NYFD Bath House?

May 7, 2005 3:43 PM

Smell The Brimstone--Have you ever asked yourself, "Self, what if the folks at JibJab made another political cartoon, but before doing so were to remove their souls, morals, intellect, decency, and common sense?"--Good as You's review of this little flash piece, from the GodHatesFags crew (Phelps). I think it's so poorly done and insane, it's actually funny, but NSFW and offensive.
posted by amberglow (75 comments total)

The feel-good hit of the decade.
posted by koeselitz at 3:50 PM on May 7, 2005

It's nice to see that bigots are working on their Flash skills.
posted by fatbobsmith at 3:57 PM on May 7, 2005

Thank God it doesn't work in Safari.
posted by kika at 4:01 PM on May 7, 2005

Good try, amberglow, but sadly the "humor?" tag is indistinguishable from the "humor" tag. It really would be useful around here.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:06 PM on May 7, 2005

that is one SERIOUS obsession mr phelps has
posted by pyramid termite at 4:09 PM on May 7, 2005

Step 1: Make ridiculous stereotype of other side.
Step 2: Forward to friends.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: Profit.

In other words, we all know that conservatives aren't nearly creative enough to do this. Fake.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 4:14 PM on May 7, 2005

that was fucking lame.
posted by trinarian at 4:15 PM on May 7, 2005

I only get the sound on Realplayer for Linux, but then again I guess I should consider that a positive thing.

What DOES separate Mr. Phelps and his ilk from, say, the Ku Klux Klan anyway?
posted by clevershark at 4:22 PM on May 7, 2005

Fake.

Not. (Not Safe for Humans) Look under Features on the right.
posted by amberglow at 4:25 PM on May 7, 2005

Who do these guys like? Everyone was in hell!

The Pope turning into that purple devil kind of scared me.
posted by painquale at 4:26 PM on May 7, 2005

wait wait... i thought it was a fake?
posted by trinarian at 4:27 PM on May 7, 2005

thedevildancedlightly writes " In other words, we all know that conservatives aren't nearly creative enough to do this. Fake."

a-hem. WHOIS is your friend, dev.

Here's the man listed as all 3 contacts for the domain:

drain, steve

Topeka, Kansas 66604
United States


Cool zip code though. Oddly appropriate, and it does check out as a Topeka KS zip code.
posted by clevershark at 4:27 PM on May 7, 2005

Fucking hilarious. For all the wrong reasons. Loved the way they got the details right, especially the heraldry of the Anglican/Episcopal Church.
posted by orthogonality at 4:28 PM on May 7, 2005

Incidentally I removed the bits of the registration which would have contravened MeFi's editorial guidelines (street address, email address, phone number) but not-too-smartly put them in angle brackets, that's why I have extra spaces in my comment.
posted by clevershark at 4:28 PM on May 7, 2005

Hmm, mainly this reminds me how much I hate Media Player. Touched the pause button and the image disappeared. Stopped it and tried to jump back to where I was before - no can do.
posted by senor biggles at 4:30 PM on May 7, 2005

Look under Features on the right.

If we accept that godhatesfags.com is real, that still doesn't mean that Phelps created the brimstone site. Just means that he linked to it.

I'm not convinced. This is just too much of a mockery of anything resembling Christian values.

WHOIS is your friend, dev

I ran it too. There is no reason why I can't register a domain to have somebody else's contact information. The WHOIS doesn't match up with godhatesfags.com, which makes me question. I can make the doman cleversharkhatesfags.com appear to be registered by you if you just give me your address. Doesn't confirm anything.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 4:31 PM on May 7, 2005

...so, per amberglow's link, it looks like Mr. Drain is affiliated somehow with the Westboro people. Odd. I thought it was fake too.

Whoever made it appears to have spent some time on the internet looking for gay porn and pictures of celebrities in order to fill it out.
posted by koeselitz at 4:31 PM on May 7, 2005

Here's a direct link to 300k WMV (15 megs).
posted by Nelson at 4:31 PM on May 7, 2005

Steve Drain's latest film -- sure looks like a fake.
posted by aaronetc at 4:32 PM on May 7, 2005

Apparently Topeka doesn't like Mr. Phelps.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 4:34 PM on May 7, 2005

thedevildancedlightly writes "There is no reason why I can't register a domain to have somebody else's contact information."

...and we also know that Steve Drain is already famous for filming and editing pro-Phelps video material.

