Heath Ledger

[Deleted]

As I said, my intention was not to disrespect anyone; I had this to go by:

longlashes said:

On another note, a posting on the Westboro Baptist Church web site annnounces that the group plans to demonstrate Heath Ledger's funeral - they are apparently doing everything possible to determine if the funeral will be in New York or Australia.

They have targeted Ledger's funeral because he played a gay cowboy in the 2005 film "Brokeback Mountain" and they believe
that he "misused the giant megaphone given to him by God Almighty to speak the truth about fags."

Another press release posted to the church's Web site reads: "Heath Ledger is now in Hell, and has begun serving his eternal sentence there, besides which, nothing else about Heath Ledger is relevant or consequential."

I didn't see the article nor the website.

[mlm828]

kathy said:

This particular "church" is apparently not affiliated with any known Baptist conventions or associations. Calling themselves a "church" is seemingly a cover for them to operate their hate group. This is the group who demonstrate at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. They visited the area that I live in last year for that purpose and one of the "members" was interviewed on the radio. These people are fanatics, frighteningly so! Lumping them with the "Bible Belt Community" is not fair in my opinion to that Community as I don't see this particular "church' as Christians at all! I have lived in the "Bible Belt" in the past, and the vast majority are decent people. Just as in anything else, it is the more radical that gain the publicity.

I cannot find words strong enough to express my loathing of these people who spew hate in the name of religion. How awful for Mr. Ledger's family and friends, who are already suffering enough as a result of his untimely death.

By the way, the so-called "church" is not located in the "Bible Belt." It's in Kansas.

[Deleted]

Oh for God's sake, I modified my post striking out "bible belt" - I obviously misused the term and was called out for it. Sorry, it now reads "these people" okay? ;D

Any-who, this joint has a website (can you believe) and I agree with loathing people who spew hate in the name of religion (to quote mlm). There's no cause for it! And there's certainly no reason at all to protest a funeral - how about respect for the deceased!

I can't believe all this is caused over a MOVIE; hello? A 28 year old man is dead his family/friends/fans are heartbroken.

[Katryna]

divinemrse said:

As I said, my intention was not to disrespect anyone;

Barb, my post this morning was not aimed at you, though I did quote you. I think it is important that people realize that this group of people in my opinion have no right to misrepresent themselves as a "church". And I guess I didn't realize they weren't in the Bible Belt either! Thanks, mlm, for pointing that out!

[bjobsessed]

divinemrse said:

I think the Bible-belt community these people should get a grip - and I mean no disrespect to anyone here, please know that. But to demonstrate a funeral? It was a MOVIE for God's sake.....

They should take heed to "judge not lest ye be judged." I'd like to rummage through their closets, I'll tell you that!

I totally agree with you and I go to church all the time. I think it's rude, insensitive, disrespectful, and so not true. Not everyone is like that. Unfortunately, it's the weirdos that always get all the attention. I certainly would never demonstrate at anyone's funeral or make an accusation like that. They don't know anything of the sort.

[Deleted]

bjobsessed said:

divinemrse said:

I think the Bible-belt community these people should get a grip - and I mean no disrespect to anyone here, please know that. But to demonstrate a funeral? It was a MOVIE for God's sake.....

They should take heed to "judge not lest ye be judged." I'd like to rummage through their closets, I'll tell you that!

I totally agree with you and I go to church all the time. I think it's rude, insensitive, disrespectful, and so not true. Not everyone is like that. Unfortunately, it's the weirdos that always get all the attention. I certainly would never demonstrate at anyone's funeral or make an accusation like that. They don't know anything of the sort.

Karma Anita!!!!

