September 25, 2007
God hates China?
... at least that is what Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas would have us believe (h/t to Danwei). She recently wrote in to China Daily columnist Raymond Zhou after reading his opinion piece on recent comments by Chinese celebrity Sun Haiying (孙海英) who not too long ago ignited a huge debate with his comments that homosexuality was unequivocally "criminal in nature" ("同性恋就是犯罪“):
Dear RaymondThe very day that Godless China decriminalized the filthy manner of life of the homosexual, they brought wrath upon themselves. God hates China and all her perverse people! You have kicked the standard of God to the curb and you have set about to put your own form of righteousness into place and it is worthless! It is like filthy used tampons!...
...America is doomed!
China is doomed! ...
... But you Raymond have a never-dying soul! If you have any interest in it, you will shut your blasphemous mouth and read every word on the www.godhatesfags.com; www.godhatesamerica.com; www.priestsrapeboys.com and watch the excellent videos of three kinds on the www.signmovies.net page and coming soon, www.godhateschina.com! GET A BIBLE RAYMOND, crack and read it every day - OBEY the commandments of your God and beg HIM for forgiveness with a sincere heart, or you are going to hell and there is NOTHING you can do about it!
Have a nice day!
Yes, in an interconnected world, the previously mutually exclusive universes of a crazed Bible-thumping preacher in Topeka, Kansas and a China Daily columnist can come crashing together. The father of Shirley Phelps-Roper is the virulently homophobic Reverend Fred Phelps, the leader of the church that has an official web presence at GodHatesFags.com. They also run other lovely websites such as TheSignsOfTheTimes.net, AmericaIsDoomed.com, GodHatesSweden.com and GodHatesCanada.com. Known for his fire and brimstone preaching under slogans and banners such as "Thank God for 911," "Thank God for AIDS," "Thank God for Katrina," "Thank God for IEDs," and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", Phelps has built his church around a core of anti-homosexual theology. While his church only has 71 confirmed members, 60 of whom are related to Phelps through blood or marriage (or both!), they have succeeded in receiving increasing media coverage through channels and shows such as the BBC, Fox News, The Howard Stern Show, The Adam Carolla Show, The Tyra Banks Show and the Hannity and Colmes Show (see video of her interview on the left with Julie Banderas of Fox News which developed into a full-scale on-air screaming match).
Back to Sun Haiying's statement that homosexuality is "criminal in nature", Raymond Zhou quite rightly points out that the Chinese word he used “罪” (zuì) can be both understood as a "crime" or a "sin". As such it is not quite clear which he was referring to in his statement. What Zhou failed to point out was that Sun himself is a Christian (surprise surprise), and his statement set both Christian and gay websites in mainland China abuzz. Here are Sun's original comments and reactions by various prominent individuals [Translations by Shanghaiist]:
Sun Haiying (孙海英):
“同性恋就是犯罪！什么叫同性恋啊，什么叫双性恋啊？这都不是道德堕落、败坏可以形容的，简直是犯罪！这都是违背人性的，都是犯罪！这没有什么好谈的，我决不能认同。”
Homosexuality is crime/sin! What's homosexuality? What's bisexuality? We're not just talking about moral decadence and corruption here -- this is a crime/sin! This is against humanity and a crime/sin! There is nothing to discuss here. I cannot accept it.“什么同性恋、双性恋、一夜情、包二奶、换妻换偶等现象就是犯罪！我有证据！”
All these things such as homosexuality, bisexuality, one night stands, keeping of mistresses, wife-swopping and swinging are all crimes/sins and I have the evidence!
Renowned sexologist Li Yinhe (李银河):
“孙海英的此番言论无知、残忍、没有教养。简直难以置信，在21世纪竟然还有人能说出这样一番话。他的言论令人想起上个世纪的希特勒——他曾把同性恋者关进集中营。同性恋成因可能有先天因素。他说同性恋是犯罪，就像说左撇子是犯罪、身为犹太人是犯罪一样。”Sun Haiying's statement shows he is ignorant, cruel and without education. It is totally unbelievable that someone could actually utter such words in the 21st century. His words remind one of Hitler who banished homosexuals to concentration camps in the last century. Homosexuality is very possibly genetic. For him to say that homosexuality is a crime, it is like saying left-handers and Jews are also criminals simply by being what they are.
Director, film scholar, screenwriter and outspoken gay activist Cui Zi'en (崔子恩):
“不读书、不思考、没头脑的人，所以他这么说我并不吃惊，这只能说明他对这个世界缺乏认识，很无知，已经被这个世界淘汰了。”
[The impression he gives me] is that of someone who doesn't read, doesn't think and doesn't have a brain. So it doesn't surprise me that he said what he said. This only goes how little he knows about the world and how ignorant he is. He has already become completely obsolete in this world.