Why is it that I can practically see and hear you with your eyes covered, your ears plugged up and shouting "lalala I can't hear you!"? How is this ATYPICAL in any way of the sort of material that Phelps and the aptly-named Drain have already put out publicly? And why on earth are you going to such lengths to defend Fred Phelps and Westboro baptist?

You're really making no sense here.
posted by clevershark at 4:36 PM on May 7, 2005

why on earth are you going to such lengths to defend Fred Phelps and Westboro baptist?

I'm not, he's a douchebag of the lowest sort. But that still doesn't mean that I can be suspicious of other things that are attributed to him.

...and we also know that Steve Drain is already famous for filming and editing pro-Phelps video material.

Exactly. If I were to make a parody of Westover Baptist he'd probably be the first one I'd use as the registrant in order to reduce suspicion. Not rocket science.

Why is it that I can practically see and hear you with your eyes covered, your ears plugged up and shouting "lalala I can't hear you!"?

I'm pro-gay-rights (live in San Francisco, have friends who got married last Valentine's Day) but blindly assuming that anything that goes against our cause is representative of individuals or movements without a standard of proof is just as prejudiced and bigoted as anything they put you. You want me to believe that this filth is associated with Phelps because it matches his style. I want evidence instead of faith.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 4:39 PM on May 7, 2005

Not pleasant. Blech.
posted by prettyboyfloyd at 4:40 PM on May 7, 2005

clevershark asks: What DOES separate Mr. Phelps and his ilk from, say, the Ku Klux Klan anyway?
A: A sheet.

More on Mr. Phelps sick and unhappy life from the ADL and a dirt-digging article that never ran.
posted by warbaby at 4:41 PM on May 7, 2005

BTW, why are we giving this scumbag more attention?
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 4:42 PM on May 7, 2005

I knew the Phelps crew was batshit insane, but I didn't realize they were this batshit insane. Nice! At least they watch South Park.
posted by Nelson at 4:45 PM on May 7, 2005

(sigh)
posted by joaovc at 4:49 PM on May 7, 2005

thedevildancedlightly writes "but blindly assuming that anything that goes against our cause is representative of individuals or movements without a standard of proof is just as prejudiced and bigoted as anything they put you. You want me to believe that this filth is associated with Phelps because it matches his style. I want evidence instead of faith."

So far you have chosen to reject the evidence that does exist... but you'll care to note that the Westboro Baptist home page lists the domain at the very top of their "Featured sites" section. With an animated red arrow pointing to it.

Frankly, I really don't know how much more evidence you could want.
posted by clevershark at 4:49 PM on May 7, 2005

the Westboro Baptist home page lists the domain at the very top of their "Featured sites" section.

That establishes he at least approves of it, which makes him a slime-sucking dirtbag who doesn't deserve the oxygen that he's using up.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 4:50 PM on May 7, 2005

warbaby writes "A: A sheet."

Spot on, spot on.
posted by clevershark at 4:50 PM on May 7, 2005

thedevildancedlightly -- sorry mate, but you really are hopeless.
posted by clevershark at 4:51 PM on May 7, 2005

that was retarded. so was posting or thinking it was funny.
posted by reflection at 4:52 PM on May 7, 2005

I'm not convinced. This is just too much of a mockery of anything resembling Christian values.

I agree. I prefer Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson because they're just enough of a mockery of anything resembling Christian values.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 4:52 PM on May 7, 2005

sorry mate, but you really are hopeless

Or you're blinded by your need to see a unified conspiracy against you. You want me to believe that an 80-year-old man found a way to make a video that looks like South Park?

I return to my earlier question - why are we giving this douchebag more attention? It's pretty clear that he's full of hate and has nothing to do with anything resembling Christianity.
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 4:55 PM on May 7, 2005

As JJ Walker would say, "SOD-O-MITE!"

What's really funny is picturing the way this was put together.

"Well, it's nice, Gary, but could you add a little more ass-rape and burning fires of hell--you know, for the Lord?"
posted by ColdChef at 4:59 PM on May 7, 2005

thedevildancedlightly writes " Or you're blinded by your need to see a unified conspiracy against you."

You're the only one seeing a conspiracy here.

