Photos: Protesters Brilliantly Counter Westboro Baptist Church In Uptown

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 21, 2016 6:56PM

Mascot of all things retrograde, the Westboro Baptist Church protested on Friday morning in Uptown near Weiss Memorial Hospital. Predictably and brilliantly, they were outnumbered by several dozen counter-protesters of more upstanding mind and funnier signage.

The Kansas-based hate-speech church was in town to picket Weiss due to the hospital's hosting of a Transmale Genital Surgery Cadaver Lab. WBC—if you really must—posted about their intentions here.

Counter-protesters outnumbered Westboro picketers by at least 5 to 1, said Megan Groves, Director of Development and Communications at Uptown People's Law Center. Some 50 anti-WBC protesters showed up, compared to 10. Ald. James Cappleman (46th Ward) was also on hand to denounce Westboro.

"One of the things that makes uptown great is its diversity —economically, racially, or sexual orientation or gender identity," Groves told Chicagoist. "So it makes sense that Uptown residents would not stand for this hate and bigotry in their neighborhood."

Westboro Baptist Church—which is somehow still a thing in 2016, however justly marginalized, and was somehow ever a thing—is infamous for its public displays of anti-LGBT, anti-Islamic, etc. rhetoric.