Westboro isn't a bunch of discussion board trolls, they're a cult comprised of lawyers (not a joke.) They're not as easy to 'put on ignore' as some nutjob in his in-home church comprised only of his own inbred kids. They're a serious threat and should at least be respected for being threatening.
Very true. It is one family. The entire Church is no more than 20 people. They have enriched themselves by being provocative then suing when the provocation elicits a response. At this point, they don't have their beliefs as justification. They want to goad someone into a response so they can sue and make more money.
The fault is in the court system. It's with a general societal impetus to not judge, not even someone clearly making judgments of their own. The Phelps family has turned using our laws against us into an art form. And they are being highly paid for it too.