Protest Style

http://theinformedvegan.com/post/3763492662/

The Michael Moore video posted in my previous post shows the main way in which the Westboro group advocates their anti-gay beliefs. In the video - if you look at the member’s actions at the surface - you see a group of people standing on the streets holding anti-gay signs, loudly vocalizing their beliefs. The radical image that Moore creates is only one aspect of their protest style. It is important to analyze the Westboro actions, understand why they might choose a certain vocabulary for their signs, discover where they choose to protest, as well as uncover why they get so much attention from the media. Protest style is important and unique to each social movement. Depending on their goals and what they stand for, a group may conduct a protest that suits their beliefs while ensuring their voices be heard. For example, the Westboro do not believe in violence, as a result their protests are peaceful in the sense they cause no physical damage. Their protests help draw attention from the public, create controversy, and hopefully generate  change that the group advocates. 

http://www.godhatesfags.com/photos/index.html

Looking at the Westboro group holding up their signs is shocking – they certainly aren’t subtle when expressing what they believe in. Common messages on their signs include: “God Hates Fags”, “Thank God for 911”, “Soldiers die for fag marriage”, etc. As the images and the Michael Moore video show, they draw attention to themselves by using controversial messages, which alone attract attention – but with the use of bright colors, their location choice, and vocal exclamations, the Westboro members successfully create a spectacle that is impossible to ignore. Their choice of vocabulary is not sophisticated, but it is effective in getting attention and causing an emotional stir; the repeated use of “fag” is a good example. It is a highly emotionally charged term for homosexuals. On their website the Westboro claim that the word “fag” comes from the Bible and is a term to describe a form of kindling, and just as kindle fuels a fire, homosexuals fuel “God’s wrath”. Just like their incendiary vocabulary choices, the locations where they choose to express their beliefs tend to be emotionally charged – including American soldier’s funerals, and performances of The Laramie Project (a play about the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay student).

http://www.queeried.com

All components of their protest tactics combined create a blunt, seemingly straightforward, and emotionally raw situation. Is having such a strong emotional impact on viewers a beneficial thing? Ultimately, are the Westboro achieving their goal by causing such controversy? Next post, I will attempt to answer these questions, as well as analyze the pros and cons of their protest style.