The Most Hated Family in America

[gravity]

*WARNING*: this video contains offensive attitudes from homophobic nutcases!

"Fantastic Louis Theroux documentary about homophobic, anti-semitic religious lunatics (Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church) in the USA. Originally aired on BBC2 (UK). If you can look past the epithets without being offended, it's a laugh riot. Fred Phelps comes across as REALLY stupid!

Originally aired on BBC 2, UK, April 2007"

OTHER PARTS:
PART 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2fUyJQgRuM

PART 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX5dVWzJgpU

PART 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phNz5SRvYy8

PART 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYqncRf3i04

PART 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ1Vpgus13c

PART 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy0s04qxDEs

PART 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPLjL7q9XaY

[Monkeyman]

1. They keep it all in the family too some are lawyers

[BrklynLiberal]

2. I would say they are the most HATEFUL family.

For me, the most HATED famly is the Bush family.

[gravity]

3. In defense of the Phelpses

They managed to unify both the Left and the Right against their cause. They are the true Uniters.

About 70% of the country hates Bush, but 99.9% hates the Phelpses.

[BrklynLiberal]

4. heh heh.. In "defense" of the Phelpses.

Very good.

[whistle]

7. I have to agree with one common ground, the Phelpses want to end

...the Iraq War and they believe George Bush is a sinner and condemned to hell because of his sins. I sure don't hate the Phelpses family for bringing that message to the American people.

[Bronyraurus]

8. That's not their message

Their message is that Bush is a fag-enabler and that America is a country of sodomites destined to be destroyed because it enables fags.

But, of course, you can't hate the Phelpses for bringing that message to the American people, can you?

Christ.

[whistle]

17. Sorry that I offended you Bronyraurus, I meant only that the enemy

...or my enemy can be my ally. I agree that the position of the founder and members of this church is off the charts extreme regarding sexual privacy between consenting adults as well as anti-semitism and racism against minorities. I would never endorse such nonsense under any circumstances.

[hellbound-liberal]

5. I was expecting to see something like this...

[Esra Star]

12. Gee that's interesting. W is the runt of the litter. nt

[whistle]

6. Uhmm, thanks for posting the complete set of links, as I watched

...I wondered if Louis Theroux had ever seen the documentary film "Jesus Camp".

[Bronyraurus]

9. Just watched the whole thing

and I wanted to cry by the end of it. What in the hell is wrong with people? I don't know why Louis didn't throw this old chestnut at them:

Lk. 6.3738, 4142
1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Mk. 4.24
3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

[gravity]

10. I feel sorry for the kids

They seem to be pretty normal nice people who were born into the wrong family. From conversation at the end with the daughter, it seems like she was covering up all the pain her family was causing her to feel. I'm glad that at least some of the family members left the church.

Here is what Louis Theroux thought about the family:

I first saw the family through reading about them and on their website but now, having met them, the most incongruous thing about them is how they look. What I mean is, for example, many of the women are these nice-looking young ladies whose beliefs are so old-fashioned in some ways so you'd think they're kind of like the Amish or something and wear head dresses and long skirts and dirndls. Instead, they're all wearing shorts and T-shirts. They're all-American girls with long hair and good teeth and looking tanned and relaxed, playing volleyball and laughing and joking around and that is, for me, a totally new kind of experience. Dealing with these people with, like, Palaeolithic beliefs but hearing them coming from fresh-faced teenagers and women who you think you'd run into at the mall.

...

I think that the pastor is not a very nice person. I think he's an angry person who's twisted the Bible and picked and chosen verses that support his anger, that sort of justify his anger, and he's instilled that in his children and they've passed it on to their children. Although the second and third generation are by and large quite nice people from what I saw, they still live under the influence of their Gramps.

It shows you what strange avenues the religious impulse can take you down. I think another part of the answer is that parts of the Christian Bible are pretty weird. There's a lot of weird stuff in there and when you take that and you add this angry, domineering kind of a father figure, which is Gramps, and you add that he has sort of separated them off from other people, other families and driven them to achieve a lot, and he was kind of a charismatic guy, and still is up to a point. He was a very verbal, very persuasive, an extremely compelling speaker. All these things added together combined to make a powerful influence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/6507971.stm

[Lester222]

11. LOL. I like those people. America has worked so hard....

...for years and years to push it this far and now we are getting what we deserve: The Phelps !

They represent everything what is wrong with the US and its in everyones face. I think the main reason why everyone (and mainly the right wing) is so pissed about it is because in a way the Phelps are showing people the mirror.

[Bluebear]

13. I was expecting >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

[mwb970]

18. We missed our chance.

They were all together for that picture.

[Lester222]

14. I bet gramps is gay.

[Bombtrack]

15. They're only the most hated family to small minded simpletons

not only do they do wonders for helping the gay rights movement, they can be fantastic talk show guests when the hosts aren't hack idiots, who think they're brave for yelling at them at the top of their lungs.

[Jeroen]

16. People who create Hell on earth in order to go to Heaven. Unbelievable n/t