Filmmaker Cheng Qingsong (程青松):
“他的言论已经伤害到5000万同志（特指同性恋者），如果大家一起来抵制他的电影或者电视剧，不知道这是谁的损失?”
His statement has hurt the feelings of 50 million homosexuals. If we all banded up to reject his movies and television productions, I wonder whose loss it will be at the end of the day?
Related links
China Daily: Principle or prejudice? [Raymond Zhou]
Youku: 孙海英称同性恋为犯罪 引发众多争议
Westboro Baptist Church: Official website
Li Yinhe: 把尊重同性恋提高到构建和谐社会的高度
Photo of Shirley Phelps-Roper from her Wikipedia entry.
Photo of Sun Haiying from Sina.com.
| 
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
Nothing helps the Phelps clan/cult more than when perfectly legitimate and reasonable news outlets and blogs devote coverage and attention to these totally marginal, absolutely bigoted figures. Attention is what fuels these nut jobs. The more they get, well, the more they get.
I'm a big fan of your posts, Kenneth, but I'm really sorry to see that you (and danwei) devoted so much space to responding to these marginal idiots. Fact is, nobody is going to enjoy this post more than the Phelps family.
I agree with guest #1. It's all fun and games to laugh at the Phelps family and their limited number of followers, but they love the publicity. From protesting at AIDS funerals to celebrating the Asian tsunami, these assholes LOVE the additional hits.
I don't really advocate violence, but these nuts clearly need a kick in the balls.
True, I'm not sure why a Shanghai-oriented site would go on an on about a small lunatic-fringe church based in Kansas.
The Sun Haiying story was interesting, I hadn't heard it before,and should have been placed in some kind of context. At the same time I wonder if he's a lunatic fringe that nobody cares about, like the Kansas church?
"It's just like Hitler!" "He doesn't have a brain!" "he hurt our feelings" is how 5 year olds argue, why bother repeating it?
I like Li Yinhe (李银河). She obviously knows how to party!
BTW, ignore these holier-than-thou clowns (#1, 2)!
This woman could say anyone or anything is going to hell for any reason. I don't really think this has anything to do with China specifically. As far as i know she also thinks my cat is going to hell for not being a christian or something.
Reporting on the thoughts of utter wack jobs seems counter productive to me. I mean, you can't have a proper discussion with the mentally ill so why bother validating what they say via a news article?
"This just in: The old cat-lady down the street thinks that aliens are going to destroy the world next year"
Not much of a headline now is it?
#5 It's fun, it's wacky, it's just plain stupid, but I like it and other people like it and that's all that matters. Go read the one of the expat rags if this isn't wicked enough for you!
ok i'll bite. I didn't mean to be so humorless.
Here's a full BBC documentary on the family. It's clear that this this a cult and that they are all brainwashed - it's also really sad.
video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4413388146858417528&q=phelps+bbc&total=19&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1
BTW, ignore these holier-than-thou clowns (#1, 2)!
Irony, much?
Fred Phelps is the biggest self-loathing fag there is. He and the President of Iran would make a sweet couple.
from the B
Last Updated: Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 06:03 GMT 07:03 UK
E-mail this to a friend Printable version
Riot police 'beat' Burmese monks
BBC graphic
Riot police have used batons to beat back protesters including monks at the Rangoon pagoda used as a rallying-point for marchers, eyewitnesses say.
They baton-charged a crowd of civilians and monks outside the Shwedagon Pagoda as demonstrators readied for a ninth day of protest marches.
Police and troops have been ringing Buddhist monasteries in the city.
Analysts fear a repeat of the violence in 1988, when troops opened fire on unarmed protestors, killing thousands.
In a further sign that the military authorities are cracking down, two key dissidents were arrested.
interviews of people inside of Burma are calling for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics if Beijing does not stop supporting the junta.
Westboro Baptist Church is a hate group.
They hate gays and judge people.
The Bible says not to judge, but these idiots from WBC do so anyway.
They go to the funerals of soldiers and hold up stupid signs that say things like "Thank God for 9/11", and "God hates fags."
WBC forgot that God so loved the world, that he sent his son here so that we can be forgiven for our sins.
God loves us.
God does not hate us.
God loves America.
God loves all countries.
WBC says that there is no hope for us.
God gives us hope.
Westboro Baptist Church is the Devil's whore.
I laugh at them.
George Vreeland Hill
so wat if the phelps family got like murdered or something, does that mean god hates them?
anyway wtf is with the racist headline.
i hate you phelps, i learnt to hate from you guys :)
i hate you and you guys are the devils
mwahahahahahahaha jew
and the racist headline that the phelps made was "'That's right, slant-eyed bastards, God hates you and your false gods'