I feel it too, Jason. While I have a very difficult time getting passed the anger and fury that these people incite in me, I try to hold onto two thoughts:

First, I see Phelps and his followers for what they are doing. They are marketing themselves. The ONLY time this group has received national headlines is when the attempted to erect a similar statue to Matthew Shepard. They were insignificant hate mongers who found a voice in the media by doing this.

Second, I hold onto the fact that it hasn’t worked. In fact, they have received a lot more resistance than is being reported. Even the type of person who I would have thought would be against us “older straight white politician” are saying that not only are these attempts futile, but they will not perpetuate the hate.

Now this is what works for me. It helps me try to get passed some of the shear rage that rises in me when I see people like this work so hard against not only us, against humanity.

And at the same time, it does give me more energy in my protesting of their actions.

Now, at times this will not work for me. My anger level can get far too high. And in those instances I tend to think on an image of 1mil members of the GLBT community pulling that statue down like the scenes from Baghdad when they yanked Saddam off his pedestals.

I know I’m a cock-eyed optimist and some will think me unrealistic. But I have to hold on to some hope that the more these people do this, the more they will open other people’s eyes to how ridiculous, harmful and wrong it all really is.

Gary-Alan