Heath Ledger and the Westboro Antichrists

“Thank God Ledger is dead,” it begins, “Heath Ledger is in Hell. Lord willing we will preach at his funeral.”

For those who are unfamiliar with the mindless ranting of the Horse’s Ass of the Apocalypse, Fred Phelps and his faithful band of antichrists (Westboro Baptist Church) have declared yet another soul as targets for their hatred. God has no punishment set aside that would be as drastic as what Fred Phelps as in store for the victim, for not even God Himself is incapable of judging a man with the same precision as Phelps.

Phelps tenderly explains his reasoning behind this latest hate crime by stating,

“Heath Ledger chose to promote the vile sin of sodomy in defiance of God's law. No one made him play a faggot cowboy in Brokeback Mountain. No made him kiss another man, in a flagrant attempt to further desensitize not only americans but Bible-illiterate fools the world over to the filthy depravity that is faggotry. He chose to do that all on his own. He could have used that bully pulpit he has to promote the cause of God and truth instead. God has repaid him to his face for his filth. Thank God for His Justice. All who flaunt God's law can expect the same. Amen.”

Do they make muzzles his size? I’m certain that they make Depend adult diapers his size and I’m equally certain the man utilizes those adult diapers every time he reads about yet another “foul beast of Satan” actor or soldier who has died.

I digress.

“It is plain to the servants of God, that America is taking a blood bath in Iraq because America is busily persecuting WBC [Westboro Baptist Church] for preaching the Word of God to this evil nation of perverts. God hates America. Her end is near, and approaching fast.”

Let me understand this fully. Because the average American (Christian and non-Christian alike) refuses to buy into Phelp’s hate speech, and because the average American finds his doctrines distasteful, and because there is now the looming threat of making speech of this magnitude a hate crime, surely God has declared that we are to take a blood bath in Iraq in atonement of our ignorance to Phelp’s message?

The ranting lunatic justifies his stance by adding the following:

“And, as Christ warned doomed Jerusalem, even so WBC -- warns doomed America: "O America, America, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee (translate: thou that persecutest WBC), how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." Matt. 23:37-38.

Verily I say unto you, within my KJV I could not findeth where the passage readeth “thou that persecutest WBC”. I did tryeth. My NIV and St. Joseph’s editions likewise were berift of all reference to WBC. More glaring was that there is not a single bible in the world that contains the passage, “America, America, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them…” Jesus Christ, save me from your fanatics.

I suck in a deep breath and click on “Enter godhatesamerica.com”

The first thing that catches my eye (other than the glaring PR for Phelps and his glorious message) is a misquote from Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (whom I loved dearly whilst living in Colorado) and a picture of flag-draped coffins.

The caption reads, “This is the picture that America deserves. Get used to it! You worship at the fag altar, you get boxes draped in your fag flag coming home!” Phelps proclaims that 3803 soldiers have already died in the war; he hopes and prays that all will die.

(The true horrors of his movement have been outlined by Wikipedia should you not have the strength to read his filthy websites: Westboro Baptist Church - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Regardless of all that past history, Phelps has set his sights on Heath Ledger’s funeral. In a press release WBC states,

“Yes. WBC will picket this perverts funeral, in religious protest and warning. Heath Ledger thought it was great fun defying God almighty and his plain word; to wit; God hates fags! & Fag-enablers! Ergo, God hates the sordid, tacky bucket of slime seasoned with vomit known as 'Brokeback Mountain' - and He hates all persons having anything whatsoever to do with it. Heath Ledger is now in hell and has begun serving his eternal sentence there - besides which, nothing else about Heath Ledger is relevant or consequential.”

There is a flyer stating that a picket will be held today, at 3:30PM at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center (700 West 32nd St., Los Angeles, CA.) Their flyer, which can be found here, states: "they are trying to hide the dead body of Heath Ledger, so that the WBS cannot picket the affair. Shame on them. It is a great privilege to have the servants of God present to spread a little Gospel truth, and warn all mankind of the evils of “Brokeback Mountain”." (Further picket schedules here. Site will take time to load.)

So what is the big deal about Brokeback Mountain?

“Brokeback Mountain tells the story of Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), two young cowboys who meet on a sheep herding job in the mountains of Wyoming in the summer of 1963 and fall in love. The film follows their lives over the next two decades and documents their continuing but complex and secret emotional and physical relationship, which continues even after they each marry women and father children. Often, they are only able to stay in touch by sending each other postcards of Brokeback Mountain. Through it all, Ennis and Jack strive against society and themselves to fulfill the love that captured them both during their first summer together on Brokeback Mountain.” (Wikipedia)

In my opinion, the movie does not glorify homosexuality. It does show the angst felt by many gay men. Annie Proulx, the 72-year-old Pulitzer Prize winning author, is not some glorified Hollywood diva with an ax to grind.

According to Entertainment News,

“In 1995 Proulx, who lives in Wyoming, visited a crowded bar near the Montana border. She says the place was noisy and packed with attractive women, everyone was drinking and the energy was high.

She recalls: There was the smell of sex in the air. But here was this old shabby-looking guy ... watching the guys playing pool. He had a raw hunger in his eyes that made me wonder if he were country gay. I wondered, What would've he been like when he was younger? Then he disappeared, and in his place appeared Ennis. And then Jack. You can't have Ennis without Jack.

Proulx didn't think her story would ever be published because the material was too risky; it involved a love story between two men that made very explicit the physical attraction between them. And they were not just any men, they came from the wide expansive west that gave us John Wayne and the Marlboro Man – and this world was described as chilly and oppressive, against this novel kind of love.

The story was eventually published in The New Yorker magazine in 1997, and screenwriter Diana Ossana read it one night and sold the idea to her writing partner, Larry McMurtry (‘The Last Picture Show’, ‘Lonesome Dove’). Proulx had never considered ‘Brokeback Mountain’ to be a cinematic possibility because it pushes too many buttons and challenges too many norms. But three months later, Ossana and McMurtry sent her their screenplay, a faithful rendition of the story.”

There is more to Brokeback Mountain than two men kissing.

Which brings me back to Heath Ledger. Shall we picket every actor for playing a roll that we don’t agree with? He was not gay nor did he try to pass himself off as gay. He was an actor. He chose to play the part in a film that threw aside the curtains and showed the world a different sort of “gay world” – a world closer to reality. His role did not portray him as a comic “drag queen” (think To Wong Fu) nor as a limp wrested fop. It taught the world that gay men are just like straight men, with only their orientation setting them apart.

The fundie world needs to wake up: there are gay people out there, and they live normal lives, even if you don’t approve of it. Gays pay taxes and eat dinner. Gays fall in love. Gays have bad dreams and get the flu. Most gays hate long lines, being put on hold whilst on the phone, flat tires during rainstorms, loss of signal during important calls, cold coffee when it’s supposed to be hot, food service employees who screw up their fast food orders, being cut off whilst driving, and waiting in doctors offices past their scheduled appointment time. A lot of gays love the first touch of winter snow on their cheek, the honest laugh from a baby, new car smell, finding a $20 bill on the ground, good food, good friends, a pat on the back for a job well done, winning the lottery, and being told that they are loved.

The raw evil is not Ledger or the movie, nor is it the gays. The raw evil is this antichrist proclaiming himself as a man of God. The raw evil is Fred Phelps and his inbred clan of neo-Nazi followers. All those who would follow him are those who perish first in the fires of hell for their act of Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit while preaching their message of hatred.

God bless Heath Ledger’s family.