First post- It could have happened anywhere.

As my first post, I would like to just get some thoughts out about the shootings at NIU last week.

NIU is about 30 minutes away from. So the day it happened, yes I was terrified. I was a wreck trying to get a hold of the people there that I know. My roommate came back and we sat in my room watching tv, crying, and holding each other. I proceeded with my night, but it was still one of the only things on my mind.

I was saddened and sickened with the situation. I was also kind of nervous to be alone on my university's campus. Soon after the first word of the shootings on tv, and seeing what was going on there, I thought to myself, "Oh God, that could have been Benedictine!"

Thinking about that one fact made me cry even more. I finally heard from all of my friends at NIU and part of my relaxed, but not fully because there were students that were shot and injured, and even worse - dead. Parents were frantically trying to get a hold of their children unsuccessfully because the cell phone towers were so busy that no one was able to get through until late that night.

As the week went on, here as usual; there, the campus was shutdown, I thought about Valentine's Day everyday and tried my best to keep up with the news and I came about a link or post somewhere that said something that totally disturbed me and made me royally pissed off.

I saw the words Westboro Baptist Church.

To me, that meant instant trouble. Instant aggravation. Instant boiling blood. Instant people being hurt (yet again).

Now, I don't know how many of you(*not that there are many of you right now 2/23/08*) are familiar with WBC, so for some background information go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

They believe that all of the evil and destruction in the world and especially the USA is because God says that homosexuality is wrong and he's sending his wrath.

What I read was about more of the typical WBC doings: picketing/protesting. They picket and protest anywhere and everywhere, even if they aren't welcome. They don't care about hurting anyone, especially grieving families. WBC plans on picketing at 2 of the funerals for the students that were killed at NIU.

Knowing that these people, who think that they are "people of God" were going to be less than an hour away from me and on what days, had me fuming. And then, I found this letter from the NIU LGBT staff:

**Please take the time to read this letter. It helped me to overcome some of my anger and frustrations**

Posted from the Prism Yahoo! Group and Cross-Posted to Several Communities:

Word has spread rapidly about the fringe “religious” group (the WBC) that is bringing its agenda of hate and homophobia to our community as we grapple with the tragic events that happened on our campus.

Many students and others have come together through the Internet to voice their outrage and plan responses to the protesters. We understand that many people are angered and hurt by this blatant homophobia and the appalling attempt to capitalize on the NIU tragedy. The university is heartened and warmed by the outpouring of support from our students and community friends who share our outrage at this intrusion during this painful time.

We want everyone to know that the university’s response to the tragedy includes careful planning for managing the presence of any protesters. We ask everyone’s cooperation in supporting the university’s coordinated response.

A trained group of NIU students and supporters have organized and are working with law enforcement agencies to peacefully shield our grieving community from the presence of any hate protests by blocking the view of the small group of protesters who may be present.

The university requests your assistance in the following ways:
● If you are not a member of the trained team of shielders, please DO NOT come to the Convocation Center on Sunday, February 24 with the intent of “counter protesting.” The university asks that you help us by not giving the hate protesters the attention, publicity, and
credibility that they are aiming for. As much as you might want to physically show your opposition to hate such as this, direct confrontations and “counter protests” only serve the purposes of this hate group.

● Instead of attempting to “counter protest,” please join our community at the Memorial Program to celebrate the lives of our fallen students, pay tribute to the injured, support our grieving families, and begin the process of moving forward. Please help us keep this occasion a peaceful, calm, and dignified evening of remembrance and healing.

● Encourage your friends, colleagues and others at the Memorial Program not to give their attention and emotional energy to the protesters, but to ignore them and move inside the building for the program. Please do not engage with the protesters in any way as this will only encourage them and attract more attention.

● Also be aware that protest groups such as this use pickets and an array of intimidating tactics to upset people, instigate violence and create scores of lawsuits that fund their work. Don’t become a victim of their tactics.

Please help us spread this message among your friends. We do not want the protesters to overshadow the true purpose of our gathering.

We also encourage everyone to remember that it was violence that brought us to this moment, and that despite how appalled we are by the actions of this hate group, responding with violent words and actions does not help our community heal. We must not be seduced into responding to hate with hate. We call upon all in our community to not let this hate group shift our focus from our mourning, our grief, and our healing. We call upon you to channel your outrage into action for justice wherever you live, study, and work.

For some ideas about how to channel your emotions into other, more productive channels, please visit our website at http://www.niu.edu/LGBT/tragedy/RespondingToHate.shtml for more information.

In solidarity,
Margie Cook
Director

LGBT Resource Center
Holmes Student Center 704
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-LGBT
FAX: 815-753-2201
lgbt@niu.edu
www.niu.edu/lgbt
**End**

So, with that I wanted to know what some other people were feeling regarding:

*NIU shooting
*WBC picketing
*WBC in general
*Would you consider this to be a hate crime?

Please leave your thoughts, comments, opinions.