the Phelps Family / God hates everyone except them
 

im just watching Louis Theroux spending some time with the family of Reverend Phelps - the most hated family in America.
During one of their absurd roadside demonstrations, a passing car threw an object at them - understandable, but it hit one of the kids. then my thoughs were "what kind of person would knowingly indoctrinate their kids into a family whose faith was so full of bigotry, ignorance and hate, and expose them to the venom which they willingly endure?
i dont know enough to comment any further, but being labelled "the most hated family in America", some of you in the cellar must know something about this?

I just finished watching that programme. I love Theroux, I love the way he finds the humanity in people. I also think he's incredibly ballsy to put himself in those situations, with people who absolutely despise everything he is. Like when he spent time with those neo-nazis and the KKK.

I was struck most of all by how unimpressive (intellectually) the patriarch was. We'd got this whole lead up where we'd been led to believe that Gramps was this scripture expert who was only refusing to answer because Theroux's questions were not scripture based and then when he did ask scripture based questions the guy just closed it down; refused to debate. His sermon as well, was really poor. I kind anticipated some sort of charismatic impressive personality. Instead it just seems to be an aggressive domineering man who's brainwashed his kids.

People who have been watching the guy for a while now believe that he may be systematically trolling for lawsuits.

I can believe that. Very strange man. Uttery filled up with anger. Actually he reminded me a little of Ian Paisley, in his responses to Theroux's questions.

Fuck Fred Phelps and his whole hate mongering family !!!
I feel sorry for the kids .

I don't know verry much about him , but protesting at fallen vets funerals is WAY out of line , I don't give a Fuck what you beleve !!!!!

He was up here a few years ago , I found out AFTER the fact , good thing , I probley would have ended up in jail for Woop'n him !!!

People who have been watching the guy for a while now believe he should be suffering a painful death.

Yeah, and Ann Coulter is supposed to be a 'constitutional scholar'. The interesting thing about demagogues is how many of them will seem to deflate with only a little overexposure. Unless they possess truly strong and compelling personalities, many of these figures thrive because they manage to avoid the hard questions. Their skill lies in shuffling their lies like a stage magician switching a coin from one hand to the other.

Never heard of him. (Turns out I've heard of his campaigns). Wikipedia (yeah, I know, shoot me now) said "President Bush recently signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act in response to Phelps' protests at military funerals." So now he has official recognition in law :rolleyes:

If there ever was an argument for gun control -this is it. Why? because y'all have guns yet no-one has popped him. And you call yourselves responsible? Pah. In the UK, he'd be dead by now for sure. :lol:

If it wasn't just a family cult than I wouldn't believe that he was uncharismatic but since it is mostly family, you could pretty easily brainwash kids if you start from birth and segregate them from society.

Fred and his psychotic brood are sort of locals around my neck of the woods. There's a very special room in Hell for Fred and anyone who follows his hateful spew.

The best thing for attention whores is to ignore them.

Absolute Bastard!

Fred Ph. should Ph.... Off

I really enjoyed the programme (love Louis).

Did anyone else think that Fred Phelps protests too much? Why is his whole "campaign" based on something that is barely mentioned in the Bible and on which scripture is not clear? Do we assume - as I think Louis did - that there is some personal experience Phelps had behind all this?

It was all just so odd. America as a nation is doomed simply because it has fag-enabling laws? What? So if you are an American, God hates you, regardless of how you live your life. And the Phelps family are.... Americans. Oh but they're saved because they speak out against it? Nope, don't seem to remember ever reading about that get-out clause before - even the children in Sodom & Gomorrah were killed - Lot had to leave the area in order not to be smited.

Sorry Phelps, you're Americans therefore God hates you and you are doomed to hell with all the rest.

Never mind, they'll all die out soon - the younger generation have been brought up to believe any attention from the opposite sex is an evil path to fornication rather than marriage and family. And when Gramps dies they'll no longer have a leader. His daughter can't be a leader, she's a woman and if they are scriptural literalists they won't be able to follow her direction.

A forum where I used to post eventually banned any mention of Phelps because talking about him just made people belligerent. The consensus was that Phelps wasn't useful to talk about because he doesn't represent Christians (nothing in his website or other materials really relates to Christian doctrine, and no Christian outside of his family would describe him as one) or Republicans/Conservatives (since he doesn't really support most of their agenda either, plus the whole anti-military thing), or any other group that's actually important in American culture.

The Phelps family aren't like the Minute Men, who are worth talking about because they have attracted several members, have supporters in the mainstream media, and represent a sizable chunk of public opinion -- they're more like a cult. Gay bashing is a serious problem, and the extreme cases of violence and harassment are rooted in a deep cultural bias that exists on many levels. Focusing too much on these attention-grabbing crazies detracts from the real issues that they exploit for face-time on TV.

