Westborobaptist.gov - Salem-News.Com

“Most people thought of us as part of the anti-war movement, but we never protested against the wars. Not once. But we very effectively poisoned the anti-war well.”

(SALEM) - On March 24, 2014 I was contacted by a man who claimed to be a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, the “God Hates Fags” military funeral protestors. He claimed to have information that “Americans need to know”.

He warned me that I could suffer consequences if I chose to report it. He said that I was chosen because he had read some of my stories and believed that I would report it and that Salem-News.com would have the courage to publish it. He insisted on remaining anonymous, and will be referred to as “Jim”. He provided photographs of his involvement with the WBC, which I later checked out online and found to be authentic. Initially skeptical, I have found no reason to doubt his story.

Jim: “I have had a variety of jobs in my life, but since I was nineteen have been interested in acting. I landed a few minor acting jobs in my twenties, but that was it. So when I was approached in the spring of 2003 to be in an “anti-terrorism” Homeland Security “training” video, I jumped at the chance. I was flown to West Virginia where I met the other actors. Initially there were thirty-eight of us, later that number was reduced to twenty-seven. We went through a three week training period where we acted out a number of different scenarios.

Eventually we got the truth … we were to pose as a radical right-wing church group. We were going to protest at military funerals and other events and blame American homosexuals for American war casualties. It all sounded ridiculous .. who would believe that we were for real ? Who would believe that a church would believe or do such things ? Who would believe that a group of low income fanatics would be able to afford to travel all around the United States to protest at funerals? And a lot of people don’t realize this, but we didn’t just go to funerals. We went wherever it was felt the locals needed a shaking up.

My first trip to Oregon was in 2008 when eleven of us came here to protest Silverton’s cross-dressing mayor Stu Rasmussen who isn’t even gay! That trip alone cost over $6000. I mean, wouldn’t people wonder where we got our funding? And who would believe that the US government would allow such a thing to happen? In all but two states you go to jail for smoking marijuana. And in many states it is still illegal for consenting adults to engage in oral sex, yet if you want to go wave offensive and vulgar signs at the funeral of an American soldier and upset a grieving family at the most sensitive time of their lives, it is protected “freedom of speech”.

It seemed crazy to me and dangerous, but I was at a time in my life when I needed the money and even though I was repulsed by the idea, agreed to do it. We were told that we would go only to funerals where the chance of violence was nil...no East L.A. or inner city Chicago funerals where upset family members might attack or even shoot us. Nevertheless, it was a constant worry for all of us.“

Interviewer: “Can you talk about the money part of this? How were you paid ?”

Jim: “We got eight thousand dollars cash each for each funeral we protested at and in five years we would get $30,000, the first of five such payments to be spaced five years apart All our expenses would be covered. But if any one of us went public with the scheme, all payments would stop. For everyone. And that would just be the beginning of our troubles. That was made very clear to us.”

Interviewer: “So you are saying that the Westboro Baptist Church is entirely a government creation ?”

Jim: “Absolutely. Just like the Kuwaiti baby incubator hoax, we were a hoax designed to distract, anger and misdirect the American people. They knew that soon everyone would know that there were no Iraqi WMDs and the war was based on lies. 9-11 was being picked apart by structural engineers, physicists and airline pilots. People weren’t buying it. They had to do something to shut up the questioners and doubters.

They needed to come up with something so repulsive, like the incubator thing, that it would grab everyone’s attention and guarantee that no one would want to be associated with the anti-war movement, for one thing. And they also knew that if we, the American people, ever stopped our petty infighting and looked at the whole picture, they would end up in prison or worse. The WBC protestors would be a real distraction, which was our main purpose I believe, and to a degree cause division…turn non-Christians against Christians, turn almost everyone against protestors of any kind, turn the few idiots who believed our “message” against homosexuals, turn the military types against the civilians and turn civilians against the military types.

And the crazy thing was, everyone bought into the scheme..from the “Patriot Guard” to the radical left. We were a wrench in the machinery of truth. Most people thought of us as part of the anti-war movement, but we never protested against the wars. Not once. But we very effectively poisoned the anti-war well. If you ask anyone who the most disgusting group of anti-war protestors that they have heard of are, almost everyone will say us. Who would want to be associated with us in any way?

