Tree hates Bigots

The Wesboro Baptist Church (headed by Fred Phelps) was in Stanford campus on Friday morning to demonstrate. It’s one of the worst legal hate group in US. Their main targets: any faith that’s not Christianity or any Christian group that supports Gays. They have been known to make racist slurs against African Americans.

They also maintain a God Hates India website(I don’t want to link to any of those stupid sites. Please search the words “God Hates India”  in Google and you will, hopefully, find the site) They have a link there called “Poster Children for sin”. You know who they are? First in their list is Mahatma Gandhi. That’s right. Then comes Nobel laureate Amrtya Sen, writer Vikram Seth and others.

Then comes another link on the same site: “False Religious System”. And here I have to actually quote them:

80% of India’s population claim to practice Hinduism. ‘Nuff said. A country full of idolatry inevitably results in a nation full of fags and fag-enablers, because that’s what happens when you depart from the Living God!

…

If you would STOP worshipping false gods, being a fag would not be a complex matter.  Stop going a whoring after other gods and start serving the Living God in truth!

Enraged enough? At least you got the context of what I am talking about. So these guys were here in STANFORD CAMPUS to demonstrate and picket. Ever since their announcement to be in Campus, there have been a lot of activity with in Stanford to organize a counter demonstration (I wanted to be there, but unfortunately, I forgot to put it on my calendar and I missed. Two reasons I wanted to be there: to take pictures and to see the real live people who propagates such things. I have always seen them on TV only). They picked up Hillel Center at Stanford (from Hillel the Elder): It’s the Jew center in Campus (and yes, we have a Hindu society as well that organizes satsang sessions every Sunday).

I am not a religious person (I am an agnostic atheist as Jeff explains here) but I do respect a right of a person to its faith/religion/belief/views. And don’t give me the crap about the freedom of Wesboro Church’s faith. Their religious freedom stops where other’s faith begins as Sparky explains here.

Anyway, I was ecstatic when I saw this on Unofficial Stanford Blog:

For those who doesn’t know about Stanford: The tree you see running around is Stanford Mascot and is called Stanford Tree (Don’t ask!). Stanford Band was there along with hundreds of students. I am so proud of being a Cardinal (nickname for Stanford) right now. I just wish I was there to witness this first hand! GO STANFORD!!

P.S.: I wonder how can someone devote their life to hate. Are culture, tradition, religion or any other principle so important that one forgets the life itself? I thought all these things were designed to help us to get through life and not the other way round.