Know what I love? Rainbows.
Know what I love more than rainbows? Combative rainbows.
Ballsy, confrontational, resourceful and creative rainbows designed to balance hate with love and peace.
This house has it all. This house made my day. This house needs our help.
Six months ago, Planting Peace purchased this house in the suburbs of Topeka Kansas directly across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church compound. Note: from here on in I’m just saying Westboro because I think they give Baptists and Churches a bad name.
Westboro, a group best known for protesting the funerals of veterans and celebrities with hateful and homophobic signs while chanting promises of Hell, Damnation, and all the good stuff that comes with being rational and well-intended human beings (first amendment y’all!), woke up Monday morning to find a big surprise in the form of a new neighbor.
Planting Peace, a multi-pronged progressive group devoted to promoting compassion and sustainability, purchased the property with the intent of turning it into The Equality House, a drop-in center that will support a variety of LGBT and anti-bullying efforts.
Piggybacking on Westboro’s own twisted-yet-highly-successful media strategy, Aron Jackson, one of the founders of Planting Peace explains, “We’re going to take the negative attention and try to spin it into something positive.” Jackson says, “Instead of millions of children around the world getting this hate message, they’re going to see this message of compassion and love.”
Like any non-profit seeking to spread their message, they need to raise some starter money. This is where we come in. For starters, all of this week’s ad revenue from www.auntpeaches.com will be donated to Equality House in hopes of fostering new rainbows. In addition, I am making a personal donation and I want to double it. I will match $10 for the first ten people who make a donation to Equality House’s Crowd Rise fund. All you have to do is make a donation and leave a comment below that says “I donated!” You don’t have to tell me your name or amount, just tell me you donated and I’ll take you at your word.
So come on y’all, when was the last time you got to fund a rainbow and combat bigotry in one foul swoop?
Let’s do this.
Click here to help fund Equality House.
Update: More than ten people already donated (woot!), so Ann Hendricks was kind enough to pledge another round if another ten people donated (double woot!)…Can we count you in?
First one! I am in and already donated this morning. But I’ll make another donation on behalf of my nephew Todd. Rainbows away!
Thanks Susan. Todd has a cool Aunt 🙂
I donated!
Awesome!
Hell yeah.
Yeah!
I’ll bite. I donated.
I’m so glad to hear it 🙂
Just donated 🙂 thanks for highlighting this – I hope Aaron gets plenty more donations! x
Me too Vixie! Thanks 🙂
I donated
Wahoo!
I donated. These jerks protested my school and my students showed me what love can do in the face of hate.
Your students sound like great kids. What a learning opportunity.
We donated! Thanks for posting this!
No, thank YOU.
I saw this story on aol yesterday, such a positive heartwarming story. Thanks for directing me to where I could involved too, I just donated. We need more stories like this!
I agree. We need more stories like this 🙂
I donated, too. Thanks for sharing, this story made my day.
I’m glad to hear it!
Screw these ass holes. I donated. Happy to do it! We need more people spreading the word. I will be shsring, thanks AP!
Yeah. Screw ’em!
Done!
Wahoo!
I donated. And because I know I’m beyond the first 10 responses, I’ll donate $20. Thank you for posting..
Jill, you are the best!
Since there are more than ten responses already, I will pledge to match another $100 if ten more people donate in any amount.
OMG ANN! That is awesome! Way to keep the ball rolling!
Donated. Thanks for the highlight of this important issue.
I donated $25. I hope I am in time for a match. I am driving through Topeka next week. I hope I can talk my husband into stopping by this house. If so, I’ll take a picture. I still can’t understand how people can be so hateful. Ann Air Force Brat
Yahoo! It’s a mile and a half off I 70 ! I should take a really big American flag to hold up in front of the church. Then I’ll cross the street and take a picture of the Rainbow House. Ann
Why couldn’t we spread this message beyond Topeka? I don’t know the logistics of it but the thought occurred to me that I’d volunteer my house to be painted rainbow colors as a demonstration of support. Why couldn’t we have rainbow houses all across the land, heck, internationally? I can’t donate this week, darned water pump in my car, but I get paid soon and they will have a donation then.
I donated. You and Ann are awesome!
I donated. Thanks for spreading the word about this. I love the idea of rainbow houses throughout the world!
I donated too! Hooray combative rainbows!
I donated too! Hooray combative rainbows!
The house is on the news tonight, big time. All sorts of people are having their picture taken in front of it. They should have a guest book! Maybe I’ll email the owner. He has been on a lot of news shows. Ann
I donated, thanks for bringing this to your peeps attention. Gotta tell you, the only thing I donate to is PBS (cause I’m poor), but anything to rub those a**holes nose in it is worth my money. They came here to the Northwest, very unpleasant, but the upside was that they united alot of people against them. BTW, great paint job, I’d like that on my house, but I have wonderful neighbors and wouldn’t want to freak them out. LOL
I donated.
I hope to be able to donate once back to work but in the mean time, I blogged about your wonderful blog and this great cause !