As most of you have heard by now, after a woman compared President Obama to Adolf Hitler in a town hall meeting, U.S. Representative Barney Frank responded, “It is a tribute to the First Amendment that this kind of vile, contemptible nonsense is so freely propagated.” I agree. She had a right to make the comparison, and Frank had a right to call the comparison vile.
For obvious reasons, this encounter was on my mind yesterday morning when a small group of extreme protesters (or, to be fair, “protesters who some have deemed to be extreme”) visited Vermont to protest gay marriage as well as, it seemed to this biased observer, everything else. They were doing so on behalf of God. I’m not making that up. One of the women in the group said, “you’re darn tootin’ we’re a hate group. We’re preaching the hatred of God.” I can’t begin to imagine what makes these people tick; how one goes about justifying such a message. What I can state with full confidence, though, is that the majority of Vermonters disagree. And disagree they did.
As a writer, my predilection is to use visual aids only when they can complement the written word. After witnessing yesterday’s events, though, I understand that the only proper way to document this story is to complement the photographs with captions.
This story is one of love and hate. While love is appropriate for all ages, the photo essay that follows might not be.
We love Viva Espresso for opening at 6 a.m. …
… so that Sarah and I could get our coffee.
And then Jen showed up and was loved …
… and reenacted the morning’s news.
And then the sun showed up.
And we love the sun.
When we saw this, we knew Montpelier loved us.
And God loves Anne.
And other people showed up …
… to show their love.
And this guy loved the shirt right off of his back.
And then the hate came.
But that didn’t stop the love.
And love laughed …
… and laughed …
… because hate is no match for love …
… and because the joke was on hate.
You see, every minute they hated, love raised money. (For more information, see the Facebook group Westboro Baptist Church Hates, Montpelier High School Donates.)
And raise money they did!
Even God helped.
And so did Peace.
And hate kept hating.
And we kept loving …
… even when it would have been easy not to.
Because love has no limits.
Not even in the eyes of the law.
So we honked for love.
And we sang for love.
And we flew balloons for love.
And they kept on hating.
And we saw their hate …
… and raised them peace.
And because of this …
… we prayed for them …
… and kept on loving.
Because why hate …
… when you can smile?
Our love is divine …
… no matter what they say.
And we walked proudly …
… around town.
Wherever hate went …
… love followed
(and the media).
And as much as hate tried …
… love was right …
… and strong.
And while hate disappeared …
… love burned brightly …
… on and on and on and on …
Benchly'sword 
For many, 'God' is simply a manifestation of one's own personal beliefs, with gospel/scripture/writings all interpreted in a way that conforms to them. The Westboro Baptist Church appears to follow in that tradition.It must make their religion quite easy to follow. Perish the thought that spirituality causes someone to think outside of their normal construct and challenge their worldviews!Thanks for sticking up for human equality; here's another Vermonter firmly on the side of love.
Days like yesterday are why I love being a Vermonter; it's remarkable how much love we have for a little state!
i lived in vermont for 10 glorious years but finally had to move south …. to the bible belt … why? i needed to see the sun and spring before july during my dotage … but vermonters, you'll always be in my heart – always stay as committed to freedom and peaceful living as you're proving you are right now!