Protesting a funeral? I'm not quite getting the motivation, unless it's Hitler's funeral. wtf are they smoking?
I don't think beatdowns are the answer, even if they cap a fine ending to a ****ty story. The problem is that the story never ends and violence is answered with more violence. Plus, these groups love receiving beatdowns and relish their marks of martyrdom as authentic as being fed to the lions. So we'd be playing a game with pieces that they've already set up. I think the answer here is to bankrupt those sons of b****es like how the KKK was marginalized. Religious nuttery like this pays. It really does, and somehow this is as protected as their hate speech. I love First Amendment rights with idealistic fervor, but legal tax evasion with knowledge that it's zero sum against what I put in and what they spew out? **** that.
Absolute free speech is an absolute necessity. Any prohibition on free speech, no matter how repugnant that speech may be, opens the door to repression of legitimate protests. It's a mistake to believe that allowing the government to restrict expression, for any reason (no matter how valid), will simply end with that particular case. That being said, should people feel it's necessary to beat the **** out of a Phelps clan *******, then I don't think many people will shed tears. Let them speak how they like. Then, let them reap the consequences of their speech. Regardless, any law abridging free speech threatens all expression.
