Thought everybody would enjoy a cool story on a hot summer night. A couple of weeks ago, Dallas was targeted by the "God Hates Everything" people at Westboro Baptist Church. They went to the Holocaust Museum, several churches, and the Resource Center of Dallas, which serves the Gay and Lesbian community of Dallas, especially those living with AIDS and HIV.
Everybody did creative counter-protesting, like free admission to the Holocaust Museum, hymn singing, funny signs, but what the Resource Center needed most was an icemaker. So they held a "Hell Freezes Over" fundraiser, asking pledges of fifty cents for every minute of the Westboro protest.
They ended up raising $11,000, and the new ice maker arrived today! More over the jump...
From Dallas Voice: Westboro Baptist Church Memorial Ice Maker arrives at Resource Center Dallas
Resource Center Dallas’ new ice maker arrived on Tuesday afternoon. The machine was purchased with the funds raised from the “Hell Freezes Over” fundraising counterprotest of the Westboro Baptist Church’s appearance at RCD on July 9...
...The fundraising total from “Hell Freezes Over” has neared $11,000. McDonnell [RCD spokesman Rafael McDonnell] joked that he would welcome a return visit from the Phelps cult, but asked them to time it for the next fiscal year.
(Sorry I don't have pics, but I was out of town that week; a friend told me all about it--apparently the "God Hates Everybody" crowd was vastly outnumbered everywhere they went)!
UPDATE: h/t cadejo4 for posting this link to a BBC documentary by Louis Theroux about the Westboro Baptist Church. It's available to view free on the internet at this link: The Most Hated Family in America
When they come to your town, it might be fun to show it at your counter-protest event.