It was just an ordinary afternoon in Iowa. A greasy-haired kid ducked into an office building and took the stairs to the ninth floor. He ran up every flight breathlessly like a fugitive. When he found an unscreened window, he stopped to consider his options. If only he could free himself from the daily pelting of spitballs; the swift, sharp kicks from behind; the oblivious teachers; the frightening after-school chases and bullies with their relentless hissing of “Faggot!” Most of all, it would be wonderful to escape from the one feeling that never failed to torment him: his emerging sexual attraction to other boys, a feeling which he prayed would disappear.

He had accepted Jesus Christ as his Personal Lord and Savior; he had begged God to forgive him for his sins every night and every day. Why wasn’t God answering his prayers? As he stood there in the window at the age of fourteen, he was already afraid that he would never be able to pray the feeling away, and he wondered if the nine stories between himself and the street below would be enough to kill him quickly.

Welcome to my own private adolescence. I was that kid in the window — a very long time ago. So it came as no surprise to me when I learned the results of a recent study confirming that gay, lesbian and bisexual teens are four times more likely to commit suicide than heterosexual teens. The study also confirms that GLB teens are far more likely to be threatened or injured with a weapon on school property. Consequently, the same teens are more likely to not attend school.

CNN broadcasted this news during the week that preceded the much-anticipated arrival of Fred Phelps’ disciples in Ames. When I mentioned the study to friends and acquaintances, I felt disappointed that no one had heard about it, although all of them had paid a visit to Phelps’ “God Hates Fags” Web site. I must confess that I went there myself, and I was drawn in briefly by the photographs of children he has brainwashed and the so-called demonstrators in a cemetery, but I regret going there now. Hatred deserves no audience.

Phelps’ people put on a tasteless little show near Hilton Coliseum on May 9. The students, staff members, alumni and community members who counterprotested there provided a fine example of how a community can react to undesirable visitors in an appropriate manner. In a way, it seems sad that a peculiar man with a small band of zealots could make an unpleasant noise and summon the attention of this entire community, especially when a significant issue, such as the suicide rate of GLB teens, received little interest here.

Sadder still, is the rift that occurred among members of the ad hoc coalition which was formed to deal with Phelps’ visit. Though the original coalition included no less than 70 members, differences of opinion all but disintegrated the group until finally there were only five. According to Sine Anahita, program coordinator for ISU’s Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Student Services, the split arose between younger students who wanted a more radical approach and older coalition members who feel that big changes cannot be made overnight.

Indirectly, Fred Phelps accomplished all of this without ever personally appearing in Ames. He was represented by a group of his followers, which included seven babies in strollers and a foul mouthpiece with a bullhorn. The counterprotestors received a positive reaction from people who attended commencement. Some parents were escorted away by DPS officers when they attempted to express their anger at Phelps’ group. One teenager applauded the counterprotestors as he passed through the parking lot.

The image of Phelps and his followers waving hateful signs at graduation ceremonies and grave sites is repugnant and worthy of out disdain. But counterprotesting their nonsense is not enough. If we really want to thwart the Phelpses of the world, we need to focus our energies where they are most needed. Wouldn’t it be great if the same 70 people, who originally gathered to plan their response to Phelps, devoted their collective strength to helping GLB teens? Right here in this community, GLB teens are seeking protection from harassment at Ames High School. They need all the support they can get.

Phelps’ game merely distracts good people who care from the serious issues. When we give our attention to Phelps, we inadvertently offer his mission prominence in the media, thus underlining his message rather than undermining it. Meanwhile, in the all-too-real world of high school, where there are no safe zones or barricades, GLB teenagers contemplate suicide every day. Forget Fred Phelps. America must help these desperate young people before he can brandish his filthy signs over their graves.

Tom Owings is a graduate student in English from Ames. He is the opinion editor of the Daily.