Welcome Wall of Peace Friends

There is a time and a season for everything. Wall of Peace Against Westboro Baptist Church  was created first as a Facebook page by Sabrina, in response to the outrageous notion that picketing the funerals of fallen members of the military was an appropriate place to spread bigotry and hatred. She founded that  first page on the premise that good people could and would respond in a peaceful manner of counter-protest by literally surrounding grieving families with a human wall to shield them from the sights and sounds of hateful bigotry where ever WBC appeared. I ( Kate) then came along a few weeks later to help tend the homefires by volunteering to moderate the page with her. Since then, we've been joined by several others, and there is now a group of moderators. It's been an amazing journey, and it continues with this new site.

The Facebook page served it's purpose very well for the group-for posting updates so individuals could respond to WBC picket sites and as a place where people could express their frustration at the actions of Westboro Baptist and their deepest sorrow for the loss of loved ones in the military. Many of you who visited the page became friends-not just "Facebook Friends-but friends in a very real, heartfelt connection...and you became our friends, too. Together we became the mortar that held the Wall of Peace together.

Two weeks ago, when the WBC websites were hacked and brought down by a vigilante organization, the purpose of  Wall of Peace temporarily changed to that of a place to gather and express anger and frustration, and we embraced that . At the time, we were no longer able update the picketing schedule to track their movements. Then the case of a soldier's family targeted by WBC went to trial in the Supreme Court, and the Justices made the decision that WBC was within it's First Amendment rights of free speech and could continue to protest military funerals. The public outrage was and is overwhelming, and it showed in the paradigm shift taken on the Wall of Peace Facebook page. Again, we encouraged people to keep talking- and that remembering that bigotry and hatred have no place in our society. The anger was too much for some individuals, and they lashed out blindly, threatening verbal and physical harm through posts on the page wall- not only toward WBC, but toward one another, and toward the moderators.Chaos ensued and the peaceful resolve of the group was momentarily lost. There were obscene outbursts, accusations of anti-patriotism and religious favoritism flying in every direction- much of it spurned on by only a few individuals with private agenda's trolling through threads on Facebook.


This is a new day, and there is a stronger Wall of Peace Against Westboro Baptist Church. The format has changed, but the benefits are many...it will once again be a place where calmness and peace will be the primary focus as our mission. One of those benefits is that we will no longer be subjected to the seemingly daily design changes of Facebook,or  the sudden techno-quirks of their utility network. Another will be that we can moderate the page in a more orderly fashion, and that we aren't under their vague rules of what is acceptable and what is not on a FB community page. Now the picket updates will appear on the homepage along with other information, such as news articles and videos. In the next few days there will be additional pages of interest added to the site.You will still be able to post and respond in the comments sections provided under the administrative posts, even though the format will take a little getting used to for most of us...and you will be able to 'guest' blog (by sending your prepared piece to our new email address or notifying  a moderator to assist you.) Most importantly, you will still be able to speak your mind with caring and thoughtfulness.

Stand up and become a Wall of Peace Against Westboro Baptist Church. Let's show WBC what patriotism and love of country is all about- that bigotry and hatred will not be tolerated in America by a few puny tyrants
with signs.  The most important brick in the Wall of Peace Against Westboro Baptist Church is YOU.