Recently, I bummed a ride with two endeavoring journalists to New Orleans. They were covering a picket organized by the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas.
We pulled up at a quiet street corner about a block from Magazine St. The site of the picket was St. Stephen’s Catholic Church. The air was crisp on this particular Sunday morning, with sounds of children playing at a nearby playground and the faint occasional metal swoosh from the chain nets on a public basketball court.
The NOPD was out in force, strolling over from their conveniently located station, also about a block away and a “free speech” area had already been established.
A handful of unassuming people got out of a car and walked right up to the barricades with large art portfolio cases. A high school kid, a couple grandmothers, and a few other people was not what I was expecting.
Nevertheless, the WBC brought plenty of offensiveness to go around.
*Still in progress of compiling a soundslide with interviews and more images.