in his post, malnurtured snay referenced a group i hadn't heard of before: the patriot guard riders. it's a national organization of bikers who travel to the funerals of fallen soldiers to help non-violently protect the family from the signs, shouts, and general hatred of wbc members who plan to picket the funeral. their mission:
you know what this reminds me an awful lot of? clinic escorting.1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.
it's the same idea: peacefully, at the invitation of the family (or in my case, the clinic), lend your physical presence to serve as a symbolic - but surprisingly effective physical - shield against people who are being horrible human beings. everyone has a right to protest, but i do not believe that makes it acceptable to harass people who are already in need of comfort.
if you'd like to donate to the patriot guard riders along with me, you can do so directly from their homepage here. (scroll down a bit; donate button is on the left.)
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previous charities, if you're interested in donating:
the red cross
planned parenthood
providence house (via cleveland's a plum)
inveneo
It's too bad the fund doesn't go to bullets to shoot WBC with, but, one can dream, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking ESCORT the whole time you described the mission of this group ... and then you said it yourself (and busted my bubble). Regardless, it sounds like a great cause promoting peace for people who need it the most.
ReplyDeleteLovely, these poor, grieving families now need other people to protect them from shitheads. What is the world coming to?
ReplyDeleteAwesome cause to give to by the way.
I actually read about this group recently and think it's great that it's your next charity.
ReplyDeleteIt's truly sick how hateful some people can be, so thank god for groups like this.
Sounds like a very worthy cause. The lengths to which some people will go to be nasty and hateful continues to astound me.
ReplyDeleteWOW, what a great charity. I was not familiar with them prior to your post, but just spent a few minutes looking them up online. Excellent choice Miss Alice! :)
ReplyDeleteThat's really cool. I hadn't heard of the Patriot Guard Riders before. It's a shame that the hateful bigots are more well-known than the good guys.
ReplyDeleteDude. What happened to my comment? I wrote something earlier about how the WBC is so despicable that even the KKK have denounced them, and then I came back to see what others have to say and saw that I have... well, nothing to say, apparently. Weird!
ReplyDeleteAnyway! My point was, if even the KU KLUX KLAN denounces you, that is a BAD SIGN. Gross.
I really love these guys & seeing badass, mean-looking motorcycle men protecting those who need it in their times of grief. I've long respected them & think I may just donate, too. A good choice!
ReplyDeletei've heard of this group before!
ReplyDeletethe concept itself is so original and unique making it that much better!
Wow, imagine if all that free time that these people have to be completely imposing assholes that think that they have any right to judge anyone to good use, imagine the good things that much passion could do if it weren't misdirected to assaulting people who are grieving.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great charity you choose.
I recently read an article about them, I think on CNN or something. I think they're awesome!
ReplyDeleteRecently (last year or something) members of the WBC were barred from entering Canada when they were planning to picket at the funeral of a man who was beheaded on a Greyhound. I was so stoked when I saw that!
I'm loving your charity of the month posts, Alice. ♥
ReplyDeleteI think you already can guess how I feel about this one.
This wonderful group of patriots was in a local town last year when a hometown soldier was memorialized. His death, along with his fellow soldiers who were killed in the same firefight, was highly publicized, so it was no secret what services were happening and when.
This is the sort of town where the volunteer fire department folks came to the service in uniform, and the combination of both groups brings tears to my eyes even now. When the news media interviewed them, the spokesman said, We are here to support the family in any way we can.
God bless them all.
I'm not going to comment on the hate group by name and give their evil any linkage.
What happened to humans having humanity?!? Boo to the bad people. Excellent choice Alice!
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