Last week, the K-State campus was lucky enough to play host to some of the most insane people in the country. As I walked toward McCain Auditorium last Monday, I was quickly greeted by people holding signs with slogans I will not repeat. Members from the Westboro Baptist Church arrived to protest the Landon Lecture by National Intelligence Director Dennis Blair. This instantly made sense to me because the Westboro Church has always been against intelligence.
At first, all I could think about was how good the protesters were getting with Photoshop (the horns on their pictures of Obama looked so real). Then I noticed they were roped off by a triangle of police tape, making it look like the worst petting zoo imaginable.
After the shock of their stupidity wore off, I began thinking about why they were really there. Obviously they said it is because of the country's tolerance of homosexuals, which is a debatable point in itself, but I couldn't help but think there was something more to it.
There are plenty of people in this world who have a hatred for others based solely on race, religion or sexual orientation. The question I have always asked is why some people are more adamant in their hate than others. I understand people of that church base their hatred on readings from the Bible, but if that was the only reason, why isn't every Christian picketing with them?
The intense hatred of groups like the Westboro Baptist Church or the Ku Klux Klan has to come from a sense of inferiority. Something in the lives of these people went wrong, and rather than accepting the blame, they must find somewhere else to direct their self-loathing.
Many people have an illusion of the American Dream, which they think ensures them success if they work hard. While it is true America offers people an opportunity to succeed, it has never been guaranteed. Some who do not understand this can't comprehend why their hard work hasn't paid off, so it seems reasonable another group of people is causing their misfortune. Being unable to cope with the hardships of life, members of these groups not only need explanations, but they need something real they can blame.
The truth is sometimes bad things happen, and there are no reasonable explanations for them, at least not ones we can comprehend. Members of these hate groups need to start looking themselves in the mirror and taking personal responsibility for their lives.
This is the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with for the mindset of these individuals. However, as I previously mentioned, there isn't always a reasonable explanation. Sometimes people are just insane.
- Joe Sommers is a senior in print journalism. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.
haha!