On YouTube there is a concert by some kids from Orlando (my neck of the woods) at a protest next to the Phelps compound.
The girls were outside for a time... you could tell that they were very excited about the attention, especially seeing the young secular men.
The Phelps phenom is not long for this world IMO.
Fred was disbarred some time ago.

For me, as usual with Theroux's programmes, what was fascinating wasn't what it said about America (because these people really don't speak for any wider group) but what it said about human interraction, albeit of a very intense kind. I also love all his programmes, because I find his style thoroughly engaging.

Note my link to PGR and you will know what I think about this idiot.

Lineage of the Patriot Guard Riders.

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Updated



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Several people have asked how the Patriot Guard Riders got started. Here’s what we’ve been able to piece together. If anyone can give us more details, it would be greatly appreciated.

It all started back in early August of 2005 with the American Legion Riders chapter 136 from Kansas. They were appalled to hear that a fallen hero’s memory was being tarnished by misguided religious zealots who were protesting at funerals. They decided to do something about it. At the ALR 136 August meeting, Director: Chuck " Pappy " Barshney appointed members, Terry “Darkhorse” Houck, Cregg “Bronco 6” Hansen, Steve “McDaddy” McDonald, and Bill ”Wild Bill” Logan to form a committee to strategize and form a battle plan to combat Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church.

When they heard that the WBC was going to protest at the Funeral of Sgt. John Doles in Chelsea, Oklahoma, they established a Mission Statement, which included getting the families permission and contacting Law Enforcement and other Motorcycle Groups in Oklahoma. They agreed that their ultimate goal was to get veterans and motorcycle organizations involved in every state so that each state could handle the situation internally and not rely on other states to do the job. They were very successful in mustering riders to honor Sgt. Doles and limiting the intrusion by the WBC.

After the Chelsea Mission the Kansas American Legion Riders wanted all Motorcycle Groups/ Organizations to be recognized. On the 18th of October 2005 the Patriot Guard name was established and was announced on the 27th of October 2005 to the 100 + motorcyclists present at the Tonganoxie Mission to Honor Spc Lucas Frantz.

Following the missions in South Haven, KS and a later ride in Edmond, OK, Jeff “Twister” Brown, from Broken Arrow, OK, decided to do more than just ride. He saw a need to get a strong nation-wide communications and recruiting program in place. He contacted the original AL riders in Kansas and told them of his plans. They openly shared their experiences, suggestions, and encouragement. Within a matter of days, Brown had formed the Patriot Guard Riders and began a nation-wide campaign to garner support.

Similarly, after a mission ride in Greeley, CO, Hugh Knaus and Jason “Waldo” Wallin answered the call of the newly formed Patriot Guard Riders, becoming the national webmaster and communications director, respectively. Within a matter of days, a mission statement was refined and a website was built, rebuilt, and launched. A call immediately went out to individual riders and groups across the nation to join and ride with the PGR. State Captains were recruited to work more closely with the members in their area.

The growth has been phenomenal. Within a week their membership included many riders from associations like the VFW, American Legion, Rolling Thunder, ABATE, Combat Vets Motorcycle Association, Intruder Alert, Leathernecks Motorcycle Club, and almost five hundred individual riders. To the credit of Hugh and “Waldo”, the PGR website had received almost 566,000 hits in the first two weeks! Patriots from all over America and several foreign countries responded. Emails were pouring in from people wanting to support and join the newly formed PGR.

So, that’s a pretty concise picture of where we came from and where we are today. A great deal of credit goes to that small group of Kansas American Legion Riders, but none of this could have ever been accomplished without the patriot member who takes time out of their life to honor a fallen soldier and their family.

http://www.patriotguard.org/AboutUs/...5/Default.aspx

http://www.patriotguard.org/Letterso...2/Default.aspx

http://www.patriotguard.org/photos/l...m+the+Homepage

All well and good, provided they remain peaceful vigilantes.

The cool thing they do is put flags on their bikes and make them loud enough, getting in front of the "protesters", so those at the funerals cannot see or hear those uninvited to the funeral.
A shame the cycles must be heard, but preferential.

Good work, Patriot Guard dudes. Protesting against someone's funeral is one of the most tasteless acts I can imagine. :(

I just heard that they are going to picket at the Virginia Tech victims funerals also... What is wrong with these people? Theyre so sick..

I suspect that member of PGR will be there if someone asks. They are primarily a service for military, former and current, but they would attend if asked. We have people who monitor their site and others like it for news of where they are going to go. In fact there have been some pretty interesting ways in which they have thwarted the protests.

The banality of evil. Not only is it depressing and disturbing (epecially the last few seconds), it is also mind-numbingly and soul-crushingly boring.