I'm not even gay, so whatever "conspiracy" Phelps is running wouldn't even be against me, and there is no conspiracy anyway because it's done quite openly.
posted by clevershark at 5:00 PM on May 7, 2005

It's funny that there's two collages of various world flags flipped upside-down - but, unlike the US flag, most countries' flags are actually symmetric under that and remain unchanged.
posted by kickingtheground at 5:05 PM on May 7, 2005

Okay, but why are we paying any attention? He's nuts, he's an ass, and he is hated even by his own town. Why are we giving this attention-whore what he wants?
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 5:16 PM on May 7, 2005

Ponderous and not funny, therefore genuine.
posted by Toecutter at 5:17 PM on May 7, 2005

Heh. Heh heh heh. His email address has "cox" in it. Heh. Cox. Heh heh heh.
posted by schroedinger at 5:30 PM on May 7, 2005

Needs more cowbell.
posted by mistersix at 5:36 PM on May 7, 2005

thedevildancedlightly asks: "why are we paying any attention?"

1) Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom

2) So we'll understand what he and his thugs are about if they do come our way.

At one of our local high schools, the kids elected an out (and rather butch) lesbian as King of the Senior Prom. She was OK with this (though it was started as a nasty prank that backfired when most of the kids showed support for her). It made the news.

Fred climbed on board and announce he and his thugs were coming to picket the prom.

The local human rights task force declared a "lemons for lemonade" campaign and started a pledge drive with people pledging to donate based on how long Phelps picketed. He got wind of this and no-showed. It turns out he frequently announces he's going to do something and doesn't follow through. Just stirring the shit.

We had to scramble because we didn't know much about him. And knowing your enemy makes planning effective strategy and tactics that much more successful.

End result: the kids had one of the best and most memorable proms ever.
posted by warbaby at 5:36 PM on May 7, 2005

Great find, Amberglow!
posted by Dean Keaton at 5:54 PM on May 7, 2005

"Step 1: Make ridiculous stereotype of other side."

"In other words, we all know that conservatives aren't nearly creative enough to do this."

.
posted by kavasa at 6:12 PM on May 7, 2005

I should have waited 'till I'd seen the video to comment because WOW! SO AWESOME. Endlessly awesome. Awesome that will extend into the future and the past, encompassing all time and space in a field of over-arching awesome. I am humbled. And still laughing. The shot of the two stick figures going at it, with the heads of W and Kerry pasted on? Oh my god. I am crying with laughter. In domine little boys. This is mathematically perfect comedy material.
posted by kavasa at 6:24 PM on May 7, 2005

Couldn't even get through it. There are far better things to do with my time on a Saturday.
posted by miss lynnster at 6:27 PM on May 7, 2005

My favorite quote of Phelps', from the ADL link: "Fag Jew Nazis are worse than ordinary Nazis." Well, yeah, I suppose they would be, though probably not for the same reasons Phelps would think so...
posted by Asparagirl at 6:31 PM on May 7, 2005

This was pretty bad but I did laugh at the pope part, that was pretty good (little boys). Hahaha. But, on the whole, it was pretty awful, ugly, narrow and indicative of just how deeply rooted some people's hatred of others is.
posted by fenriq at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2005

It's a good thing most Republicans aren't like Phelps. I mean, while they certainly seem to have similar problems with homosexuality, and also for religious reasons to boot, well, they're just not so obvious about it in public.
posted by Space Coyote at 7:26 PM on May 7, 2005

Space Coyote writes " It's a good thing most Republicans aren't like Phelps. I mean, while they certainly seem to have similar problems with homosexuality, and also for religious reasons to boot, well, they're just not so obvious about it in public."

I hear Ken Mehlman isn't at all obvious, in public.
posted by orthogonality at 7:36 PM on May 7, 2005

Ken Mehlman, David Dreier, Schrock, the mayor of Spokane, ...
posted by amberglow at 7:43 PM on May 7, 2005

God hates fags who hate homosexuals. I hope the pope buggers them all when they meet in hell.
posted by snsranch at 8:07 PM on May 7, 2005

I ran across the material in Warbaby's excellent link sometime ago at skeptic tank. If you want a compelling read about this nutcase (Fred Phelps), take half an hour to absorb the unpublished news story. How it came to be distributed on the Internet is an interesting story as well. Skim down until you get to Exhibit A of the legal documents. It is quite fascinating, and reasonably well written to boot.

