[Pastafarians stage a counter-protest. Photo cred - Brian Chilson]

It was a victory for Pastafarians everywhere.

Last Friday - Talk Like a Pirate Day - the Central Arkansas Pastafarians interrupted and caused the discontinuation of a Westboro Baptist Church hate-demonstration.

Westboro Baptist Church is best known for picketing funeral processions of soldiers killed in the Iraq War, but they hate everyone who doesn’t share their literal interpretation of the Bible.

From Wikipedia:

The church runs numerous websites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com and others expressing condemnation of homosexuality, Roman Catholics, Muslims and Jews, as well as populations it believes are supporting the aforementioned groups, including Chinese, Swedes, Canadians, Irish, British, Mexicans and Americans.

These guys are intolerant assholes; I am so happy to see our fellow Pastafarians ruin their day.

The Arkansas Times had this to say about the Pastafarian counter-protest:

What do you do to make a bunch of soulless nutcases abandon their post at the Convention Center? Send in the pirates!

Yep, the cuckoo Phelps hate group walked the plank this morning after a happy bunch dressed like pirates and holding signs saying “God hates shrimp — Leviticus” and “God hates cotton-polyester blends” stood opposite them at the corner of Markham and Scott streets. The group, made up of Central Arkansas Pastafarians, waved swords and growled “Arrghh!” in a manner that would have made Abbie Hoffman proud.

With cars honking and waving at the pirates and a TV crew giving them all the attention, the Phelps group — with a child in tow, sadly — picked up their “fag” epithets and went away. Pitiful.

A sincere thank you to the Central Arkansas Pastafarians. You made us all proud.

You can read more at the Arkansas Times website.