And the thing that even most “conspiracy theorists” don’t realize is that this barrage of propaganda is constant and ongoing. And it didn’t start recently. A lot of money and effort is spent every day to keep us at odds with each other, keep us distracted, keep us angry at anyone or anything but the real source of our misery…the pirates who have taken over. Every day that we spend fighting amongst ourselves, billions of dollars are being extorted. Every day that we spend engrossed in the latest scandal, the latest race-baiting issue, the latest escapade of some coked-up starlet, the latest outrage, the politicians and war profiteers are making more money than we can imagine. We are being robbed blind. We have lost our future, our children’s future, our economy and our standing in the world. We are being led to hell by pirates who have no loyalty to America or Americans .. no more than the pirates of old had loyalty to the countries of the ships they plundered. I am ashamed to say that I was part of that deception. Maybe this is my attempt to right things.”

Interviewer: “Are you worried about your future now that you have come forward with this revelation ?”

Jim: “Absolutely. Even before Phelps died, I knew that we were on the way out. We had fewer jobs and had become old news. The shock value had worn off. So maybe this is also an attempt at self-preservation because the more I learned how our government operates, the more I realized that once we had served our purpose, we were expendable. How better to guarantee that this..what I am telling you now, never comes out? I know it sounds crazy… but we all have worried about it. Think Seal Team 6. I am hoping that by going public, we will be safer. To those who think I am over-reacting, all I can say is WAKE UP! You are nothing to the billionaires who have stolen our country. You and your children are nothing more than very expendable cattle.

They sent nearly sixty thousand of us to die in Vietnam for one reason …profit. They have killed millions of people all around the globe for profit. They have assassinated political leaders of this and other countries to keep the money rolling in. They plan and start wars that kill millions of innocent people for profit. Human life evidently means very little to these people. And by “they” I am not talking about the United States government, but a cabal of multi-national billionaires … call it the military-industrial-financial-political complex, who actually run things. Many of them are in government but this is much bigger than mere politics. I don’t pretend to know much about these things, only what I have been exposed to and seen.

The thing they fear most is We the People waking up and turning on them. When Phelps died, I felt that this was the time to do something. To the American people, and especially the grieving families whose most private and soul-searing moments we violated, I can only apologize.”

Interviewer: “Do you think any other WBC members will come forward now that you have ?”

Jim: “I believe so and I hope so. If there is a good vs evil struggle, this is it. War has been declared against us all .. but not war in the conventional sense. More of a class war I suppose. People need to be aware of this.”

Jim: “I am going into hiding. I very much fear the consequences of my actions today. I am more than a little nervous right now. But I am glad that we did this. I have thought about this for years…from day one, really. So, I would like to wrap this up.”

OK …. This is an April Fools Day “story”. I never met with anyone from the WBC and this story is purely fiction ....or is it ? Myself, I really can’t say. The more time I spent writing this, the more plausible it sounded. To those who say that I am crazy or paranoid for even considering such a thing, look up the Kuwaiti Baby Incubator Hoax. It reads like a cheap novel, was all a stunt based on nothing but lies. It was perhaps the most defining event in the race to the first Iraq war/invasion. And once the deception was discovered, there were no consequences for anyone involved, other than a huge payoff to the advertising agency that came up with it.

We have to outgrow the belief that “our government wouldn’t do that”, and realize that those in power will do anything to stay in power. Anything.

Vic Pittman is a freelance writer from Scotts Mills, Oregon who resides in Mexico today. He is the holder of no literary awards, journalistic awards or college degrees. He has at one time or another been a honor student, inmate, biker, Christian, pothead, father, radical, pacifist, anarchist, artist, heavy metal guitarist, model citizen, lawbreaker, business owner, illegal marijuana grower, and volunteer for various causes. He is proud to be a "common man" and be among those striving to make this world a better place if at all possible. He was fortunate enough to have been raised by awesome parents who instilled what he feels to be essential values and encouraged him to feel a kinship with not just family or Oregonians or Americans or whites, but every person on Earth, and to act accordingly. He and his wife Glenda currently live in Nayarit Mexico.