Moment: Snow
Kerry Drake: My most striking memory
from the funeral…
Narrator: Kerry Drake, Casper Star Tribune.
Kerry Drake: … is seeing the Reverend Fred Phelps from Kansas… that scene goes up in the park.
Rev Fred Phelps: Do you believe in the Bible? Do you believe you’re supposed to separate the precious from the vile? You don’t believe that part of the Bible? You stand over there ignorant of the fact that the Bible – two times for every verse it talks about God’s love it talks about God’s hate. (Reverend Fred Phelps continues sotto voce.)
Kerry Drake: A bunch of high-school kids who get out early came over and started yelling at some of these people in the protest – the Fred Phelps people, and across the street you had people lining up for the funeral… Well I remember a guy, I remember this skinhead coming over and he was dressed in leather and spikes everywhere and he came over from across the street where the protest was and he came into the crowd and I just thought, oh this is going to be a really ugly confrontation. But instead he came over and he started leading them in amazing grace. (The people sing ‘Amazing Grace’.)
Rev Fred Phelps: We wouldn’t be here if this was just another murder the state was gonna deal with. The state deals with hundreds of murders every single day. But this murder is different, because the fags are bringing us out her trying to make Matthew Shepard into a poster boy for the gay lifestyle. And we are going to answer it. It’s just that simple. (Reverend Fred Phelps continues sotto voce.)
Narrator: Six months later, the company returned to Laramie for the trial of Russell Henderson, the first of the two perpetrators. It was to be a capital murder trial. When we got to the Albany Country Courthouse, Fred Phelps was already there.
Rev Fred Phelps: You don’t like that attribute of God.
Narrator: But so was Romaine Patterson.
Rev Fred Phelps: That perfect of attribute of God. Well, we love that attribute of God and we’re going to preach it. Because God’s hatred is pure. It’s a determination – it’s a determination that he’s gonna send some people to hell. That’s God’s hatred… (Continues sotto voce.) We’re standing here with God’s message. We’re standing here with God’s message. Is homosexuality – is being a fag ok? What do you mean it’s not for you to judge? If God doesn’t hate fags, why does he put ‘em in hell?... You see the barrenness and sterility of your silly arguments when set over against some solid gospel truth? Barren and sterile. Like your lifestyle. Your silly arguments.
Romaine Patterson: After seeing Fred Phelps protesting at Matthew’s funeral and finding out that he was coming to Laramie for the trial of Russell Henderson I decided that someone needed to stand toe to toe with this guy and show the differences. And I think at times like this when we’re talking about hatred as much as the nation is now, that someone needs to show, that there is a better way of dealing with that kind of hatred.
So our idea is to dress up like angels. And so we have designed an angel outfit – for our wings are HUGE – they’re like big ass wings – and there will be ten to twenty of us that are angels – and what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna encircle Phelps… And because of our big wings – we are gonna COM-PLETE-LY block him. So this big ass band of angels comes in. We don’t say a fuckin’ word, we just turn our backs to him and we stand there… And we are a group of people bringing forth a message of peace and love and compassion. And we’re calling it angel action.
Yeah, this twenty-one year old little lesbian is ready to walk the line with him.
Rev Fred Phelps: When those old preachers laid their hands on me it’s called an ordination. Then they deliver a charge. Mine was from Isaiah 58:1 – “Cry aloud. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people my transgressions.”
Romaine Patterson: And I knew my angels were going to be taking the brunt of everything he had to yell and say. I mean, we were going to be blocking his view and he was going to be pissed off to all hell… So I went out and bought all my angels earplugs. (‘Amazing Grace’ ends.)
Narrator: Kerry Drake, Casper Star Tribune.
Kerry Drake: … is seeing the Reverend Fred Phelps from Kansas… that scene goes up in the park.
Rev Fred Phelps: Do you believe in the Bible? Do you believe you’re supposed to separate the precious from the vile? You don’t believe that part of the Bible? You stand over there ignorant of the fact that the Bible – two times for every verse it talks about God’s love it talks about God’s hate. (Reverend Fred Phelps continues sotto voce.)
Kerry Drake: A bunch of high-school kids who get out early came over and started yelling at some of these people in the protest – the Fred Phelps people, and across the street you had people lining up for the funeral… Well I remember a guy, I remember this skinhead coming over and he was dressed in leather and spikes everywhere and he came over from across the street where the protest was and he came into the crowd and I just thought, oh this is going to be a really ugly confrontation. But instead he came over and he started leading them in amazing grace. (The people sing ‘Amazing Grace’.)
Rev Fred Phelps: We wouldn’t be here if this was just another murder the state was gonna deal with. The state deals with hundreds of murders every single day. But this murder is different, because the fags are bringing us out her trying to make Matthew Shepard into a poster boy for the gay lifestyle. And we are going to answer it. It’s just that simple. (Reverend Fred Phelps continues sotto voce.)
Narrator: Six months later, the company returned to Laramie for the trial of Russell Henderson, the first of the two perpetrators. It was to be a capital murder trial. When we got to the Albany Country Courthouse, Fred Phelps was already there.
Rev Fred Phelps: You don’t like that attribute of God.
Narrator: But so was Romaine Patterson.
Rev Fred Phelps: That perfect of attribute of God. Well, we love that attribute of God and we’re going to preach it. Because God’s hatred is pure. It’s a determination – it’s a determination that he’s gonna send some people to hell. That’s God’s hatred… (Continues sotto voce.) We’re standing here with God’s message. We’re standing here with God’s message. Is homosexuality – is being a fag ok? What do you mean it’s not for you to judge? If God doesn’t hate fags, why does he put ‘em in hell?... You see the barrenness and sterility of your silly arguments when set over against some solid gospel truth? Barren and sterile. Like your lifestyle. Your silly arguments.
Romaine Patterson: After seeing Fred Phelps protesting at Matthew’s funeral and finding out that he was coming to Laramie for the trial of Russell Henderson I decided that someone needed to stand toe to toe with this guy and show the differences. And I think at times like this when we’re talking about hatred as much as the nation is now, that someone needs to show, that there is a better way of dealing with that kind of hatred.
So our idea is to dress up like angels. And so we have designed an angel outfit – for our wings are HUGE – they’re like big ass wings – and there will be ten to twenty of us that are angels – and what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna encircle Phelps… And because of our big wings – we are gonna COM-PLETE-LY block him. So this big ass band of angels comes in. We don’t say a fuckin’ word, we just turn our backs to him and we stand there… And we are a group of people bringing forth a message of peace and love and compassion. And we’re calling it angel action.
Yeah, this twenty-one year old little lesbian is ready to walk the line with him.
Rev Fred Phelps: When those old preachers laid their hands on me it’s called an ordination. Then they deliver a charge. Mine was from Isaiah 58:1 – “Cry aloud. Lift up thy voice like a trumpet and show my people my transgressions.”
Romaine Patterson: And I knew my angels were going to be taking the brunt of everything he had to yell and say. I mean, we were going to be blocking his view and he was going to be pissed off to all hell… So I went out and bought all my angels earplugs. (‘Amazing Grace’ ends.)
Colour Code:
Actually used in scene
Idea used in scene
Not used in scene
Actually used in scene
Idea used in scene
Not used in scene