He Got What He Wanted From Taking
The Fabulous Fred Phelps Course
In Demagoguery And Publicity
UPDATE
(2:15PM - PDT) The Reverend Terry Jones has just called off his
"International Burn A Koran Day". Millions of people are relieved. Now,
of course, pundits and preachers will keep him in the news for at least
the next several days. Until he comes up with another "stunt" (as the
President called it).
UPDATE
(7:15pm - PDT) The "stunt" might be on again, so Jones is saying that
it has been "suspended." It seems that he assumed he would be flown over to New York for a confab with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf. He assumed wrong.
The
analysis of this "stunt" should begin with comparisons to that master
of insult and public outrage, Fed Phelps. And the parallels of Rev.
Terry Jones To Fred Phelps are, well, scary: it's already been
documented that Jones is, in a way, a student of Phelps. And now that
his exploits in Germany have become national news fodder, Jones has the
same international cache of a religious martinet and demigod that
Phelps has cultivated all these years. And some say the pupil might
have outdistanced his trainer:
Civil War-mustachioed Florida preacher man Terry Jones backed off his plans to burn the Islamic religious text on Saturday. So, after calling out Jones for stealing their church's 2008 attention-grabbing ploy, Phelps-Roper and her kin are picking up where Jones left off.
"The false prophet Terry Jones caved--like all false prophets do, and like we told you he would," Phelps-Roper bragged.
Some
might argue that Jones still has a way to go in emulating Phelps, but
let's face it: Jones definitely got what he wanted - PUBLICITY. For
better or worse, his number of followers has grown exponentially and
some are even calling him a "hero." He's solidified his base.
He'll probably get a book deal.
So what are some of the rules/advisories that Jones cadged from Phelps? I've laid out the obvious ones.
From The Manual Of Phelpsian Publicity:
1. Plan an outrageously insulting event, like book burning or protesting at military funerals.
2.
Make people angry enough for them to do most of the publicity work for
you. Having religious leaders scorn you is OK, but get some
celebrities, too. Angelina Jolie, for example.
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