micdotcom:micdotcom:“Angels” block the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting Orlando victim’s fune
micdotcom:micdotcom:“Angels” block the Westboro Baptist Church from protesting Orlando victim’s funeralWhen a handful of Westboro Baptist Church members showed up Saturday at the funeral of Orlando shooting victim Christopher Leinonen, counterprotesters donning large, white angel wings were there to shield mourners. Members of the Orlando Shakespeare Theater put together the wings as a symbolic but also literal screen between the WBC and funeral attendees. An Orlando Police tweet later proved the efforts to stop the WBC worked.Update: As many of you have pointed out, these “angel” wings were also used to block the WBC at Matthew Shepard’s funeral in 1998.Led by Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church picketed Shepard’s funeral on Oct. 16, 1998, with anti-gay slogans. Disgusted by the sight of such hatred, Shepard’s friend Romaine Patterson created Angel Action. Donning themselves with white linen robes and wings, the angels blocked the sight of the homophobic protesters from mourners at Shepard’s funeral.In an 1998 interview with CNN, Patterson explained the heartwarming reason she refused to sit idly by. -- source link