by bvonahsen » Mon Aug 14, 2006 5:44 pm
<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Even if they're for real then they're no worse than your average fundies of any stripe and a lot better than the ones that kill.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Oh Fred Phelps is very real and so is the hate he spreads. He believes every word and intends every threat he makes. His two daughters are just like him, mean viscious little slugs pretending to be human.<br><br>The larger point is: people like Fred Phelps are not natural. They do not just happen naturally, they are made. So who made Fred the sick twisted shadow of man he is I wonder?<br><br>Let's see what wikipedia has to say.<br><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps">Wikipedia entry</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Fred Phelps was born in Meridian, Mississippi in 1929, the first of two children; his sister, Martha-Jean, was one year younger. His father, Fred Wade Phelps, was a detective employed by the local railroad, whose job was to keep people from illegally riding the rails. Fred recalls his father often came home from work "with blood up to his shoulders". Fred's mother, Catherine Phelps, was a homemaker. The family were devout members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Catherine died of throat cancer at the age of twenty-eight, when Phelps was five years old. It was the first significant experience of his life, and one that appears to have affected him greatly.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Oh yeah, sounds like a lovely home environment. I wonder if dad "brought his work home"?<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Friends and enemies alike recall the young Fred Phelps as a bright, quiet young man; those asked seem to unanimously agree that he was fairly well liked in high school, despite not being very sociable (something to which Phelps himself admits). Friends further recall that Phelps had tendencies to be overbearing and arrogant. By Phelps's own admission, he never dated, and had no interest in members of the opposite sex<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Gay... <br>Sorry but I really think he is. My personal experience is that whenever you have intense hate like Fred does, just below the surface is boiling cauldron of sexual desire. I know it is a truism but I have seen it born out time and time again. <br><br>The man is flamming Priscilla-Queen-of-the-Desert gay (Great movie BTW).<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Sometime following his graduation from Washburn, Phelps became addicted to amphetamine and barbiturates, which he often combined with large quantities of alcohol.<br>Phelps continued to take drugs, consume alcohol, and binge eat for six years, and would often go for days or weeks without leaving his bedroom. When Phelps did leave his room, it was to throw temper tantrums, during which he would throw food, break plates, and scream at his children for not eating. When Phelps was then too exhausted to continue his fit, he would take his wife back to their room for sex while the children cleaned up after him.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Uh huh... I saw that comming, the only way to repress those inner desires is through drugs and alcohol. Just about everyone that goes through AA is aware that once you stop drinkin' an druggin' unresolved sexual issues bubble up and demand to be attended to.<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Fred's position at Eastside was shortlived; as some congregants would recall years later, he was a "reverend from Hell." Almost immediately his sermons exhibited the hate-filled spirit which would later characterize his ministry. For example, as a means of encouraging the wives and children to "submit to the father's authority in the home," Phelps began encouraging his congregants to beat them if necessary; he was once forced to bail one of his parishioners out of jail after counseling the man to punch his wife in the face until she became "subjugated." Parishioners of Eastside recall one of Phelps' sermons in particular (which references his high-school boxing talent):<br><br> A good left hook makes for a right fine wife. Brethren, they can lock us up, but we'll still do what the Bible tells us to do. Either our wives are going to obey, or we're going to beat them!<br><br>The congregants, when asked by the Topeka Capital-Journal in interviews years later, recalled an incident one Sunday morning when Phelps' infant son, Mark, began to squirm during a sermon; Phelps responded by repeatedly punching the baby in the face. Afterwards, several men of the congregation confronted Phelps about the attack.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>How can anyone doubt that here is a man of God?<br><br>Ok, what about child abuse?<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>In 1993, during research that the Topeka Capital-Journal was conducting for a story on Phelps, they discovered that Phelps had obtained the candy by defrauding the manufacturer.[14] As of 1994, Phelps had lost two lawsuits to the manufacturer and was ordered to pay them an amount in excess of US$125,000. A representative of the manufacturer told the Topeka Capital Journal in 1994 that they were attempting to find Phelps' bank account to place a lien against it, but had been unsuccessful.[14] It is unknown whether or not Phelps has ever paid the manufacturer.<br><br>Eventually, candy sales dried up, but Phelps was insistent that money keep coming in from them. In order to avoid beatings, the children began stealing from businesses around town and acting as purse-snatchers. [14] The children were often caught, with eyewitnesses filing affidavits, but the district attorney refused to prosecute even one case for fear of violent retribution from Phelps. [15] Eventually, the theft became so prominent and so severe that the Topeka Police Department began a special investigation into Phelps under the belief that he was running a "Fagin operation."<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Check<br><br>A suicide attempt?<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>In 1968, Phelps tried to commit suicide while high on methamphetamine, attempting to shoot himself in the head with a shotgun; he was so inebriated, however, that he ended up missing his head completely and striking a roll of insulation. [7] Shortly thereafter, Phelps overdosed on a cocktail of alcohol and amphetamine. [14] He slipped into a coma and was rushed to the hospital, where he remained comatose for a week.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Check<br><br>Murder?<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>It remains in great dispute how much involvement Phelps had in the death of 17 year old Topeka girl Debbie Valgos, whom some of his family members claim was married to his son Fred Jr. in a secret ceremony. While Valgos' cause of death is listed as "accidental," the circumstances surrounding her demise leave it questionable as to whether she died accidentally, committed suicide, or whether she was murdered by someone conspiring with Fred Phelps.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Check<br><br>And there is still more but I think we've all had enough.<br><br>Finally:<br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Because of his outlandish behavior and activism, some have speculated whether Phelps might be an elaborate prankster or agent provocateur. Such speculation has come from across the spectrum, both from liberals who find him to be too much of a caricature of their arguments regarding the religious right and conservatives who believe he must be consciously trying to discredit social conservatives [19]:<br><br> The group is so outrageous that some among the extreme-right have speculated that Phelps is a plant aimed at giving the anti-gay movement a bad name, said Mark Potok, the director of the intelligence project at the Southern Poverty Law Center which tracks hate crimes.<br><br>Conservative author Keith R. Wood made this suggestion in a column in 2004, and it has been repeated elsewhere since then. Such claims, however, have been contradicted by testimony given by Phelps' estranged children who have argued their father's beliefs are very real.<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--><br><br>Indeed. <p></p><i></i>