Fred Phelps

I’m not going to shed any tears over the death of Fred Phelps founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, but I’m also not going to jump for joy and celebrate his death like I see so many people doing in their online comments. The man preached hateful emotions and destructive beliefs and there’s no defending that, but rejoicing over, and celebrating, his death (in truth the death of any living creature) does nothing but put us on his level, and in the end it allows his life’s work to continue as we put the same negative thoughts and lethal emotions out into the universe that he spent his life spreading. I’m not going to miss him and I’m not going to memorialize or mourn him, I’m going to be better than him. I hope there are more people in the world who are going to be better than him as opposed to being just like him.