MA father awarded $11 million in lawsuit over his military son's funeral

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I hate them just as much as the rest of you, but what kind of precedent does this set...?

A very, very bad one.

Agreed - Although I like the ruling, it's VERY frivolous - I hate Westboro - they're not really Christians - and their pure biggots.

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

I hate them just as much as the rest of you, but what kind of precedent does this set...?

A very, very bad one.

Agreed - Although I like the ruling, it's VERY frivolous - I hate Westboro - they're not really Christians - and their pure biggots.

I don't see how it's any less frivolous to launch a court case based on physical harm caused by someone else.  Like I said, people should be expected to live with a certain extent of emotional pain caused by others, but I see nothing wrong with drawing a line.  All it really is doing is respecting the fact that everyone has limits.  We all love repeating the mantra "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" and act as if no amount of emotional pain ought to be too much for someone to bear, but if we want to actually live in the real world, I really think we ought to acknowledge that that isn't true to an indefinitely great extent, and that every person has emotional limits that should be noted.

But $10.9 million?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

It's not that it's solemn; it's that it's a private event being crashed and ruined by these people.  What gives them the right to do that?

If they are protesting within legal distances, how does that constitute "crashing" the event?  They weren't sued for trespassing or disturbing the peace, as far as I'm aware.  If they were, I could understand.

No, they weren't, probably because the father was so distraught that he didn't think of doing anything else.  But I mean, really, what difference does it make whether they were x number of feet away?  If you're playing loud rock music at 2 AM, that is still not okay if your neighbors are being bothered, despite the fact that you were far enough away to be on your property.  It seems to me that if your actions led to a tangible decrease in enjoyment by those present (or whatever you want to call what you get at a funeral), it doesn't particularly matter how far away you happened to be inasmuch as "your right to swing your fist ends at my face".

Actually - you got me thinking - perhaps they're in violation of some nois ordinances?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

$6,000,000 of the verdict was strictly for invasion of privacy.  I don't see how that's even arguable against, but this place is special like that.

Huh?

[Queen Mum Inks.LWC]

So, $11 million should be rewarded to anyone who is made upset by a protest, and whose cause a jury deems sufficiently worthy of not being annoyed?

Yes, because all protests are scheduled as deliberate acts of malice at the same time and place as funerals; and because the natural reaction of the bereaved at the peak of their bereavement, to deliberate acts of malice, is "being annoyed."

Out of curiosity, is there anything you hold sacrosanct?  The environment?  Genuinely curious.

No, not all protests - but protests that invade privacy - especially at funerals, where they're insulting the dead.