# Granddaughter of Westboro Baptist Church's founder escapes \[and others\]. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 28, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634 "2013-01-28T18:35:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/1 "2013-01-28T18:35:32Z")
Cracks are beginning to develop within Westboro Baptist Church. The founder’s 29 year old granddaughter fled. Her brother left a couple years ago. She’s given interviews detailing life within the hate organization. I found the Kansas City Star article very interesting. [http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/19/3275645/megan-phelps-roper-an-heir-to.html](http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/19/3275645/megan-phelps-roper-an-heir-to.html) > **['I had to pray for people to die': Woman who escaped 'hate cult' Westboro...](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2269567/I-pray-people-die-Woman-escaped-hate-cult-Westboro-Baptist-Church-finds-peace-new-life-freedom.html)** > > Four years ago, Libby Phelps Alvarez was picketing Obama's inauguration, taking part in anti-gay protests at military funerals, had never had a haircut, and unable to travel, was confined to the borders of the U.S. > [@](#): > > Mrs Phelps Alvarez is the granddaughter of Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr., the founder and pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church - an American independent Baptist church known for its extreme ideologies, especially those against gay people. > > Her brother, Josh, escaped the church - which is described as a cult and hate group, and is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center - two years before she did, at age 25. > > It was after church members confronted her about a bikini she had worn during a family vacation that she decided to follow his lead. She knew from experience how she was supposed to reply to their complaints, she said. Apologize, ask forgiveness, and assure the members she would never wear a bikini again. But unable to bring herself to do it, she said, she fled. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/2 "2013-01-28T18:42:29Z")
_ **Note** _ The Kansas City Star Article was **before** she quit the church. Dailymail is after. This is a smart lady. Straight A’s in high school and college. She was a major asset to Westboro. Glad she finally made the choice to get out. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/3 "2013-01-28T18:53:21Z")
Geez, this stinking edit time out is biting my ass today. Ok, the Kansas City Star Article first interviews Megan. She’s still in the hate church and Libby’s cousin. Then the article interviews Libby. It’s kind of sad being rejected by her family. But Libby seems happy that she got out. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/4 "2013-01-28T19:50:01Z")
Is that the girl who Louis Theroux interviewed? The one who was going to college and who you could tell…kind of knew it was ridiculous? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/5 "2013-01-28T19:58:49Z")
It may have been. I haven’t seen _America’s Most Hated Family in Crisis_ but I see it deals with some family members leaving. It’s on youtube. I’ll watch it tonight. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ticxD0GfewA/hqdefault.jpg "Louis Theroux - America's Most Hated Family IN CRISIS (1/4)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ticxD0GfewA) > **[America's Most Hated Family in Crisis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America%27s_Most_Hated_Family_in_Crisis)** > > America's Most Hated Family in Crisis (also known as The Return of America's Most Hated Family in some markets) is a 2011 BBC documentary film presented and written by Louis Theroux, who revisits the family at the core of the Westboro Baptist Church. It is a follow-up to 2007's The Most Hated Family in America, also written and presented by Theroux. In 2019, Theroux made another follow-up, Surviving America's Most Hated Family, completing a trilogy of documentaries based on the church. > The doc... > [@](#): > > Theroux returned to Topeka after four years, to investigate the departure of several members of the Phelps family since his last visit. His return was prompted by an email he received from a young member of the church he had interviewed previously, who had since left and been disfellowshipped. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/6 "2013-01-28T20:00:02Z")
Not to make light of this but this part of the quoted article, “She knew from experience how she was supposed to reply to their complaints, she said. Apologize, ask forgiveness, and assure the members she would never wear a bikini again. But unable to bring herself to do it, she said, she fled,” makes it sound like what drove her from her family and her church was the possibility of never being able to wear a bikini. “I can live with being isolated from society as a member of a group widely hated by many Americans. I can live with not being able to watch TV or listen to the radio. But damnit, I draw the line at not being able to wear a bikini.” ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/7 "2013-01-28T20:05:55Z")
