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On Chat about the Fred Phelps documentary with K. Ryan Jones
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Comments
Gootsie 6 years, 3 months ago
Nicely done, Mr. Jones! Congratulations!
Jamesaust 6 years, 3 months ago
My God! At first I thought this read "Chat with Fred Phelps." Gasp.
kj 6 years, 3 months ago
I thought the same thing when I read it. I thought, I can't miss this one.
cellogrl 6 years, 3 months ago
At first I thought, "Why would I want to read about these people. I abhor their views". I did find this chat interesting though and I'm even kind of interested in seeing the documentary now, even though I know parts of it will piss me off.
KSChick1 6 years, 3 months ago
I would love to see his documentary. I've seen another article on Ryan and he said that he tried to just present what was happening, not whether he agreed with it or not. I think that objectivity is pretty level-headed for a college-aged kid.
armyguy 6 years, 3 months ago
Chat with Fred Phelps, now that would be the best chat ever. LJW get with it and Fred here.
white_mountain 6 years, 3 months ago
You're all going to Hell. Love, Fred
Jazmyn 6 years, 3 months ago
I want to see this documentary ONLY if none of my money goes to Phelps and his group. Can anyone verify that none of the proceeds from this movie will go to them? I didn't see this mentioned anywhere.
unklemonkey 6 years, 3 months ago
Man, I want to see that movie!
jayhuck 6 years, 3 months ago
I have no desire to see this movie. Frankly I'm saddened that the creator of this documentary somehow made peace with the idea that he is giving more publicity to the Phelps family. Regardless of whether the publicity is good or bad, the Phelps family thrives on it and is sustained by it. We have to start treating this family as we would a child who throws temper tantrums - we have to simply ignore them! I'm starting now!
Meatwad 6 years, 3 months ago
I'm torn. This film is increasing their publicity but it's also documenting what they are doing. Everything Fred does is calculated so that it elicits a response, the bigger the better. A huge negative response or even violence toward him is what he craves and what he lives for. The ONLY way this group is going to ever whither is if/when people simply pay no attention to them. Rocks, verbal attacks, etc only increase their resolve. BUT then again, terrorists shouldn't be ignored either. The more Phelps is ignored, the more extreme he will become in trying to get attention. Thank god for the motorcycle organizations who make it a point to attend the funerals and drown out the church. They calmly surround the church people and the funeral goers can't hear their stupid chants. Congrats K. Ryan on getting your film into SxSw!
heatherbf4e 1 year, 11 months ago
I think it's very easy to respond to a group like this with anger and hostility because they feed so much of it to the "outside world" to begin with. Personally, after reading a few articles on them and then watching this documentary I feel saddened by this group. To know that they are living by their fear and what they presume they know would just be a horrible way to live. I am a Christian and although I am tempted to be upset because they're views are so far away from the Jesus that I know and they definitely mock what I believe, I just find myself praying for them instead. The documentary was very insightful and I think anyone who really wants to know how to deal with this type of issue (because this isn't the only extremist group out there) should watch it. I'm very glad that Jones had the guts to really find out all the sides of this subject. The best thing in the world is not to feed their ambition but rather to walk away. They just want to win an argument, they don't care about anyone else's view.
Jersey_Girl 1 year, 10 months ago
Sadly, the Phelps family suffers from a hereditary disease known as Media Whorism. The only known cure is virtually impossible; complete and total isolation from the rest of the world. It is not known whether or not this disease is fatal and all we can do is keep praying.
Liberty275 1 year, 8 months ago
"The only known cure is virtually impossible; complete and total isolation from the rest of the world."
You mean like a gulag? Who else would you like to "cure" for saying words you don't like?
Ron Holzwarth 1 year, 5 months ago
"I spoke with both sons that are no longer associated with the church and neither of them are homosexual."
It is amazing that someone could seriously make such a statement, because only speaking with someone provides absolutely no evidence at all.
However, there is a possible exception in that the person that spoke with them is gay himself and could therefore recognize that they probably weren't. Even then, it wouldn't be a for sure.
Ron Holzwarth 1 year, 5 months ago
A very good friend that I have known for years, and by that I mean since 1984, used to go out with one of the Rev. Fred Phelps' daughters. His encounters with the Phelps clan were prior to the time I met him, so it's quite likely that he would have been a very good resource to have been consulted if its early history were to have been well covered. It's a bit late for that now, though. The daughter that he used to go out with once did make a run for it, but today she is still a member of the cult.
At one point, the Rev. Fred Phelps' daughter asked him to go to church with him. He did so, and was quite surprised to see that it took place in the family home.
Because almost all of his family is in the medical field, and he also has had quite a lot of experience in other ways that I don't feel at liberty to discuss here, he is very familiar with various forms of mental illness. Trust me though, this person is an expert, and can spot people's characteristics right off the bat.
Very quickly after the Rev. Fred Phelps' sermon began his mental condition became obvious, and not much about him is actually unique.
He's either schizophrenic or psychopathic, and unless the cult can find another person with those mental characteristics, the Westboro Baptist Church will soon become a footnote in the laughingstock history of the state of Kansas, if it even rates that.
P.S. It would be very interesting to know how many interviews with psychiatrists that have major reputations in their field were interviewed in the making of the film, and how many of the Phelps clan they interviewed.
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