A searing look at Fred Phelps, another reason to have Showtime

Last winter I sat in a chilly old movie house with 300 other people and watched one of the most extraordinary documentary films I've ever seen. "Fall from Grace," shot by a KU student, chronicles life inside the Fred Phelps family -- the "God Hates Fags" people who picket at military funerals from coast to coast.

Showtime has bought the rights and will be airing it several times in the next few days, including 9 p.m. CT tonight.

I always thought that news coverage of the Phelps protests, with their screaming voices and faces filled with hate, were giving a cartoonish, and therefore oddly benign, face to the homophobic protests by Westboro Baptist. (They aren't really that freaky, are they?) Filmmaker K. Ryan Jones must've agreed. He asked for, and amazingly got, permission to go inside the compound where Fred and his extended family live their cloistered existence. Their social circle is confined to the true believers. They sit through Fred's endless purple-faced sermons. They hold not-safe-for-work signs at countless protests. And they learn to parrot the same things the grown-ups say about gay people and the biblical wrath that's planned for them.

Jones puts a human face on the movement, so human that reportedly Phelps and his clan have all watched "Fall from Grace" and agreed it does a fine job telling their story. Phelps sees himself as a prophet and publicity of any kind as evidence that he is getting out God's message of judgment to a wicked world. And yet all the evidence to convict Phelps of violating both the spirit and the letter of scripture is there on the screen: the verbal violence, the abusive treatment of family members who don't go along, and above all the sin of anger, anger, ANGER that practically jumps out at you.

Jones also documents the efforts to silence, or at least blunt the effects of, those ubiquitous protests at military funerals. Personally, I think creating more laws just to deal with one group of less than 100 people is a terrible approach. Jones shows us dudes on Harleys forming a shield around the picketers and revving their engines to drown out the chanting -- now that's inspired, even inspirational.

The high point of "Fall from Grace" comes when Jones has two cameras covering a military funeral: one at the gravesite, where mourners are weeping, the other at the protest site, where angry Phelps family members are condemning everyone in sight, while the music of Mozart's "Requiem," with its call-and-response between heavenly female voices and thunderous male voices lends the scene an emotional heft that knocked me out of my seat.

Comments

[Derek]

I am apalled every time I run into that clan. First time was in 1994 when I was part of a college club from Western Kansas. We all were sitting in disbelief.

Even more pathetic is that the Southern Baptist Convention has long since broken off ties with this "church." This "church" is nothing more than a tax evasion.

I commend that one group of bikers defending the families of fallen soldiers. They are going through enough anguish without a bunch of saps interfering.

As much as I hate to admit, what the Phelps clan is doing is free speech, but at what point is yelling fire in a crowded theatre crossing the line?

[cam]

This Westboro Baptist church say they hates the Gay-Community. But they also hate African-Americans, Canada, Sweden, the Fire Department of NY, victims of 911, other Christian Churches, The Pope, Judaism, America, Our American Troops, and the list goes on and on. Many of the groups they despise are specifically named on their hate propaganda, picket signs, and their many websites. They not only hate, but wish death on all that they abhor.
This sick, so called church spreads its hate through picketing in our streets, provoking attacks, with abusive vulgar language,and flag desecration, attempting to create a confrontation.
This is not about protesting, this is about a life of hate. They are not peaceful. They are not a "church". They go after any thing that can get them in the news. This group will protest anything to get its face on TV or in the news. It is about an old man lost in the darkness of hate, but will put his grandchild in danger to save himself. They protest at the funerals of our troops. Do we have a real need to protest at any funeral? Is that a real Freedom?
The city of Topeka, the state of Kansas and the U.S. at large, its citizens and their Churches, schools and events are all held hostage by this "hate group" - always at the tax payer's expense.

[Kc]

You are are a really lost people!!! I feel so sorry for you, especially the children. Do they not deserve an equal life chosen as adults by themselfs??? Do you know what God is about? please let me know since I have no idea. Educate me.... according to you,I need to know! It made me sick to see those kids on TV!!!!! I only hope you feel forgiven, If you truly believe in God you would know that you have alot to learn!!!

