Best. Counter-Protest. EVER.

Westboro Baptist Church, run by the "Reverend" Fred Phelps, is quite possibly the most insanely hateful group of bigots hiding behind Bibles I have ever heard of in my life. These are the ones who run the website "godhatesfags.com." These are the ones who show up at soldiers' funerals to protest, because of course the US is such an ungodly nation for not stamping out TEH GAY that these soldiers deserved to die.

It seems that the Phelps gang got more than they could handle when they decided to protest in Little Rock, Arkansas on Friday, September 19th.

September 19th, you see, is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Thusly, the Central Arkansas Pastafarians organized the best WBC counter-protest of all time.

They dressed up like pirates and headed downtown, where they stood across the street from the Phelps gang and promptly proceeded to steal all the attention!

Note how their signs point out the other things God supposedly hates, according to the Book of Leviticus: "God hates shrimp!" "God hates cotton-polyester blends!"

According to Leslie Newell Peacock of the Arkansas Blog (which is part of the Arkansas Times), the Westboro fools couldn't handle not being the center of attention. "With cars honking and waving at the pirates and a TV crew giving them all the attention, the Phelps group -- with a child in tow, sadly -- picked up their 'fag' epithets and went away. Pitiful."

This is the way to handle the hate groups, at least these ones who are no more than mouth-running attention whores. Don't try to take their free speech away, just use your free speech more loudly! (The hate groups who actually use violence, well THOSE ones you have my blessing to handle in whatever creative ways you see fit.)

Check out the guy in the back of the Pirate Pastafarians, by the way. It's Gandalf! If Gandalf himself shows up to join in your counter-protest, you're OBVIOUSLY doing something right. (I know, it's probably supposed to be God as portrayed in Renaissance artwork, but it looks more like Gandalf to me.)

I think if Phelps and his phools ever come around here, I will try to gather up a gang to counter-protest while wearing funky awesome costumes.