jackson told The Huffington Post.


"I didn't know anything about the church or where they were located, but that story kept popping up. And one night I wondered, Where is this church? I got on Google Earth, and I was 'walking down the road,' and I did a 360 view. And I saw a 'For Sale' sign sitting in the front yard of a house. Right away it hit me, Oh my gosh, I could buy a house in front of the WBC! And immediately I thought: And I'm going to paint that thing the color of the pride flag."


Jackson said he's always wanted to get involved in gay activism, but hadn't been sure of how to do it until this opportunity presented itself.
"The reason I haven't gotten into the gay rights activism is because, in a sense, it's almost silly -- it's 2013, are we really still in this position? It just seems ludicrous," he said. "But it is a real issue and kids are killing themselves. I've wanted to do something, and I knew when I saw that house for sale that it all came together. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm a little crazy and there's no red tape in my charity. When I want to do something, I do it."


Planting Peace bought the house for roughly $83,000, and Jackson has been living in Topeka for just over a month. As he waited for the perfect time to transform the house into a very visible celebration of gay pride -- and a direct challenge to what Westboro preaches -- he encountered members of the group, including the Phelps family, which has run the church since it was established in 1956.


"They own the majority of the homes in the community, and I walk through the area every day, and I see them running in between each other's houses," he said. "One day I was walking, and Shirley Phelps [one of Westboro's main spokespeople and the daughter of the church's leader, Fred Phelps] was on her four-wheeler. And I said, 'Hey guys, how are you?' And [she and her husband] responded, 'Oh, we're good. How are you?' We had a short conversation, and she was extremely nice, and she made a joke and we all laughed."


"It's the craziest thing -- and it really throws you off -- because she's the type of woman who calls you "hun" and "darling" -- she's very Southern," he said. "It's like, aren't you the lady that's supposed to be casting me into hell? It's truly mind-boggling, but I can't say anything personally bad about her because she was kind to me and she made me laugh. She'd probably be fun to hang out with."


But pleasantries aside, Jackson said he's confident that the church is already wary of his presence and may be expecting some sort of action from him.


"They're extremely smart, and I would be willing to guess that when I moved into this community that they looked up property records, especially considering that I drive a Prius and I have an original reelect Jimmy Carter sticker on the back of it -- I'm a screaming liberal," he said.


Jackson said he's also witnessed members of the church taking photos of the house and the industrial flagpole he installed, which stands in opposition to the flagpole that currently flies the pride flag and the American flag upside-down in front of the Westboro Baptist Church.
"It looks like the United Nations is having a stand off with flags. These flag poles are huge. They know that we've forked out big money for this," Jackson said.


Jackson said he's seen people who he thinks are members of the church, including high-ranking member Steve Drain, taking photos of the house.


By the end of Tuesday, the Westboro Baptist Church will no longer be wondering what is going on at Jackson's home. But beyond painting the Equality House the colors of the rainbow flag and flying the flag from the newly installed flagpole, Jackson is already working on the next steps in his new fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) equality.


"We want this house to be a message that where there's hate, there's also love. But we also want to raise awareness and capital, and we want to put all that money into creating and sustaining anti-bullying programs, along with supporting anti-bullying programs that already exist," he said. "Beyond the symbolic message of the home, [the house] will be utilized by volunteers to live here, and these volunteers will work on promoting equality anywhere in the world and managing these anti-bullying initiatives that we plan on creating."


While Jackson understands that Westboro feeds off of the attention that it receives from the media and others, he said he believes that it's still critical to address their hate.


"The media has already given them such a huge platform, and I don't see that stopping," he said. "We're taking the energy that's being poured into them and turning it into something positive. This is how we plan on playing it: Use their energy and let's turn it into something incredibly positive for the LGBT community."


Jackson said he also sees the Equality House as one more step toward bringing about the demise of the organization. In recent months, the group has faced a backlash both from former members -- like Lauren Drain, who released a book about her life in the church and who recently suggested that Westboro's leader, Fred Phelps, may himself be gay -- and city governments, which have passed legislation aimed at limiting the group's ability to picket.


"I think the future for the Westboro Baptist Church is very bleak," he said. "These poor kids will hopefully continue to leave that church. They have a lot of kids over there, but unfortunately they're not in a place where they can make decisions for themselves."


Jackson is confident that Westboro's loss of power and relevance is just one sign of the good things still to come for the LGBT community.


"I love seeing all of these Republicans and all these people who have been anti-gay all this time jumping ship because they know they're on the wrong side of history. It's an amazing thing to see," he said. "I know we have a long way to go in fighting bigotry, but we all know the gays are going to win. It's going to happen."


