From Protest to Picnic

For more coverage, see Casey Germann’s photo essay of the event here.

A BU student protest against anti-gay and anti-Jew Westboro Baptist Church picketers in front of BU Hillel House transformed into a “love picnic” at Marsh Plaza Tuesday afternoon.

“Our love is better than their hate,” said Tyler Sit, the Marsh Chapel associate for the lesbian gay bisexual transgender and questioning community.

About seven members of the WBC arrived around 3:30 p.m. and were greeted by hundreds of BU students. The two groups of protestors were divided by Granby Street, with the seven WBC protestors holding signs that said, “The Jews killed Jesus” and “America is doomed” on one side and students, some decked out in rainbows and American and Israeli flags holding signs that said, “Love will always prevail” and “God Loves All” on the other.

One WBC protestor chanted “You all fail” and shouted about Bible verses, Obama and the war in Iraq, but was smothered by the sound of students singing “Don’t Stop Believin’” and “All You Need is Love”.

Around 3:45 p.m., Tyler Sit, climbed on top of a statue in the courtyard and yelled, “Why even pay attention to them? Let’s go party in Marsh Plaza.” And by 4:00 p.m., most students picked up their posters and went with him, where they ate cookies and cupcakes and sang along to a guitar on the front steps of Marsh Chapel.

According to the WBC website, the protest was the one of three scheduled protests in Boston on World AIDS Day Tuesday.

Founded by Fred Phelps, the group appears to consist largely of his children and grandchildren, and have protested just about everything in the past: homosexuality, Judaism, Catholicism, African-Americans, funerals for American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and America itself. Earlier this month, the group also picketed outside of the schools of Obama’s daughters.

They are a small, but well-known and well-hated group who garner publicity for what they call “daily peaceful sidewalk demonstrations opposing the homosexual lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth.”

Students expressed concern over whether the protest was actually helping combat hate or giving attention where it was not deserved.

“I’m kinda torn. It seems like this group is just out to get people riled up. I don’t know if showing up is egging them on,” said Eric, a member of a Boston atheist organization.

Others questioned the impact that a counter-protest has.

“It would be hard to make an impact against the people we are protesting against,” said CFA freshman Jacob MacDonald.  But “It’s important for us to come together as a community and reaffirm among ourselves that their position of hatred is not the position that we support,” he added.

Most students considered the protest a success.

The protest wound down and students gathered on the steps of Marsh Chapel singing “Seasons of Love” from RENT.

“Look around, this is amazing,” CAS and COM senior Ben Keil said. “The end result is very beautiful.”