God Hates the World, America is Doomed, Obama is the Antichrist, and Westboro Baptist Church Headed to S.F.

By Peter Jamison Fri., Jan. 22 2010 at 5:30 PM

Categories: Breaking News, Local News, WTF?

The gauche band of lunatics known as the Westboro Baptist Church say they'll be gracing our fair city with a visit next week, making the rounds to several prominent centers of Jewish culture to spread their anti-gay, anti-Semitic, and often anti-grammatical gospel to anyone with ears to hear.

We find that hard to believe

According to the group's Web site, WBC picketers plan to make several stops in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jan. 28. Among their protest locales are the Contemporary Jewish Museum, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco, Lowell High School, and, lastly, the Golden Gate Theatre -- where the crusaders will protest a production of Fiddler on the Roof. (What gives, guys: Aren't rabid fundamentalists supposed to like tradition?)

Jewish Community Center Interim Executive Director Judith Edelson sent out an e-mail warning of the freak show's imminent appearance, and stating that San Francisco Police officers would be on hand if the WBC crowd shows up. Edelson pointed out, however, that the group has no history of violence in its 10 years of protesting.

For anyone unfamiliar with The World According to the Westboro Baptist Church, you can get the flavor of the organization's beliefs at its Web site. Be forewarned: The greeting that appears -- "Welcome, depraved sons and daughters of Adam" -- might lead you to believe you're entering a particularly intriguing porn site. This is emphatically not the case.

Photo | k763