I have no idea if the video is a spoof or the work of those affiliated with Phelps, but it definitely has the smell of something he would do. For all his lunacy, he possesses enough media savvy to know what will get him attention. He was a nobody drifting into deep obscurity until he started the god hates fags campaign. Now he is a nationally known figure.
posted by Osteo at 8:23 PM on May 7, 2005

Can some one give me the short version of why Billy Graham and Jerry Falwell were included as targets in this? Seems like they'd be right up Phelps' alley.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 8:26 PM on May 7, 2005

he hates everyone, PST, i think.
posted by amberglow at 8:31 PM on May 7, 2005

(or he thinks everyone's gay?)
posted by amberglow at 8:31 PM on May 7, 2005

That video is so over-the-top that it makes a mockery of Phelps. I love it.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:33 PM on May 7, 2005

The irony is, there is no god.
posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:39 PM on May 7, 2005

hate fags for the children, man.
posted by VulcanMike at 9:54 PM on May 7, 2005

ick..
posted by AloneOssifer at 1:18 AM on May 8, 2005

Apparently they thing G. W. Bush isn't hard enough (er) on fags... protesting outside his ranch calling him a "fag pimp."
posted by thedevildancedlightly at 1:33 AM on May 8, 2005

What if the irony is, there is no hell?

Spending the time to watch this video was a marginally useful investment of two minutes and thirty-two seconds, if only to realize how far some people will carry hate if they think it's justified. I feel sorry for the normal people in Topeka who have to share their community with these bizarre "believers" though. I wonder if Phelps is mentally ill.
posted by alumshubby at 5:59 AM on May 8, 2005

I'm not even gay, so whatever "conspiracy" Phelps is running wouldn't even be against me...

Well, it still might be....


posted by McGuillicuddy at 7:45 AM on May 8, 2005

You'd think that if God hated Swedes, he'd send a tsunami to, oh, Sweden. But hey, mysterious ways & all that.
posted by Johnny Assay at 8:13 AM on May 8, 2005

alums - you wonder?

What would it take to convince you?

The man is off his rocker, he's lost it, he is a delusional paranoiac, mad, round the bend, looney tunes, demented, crazy in the coconut, the only cards in his deck are the jokers, he never even had marbles, he lost his grip on reality the second he was conceived: he is completely insane. Mentally ill? Shit, he's mentally diseased, he has some sort of psychic syphilis engaged in righteous battle with a metastisized emotional cancer for the last precious morsels of his atrophied brainstem.

Just sayin'.
posted by kavasa at 9:00 AM on May 8, 2005

i always thought flash was came in small .swf files and played pretty much without intervention in most browsers, but i've only ever hated one gay and that wasn't because he was gay so what the fuck do i know?
posted by quonsar at 9:24 AM on May 8, 2005

You'd think that if God hated Swedes, he'd send a tsunami to, oh, Sweden

I was thinking Switzerland, actually. Even the one-in-many, omnipotent source of creation gets them confused. Of course, his biggest mistake was making homosexuals in his own image. I eagerly await GodHatesGod.com to enlighten us on this tricky conundrum.
posted by McGuillicuddy at 9:27 AM on May 8, 2005

You'd think that if God hated Swedes, he'd send a tsunami to, oh, Sweden. But hey, mysterious ways & all that.

Wins!!!
posted by moonbird at 9:33 AM on May 8, 2005

What's with the Manchester United clip art in the video? /totally_confused
posted by AlexReynolds at 10:19 AM on May 8, 2005

I wonder how Phelps sees all these people?
posted by amberglow at 11:50 AM on May 8, 2005

Coffee-spitting moment
posted by mediareport at 12:37 PM on May 8, 2005

Damn, it's a shame they're not engaged in a tonsil-licking session. That'd make for a much, much funnier picture.

Amberglow: oh, they're all going to hell, too. They might be Christian, but they're not the right Christian.

I get the impression that for Phelps, it's only himself and his followers that are favoured by God.
posted by five fresh fish at 1:56 PM on May 8, 2005

Damn, it's a shame they're not engaged in a tonsil-licking session. That'd make for a much, much funnier picture.

That's right, that pic calls for a remake.

*Posts a call for models to the Green...*
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:53 PM on May 8, 2005

hmmm: ... Colmes asked if Phelps ever had a gay experience. (Comment: An excellent question, given Phelps' obsession for the topic)

Interestingly, Phelps never gave an outright denial. Instead, he said, "Alan get off of that. That's a filthy, impertinent question and you know the answer to it... and if you keep harping on it, you're gonna be talking to yourself."
posted by amberglow at 10:49 AM on May 9, 2005

So kind of them to include Matthew Shepard in the final scene.
posted by jmccorm at 1:52 PM on May 9, 2005