In the words of Albert Einstein, the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. With this guiding principle in mind, I am somewhat confused by our university’s resolve to stage a counter-protest against the outlandish bigots that are making their way to Blacksburg on Friday.
Let me set up a hypothetical for you: our good friends from the Westboro Baptist Church come, as anticipated, to spout their ruthless hatred about the tragedies that have befallen this university in recent months.
They bring their signs, their raving chants, and their commitment to disrupt a university with a goal of providing a sense of community, acceptance and camaraderie, only to be met with — and here’s the kicker — nothing. Nada. No people. No signs. No demonstrators. Nothing. They continue to entertain one another with their incessant chanting for a whole six to 10 hours until they realize their crazed, ravenous, hatred-spewing congregation has been heard by no one, and they leave. End of story. No media frenzy, no student rally, no counter-protest, no nothing.
We, the students and faculty at this university, have an agenda — several in fact — all of which need our constant time, energy, and focus. Many of you are aware that Relay for Life, one of our biggest, if not the biggest event dedicated to fundraising for cancer research, is planned for April 9. Many of us have classes to attend, community service to participate in and social activities galore.
Frankly, I have neither the time nor the inclination to allow these buffoons to enter my consciousness, let alone occupy time out of my day.
Each venue that finds itself overrun by these profoundly insane crusaders answers with some type of demonstration that shows their disapproval or general hatred for what these people are doing and saying.
Virginia Tech has demonstrated, through decades of actions, its intolerance for the hatred and ignorance of this group. We have no obligation to entertain or lend credence to their plight by staging an uprising against their group. By doing so, we only weaken our stance. To recognize the actions of these individuals at all is to give them the power and attention they crave.
I too feel impassioned enough to march up to each and every one of the barbarians just to tell them exactly what I think about them. Words like “despicable,” “abhorrent” and “repugnant” all come to mind. I truly feel that the world would be a better place without them.
Yet, they are here no less.
And they are marching into our territory, uninvited and unwanted. We, however, have an obligation to uphold a tradition of class, poise and grace – even when confronted with such a revolting group. I do not believe these people should get the best of us. By allowing them to attract attention and monopolize our time, we pollute the community and the memories of those we have lost.
The latest development in our university’s planned course of action — to protest at a location away from the Westboro group – conveys that Tech not only disapproves of the group’s message, but possesses the wisdom to avoid a conflict between students and protestors.
The message we send by voting with our feet is that we shun and avoid, both physically and emotionally, their poisonous hatred and with deliberate measure, isolate it from our environment.
On April 10, the absolute impotence of their efforts will be revealed when life in Hokie Nation continues with our spirit intact and their festering plague quarantined.
A version of this article appeared in the Apr 6 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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On one hand I agree with simply ignoring this domestic terrorist group (I refuse to refer to them as a church!). But as a second generation VT alumni and someone who lived in the beautiful town of Blacksburg for over 6 years my first response to this invasion of hate was a need to fight back! But how do you do this without expressing anger and hatred yourself, thus bringing yourself down to their level? This was a question I've been pondering for days. Then a friend sent me a link to a video on youtube about Gunn High School. Their response to a visit from the hate group was to stage their own picket line but instead of screeching messages of hate and intolerance, the students, families, and friends of Gunn High School sang, chanted, and spread messages of love and acceptance. It was beautiful to behold! It seemed to completely take all the hot air out of the 'evil ones' and they were standing their with looks of complete bewilderment on their faces!! I hope that those that elect to participate in the counter-protest will take this line of action. You can't find hate with hate but you can try to dilute it with love.
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You can TRY to dilute it with love, but don't expect too much success...I mean, look at the example of the American counter-culture movement of the 1970s that resulted in part from the Vietnam War. The protesters were thrown out from society, as were the soldiers who returned.
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Ooops. That was supposed to be 'fight hate with hate'.
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"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." -Edmund Burke
Fact is, despite anyone's best efforts to ignore them, people will still show up just to look at them. So if 7/8 of the campus actually follows through and ignores them, 1/8 will still show up (maybe they didn't hear about ignoring them) and the effect is what appears to be a weaker response to the WBC. Also, the Westboro Baptist Church will get media coverage no matter who shows up. The media's coverage is not dependent on the number of counter-protesters--having a big name hate group come to VT is newsworthy in itself and we'd rather have them ALSO report on a huge counter-protest showing the unity of the Hokie Nation.
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1 on this!
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I agree 100%. Simply ignore them.
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because ignoring a problem has ALWAYS gotten you somewhere. Ignore cancer, does it go away? Did the African Americans ignore slavery or on that note ANY civil rights movement? No. They did something about it. As a senior, I fail to understand how standing up for the friends, peers, and teachers I've lost is "polluting" their memory. In a perfect world this would work but WAKE UP. People are going to go see them for the sake of seeing them. If you don't want to stand up against their oppression against the LGBT, Jewish Community, Morgan Harrington, etc (the list is long). Then you can stand by yourself when they come for you. Have fun ignoring them. I'll be out there showing my support and donating money to the counter-protest and then do so more at night for Relay.
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Is voicing an opinion really oppression, though? I mean, look, these people express a viewpoint which is patently idiotic. They may use demeaning terminology, and they are often offensive. But being offensive isn't really a fundamental facet of oppression - to meet that standard, you really need to demonstrate that they are precluding you from exercising your rights. Stalin oppressed his people by locking up and executing political dissenters. Hitler oppressed his through martial law and the Holocaust. Westboro Baptist Church members say detestable things, but this amounts to little more than a public nuisance - which is easily avoided.
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I usually think that Brooke is kind of an idiot in her columns, but I 100% agree with this one. WBC WANTS people to come out and protest. They aren't doing anything "evil" because they're not doing anything productive. They'll just be standing around like retards. If they're ignored then they'll get bored and go away.
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'I truly feel that the world would be a better place without them.
Yet, they are here no less.'
And going out to actively protest actually heightens the likelihood of them no longer being on the face of this planet.
Protest breeds anger, numbers breed anonymity, focused anger breeds rage, and someone will eventually snap.
How does change actually occur? It can happen through peaceful protest, but that takes far more time and energy than most have. The fastest way to get change is through physical action.
Also, get your feelings on the subject straight. You spend the first half of the article saying that you are in favor of Tech taking no action in the slightest, yet in the second half, support the rally.
This is yet another poorly-written article that the Times is publishing in a half-hearted attempt to protect the students. Or is it the WBC that is the subject of the protection? The school’s administration successfully blurred the lines on that topic with the article released earlier concerning the relocation of the counter-protest.
Those who do not stand up and support the Hokie Nation and oppose the desecration of the memory of Morgan Harrington are the weak. Those who half-heartedly stand up at the school-supported rally are pathetic sheep that should have just stayed home.
If you are truly a Hokie, you will be there, across the street from the WBC, letting your feelings be known.
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It seems the Westboro Baptist Church can muster but one ally. http://tinyurl.com/y99fy5f
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It would be difficult being an ACLU member / official in that situation...
The thing is, the ACLU is required to support groups that are affected by unfair laws and sanctions. Did they want to defend the WBC? The answer does not matter, because they are obligated to.
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