(no subject)

[oakenguy]

Things That Make Me Despair:

At 7-11 this year, as a "gift suggestion", they're selling practical joke lottery scratch tickets. The joke is this: each card's a winner! Excitement! Joy! Cash! And then they read the fine print (or overlook it and try to cash it in, and then the fun really starts), and discover it's BOGUS.

In case it needs to be said, if you give me this 'gift' I am never, ever, ever speaking to you again. By and large, I think it'd be better to give someone dog crap--there's still the "oh HELL no" drop when the recipient discovers what a sucky gift they've actually received, but at least there isn't that false surge of joy.


Things That Give Me Hope:

The obscenities on two legs known as Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church came back to Boston this month to picket something with their "God Hates Fags" posters--this time it was a staging of The Laramie Project. This time, though, local gay rights groups countered with a "Phelps-a-Thon", where people pledged donations for each minute the Phelps clan stuck around, the proceeds going to gay rights organizations. They raised $4,647.

The counter-protest included the chant "YOU'RE CRAZY! YOU'RE FUNNY! YOU'RE RAISING US MONEY!" Days after I first read this news article, I can't think of this chant without feeling a warm glow inside.

Comments

[ngakmafaery.livejournal.com]

...boy, that is beyond rotten, that lottery ticket thing...talk about meanmeanmean, to give that to someone...! Good for the creative antiphelps guys, though...

[clionona.livejournal.com]

OMGOSH!
I was actually feeling a little down today before I read what those clever anti-Phelps people did!

WIN!

Thank you so much for sharing and giving me a smile!

♥!

[palusbuteo.livejournal.com]

"Phelps clan"

What?! These lousy excuses of people were in Boston?!

...I wonder if the people in Westboro, MA get a lot of flak from coincidental association with that...church... especially when I think of the "Crucible" of downtown Westboro with like 2 churches on each corner.


But hey, the counter protest raised a lot of money - Good for them!!

I hope the Phelps-o-philes got really hot and bothered knowing how much money was raised. That would have been fun to see how frustrated they got. Wonder who's footing their travel bills....

[sistahraven.livejournal.com]

::facepalm:: Fake winning lotto tickets? I think I'd break someone's arm.

and YAY for positive counter-protest to hate. I loved the line of people ignoring them when they protested in Lexington, and I love the idea that the more they were there spreading hate, the more they raised money to counter it!

[temperlj.livejournal.com]

The frustrating part...Fred Phelps lives two blocks over from a friend of mine in KS..He's cowed everyone in the neighborhood with his team of attack lawyers. But if you know anyone who wants to know where that is...

[oakenguy.livejournal.com]

How does he afford lawyers? How does he afford ANY of the things he does?!

[bulrogue.livejournal.com]

I got one of those fake tickets last year from a co-worker...thought I had won $10K...she gave one do another co-worker who thought the same thing...but the other co-worker actually went out and won $5K that night...we thought she was bluffing until she showed us the receipt...stupid slot machines!

[hermitgeecko.livejournal.com]

The Phelps-a-thon is lovely. Kalamazoo's Planned Parenthood fights protesters the same way -- when they have picketers, local businesses give them money until the picketers go away.

[jeninmaine.livejournal.com]

That is AWESOME! I'm wearing my Gay Pride shirt today:

http://www.threadless.com/product/896/Gay_Pride

:D

[crunchyleaf.livejournal.com]

What gift is funnier in a recession than fake lottery tickets, right?

And Phelps is such a whacko.