I got the impression that the bikini was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She’d put up with these people controlling her life for long enough. She was 25 or 26? when she left. I bet she’d been thinking about leaving for awhile. It’s not an easy decision. Knowing her mom and other relatives will never speak to her again. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/8 "2013-01-28T21:11:21Z")
“Escape” is a bit hyperbolic isn’t it? She didn’t slip past the guards and over the wire in the dead of night. She said “fuck it” and moved out. It sounds like a person whose family’s business is full time media whoring has decided to spin off her own, more palatable, brand. How long until the book deal, the endless appearances on talk shows, the commentator gig, and the inevitable reality show? Best of luck, etc., but it sounds like a case of “if your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/9 "2013-01-28T21:15:44Z")
The other ones that got away tell a really, REALLY scary story: [Addicted to Hate](http://blank.org/addict/) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/10 "2013-01-28T21:33:07Z")
_Escape_ may be an appropriate word to describe her decisions and actions considering the intangible bonds constructed by a cult. And, keep in mind, this was not just her _family_ in the sense that most of here consider the word. It was her entire community. This is a very insular group of individuals led by a powerful individual. She was raised to obey and to take orders from her elders. This lady deserves a great deal of praise for her courage. Breaking ties with insanity is difficult even when such insanity flies under the radar (as it does in most dysfunctional families). ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/11 "2013-01-28T21:38:44Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > It sounds like a person whose family’s business is full time media whoring has decided to spin off her own, more palatable, brand. How long until the book deal, the endless appearances on talk shows, the commentator gig, and the inevitable reality show? What was it you read, in either article that, to you, “sounds like” she “has decided to spin off her own, more palatable brand”? Because I read both articles in their entirety, and I found nothing at all that, IMO, would support, corroborate, or even hint at anything like that happening, being planned, or even considered as a remote possibility. It seems like something you just assumed, without any evidence whatsoever, for reasons I cannot begin to understand or parse in any way. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/12 "2013-01-28T22:12:44Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > _Escape_ may be an appropriate word to describe her decisions and actions considering the intangible bonds constructed by a cult. And, keep in mind, this was not just her _family_ in the sense that most of here consider the word. It was her entire community. This is a very insular group of individuals led by a powerful individual. She was raised to obey and to take orders from her elders. This exactly - even having the presence of mind to start THINKING negatively about the party line is quite hard. I wasn’t even in a “cult,” just a very overwhelming religious organization, and it was very hard to start allowing myself to think “what if they’re wrong?” because everything in my life at that point was based on that group, and on how we were right and special and chosen. For her, I can only imagine how much harder it has to be. At least my family still talks to me! ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/13 "2013-01-28T22:17:29Z")
The use of the term “escape” set me off I suppose. Maybe I’m naturally cynical and suspicious of people’s motivations for getting into the paper, but the whole thing sounds like an attempt to sex up a humdrum story. An adult with a crazy family moved out. Big deal. The only remarkable thing here is that the woman in question was a part of a family/church/business that is notable only for it’s media stunts. There are shit tons of people who leave much worse family environments, sometimes by literally escaping, and their stories are not generally considered worthy of a write-up. My guess is that this is the confluence of a media outlet seeing an opportunity to get some clicks by splashing a “love to hate” cartoon evil group in the headline and a woman with little in the way of marketable skills seeing an opportunity to start the clock ticking on her 15 minutes. In other words a mutual cash-in. How do you suppose the writer found out about the story to begin with? Was he beating the bushes looking for a high profile cult escape story? My guess (again, unsubstantiated) is the subject has shopped her story around, perhaps with professional help. More power to her. If I had an opportunity to capitalize on my estranged, crazy family’s name, I’d do it in an instant. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/14 "2013-01-28T22:28:05Z")
