In 2001, when I was a Freshman in college, I found myself in an interesting place. You see, I'm a painfully shy person, and 12 years ago it was even worse. I had a hard time meeting people. At my Freshman Orientation, I met Adrienne, who was one of my closest friends while I was living in Missoula. She was crazy and quirky and bouncy and totally geeky and we just kind of clicked. I think the fact that I was quiet and she was outspoken worked out well.
She's the one who first got me into gaming, but that's a completely different story that involves guys in cloaks and prowling campus late at night.
We weren't roommates the first semester, but it didn't take us long to make plans to change that after Christmas break. One of the things that Adrienne was involved in, and drug me to, was the Lambda association on campus. It was a little awkward for me at first, because I was the only straight girl there, and I got some flack from some of the other kids. The scoffing and unbelieving stare of, 'Well, you're straight, why are YOU here' was pretty hurtful at the time, but that's fine. I get it.
Anyway.
We received word that the WBC was going to be coming to Missoula to protest. They were 'celebrating' the anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard and they picked UofM because the school supports their Lambda group fully. Ya know. Like you should.
Originally, they had planned on protesting ON campus. They attempted to reserve space on the quad. Unfortunately for them, policy states that campus groups have first dibs on space. So the entire campus was reserved for the day for the Lambda alliance, and the WBC was forced to hold their protest on the corner across from the law school.
The Lambda group furiously prepared for the event. I spent much of the week making signs (oh my god the GLITTER) and getting geared up. There was an air of excitement and an air of fear. For me, this was the first time I'd ever heard of the Westboro Baptist Church. I was nervous and excited and horrified at it all.
On a frosty cold morning, not quite a month after the 9-11 attacks, the Westboro Baptist Church came to attack us with their hateful words and fear mongering, and we attacked them back. We were there by five in the morning with hot cocoa and bundled up in scarves and hats and many layers. By the time we arrived, the counter protest area was flooded with people. Lambda kids, their friends and families, professors, ROTC kids, Forestry kids, local Missoulians and people who had traveled, just to offer us their support. We quickly handed out all of the signs and we waited for them.
There weren't very many of them, just a small handful, and Fred wasn't even there. I remember being shocked at their signs--I didn't understand how anyone could say that or believe that. To our credit, we were fairly peaceful (although there was apparently some eggs thrown--naughty!) There was laughter and tears and waving our lovely glittery signs in the air.
The Lesbian Brigade had been formed for this occasion A group of people doing various tricks and acts--we had people dressed like clowns and people doing handstands--paraded through our group, cheering the crowd. One of the news interviews with Shirley Roper-Phelps shows the Brigade parading behind her, and two of the girls pausing for a deep, intimate kiss. It was a stunning picture and I wish I could find it.
It was even better when we discovered that most of the girls weren't gay or bi-sexual. They were just supportive.
The protest was pretty pathetic, to be entirely honest. The signs were hurtful and the jeers were horrible, but we far, far outnumbered them. And while the WBC had nothing to offer us but hate and bigotry, our crowd was full of love and laughter and joy. There was a table full of cookies and muffins and cocoa and coffee, and everyone felt like a big family.
It was absolutely beautiful.
That was the beginning of a beautiful day for me at the University of Montana.
The country was still reeling from 9-11. I was still trying to process what had happened, myself. We were still healing. And on that frosty, beautiful fall day, we came together as a community in peace and tolerance. The day was spent with peace rallies and discussions and an overwhelming feeling of love. There was food and there was live music. There was a candlelit vigil in the library in honor of the victims of hate crimes.
It was the best day I had while I was in school that first year. Seeing everyone come together like that was nothing short of stunning. Seeing the community respond to the WBC with the ferocity they displayed was surprising, but wonderful. The reason that we were there that day was a frustrating and upsetting one, but the turn-out was better than anyone expected.
I can safely say that I think the WBC are horrible people. They do and say terrible, awful things, and I don't understand how they can sleep at night. It's easy to want to respond to them with hate and frustration and fists...unfortunately, that doesn't work. They feed off it. This reaction, this peaceful counter protest to show them how wrong they are, and how many more people we have, is the best thing.
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