Infamous anti-everything center of hate, the Westboro Baptist Church, have welcomed had their gay-hating right wing enclave invaded by God’s least favorite sinners, with the rainbow coloured LFBT friendly Equality House established directly across the road. There goes the neighborhood.
The project is the brainchild of Aaron Jackson, founder of Planting for Peace and driving force behind numerous humanity enriching projects including rainforest conservation, opening orphanages and deworming programs. The modest and previously unremarkable Topekan house was purchased about six months ago with Jackson keen to convert it into a noticeable thorn in Westboro Baptist’s side.
“I read a story about Josef Miles, a 10-year-old kid who counter-protested the Westboro Baptist Church by holding the sign that says ‘God Hates No One,’” Jackson told The Huffington Post.
“I didn’t know anything about the church or where they were located, but that story kept popping up. And one night I wondered, Where is this church?
I got on Google Earth, and I was ‘walking down the road,’ and I did a
360 view. And I saw a ‘For Sale’ sign sitting in the front yard of a
house. Right away it hit me, Oh my gosh, I could buy a house in front of the WBC! And immediately I thought: And I’m going to paint that thing the color of the pride flag.“
Not only does the house serve as a highly visible point of opposition to the controversial church, it’ll also provide accommodation for equality project volunteers. The house has been warmly received by locals whose neighborhood has had to endure a shitty rep since the church’s picketing began drawing international headlines in the 90’s. Speaking to the LA Times, Mike McKessor, the Kansas City painter employed to work on the house, was delighted with the results.
“I’m a veteran too, and those guys mess with veterans, not just the gay
people. They mess with everybody,” said McKessor, who says he spent four
years in the Navy in the 1980s.“Every neighbour that I encountered was so happy, and everybody was
smiling when they go by,” McKessor said. “It was on a
busy street, and everybody slowed down and took pictures. I’m not
exaggerating. Dang near every car stopped and said, ‘Good job! Good
job!’ … I’ve never had people so happy for painting a house.”
Predictably, Westboro Baptist were quick to issue a terse sodomy referencing response.
“We thank God for the Sodomite Rainbow House!” the church said in a
written statement. “Think about it! This is not a novel idea – there are
hundreds of similarly painted houses around the world – the ONLY reason
why this one is a story is because of WHERE it is!”
“It’s not OK to be gay, it never was OK to be gay, and it never will be
OK to be gay,” the Westboro statement continued. “The Sodomite Rainbow
house is another instance where someone has declared their sin as Sodom –
and it shines a huge spotlight on our message – you can paint rainbows
on every house in America, and homosexuality will still be an abominable
sin in the eyes of God.”
In conjunction with the the unveiling of Equality House, Jackson has launched an anti-bullying campaign. Find out how you can offer you support here.
via Huffington Post, LA Times
Pictures By Carol Hartsell/Equality House
