Louis Therox made the documentary The Most Hated Family in America. He stayed with the members of the Westboro Baptist Church, located in Topeka Kansas, for three weeks. This church is very controversial and their beliefs are very different from most. The members of the Westboro Baptist Church believe that they are evil angels. For example the members protest the funerals of dead soldiers and claim that God killed these soldiers for fighting for a doomed nation. The pastor is Fred Phelps but is daughter Shirley is mainly in control. I was appalled that Shirley would teach her eleven children to hate homosexuals and that all homosexuals should die. As soon as I started watching the documentary I was drawn into it, but was angry and confused at the same time. I felt terrible for the children, it was evident that they were brainwashed. They don't have any friends outside of the members of the church and they are forced into protesting. The children do not know any other way of life other than the one they are living. One of the young boys didn't even know what the words he was saying meant. Towards the end of the documentary I was furious but also very upset. I felt bad for the families of the soldiers who passed away. This documentary evoked many mixed emotions in me, however non of them were positive emotions.
I believe Topeka, Kansas is a good location for the Westboro Baptist Church because Kansas is a very conservative state being that they wanted to eliminate abortion. Although many people were driving passed their pickets yelling and cursing them, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church feel comfortable there. If the Westboro Baptist Church were to live in New York City, it would not work because New York is highly populated with homosexuals and violence would most likely break out.
I noticed that there seems to be more women then men in the church. The pastor is Fred Phelps and he is the founder but his daughter Shirley does most of the work. Shirley has eleven children. At one point, Louis was interviewing Shirley's older daughters and I got the feeling that they were very feminist. Every member of the Westboro Baptist Church was white. they all lived in close proximity to each other and seemed to have a good bond between them.
Many of the adult members of the church are lawyers and nurses. Each adult member of the Westboro Baptist Church is required to give ten percent of their earnings to the church. Another way in which the Westboro Baptist Church obtains money is by winning court cases. They often get sued but win because they are free speech cases. I find it to be interesting that many of the members are lawyers. This is definitely in the advantage of the church because when they get sued they know the law very well because that is their practice. According to Shirley, the church spends about $200,000 on flights per year. They fly all over the country to protest different funerals.
The culture of the members is very unique. It some what reminds me of a cult. The young girls do not interact with young men and they ladies claim they are not interested in marriage. They tell Americans that they broke the covenant with god and are "fag enablers." Every day they spread the word that every one is doomed and will be going to hell. By picketing funerals and protesting it makes them feel like they are doing Gods work and when people respond and get angry, it makes them feel more powerful. They believe that being hated just shows that they are doing their work and it feeds them a sense of righteousness. Their goal is not to gain more members; they just want to spread the word. Many of the members admit that they are not sure that they will even be saved. Although their beliefs and words are absurd, their church has a good, strong relationship.
I do not agree with the Westboro Baptist Church and what they do. I think what they do is terrible and it angers me. Our soldiers fight and give their lives so we can be free. Free to choose what religion to practice, free to be homosexual or heterosexual, free to dream and become whatever we want when we are older. I have the utmost respect and gratitude for our soldiers. If it weren't for our soldiers protecting our freedom, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church wouldn't even have freedom of speech and freedom of protest. This documentary was both sickening and eye opening. I understand that they have the right to believe what they want, but i most definitely do not agree.
