The Westboro Baptist Church is widely known for its extreme values
and beliefs; namely those against homosexuality. The church is led by former
civil rights activist and lawyer, Fred Phelps, and mostly consists of members
of his own family. Journalist Louis Theroux’s documentary ‘The Most Hated
Family in America’ follows the organization and sheds light on the beliefs that
they have. Since the start of the war in Iraq, they have been protesting at
funerals of U.S. military killed in action as a protest against an America that
tolerates homosexuality. Their began their picketing protests over twenty years
ago in places they thought that gay people might be meeting up, as well as gay
pride parades and marches.
According
to the Westboro Baptist Church, just about every tragedy in the world is God’s
punishment for homosexuality and the growing acceptance of the gay community.
Even the church’s website is named “godhatesfags.com”. Some of the “bible words and sentiments” in
which the church writes on large signs and brings to protests include “GOD HATES FAGS, FAGS HATE
GOD, AIDS CURES FAGS, THANK GOD FOR AIDS, FAGS BURN IN HELL, and FAGS ARE
NATURE FREAKS”. Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Fred Phelps, is the most well-known
spokesperson for the church. Phelps-Roper has been highly criticized for her
beliefs and how she chooses to express them, as well as how she is raising her
children to demonstrate hatred. When Theroux asks the younger children of the
church what they are protesting against, they can’t even answer the question.
The church
is headquartered in a residential neighborhood in Topeka, Kansas, close to the
Kansas State capitol. The WBC is tax-exempt like all other incorporated
churches in the United States. This is due to the fact that they avoid direct
advocacy and are allowed to hold opinions on public issues. While they don’t accept
any outside donations, the church ends up receiving a lot of its money from
winning lawsuits and legal fees. This helps pay for their almost $200,000
annual travel cost.
When it
comes to politics, founder Fred Phelps and the church tend to make their views
pretty clear. Along with their many protests at American soldier’s funerals,
they also enjoy protesting marriage equality, which comes as surprise to no
one. However, they insist that they disapprove of racism and physical violence
of any kind. President Obama recently signed a new law to help restrict picketing
at funerals of soldiers. Under this law, protests must be held at least 300
feet away from the funeral sight and are absolutely prohibited two hours before
or after the service. If this law is violated by the Westboro Baptist Church or
anyone else, significant penalties and civil lawsuits can be enforced. Fred
Phelps feels that Obama is disregarding the first amendment with this law and
apparently has plans to challenge the new law in court. The entire group has
referred to Obama as the “antichrist” and that he is working with Satan. Margie
Phelps, attorney for the Westboro Baptist Church and Fred Phelps’ daughter,
told fox news that Obama’s presidency is “a sign of the apocalypse”.
In the
documentary, they also show protest against such people as Elizabeth Taylor, activist
and retired Anglican bishop Desmond Tutu, tennis player Martina Navratilova and
Princess Diana saying, “anyone who’s in the news and who supports the filthy
fag agenda, we’re gonna make a sign about.”
I thought
that that Louis Theroux did relatively a good job of representing the Westboro
Baptist Church and Phelps family as who they really are. It is sad to see the younger
members of this church basically being brainwashed by their elders and most
likely being ostracized by their peers for the horrible things they’ve been
forced to believe in. Some of them even seem like they know the things they are
preaching are silly, which hopefully means that someday they can turn their way
of thinking around.
‘The Most
Hated Family In America’ documentary chronicled the Westboro Baptist Church and
the Phelps family of Topeka, Kansas. They see gays as their biggest issue to
tackle and are on a crusade for righteousness. Their pickets and protests have
caused a big stir and they are widely criticized by just about everyone who has
heard of them.
Works
Cited
About Westboro Baptist Church. N.p., n.d. Web. Sept. 2012.
<http://www.godhatesfags.com/wbcinfo/aboutwbc.html>.
Klapper, Ethan. "Westboro Baptist Church To
Obama On New Funeral Protest Law: There's 'Prime Real Estate At 301 Feet'" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Aug. 2012. Web. Sept.
2012. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/07/westboro-baptist-church-obama_n_1752534.html>.
Louis Theroux: Most Hated Family in America |
Watch Documentary Online Free - Documentary Heaven. Louis Theroux: Most Hated
Family in America | Watch Documentary Online Free - Documentary Heaven. N.p., n.d. Web.
Sept. 2012. <http://documentaryheaven.com/louis-theroux-most-hated-family-in-america/>.
Lowder, J. B. "Why the Westboro Baptist
Church Remains Tax-exempt." Slate Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web.
Sept. 2012.
<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2011/03/subsidized_hate.html>.
"Southern Poverty Law Center." Westboro Baptist Church. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/westboro-baptist-church>.