To find out how you can help support the Equality House and its anti-bullying campaign, click here.

I love watching people creatively block and bait Westboro. :D
 

Doppel

Lifer
Feb 5, 2011
13,306
3
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Funny but entirely pointless. In the vid was a sign I assume by his group to spread a little peace. He is just fighting their behavior with inflammatory behavior himself. Will this change their minds in anything?

I assume it will piss them off a great deal though and that is probably not a net negative.
 

Pr0d1gy

Diamond Member
Jan 30, 2005
7,774
0
76
They try to keep us from all seeing each other as equals for fear that we will stop seeing them as our superiors.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,771
865
126
I felt sorry for WBC's neighbors, before. Now, even more so.

Just give it a bit until they are forced to paint it a normal color.

While it's awesome they do this to piss off the church it's probably something the city will have to get them to fix for land values / or with eyesore laws many places have in place.
 

dawp

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
11,347
2,709
136
Just give it a bit until they are forced to paint it a normal color.

While it's awesome they do this to piss off the church it's probably something the city will have to get them to fix for land values / or with eyesore laws many places have in place.

I don't think that going to happen. I don't believe that house is in a historical neighborhood or an HOA which would limit color choices.
 

Druidx

Platinum Member
Jul 16, 2002
2,971
0
76
About 15 years ago I had a relative who was transferred from Austin Texes to Topeka. He was only in Topeka for a single weekend to find a house. They ended up buying one across the street from WBC. It was only a week after they moved in that they witnessed their 1st of many anti WBC protest right in their front yard.

BTW this isn’t even close to the best troll job on the church. Years ago someone hacked their DNS, which sent anyone who visited their website godhatesgfags,com to godlovesfags,com. It included a message from Fred Phelps, explaining how he changed his opinion on homosexuality after experiencing the joy of hot man love.
 

Lithium381

Lifer
May 12, 2001
12,452
2
0
saw it yesterday on a facebook feed. . . . i hope he has insurance on it. not that WBC has shown tendencies of destructive behavior, but i mean there might be an "accident"
 

WHAMPOM

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2006
7,628
183
106
Funny but entirely pointless. In the vid was a sign I assume by his group to spread a little peace. He is just fighting their behavior with inflammatory behavior himself. Will this change their minds in anything?

I assume it will piss them off a great deal though and that is probably not a net negative.

Ya mean goad the WBC into doing something illegal, bring them up on charges and prosecute it as a hate crime? A few cameras, some witnesses and those that God tells to hate gays go to jail.
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,771
865
126
Who, exactly, is going to force them to do that and by what right can this change be forced?

You have never heard of eyesore laws for residential areas?

Those are usually in place in many cities for something like this or enact ones after the issue happens.

Not to mention I would assume the church would go after that hard.
 

zsdersw

Lifer
Oct 29, 2003
10,505
2
0
You have never heard of eyesore laws for residential areas?

Those are usually in place in many cities for something like this or enact ones after the issue happens.

Not to mention I would assume the church would go after that hard.

Yeah, but does Topeka have such a law?
 

Newbian

Lifer
Aug 24, 2008
24,771
865
126
Yeah, but does Topeka have such a law?

Who knows but they can always add them to the books if the neighbors complain enough as it has happened before.

It's great to piss of this church but another thing when you piss off your neighbors who were innocent.
 

CLite

Golden Member
Dec 6, 2005
1,726
7
76
WBC are trolls and are somewhat crafty ones as well. They have a ton of lawsuits rolling out constantly to fund their troll-seeking ways and they never engage in violence.

Can you imagine being a LBGT-hating troll and having one of them open an "equality house" across the street? I'm sure the WBC is estatic and salivating at the chance to troll the poor guy.
 

Theb

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2006
3,533
9
76
It's a fun idea, but the WBC loves negative attention. The fact that this guy was motivated to do this just reinforces their belief that America is crumbling and god favors them.
 

Theb

Diamond Member
Feb 28, 2006
3,533
9
76
Just give it a bit until they are forced to paint it a normal color.

While it's awesome they do this to piss off the church it's probably something the city will have to get them to fix for land values / or with eyesore laws many places have in place.

If something could be done about eyesores someone probably would've done something about this.

tumblr_l06m4oUMQV1qacar6o1_r1_500.jpg
 

zinfamous

No Lifer
Jul 12, 2006
111,238
30,212
146
Just give it a bit until they are forced to paint it a normal color.

While it's awesome they do this to piss off the church it's probably something the city will have to get them to fix for land values / or with eyesore laws many places have in place.

yeah, I'm sure the presence of Westboro Baptist hoodlums keeps that land value stellar....