Son of a Bigot - Westboro Baptist Church

[Titan]

Son of a bigot
His dad founded the infamous Westboro Baptist Church. Nate Phelps is dedicated to reversing that legacy of hate


As the pastor of the much-reviled Westboro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps has become synonymous with hatred. The pastor and his family make it a point to carry signs at the funerals saying, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” They show up to media-friendly events with signs that read, “God Hates Fags.”

Nate Phelps is the sixth of Fred’s 13 children, and he has the scars to show for it. He describes his father as verbally and physically abusive. When he was 18, Nate ran away from home and from the fundamentalist Calvinist religion in which he was raised. ...

http://www.salon.com/2012/09/25/son_of_a_bigot/

[Regulator75]

I read Son of a Bigfoot...

[Locke]

If I was Nate Phelps I would seriously change my name or just tell everyone that I was an illegitimate son of Micheal Phelps.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

I read Son of a Bigfoot...

Now THAT would be a story!!

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

Originally Posted by Regulator75

I read Son of a Bigfoot...

God Hates Bigfoots!

[Coach]

Just affirming what an awful human being Fred Phelps is. A lot of the stuff in there is pretty horrible, but sadly not one thing surprised me.

[HPLovecraft]

What astounds me more than the amount of vitriol spewed from the mouth of Freddy Phelps is the way his followers can obsessively follow a man like that, free of questioning, free of their own perspective on what they're doing. They are basically empty vessels for Phelps to channel his message through. How can someone live like that, let alone thousands? It's the same question I had for the followers of Harold Camping and his whole doomsday predictions. He was wrong multiple times, but people still waited with baited breath on every word he spoke. One lunatic isn't all that strange. Thousands of people that buy into that lunatic's every word -- now that's something special.

[para transit fellow]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

What astounds me more than the amount of vitriol spewed from the mouth of Freddy Phelps is the way his followers can obsessively follow a man like that, free of questioning, free of their own perspective on what they're doing. They are basically empty vessels for Phelps to channel his message through. How can someone live like that, let alone thousands? It's the same question I had for the followers of Harold Camping and his whole doomsday predictions. He was wrong multiple times, but people still waited with baited breath on every word he spoke. One lunatic isn't all that strange. Thousands of people that buy into that lunatic's every word -- now that's something special.

I suggest you read " The Authoritarians"

http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~altemey/

"OK, what’s this book about? It’s about what’s happened to the American government lately. It’s about the disastrous decisions that government has made. It’s about the corruption that rotted the Congress. It’s about how traditional conservatism has nearly been destroyed by authoritarianism. It’s about how the “Religious Right” teamed up with amoral authoritarian leaders to push its un-democratic agenda onto the country. It’s about the United States standing at the crossroads as the next federal election approaches.

“Well,” you might be thinking, “I don’t believe any of this is true.” Or maybe, you’re thinking, “What else is new? I’ve believed this for years.” Why should a conservative, moderate, or liberal bother with this book? Why should any Republican, Independent, or Democrat click the “Whole Book” link on this page?

Because if you do, you’ll begin an easy-ride journey through some very relevant scientific studies I have done on authoritarian personalities--one that will take you a heck of a lot less time than the decades it took me. Those studies have a direct bearing on all the topics mentioned above. So if you think the first paragraph is a lot of hokum, or full of half-truths, I invite you to look at the research."

[Nyah]

Nathan Phelps is an absolutely commendable human being. Imagine the courage it would have taken to do what he's done? Hopefully more from that "church" will follow.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Nyah

Nathan Phelps is an absolutely commendable human being. Imagine the courage it would have taken to do what he's done? Hopefully more from that "church" will follow.

Agreed. And hey, following is what they do best...

Red State was based loosely on the Phelps family. Awesome movie!

[Wormius]

There is a Nathan Phelps who is an active member of the Calgary Atheist Meetup group. Not sure if that is the same Nathan or not. If so, I think he has done a good job of stepping out from his insane father's shadow.

[Coach]

Probably, says he lives in Calgary.

[HPLovecraft]

And is an atheist.

[Nyah]

Originally Posted by Wormius

There is a Nathan Phelps who is an active member of the Calgary Atheist Meetup group. Not sure if that is the same Nathan or not. If so, I think he has done a good job of stepping out from his insane father's shadow.

That would be him. He's also an avid supporter of the LGBT community.

From Wiki:

He also serves on the board of directors for Recovering from Religion, an organization which offers education and practical support for people moving away from religion.

[undercoverbrother]

I always wonder if there was a certain point, an epiphany, that caused him to question his upbringing, or if it was a gradual realization. It may say in the article, will read it at home.

[undercoverbrother]

http://natephelps.com/

[Russic]

Originally Posted by HPLovecraft

What astounds me more than the amount of vitriol spewed from the mouth of Freddy Phelps is the way his followers can obsessively follow a man like that, free of questioning, free of their own perspective on what they're doing. They are basically empty vessels for Phelps to channel his message through. How can someone live like that, let alone thousands? It's the same question I had for the followers of Harold Camping and his whole doomsday predictions. He was wrong multiple times, but people still waited with baited breath on every word he spoke. One lunatic isn't all that strange. Thousands of people that buy into that lunatic's every word -- now that's something special.

While religion plays a very important role, the behaviour they show is not unlike many in abusive homes. Tough to say how much of it is religious whacko and how much of it is abuse victim. The elder Phelps himself is likely the victim of some pretty heinous stuff himself.

Of course your example doesn't really jive with my theory, but people do strange things for all sorts of reasons.

[Coach]

The isolation factor definitely has a huge part to play in it. Phelps hasn't been isolating his family for fear of the evils of the world, he's doing it out of fear of losing his power over them through a gain of knowledge and other influences. Pretty classic abusive behaviour. He may have been exposed to the same stuff as a child himself, that doesn't make it right. It doesnt even make him remotely close to a good person. His son, who escaped the cycle of abuse and made a life for himself, now theres a good person.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by Wormius

There is a Nathan Phelps who is an active member of the Calgary Atheist Meetup group. Not sure if that is the same Nathan or not. If so, I think he has done a good job of stepping out from his insane father's shadow.

One and the same.