Eeek. Someone tell them god hates ugly people, too. :rolleyes:

The Phelps leadership is hideous, but there were a lot of utterly normal-looking people in the chorus.

And the cute little girl was heartbreaking.

It was so twisted that it was...hilarious. Except for the end, which was sickening.

May God Smite his nasty ass, if there is one...

Didn't I see some of those women in "Sister Act"?:right:

What's really amazing is watching them trying to get their groove on.

Stranger than fiction. They're a satire of themselves. If you watch the video, you can see them include media clips of themselves. These people are worse attention whores than Ann Coulter.

If they think the world's coming to and end, how come they haven't broken out the cyanide?

Good question. The sooner the better.

Well, the Phelps organization just lost in court and has to pay the father of one of the soldiers whose funeral he was picketing almost $11 Million. Excellent.

This part bugs me though...

A hopelessly late response, but I just wanted to ask...

... what the hell has happened to nationalistic biker gangs? ;) Where are the beatings, draggings, the vague menace, the disordered chaos ruled only by fear? Sargent-at-Arms I have heard of ... communications director? Webmaster? A &%$#ing mission statement?
let me emphasize: ;) ;) ;)
I see this isn't a biker gang in anything like the normal sense of "gang" or even "biker". All jokes.
And whatever you think of gay rights, or the war, protesting at funerals is just plain rude.

I don't have a problem with the idea that for a short time, a relatively small area of a cemetary is not a public place. It is reserved for a private party, as many public places can be.

I wouldn't have a problem with that either. Kind of like having a permit to use a softball field.

I have to admit I don't know the legal details of this case, I've only read two or three news stories on it, not the actual legal documents. But the reporting I've seen makes it sound like Phelps lost because he was offensive, not because he was in a cemetery without a permit.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071031/...gets7.lfwE1vAI

I'll admit I'm a little wary at the possible damage done to free speech, but... he WAS invading their privacy, and was DEFINITELY intending to inflict emotional distress. Neither of those are in any way acceptable as free speech.
And a funeral is absolutely NOT a public place.

Why can't we just add a little common sense to the constitution?
Yes, you have the right of free speech. But you DO not have the right to do harm to others by excersizing that right. Just like not being allowed to yell "FIRE" in a movie theatre.

Common sense and common courtesy: two things we were born with the inalienable right to NOT have.:headshake

The Phelps family came to the town I was in to protest my boss at the time, and call him a faggot. I wish I had the photos of that right now....It really looked so comical....just like a bad South Park episode. I was outside of work along with about 100 punks and people from the community, guarding the door to work. The Phelps family was on the other side of the street with god hates you signs etc. etc. painted up in rainbows. The street was closed down by the police.....I got Mrs. Phelp's cell phone number. All you have to do is call Westboro Baptist, ask about their cause, and get her number.

Cic, did you melt some peeps in the microwave and toss them at them? That would have made it even better, I'll bet.

(note: by peeps I mean those insipid marshmallow blobs you get at easter time that are covered in some kind of colored sugar substance.)

God I have been trying to think of a use for those....Nice.....

peeps/pukes

peeps/pukes- we have microwaved them several times-they swell to like 5 times their original size and then collapse in a burnt sugar smelling heap-my kids would MUCH rather watch them nuke than actually eat those horrible things

We have considered a drive by with super soakers using red dye as blood and spraying their bodies, faces, clothes. That shit would not wear off for a week from the skin.

Yeah, except that would be assault and you'd go to jail for it...

I like em', they show the truth of the religion.
"Think not that I come to send peace on earth: I came not to send
peace, but a sword."
Matthew 10:34
"But as for those my enemies, who would not have me reign over them, bring them hither and kill them before me"
Luke 19:27
Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:21–22)

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26)

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
(Matt 10:34-37)

"From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." (Luke 12:52–53)

Yeah, they're your kind of people.

This is news?

They are, at least, honest about the book and what it teaches.
"Be what you is, not what you ain't."

I admire that one quality, honesty, especially in the face of overwhelming hypocrisy, nothing more.

Fellow hate mongers.

I hate no one, have stated it several times, you have never seen an example of me hating anyone, yet cannot seem to understand.
I am sad for you.

You're just sad.

I'm the hate monger, yet you are always the one flinging insults? LOL!
Hilarious!

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

Myself and anyone who can read, yup.
This is beneath me... done.

Wow, it's just like a saturday morning cartoon.
I can imagine RAge in his tights slapping his gold bracelets together... "Condescending Asshole Mode ENGAGE!!!"

ahha, mission accomplished.

Waaahhhh mode ENGAGE...
mission accomplished... definitely.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2.../crybaby-1.jpg

cute kid.

oh, snappy comeback too. you're gettin cleverer and cleverer. must be the countless hours on youtube.