Nate Phelps — son of the notorious Fred Phelps — gave a talk at the 2009 American Atheists Convention titled “The Uncomfortable Grayness of Life.” He talks about his upbringing at Westboro Baptist and his father’s beliefs and abuses. He also gives his de-conversion story. It’s a very interesting read.
I haven’t finished the piece yet…it’s very well written, but it’s gut-wrenching to read and has only increased my hatred of Fred Phelps. He is a vile, disgusting abomination of a “human” being whose death I will heartily celebrate.
Wow. I’m always struck by the sheer evil of men who claim they are godly. Fred Phelps is positively detestable. I’m with you Roger – celebration is in order when that man dies.
You know, I can have a little celebration in my mind whenever I want to. Because they will die, they will have no afterlife, they will be forgotten and it will mean nothing to the universe. That thought makes me very happy.
Wow. Just wow.
Once the storm of dancing married gays bursts forth, it will be “The Comforting Gayness of Life“
Holy. Shit.
It’s amazing that this guy has been able to adjust and didn’t show up to work one day wearing a diaper and sporting an AK-47. I also wonder if he’s had the urge to go back to his father’s home punch the old dirtbag in the face…
I am speechless……I have no speech.
I sorta feel bad saying I’ll be glad when someone is dead but I’ll be glad when Fred Phelps dies. This world will be a better place without him.
On a more positive note, I look forward to reading whatever book Nate ends up writing.
I’m left hating Phelps a little less and thinking maybe he’s schizophrenic.
Schizophrenic, batshit crazy…
Maybe, but schizophrenics or other mentally ill people know about their condition. they’re not constantly aware of it, but most know that what they are thinking and what this thinking makes them do isn’t normal, isn’t right. They just can’t tell their minds to stop it, to think something else, to calm down – it doesn’t work. Being in this condition and not seeking available help is just as criminal as spreading a contagion. Many people have problems with aggression, they beat their kids or their wife or their husband. When they don’t seek help, they are guilty and treated as such when someone comes to harm. Abusing your own children by making them work, by sending them into dangerous situations, by abusing their minds and traumatizing them is criminal. There is no excuse.
His behaviour, and description of his personality, does not fit schizophrenia at all.
Reading this man’s story brought me to tears. And this is from someone who thought she had seen it all. And I agree with elflocko – why this man never went the AK-47 route is amazing.
There are fifteen more of them and hundreds of grand-children who still might…
I wasn’t going to read the whole thing…but i couldn’t stop…I’m glad I did read it.
I also wasn’t going to read the whole thing……but I did. I’m so glad he and his brother escaped and even eventually thrived. My heart is breaking for what he, his siblings and his mother went through at the hands of this beast.
I hope Fred dies soon too
When I read something like this I do have the fleeting fantasy that there is some sort of afterlife where Fred’s God just laughs his ass off and tells him he has to go stand in the other line.
This story is absolutely gut wrenching, but as much as I would want to celebrate Fred Phelps’ death (no day is too soon), I have to remind myself that there are still more members, one very hateful daughter in particular, that will keep everything going. Perhaps our grandchildren or great grand children can celebrate when their whole ideology blips off the map.
Having read this, the one thing I don’t understand is how Fred Phelps is not in prison for assault or abuse, or that the younger children have not been removed from his home. It seems from Nate’s description that there would have been enough evidence of abuse to do so.
I was thinking the same thing. In Britain, once stories of Phelps’ child abuse got out, he’d have been lynched by the neighbourhood. I’m not saying that’s a good thing, but I’m sure it would have happened.
Yes, I was about to post exactly the same point just as soon as I’d finished reading the comments. Most certainly in Britain he’d be inside, and if the kids were still considered to be at risk despite his absence, they’d be removed into care.
I’m also left wondering just exactly how Fred Phelps would feel if anyone inflicted the same abuse on him? Some people are better off dead.
All these good comments about it makes me angry… I can’t see it! Their site is down or something.
Nate’s site is down, so I tracked it down elsewhere.
http://atheistnexus.org/page/nate-phelps-2009-aa-speech
Now this is why sanitariums exist, and we should never let crazy people start families or spread their crazy genes. I hope Phelps suffers a painful death
I’m curious as to how Nate Phelp’s father was raised. Google isn’t helping much.
*Whew*
That was purely awful.
So painful I had to pause and skim parts of it.
A reputation for supporting black civil rights, and perpetrating domestic violence, hatred and abuse of women and children?
I hope he doesn’t have any good reputation as some civil rights activist. He was purely horrible.
I read the article and it brought a tear to my eye several times. I’m sort of surprized to hear so many “wish he were dead” comments. Dead evangelists turn in to martyrs, that’s the last thing the world needs.
The truth is that the behavior he subjects his wife and children to is called abuse, and is illegal. If one of his escaped childred were to press charges, perhaps we could get him behind bars where he belongs, and people might stop looking up to him.
At the very least he’d learm a little more about homosexuality.
Totally agree with your points, but I’d like to take issue with describing prison rape as “homosexuality”. Maybe it is, technically, but it’s sort of insulting to consenting adults to equate their behavior with prison rape.
I love the exchange in Shawshank Redemption:
Andy: “I don’t suppose it would help if I told them I’m not homosexual?”
Red: “Neither are they. You’d have to be human first. They don’t qualify.”
IAWTC, though if that were to happen to him, I imagine “homosexuality” would be one of the things he’d call it.
I would also never condone rape of any kind, no matter how evil the victim. (Medical castration maybe, because that can serve a purpose… but now I’m way off topic).
Daniel,
I don’t know if I would have found this piece if you had not posted it. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart….Thank You. I cried like a baby as I read the last half of this article (my wife made fun of me). My experiece falls short (obviously) of everything Nate went through but on so many levels it so similar. I lived an R rated version of his X rated life and my journey to recovery like his is still on going. Some day when I am stronger I want to write a piece like this.
I felt inspired and encouraged by this writting and like I said I thank you for posting it.
Sappy comment concluded.
Thank you for sharing that. I also lived an R rated version of this story. I have spent a lot of time trying to move on and understand that the religious father who hurt me soooo deeply is a damaged and pathetic man. I, on the other hand, got away. I now have a pretty good life, a darn good education, incomparable friends, and a future without my abuser in it. :) I hope that gives encouragement to you. If anything, I feel a deep compassion for those of us who have been harmed by legalistic, abusive church practices.
ps. I wanted to post on this the other day, but I chickened out. Thanks for giving me a reason to post, Angry Phillistine! :)
Glad you found it so good!
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