The Passing of Phelps: To Mourn or to Celebrate

Good evening everyone and welcome to a late night entry of The Magical Mystery Blog.

The Internet erupted with the passing of Fred Phelps, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church. The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC for short), has done many terrible, and unforgiveable acts of unneeded protest and violence in the past. Most assaults were targeted towards homosexuals because of their extremist ideology that homosexuals are horrible people. They have even gone so far to protest the funeral of homosexual soldiers killed in combat and Lady Gaga concerts.  Thankfully, people have fought against them in the past and continue to do so.

Fred Phelps was the most hated man in existence next to Hans of the Southern Isles and Hitler. But with him gone from this world, a few questions come to mind: should we mourn his death? Should we celebrate it?

Immediately your brain jumps to ‘celebrate it’ as mine did. While my brain still chooses to believe that we should celebrate the death of a hated man, others think differently. Many people have chosen to regard his death with silence and carry on with life, knowing that a vile being has left our world. It’s what George Takei did and many are following in the wise man’s shoes. This, I agree is the mature way to handle Phelps’ death, but people will respond differently to situations.

Then there are those who wish to picket his funeral.  Even the Huffington Post polled its readers, asking if the funeral should be picketed, like he had picketed so many funerals before his death. There are nearly 14% who are undecided, 39% who say yes, and 48% who say no. In the comments below, people claim that we should give him little attention because he deserved none in life, and that no one should stoop as low as he did.

So what do you think? Should we celebrate the death of a hated man or silently regard it and carry on?

Feel free to comment and reblog, and as always feedback and followers are welcomed.

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful...

Welcome to another start of the week at The Magical Mystery Blog.

Yesterday New Jersey received the first snowfall of December 2013. Schools were closed, finals were halted, and people awoke to a white wonderland just outside their homes.  Some even tossed themselves into the wintry world and probably started a snowball fight or constructed snowmen from the freshly fallen snow.

I love snow but there are times when I would love to take a flamethrower to it.  Below are the reasons why I have a love/hate relationship for snow.

The Love

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• No school, no finals, no work. Who doesn't love to not work?

• Snowball fights, snow forts, snowmen, snow sculptures, and other excellent snow creations.  People can also partake in other snow related activities such as skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing, tobogganing, ice skating, and many more fun things.

• It creates a beautiful sight. Many artists, writers, and photographers have been inspired by the falling flurries, the most beastly of blizzards, and even the simplest of snowfalls. Not too long ago a photographer was so influenced by the snow that he created a device that allowed him to take pictures of individual snowflakes; proving that no two snowflakes are alike.

• It gets you in the mood for the upcoming holidays, especially Christmas. Christmas is often associated with snow by way of songs, movies, and television specials. They have given us the idea of a perfect Christmas or anything December related is usually perfected with snow. Snow is meant to be seen as beautiful and festive, just like Christmas. Other holidays like Kwanzaa and Hanukkah are sometimes depicted with snowfall, also giving them a glorious glow.

The Hate

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• Driving in it is like piloting a plane on an uncontrollable slip ‘n slide. Because of this, chances are you won’t be able to hang with your friends at the mall, go Christmas shopping, or travel to anywhere of dire importance. Sometimes if the conditions are unbelievably terrible flights will be cancelled, certain roads will be closed off, and even establishments will be closed.

• It’s too cold, much like the rest of winter. You could say it’s cold as ice.

• If temperatures drop even after the snowfall, the snow could freeze, and change into ice or even sleet. Ice makes conditions even worse, freezing power lines, and sometimes breaking them. Ice also makes roads extremely slick to slide on and even runways for airplanes.  Snow can pile up on power lines and also cause them to collapse.

• Snow kills people by way of extreme cold temperatures or other means.  Recalling the fact that our nation is covered in a wintry white murderer, at least eleven people, if not more, have been killed by it. Some of these situations include people being killed by deep freezes, hypothermia, and slick roads, leading to fatal car crashes.  Other instances even include animals dying by the onslaught of snow. This past October, the winter storm Atlas tore through South Dakota, resulting in the multiple deaths of cattle.

So what are your thoughts on the white, wintry wonderland? Do you love snow, hate snow, or happen to fall in between? Feel free to leave your comments below and as always, feedback and followers are welcomed.