Fifty Foggots Down

 I had a very vivid dream one night, in which I had to explain to my Uncle 'Phobe exactly why the word "faggot" bothered me (but I don't remember him actually ever using the word in real life, interestingly enough). I explained its origin, that it originally referred to a stick to be burned, and that it referenced burning at the stake. Basically, when you call someone that, you say that they should be burned alive.
"A faggot is a measurement," he said. "Like in the ocean--fifty faggots down."
"I think those are fathoms," I said, trying to be patient and non-confrontational. "Fifty fathoms down."
He also made reference to ships, which turned out to be frigates.
"Oh. I don't know," he shrugged; then we started talking about '80s movies (his area of expertise), before I woke up. Mercifully, I think I was spared his Caddyshack quotations, which are even more repetitive than the Saturday Night Live ones (which are basically all about vans and rivers; he's got one line).


Then the Westboro Baptist Church ("God Hates Fags" people)  decided to protest the National Weather Service last October for not giving enough glory to God.
I went to Umpqua Community College at the time of the shooting (last October), and our Gay-Straight Alliance club had been preparing to meet them when they announced that they would be attending memorial services for the victims, though Westboro did not show up. I think my tweet to them ("The Umpqua Community College Gay-Straight Alliance Club is ready for you.") scared them off. I'm very intimidating! :)
I was almost a little hurt, actually, that Roseburg, Oregon was not "wicked" enough to warrant their attention, but apparently, the National Weather Service was. Their rude names are getting rather lame, too, as "Weather Reporting Rebels" is kind of a mouthful.
But the question that really burns me up is this: Why would they miss this golden opportunity to call people Foggots? They're off their game, lately. I guess they don't want to be any more of a parody of themselves than they already are.