by Jessica Carreras
ANN ARBOR – Westboro Baptist Church was a no-show at their planned protest of the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's production of "The Laramie Project" on Saturday, May 8. But the crowd of nearly 100 people who gathered to counter-protest the anti-gay church's presence had another foe to combat – one that specifically came to target openly gay University of Michigan Student President Chris Armstrong.
The gathering included representation from the UM College Democrats, PFLAG groups from Ann Arbor and Genesee County, the Spectrum Center, the Michigan Democratic Party LGBT and Allies Caucus and from as far away as the Unitarian Universalist Church of Flint. Beginning peacefully with a protest that promised no violence against Westboro minister Fred Phelps and his cronies, the group sang "We Shall Overcome" and cheered as several speakers, including Washtenaw County Commissioner Jeff Irwin and long-time Ann Arbor activist Jim Toy, said a few words.
"We're going to have to put a mirror up to these people that hate us. And we're not going to hate them – we're going to love them," said LGBT Caucus Chair Phil Volk. "But through our active, aggressive non-violence, we're going to show them the immorality of their actions."
"What's really great about the LGBT community is that in the face of hate, we usually don't fight back with words of hate," Armstrong said, addressing the crowd through a megaphone. "We tend to show who we are and how proud we are to be who we are."
With no Westboro protesters in site, Armstrong called upon the group to shout their pride, regardless. But midway through his speech, one onlooker wielding a camera and a sign repeatedly asked Armstrong, "Why'd you join the Order of Angell, Chris? Answer the question."
Visibly distracted but refusing to acknowledge the heckler, Armstrong and the man raised their voices over one another. "Your mom is a millionaire attorney, Chris. A millionaire attorney," the man yelled as Armstrong shared a story about his time an UM as an openly gay student.
The Order of Angell is an invitation-only honors society at UM whose alumni include former President Gerald Ford, UM football coaches Bo Schembechler and Lloyd Carr and former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Cliff Taylor. The high-profile group took flack in the 1970s and '80s for their history of engaging in rituals and practices that many students believed mocked Native American tradition.
The Saturday evening heckler called the group – and Armstrong – "racist," although media accounts show that the Order of Angell has long mended its past injustices and now claims to embrace diversity. Some believe, however, that it still harbors racist and sexist tendencies.
An April 18 Michigan Daily article shared a list of the 2011 Order of Angell members. Along with Armstrong, it also includes representation from several athletic groups, as well as the Muslim Students Association, the Michigan Daily and the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center.
As for the heckler, a comment left on Between The Lines' website pointed to a blog, maintained by the same protester who harassed Armstrong in person. Titled "Chris Armstrong Watch," the blog reveals anti-gay messages, referring to Armstrong as a "viciously militant homosexual activist" and contending that he, along with other participants in the "Laramie" counter-protest were "mocking Christians."
Though the anti-gay protester was largely ignored at the Saturday rally, Commissioner Irwin, who is running for state representative this year, addressed him during his own speech, saying, "You've got no respect" and calling the man a "bozo."
The protester, identified by his blog alias "Concerned Michigan Alumnus," said of the rally, "(It) could have easily been mistaken for a KKK (rally)," calling it a "hateful, anti-Christian rant-fest."