> [@Gagundathar](#): > > _Escape_ may be an appropriate word to describe her decisions and actions considering the intangible bonds constructed by a cult. And, keep in mind, this was not just her _family_ in the sense that most of here consider the word. It was her entire community. This is a very insular group of individuals led by a powerful individual. Except it wasn’t really her entire community. She went to a public highschool, a public university and apparently now lives with her husband. Obviously she’s cut-off from the part of her family that’s still in the Church (though on the other hand, she’s now been de-cut-offed from the part of her family that had already left the Church), but its not like they’re one of those super-isolated FLDS churches where the rest of the church is literally the members entire world. So “escape” seems a little strong to me as well. ---
**Author:** ![Furious\_Marmot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dfb087/32.png) [@Furious\_Marmot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Furious_Marmot)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/15 "2013-01-28T22:34:20Z")
Don’t harsh the buzz, man. This is good stuff. The inspiring, emotional story of a blonde 20-something who had the courage to stand up to her straight-out-of-central-casting creepy cartoonishly evil family, and now is so very deeply horrified by the freaky beliefs she used to get out in the street and annoy people with. Now she just wants to get on with her life and raise people’s consciousness about the scourge of groups who are famous for being famous, solely out of the goodness of her own heart. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/16 "2013-01-28T22:48:17Z")
Man, did she piss in your Cheerios this morning or something? I liked the contrast between Megan and Libby in the one article, and I’m glad at how many had apparently escaped. I only definitely knew about Nate and maybe a couple others. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/17 "2013-01-28T22:49:50Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > My guess is that this is the confluence of a media outlet seeing an opportunity to get some clicks by splashing a “love to hate” cartoon evil group in the headline and a woman with little in the way of marketable skills seeing an opportunity to start the clock ticking on her 15 minutes. In other words a mutual cash-in. How do you suppose the writer found out about the story to begin with? Was he beating the bushes looking for a high profile cult escape story? My guess (again, unsubstantiated) is the subject has shopped her story around, perhaps with professional help. > > More power to her. If I had an opportunity to capitalize on my estranged, crazy family’s name, I’d do it in an instant. > [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Don’t harsh the buzz, man. This is good stuff. > > The inspiring, emotional story of a blonde 20-something who had the courage to stand up to her straight-out-of-central-casting creepy cartoonishly evil family, and now is so very deeply horrified by the freaky beliefs she used to get out in the street and annoy people with. > > Now she just wants to get on with her life and raise people’s consciousness about the scourge of groups who are famous for being famous, solely out of the goodness of her own heart. Your “guess” isn’t even a guess; it seems to be you projecting all kinds of stuff, completely unsupported by reality, facts or evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/18 "2013-01-28T23:11:38Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > Don’t harsh the buzz, man. This is good stuff. > > The inspiring, emotional story of a blonde 20-something who had the courage to stand up to her straight-out-of-central-casting creepy cartoonishly evil family, and now is so very deeply horrified by the freaky beliefs she used to get out in the street and annoy people with. > > Now she just wants to get on with her life and raise people’s consciousness about the scourge of groups who are famous for being famous, solely out of the goodness of her own heart. Nonsense. This is all about the bikini. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/19 "2013-01-28T23:18:52Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > This exactly - even having the presence of mind to start THINKING negatively about the party line is quite hard. I wasn’t even in a “cult,” just a very overwhelming religious organization, and it was very hard to start allowing myself to think “what if they’re wrong?” because everything in my life at that point was based on that group, and on how we were right and special and chosen. For her, I can only imagine how much harder it has to be. At least my family still talks to me! Exactly. Emotional bondage can be way harder to overcome or escape than physical bondage. I knew from a very young age that the beatings I endured were wrong. But I didn’t know till I was well into my 20’s that maybe what I had been taught my whole life was also wrong. I still struggle with and question what I was taught. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634/20 "2013-01-28T23:40:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > “I can live with being isolated from society as a member of a group widely hated by many Americans. I can live with not being able to watch TV or listen to the radio. But damnit, I draw the line at not being able to wear a bikini.” Does anyone have a link to a photo of her in the bikini? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/granddaughter-of-westboro-baptist-churchs-founder-escapes-and-others/648634.md?page=2)