[shmeep]

It's very easy to lump all Christians together with these freaks, but when you think about it, we all know the majority of all churches out there, even the more conservative ones, would never be so hateful and would never seem so gleeful over the thought of another human being in hell. This group--really, they're more like a cult--is about the creepiest group of people you could imagine. Their website has the announcement about demonstrating at Heath Ledger's funeral. I agree with everyone here about just how horrible that is. I may criticize the ultra right-wing evangelical Christianity I was raised in, but many of the people I love--friends and family--are still really involved in the church and are extremely conservative, but they are also very kind and loving people who would never condone such a thing. It's unbelievable a group of people could preach and demonstrate such hate while believing themselves to be the mouthpieces of God (just another creepy thing I saw before escaping from their website). I have seen them on various TV shows over the years, showing off how their kids are as anti "fag" as they are and saying such over-the-top things it almost seems it must be a sick joke, and they have always made me ill--never more so than now.

My Weird Uncle Bill is a bit of a follower and occasionally falls in with cultish churches and one time his church ended up picketing my brother's church, All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, because they allowed gays. Thankfully, Weird Uncle Bill wasn't at the protest. At least I didn't see him on the news with the others.

[matilda]

It's just all so sad - a great, great talent lost. I keep thinking about his parents and sister and his poor little baby girl.

I reckon it's another sad commentary on anxiety, depression and how we deal with it as a society here in the West (well kind of West in my case, you know what I mean).

And the people who plan to demonstrate at the funeral can frankly just go and bite me, apart from anything else it's just bad manners to do this at someone's funeral which is what always strikes me about this type of group - the lack of manners and capacity to mind their own business.

While we're whinging I have to note the Australian media - up to their usual antics on this one and also have a problem minding their own business.

The really mad bloke who is the leader of said maddies is all over said mischevious media here (Christmas, New Year, slow news days etc etc) especially the 'current affairs' programs - I caught the end of an interview with him last night where he said he hoped the whole of Sodom and Gomorrah Australia burnt and died or whatever, coast to coast.

All I can say is that I hope he doesn't get wind of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival, about to start its glorious February-long reign. That would really send him off.

RIP Heath Ledger - hope its all good for him wherever he is - he certainly gave us pleasure and I thank him for that.

M

[maggiethecat]

matilda said:

And the people who plan to demonstrate at the funeral can frankly just go and bite me . . . .
M

Thanks, M, for the laugh I got from the "bite me" line. Good on ya! It has been my great pleasure to know any number of Australians over the years, and why is it that you seem to get along so well with Americans? Maybe because we're both feisty chips off the British Colonial block, maybe because historically both countries have a rough & tumble pioneer past? All I know is that if there is any common bond -- and I believe there is -- it's that we [ahem] tend to speak our minds!

Or maybe I'm just feeling a little sentimental because tomorrow an old friend from Sydney (actually, Jessie's in her 20s but I've known her since she was six, which qualifies as "old") is coming to town for two weeks! She's here to celebrate her grandmother's 87th, and we are all going to get together and eat and drink and shriek and laugh ourselves sick, and I can't wait.

I know I'm totally off point, but since we have so many Down Under members here, would anyone like to start an Oz literary thread? Cut my teeth on Nevil Shute and Alan Marshall (which a Sydney friend put me onto and I had to order Hammers Under the Anvil from a used book shop in Melbourne -- he's never been published here, dammit) and I'm always up for good new writers.

Back to the topic. RIP Heath Ledger, and safe passage to you. I also hate all the media crap and prefer to remember this fine and talented young actor from his work. Has anyone else seen him in The Four Feathers?

Thank heavens for film . . . he can live on for decades.

[Deleted]

Only because I was curious. From "Bible Belt, Wikipedia":

...Although exact boundaries do not exist, it is generally considered to cover much of the area stretching from Texas in the southwest, northwest to Kansas, north to most of Missouri, northeast to Virginia, and southeast to northern Florida.

Tweedie (1978) defines the Bible Belt in terms of the audience for religious television. He finds two belts, one more eastern that stretches from central Florida through Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, North and South Carolina, and into Virginia, and another that is more western, moving from central Texas to the Dakotas, but concentrated in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Mississippi. Notably absent from this belt, however, is the area of Saint Louis, MO, South Texas, New Orleans, LA, and the Cajun Country Region in Louisiana, where Catholicism is predominant.[4]

In terms of demographics, the belt may in fact be most accurately described as extending westward to include most of West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, and perhaps even farther into areas of southern New Mexico settled by Texans. ...

