My OUT Magazine column for February is getting more notice than I anticipated.

I've long believed that the more chances America gets to see blatantly ugly homophobia in action, the better it is for the GLBT community. To quote Supreme Court Justice Brandeis:



"Sunshine is the best disinfectant."

Half humorously, half seriously, (as in everything I do) I suggested in my recent OUT column that gays and lesbians start a "Phags 4 Phelps Dephense Phund." Fred Phelps, if you don't know who he is, is the patriarch of a one-family-band of hate called the "Westboro Baptist Church."

Here's a quick snapshot of their brand of worship:



Fortunately or unfortunately - depending on your viewpoint - the Phelps family recently received an $11 million civil suit smackdown from the state of Maryland for "worshiping" at a soldier's funeral. (They used to picket exclusively gay funerals, but now picket any sort of newsworthy deaths, claiming that all Americans die because they live in a "fag-enabling" country.)

These folks have always cracked me up. I first saw them... or more accurately...Aqua first saw them at an Atlanta Pride Parade. This was before they were world-wide stars. Before Aqua was a star, even. There's a certain sentimental camaraderie I feel towards them. Can't help it.

I honestly think that the more America sees this ugly hatred, the more they shy away from it.



Seriously. Who, in their right mind, doesn't recoil at a picture like that?

So I suggested starting the "Phags 4 Phelps Dephense Phund" to keep them away from bankruptcy and out on the streets where they belong.


Things got really strange when I sent the Westboro Baptist Church a check for $100.

It was returned. Not because I'm gay. But because they accept no money from anyone...friend or foe.

I find that admirable. Or at least not hypocritical...which I sent them another letter telling them so.

They replied again. More specifically, Shirley Phelps replied. She's Fred's daughter and the de facto media spokesperson for the church. That's her on the right:



This is where things get strange.

Shirley is my new BFF and pen pal.

Through the course of our email relationship, we've become kinda chatty pals.

She asked for my input on good picketing sites in New York City for the upcoming Pope's visit. They hate the Pope for their reasons. I'm not fond of him for my own. So I obliged.

We discovered that our husbands' share the same first name. And that we each put the poor guys through respective hells.

I invited her to my farm upstate, and Shirley said that her daughter would love a farm visit. The daughter had been pestering Shirley and her father for chickens for quite some time.

It's a little surreal. But since I think Shirley's message does GLBT folks good in the long run, and Shirley thinks her message does America good too, we're sort of on the same side...for opposite reasons.

So, friends, that's the explanation behind anything you hear or read about me supporting homophobes. You can read the original OUT Magazine Column and more about Shirley's and my correspondence here. (phagsforphelps.com)

(And if you're media reading this and would like to talk to either Shirley or myself about our strange bedfellowship, please email me at iamnotmyself@mac.com. I'm not sure whether or not I can reach God for comment.)

hugs and fishes,
jkp