[unnamed assailant]

So I guess that if you are a hate group but call yourself "religious" it is ok to do this at funerals. I DO NOT condone violence in most cases, but it would make my day to see this whole family wiped off the face of the planet.

[American]

I have no idea too

[ThePriest]

The WBC is a reflection of the sick, sociopathic, and narsistic mind of Fred Phelps. Phelps abused his children, pschlogically, physically, and neglected their need for simple love and nurture. Phelps abused all of his business and relgious partners, by toxic legal suits, till eventually he was disbarred three times, the last time for this lifetime. Anyone that made Plelps the least bit jelous or upset him in anyway he bullied in the Kansas and Federal court system. Even the local police and sheriff's department declared the family of limits for law enforcement because they knew whatever the did they would be sued as well as everyone no matter how far fetched that COULD have been involved would be sued persoanlly.

The sad part is that Fred Phelps never learned what true alturistic love was, that is to say the Love of God, from his upbringing for what ever reason. He doesn't allow himself to feel that love, deep down it terrifies him. Its not that he doesn't know right from wrong, he just doesn't care and has no interest in doing so.

The WBC goes with what Fred knows: Hate, Anger, Condemnation, intimidation, seeking confrontation for attention to Fred's sake, doing anything he can just so he and his cult can be the center of attention.
And a sense of intitlement, justified by Phelp's and family inner demons. This inner loss that they have lost control to makes them outward control freaks seeking to dominate all within their striking distanced. Make no mistake about it, they carry the hurt of hell within themselves, and they want everyone else to hurt even more. I can't tell you how many lives Phelps and cult have wrecked or destroyed, including there own. Make no mistake about it if you want to seek Satan in action, with all his lies and delusions made manifest, just attend a service at the WBC with your eyes wide open.

The first Amendment is not absolute, nor should it be. The WBC makes the best case for this truth, more than any other in these latter days.

[kayceewolf]

"The sad part is that Fred Phelps never learned what true alturistic love was ..."

Actually, I don't think that's true. I've heard that Fred learned all about love from several species of barnyard animals and some strategically placed drops of honey as a lonely adolescent back on the farm.

[STL]

Fred Phelps and Al Gore were apparently once attracted to one another: http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=slv8-&va=fred+phelps+al+gore&sz=all

[dolphin777]

Tonight I stumbled onto the doc "Fall From Grace". I was aware of "Rev." Phelps and his appalling behavior at military funerals. But never before had I been "treated" to a full dose of his hateful vitriol!

This is NOT my Sunday school teachings from many years ago. (I'm 70 y.o.) There are just no words to describe the whole ignorant, vicious clan! To see the grandkids being used like this should be termed child abuse!

I was also moved past words with the Mozart Requiem in this context.

Aloha .. .. ..

[betty2007]

I was sorry to see Gore and Phelps together...just when I was beginning to think Gore was an "alright" guy!

I will never understand how HATE can be a religion. Growing up in Topeka, I remember them starting their harrassment of people years ago and thought that no way could that last, but they just add more people to their hate list! I'm ashamed to say that I was born in Topeka and the only thing people remember about Topeka is that's where that crazy moron is from that rants and raves and disrupts honored servicemens' funerals! Freedom of speech only goes so far, in my opinion. When you start tromping on other peoples' rights - there should be consequences for that. I guess I'm really surprised that someone hasn't "taken him out" years ago.

Look, in regards to an earlier post, lets call blacks what they are, BLACK. They are not African Americans unless they were born in or immigrated to the United States from Africa. If they are African Americans simply because their ancestors were from there then I am German American because 5 generations ago my ancestors moved here from Germany and my room-mate is Italian American because his ancestors moved here from Italy. They are black if they are Americans. Period. Now in regards to the inbreeders called Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church, if the courts rule the Missouri law as unconstitutional then how about a charge of disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace be brought against these "people" at their protests?

Quite honestly prior poster, if African-American folks wish to call themselves African-American, what's it to you? I think you doth protest too much. If it's inappropriate for them to call themselves that (I don't happen to believe it is) unless you call yourself a German-American, well fine, do that. But since you're obviously not black (and btw, many black folks don't even mind that phrase either, so you're making a bit of a straw man argument), why are you so concerned about what folks wish to call themselves?