http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6507971.stmThey call themselves the most hated family in the US and they picket funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq. So what did Louis Theroux make of the Phelpses after three weeks?In any country, let alone one as patriotic as the US, few actions are as provocative as protesting at a soldier's funeral.The Phelps family pickets mourners across the country, to mark what it describes as God's revenge on the US for tolerating homosexuality.Their actions are in the name of the Westboro Baptist Church, which numbers 71 and is headed by "Gramps", preacher Fred Phelps. The church, which is based in Topeka, Kansas, mostly comprises his extended family.Louis Theroux, himself no stranger to people with unconventional views, says the Phelpses are the most extreme people he has ever met. But in the following interview, he reveals how three weeks with them left him perplexed by their motivation.[...]You say that in America the media tries not to give them the coverage, but aren't you just giving them a voice over here?Viewers will have to see the show and judge for themselves how these people come across. Certainly this group view it as a platform and that's why they agreed to do the show. But I think what we did was something more than that. What we did, I think, was try to understand how a group like this operates; its group psychology, the way the beliefs are passed down the family, and how those beliefs can be held by very urbane, intelligent, professional people. So when you cover a group like this, you take a gamble that you will be able to get under its skin and reveal something about it, and something about us all as people, and I think we managed to do that. [...]Do all the children follow this Church?Gramps, the pastor, who's the head of the whole ministry, he's had about 13 children. But four fell away. You could say that for only four to fall away shows that you can escape from it but then you can also say how amazing that nine of them stayed in it. That there are 71 of them in total is a testament to how powerful an effect your upbringing has on you.Are the ones who left, ostracised from the whole family now?Yes. Once you leave, that's it, there's no going back and if you're still in the group you're not allowed to "fellowship" with an ex-member. That's a no-no. [...]What else do you tackle in the film?What we're trying to do in the documentary is look at an activity that is so antisocial, so strange, so futile and at its worst, so cruel, and we're saying "Why? Why do that?", especially when you seem to be, for the most part, kind and sensitive people. We're exploring what is cruelty, trying to explain how something that really does very often just amount to cruelty could be perpetuated and passed down in a family. Why would nice people do such horrible things?
Cult mentality and the cult of personality. Jim Jones, Jim Bakker, Jerry Fallwell, Joel Osteen, "write me a check, and here's some coolaid for ya".
It strikes me as amazing and sad the degree to which if we teach our kids gibberish, so many of them are likely to go on believing it as adults.
People just need to ignore those crazies. Their words or messages don't deserve anyone's attention.
Quote from: Barton on January 12, 2011, 06:35:39 PMPeople just need to ignore those crazies. Their words or messages don't deserve anyone's attention. I think most people do or at least try to (with the exception of the media, of course, because it's always great for ratings to pump the news full of dramatic bullshit to magnetically draw in the viewers like flies to doo-doo)
media freedom.
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November 22, 2024, 09:22:45 AM