Leonard Pitts believes that Fred Phelps is gayer than eight guys blowing nine guys. I respect Pitts as an editorial writer, thus I'm a little disappointed that he had to resort to Brokeback Mountain and show tunes jokes to make his point. It is a valid point, but it's also a bit simplistic, as most people who are ardently homophobic are accused at some point of being latent homosexuals themselves. I'm more inclined to believe that ignorance and fear (with a side order of crazy) is what drives people such as Fred Phelps to twist and pervert his First Amendment rights, rather than some sort of secret shameful desire. The "he must be gay himself" theory makes it easier, if not to understand, then to at least recognize what it is that drives Phelps and his followers to picket military funerals, believing that every time a United States soldier is killed, it's God's way of taking it out on us for continuing to accept homosexuality. Interesting how religion can make the illogical seem strangely reasonable. Phelps must have attended the same school as theology as Michael Woroniecki, who convinced Andrea Yates that attempting to raise her family in a traveling school bus while spreading the word of Jay-zus was a good idea, and who, when she wrote letters pleading for help with her crippling depression, replied that women are inherently evil, and will thus bear tainted children. Clearly, his assistance proved invaluable. Considering the majority of Phelps' parishioners are members of his own family, it's likely he's developed a nice little cult mentality amongst them over time. We can only hope that some final straw, perhaps a sweep by gay-themed films at this year's Oscars, will drive them towards the cyanide-laced Kool Ade route, better sooner than later.
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