Did you hear Raunch Foxx’s interview of Mrs. Phelps?
I received the message from a colleague of mine, MW Savant of Savvy Planners, a few days ago:
Would I like to appear on the internet radio show of a friend of his, Raunch Foxx, to talk with the wife of the Reverend Fred Phelps of the Westboro Baptist Church? You know, the folks who picket military funerals and are now planning to find Heath Ledger’s funeral and picket his too, because he played a gay cowboy in Brokeback Mountain.
MW’s suggestion was that we needed to go on Raunch’s show and speak up to Mrs. Phelps. Reasonable idea, I thought. But, truly: when you are trying to serve your community in a POSITIVE way, is it worth your precious time to listen and/or talk with someone who is so far ‘beyond the pale’ you are probably wasting your breath?
Well, the first sign the universe was telling me to ‘beg off’ was when I tried to reach Raunch, to get on his list of speakers. The numbers MW Savant sent me were reversed and when I called a woman answered and said that I had the wrong number.
That was pretty late that night. I got up yesterday (the day of the show) and after researching found the right number. I called Raunch and he let me know he had enough callers for the show, including a lesbian reverend and said, however, if I called in, he’d try to get me on, but I better know the bible or Mrs. Phelps would rip me up.
I had a nice talk with Raunch. And, found out he and I grew up in the same city! Go, figure?!?
Well, Raunch’s ‘warning’ didn’t scare me. But I did feel a bit ambivalent about listening. After all, it was late and I’d had a long day. I’ve seen clips of Mrs. Phelps speaking. I remember her husband Fred from way back in the days of Donahue and Geraldo. These are not people you ‘dialogue’ with. They are perfect examples of people who can only talk AT you not WITH you.
Anyway, last night, I guess that ‘neck craning’ or dark side of me (you know the side that gets into reading about the deaths of celebrities and has to look when you pass an accident) got the best of me, so I decided to listen in. I logged on to the show at 11:59p ET (it started at 9p Arizona time). The long and short of it is this – I think the universe was again working in the direction of ‘don’t waste your time listening to this stuff’, because I was able to listen to Raunch’s beginning remarks (which took almost 20 minutes). Then he said he was going to bring Mrs. Phelps on (he’d had a picture on the live video feed showing the whole time for effect) after a commercial break.
I spent about five minutes listening to commercials or music or whatever, and thought, geesh, what happened to the show. So, I started clicking on the icons I thought were to ‘refresh’ or whatever (this was at Stickam Radio, which I’d never heard of before and, frankly, I found the show’s site navigation confusing). I was able to click in for a minute or two and heard Raunch introducing Mrs. Phelps. Then, for whatever reason, perhaps my rural-slow DSL, I lost audio and video and wasn’t able to regain it.
At this point, sleep was overtaking me anyway, so I shut it all down.
I don’t know how the show went. Did anyone listen? I’d like the ‘Cliff’ Notes (or what do the kids use nowadays – ‘Spark Notes’), if anyone has them! I’m sure I know the bottom line: Mrs. Phelps spit some venom and was oblivious to any of the callers on the line who tried to dialogue with her. Raunch, if you are out there and, reading this, tell me if it was any different!
Keepin’ it loving and positive,
Barb Elgin
Hear me live on HRC’s ‘The Agenda’
XM Satellite Radio Channel 120 on
Monday night, January 28th at 6:3opm ET
Tags: gay marriage, gay spirituality, Raunch Foxx