Members of the Westboro Baptist Church brought both to Norman on Friday as they protested the beginning of a Jewish holiday. The University of Oklahoma's Hillel Foundation, and their Jewish membership, were celebrating one of the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar, Rosh Hashanah.
Yet the Topeka-based church members chose to come Oklahoma and protest with signs such as "God Hates Israel" and "Fag University". They sang their own rendition of "Hey Jude" retitled "Hey Jew".
Here's my point: The leader of the Westboro Baptists, a woman named Shirley Phelps-Roper, was reported to have worn a University of Oklahoma ball cap. The same cap and logo we all so proudly don for sporting events and to show our passion for our University.
What Ms. Phelps-Roper doesn't understand is at OU we don't hate. We aren't racists. We aren't homophobic. At OU we don't discriminate and we don't uphold intolerance. We respect all religions and we have no place for her and her band of protesters.
In short, Shirley Phelps-Roper isn't a Sooner.
I'm proud of the members of Hillel who didn't respond, and instead went on with their day. I'm just as proud of the University students and Norman citizens who counter-protested. I'm not often the kind of guy who thinks protesting does a lot of good, but this is one of those times. No reporter could simply say the Westboro Baptist hate group came to town, but had to also report the people of Norman and OU showed up to say they didn't agree.
I'm sad to say hate and and intolerance live on, but that isn't what we Sooners believe.
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