In any case, like matilda said, RIP Heath Ledger.

[matilda]

maggiethecat said:

matilda said:

And the people who plan to demonstrate at the funeral can frankly just go and bite me . . . .
M

Thanks, M, for the laugh I got from the "bite me" line. Good on ya! It has been my great pleasure to know any number of Australians over the years, and why is it that you seem to get along so well with Americans? Maybe because we're both feisty chips off the British Colonial block, maybe because historically both countries have a rough & tumble pioneer past? All I know is that if there is any common bond -- and I believe there is -- it's that we [ahem] tend to speak our minds!

Or maybe I'm just feeling a little sentimental because tomorrow an old friend from Sydney (actually, Jessie's in her 20s but I've known her since she was six, which qualifies as "old") is coming to town for two weeks! She's here to celebrate her grandmother's 87th, and we are all going to get together and eat and drink and shriek and laugh ourselves sick, and I can't wait.

I know I'm totally off point, but since we have so many Down Under members here, would anyone like to start an Oz literary thread? Cut my teeth on Nevil Shute and Alan Marshall (which a Sydney friend put me onto and I had to order Hammers Under the Anvil from a used book shop in Melbourne -- he's never been published here, dammit) and I'm always up for good new writers.

Back to the topic. RIP Heath Ledger, and safe passage to you. I also hate all the media crap and prefer to remember this fine and talented young actor from his work. Has anyone else seen him in The Four Feathers?

Thank heavens for film . . . he can live on for decades.

OMG! OMG! OMG! Good on you mags ...

Alan Marshall's 'I Can Jump Puddles' was the first grown-up kin dof book I ever read (mmm, must recall, maybe not pre-LW) - I also love Hammers Under the Anvil ....starting thread now ....

Feisty??? MOI??? Well ....

And can I say 'bite me' was about as polite as I could get in all the circs.

Cheers

M

[matilda]

Just one last Heath thing - if you haven't seen it and you want to celebrate his talent, go and get 'Candy' out from your DVD shop. It is magnificent.

M

[Colorado girl]

admin said:

It's very easy to lump all Christians together with these freaks, but when you think about it, we all know the majority of all churches out there, even the more conservative ones, would never be so hateful and would never seem so gleeful over the thought of another human being in hell. This group--really, they're more like a cult--is about the creepiest group of people you could imagine. Their website has the announcement about demonstrating at Heath Ledger's funeral. I agree with everyone here about just how horrible that is. I may criticize the ultra right-wing evangelical Christianity I was raised in, but many of the people I love--friends and family--are still really involved in the church and are extremely conservative, but they are also very kind and loving people who would never condone such a thing. It's unbelievable a group of people could preach and demonstrate such hate while believing themselves to be the mouthpieces of God (just another creepy thing I saw before escaping from their website). I have seen them on various TV shows over the years, showing off how their kids are as anti "fag" as they are and saying such over-the-top things it almost seems it must be a sick joke, and they have always made me ill--never more so than now.

My Weird Uncle Bill is a bit of a follower and occasionally falls in with cultish churches and one time his church ended up picketing my brother's church, All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, because they allowed gays. Thankfully, Weird Uncle Bill wasn't at the protest. At least I didn't see him on the news with the others.

I totally agree with you Shmeep that this group from Kansas is a cult. They are very wrong in their views. I think that If God is love like 99.9% of true churches believe, then how can they judge who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. They are so off track in their smug little way about how good they are and how bad everyone else is.

[matilda]

Hey, can anyone who's got time go to

www.ninemsn.com.au

and vote in the 'should the media stop speculating on the cause of Heath Ledger's death' bit?

Ta

Matlida

[Duchess of Lashes]

Finally, in all the useless speculation or the irrelevant articles covering Heath Ledger's untimely passing, comes something written with heart and soul and written by someone who actually had the great fortune to work with him. I think it captures perfectly what it was about this young man that enabled him, in such a short time, to touch so many.

www.newsweek.com/id/105580