Much like the age-old question, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” We should ask, “If a hateful protest takes place outside a high school and no one is there to yell back, did it happen at all?”

From a literal standpoint, it did and it will — and there is nothing anyone can do to stop it. However, those who do wish to gather around them staring and gawking as if they were a circus attraction as well as those who find it necessary to retort with angry obscenities of their own only fuel the hellfire that drives these people across the country.

Their goal is not to change people’s minds — they don’t claim to be doing so. Their goal is to draw attention to their deranged cause. They want as many people out there on the street hearing their words, building their infamy.

It should come as no surprise that they run on hate — the more attention they get, the more people hear what they have to say.

There is no denying that what these people are doing is wrong — protesting soldiers’ funerals, picketing outside schools, preaching hate and doing it all under the guise of religion.

To feel anger is more than acceptable — as is the desire to act on that anger — but there are better alternatives.

A counter-protest is being held at All Saints Episcopal Church, 800 Abbot Road, by members of the East Lansing community.

An event like this takes a stand against the Westboro Baptist Church without giving them the satisfaction of free promotion that goes with a large crowd gathering around them.

Remember, the picketers’ intention is not to solicit new members for their church — as evidenced by their open hatred toward a vast majority of the population.

They aren’t changing anyone else’s mind, and they certainly won’t be changing their own regardless of what counter-protesters say.

While it might be gratifying to go blow for blow with these protesters and fight the “good fight” for the side of reason and morality, in reality, there is nothing anyone can say to change their mind.

It’s not an open forum for discussion: It’s a showcase of their ignorance.

These people are not intellectuals who have come to debate the interactions of the gay community with mainstream religions.

Any expectation beyond a screaming match is incredibly wishful thinking. Hate does not bother them — hate is their religion.

They strive for and welcome it. They thrive in it, and the more hate they generate the more they feel like they are winning. Avoid the places they are gathered because the silence and emptiness of the streets will speak volumes.

You can hate them, but don’t let them win.