Politics Daily: Hate Group Gets Cold Reception at D.C. Schools

by Joann M. Weiner

On Monday morning, a Kansas-based hate group attempted to intimidate high schools in Washington, D.C., including the Sidwell Friends School.

Roughly a half dozen members of the Westboro Baptist Church gathered on Wisconsin Avenue, across four lanes of traffic from Sidwell, to protest the school's policy of supporting gay rights.

The hate group was outnumbered by the 100 Sidwell students positioned in front of their school The students of Sidwell -- a Quaker school that promotes diverse perspectives and respect for individual opinions -- stood in silent protest against the four adults and two children from the hate group.

Westboro church, headed by Pastor Fred Phelps, is notorious for its anti-gay protests and statements that natural disasters and tragedies are God's punishment for a society that tolerates homosexuality.

Westboro Church also planned to target Wilson High School, a D.C. public school with nearly 1,600 students. Like Sidwell, it has a student group that supports gay and lesbian student rights.

Nearly 200 Wilson students who gathered to meet the hate group covered the rainbow of student interests. Although both schools downplayed the protest --- one Wilson teacher said that he learned of the protest through Facebook. 

One student at Wilson held a sign saying "Make the world safe for me to be straight or gay with dignity." According to a parent, the girl had first held that sign as a 1-month-old child in a parade in support of gay rights. Other signs called for peace or proclaimed that 'I'm gay and God loves me" and "I'm straight but not narrow."

The hate group, however, never saw the signs at Wilson. Peter Cahall, the school principal, announced to the students that the group failed to show up. The principal said, "You have scared away the group with your numbers and it is now time to get to work."

See the complete story at http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/11/09/hate-group-gets-cold-reception-at-d-c-schools/

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