Activism is great, but where do we draw the line?

I'm not a religious person. In fact, I would go so far as to say that I am against organized religion. But I still don't condone invading someone's sanctuary for political purposes in ways that could be potentially dangerous.

Now, there are still some facts that are being disputed, but last Sunday there was a protest at an evangelical, notoriously anti-gay church in Lansing, Mich. The protesters were from the group Bash Back!, an anarchist, radical LGBT group known for putting on protests that are, well, over the top. For an idea of what they do, here's some video footage of them from the Republican National Convention.



You get the idea.

In any case, it was reported by both the church and Bash Back! members on their Web site that the group protested outside the church, while others went inside and did things like yelling "Jesus was a homo," throwing fliers around, releasing a banner, etc. It was also reported that a fire alarm was pulled. For BTL's story on it, go to http://www.pridesource.com/article.shtml?article=32938

My question is: Did they go too far?

They claim that normal LGBT activism (peaceful protests, marches, conversations) accomplishes nothing, while many members of the gay community claim that Bash Back! encourages violence and gives a negative image to the whole movement that only reinforces what anti-gay people already believe - that gays are crazy, violent and don't deserve the same rights as straights.

I'm really torn on this issue. I don't condone what that church teaches, but I also don't condone what Bash Back! did, if the facts I heard are indeed accurate (more on this in upcoming issues of BTL).

While I think that being vocal and visible is key to enacting social change, hearing about people being not only harassed but put in danger (i.e. if the fire alarm caused a mass exit and someone was hurt) really rubs me the wrong way. Aren't there ways we can be radical and forward-thinking without disturbing people in their sanctuary (albeit a really messed up, misguided sanctuary full of hateful lies about LGBT people)? Or is disturbing them in the very place where they learn and share these homophobic ideals the answer?

Ultimately, I have to believe that though this protest probably shook some people up, it didn't change any opinions. In fact, it probably just added to their fear of the gay community. Don't get me wrong - these people need to have their minds changed, because they're the type of people who are selling their cars to donate money to "save marriage" and such. They need to be educated and introduced to non-threatening LGBT people who can show then that there's nothing wrong or scary about being gay.

But the bottom line, I guess, is that no one listens to you when you're screaming at them.