The hateful Westboro Baptist Church will once again arm themselves with picket signs and this time head to California to protest Comic-Con.

Their reasoning:

“Are you kidding?! If these people would spend even some of the energy that they spend on these comic books, reading the Bible, well no high hopes here. They have turned comic book characters into idols, and worship them they do! Isaiah 2:8 Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made: 9 And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself: therefore forgive them not. It is time to put away the silly vanities and turn to God like you mean it. The destruction of this nation is imminent – so start calling on Batman and Superman now, see if they can pull you from the mess that you have created with all your silly idolatry.”

For years now Comic-Con has been deviating from comics and encompassing different mediums of entertainment. Westboro Baptist Church is a little behind the times there.

As someone who has been attending Comic-Con for over ten years now, I can safely say that there’s no idolizing going on at the convention. I’ve never seen a fan kowtow before someone — if one had, I’d imagine that security would be swift to drag the person away while other fans ridicule him or her — unless we’re talking Twilight, but that won’t be at Comic-Con this year, so that point is moot.

Comic-Con has always been a way to reach out to the fans and interact. Of course Westboro Baptist Church doesn’t know this — they’re too busy slinging hate left and right at any person who doesn’t identify with their fringe. But hate is paramount for them — they harness hate to further their own interests. It’s no coincidence that they’re constantly protesting and that most of them are lawyers; set one person off to physical confront you, then cry “freedom of speech” and sue the person for assault.

Their protest will be at Comic-Con on Thursday, July 22nd, at 1:15 PM to 2 PM. They’ll have to pick a spot down a few streets if they want a secure spot; otherwise they’ll become lost in the sea of attendees from around the world.

I really doubt that somebody who paid $100 to attend the convention would waste time to get into a scuffle with a fringe — there’s panels, events, and people to see. So let’s hurt them where it’ll hurt most: ignore them, and their “cause” will become inconsequential. Let’s have a great time at Comic-Con.