Unfollow: How a prized daughter of the Westboro Baptist Church came to question its beliefs.
As a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka, Kansas, Phelps-Roper believed that AIDS was a curse sent by God. She believed that all manner of other tragedies—war, natural disaster, mass shootings—were warnings from God to a doomed nation, and that it was her duty to spread the news of His righteous judgments.
.. By the end of the day, Phelps-Roper had more than a thousand followers. She took the incident as an encouraging sign that Westboro’s message was well suited to social media.
.. Many of them worked as lawyers at Phelps Chartered.
.. Megan recalls, “They thought it was hilarious, this eleven-year-old talking about hating Jews.”
.. Obedience was one of the most important values that Shirley instilled in Megan. She would sum up the Bible in three words: “Obey. Obey. Obey.” The smallest hint of dissent was seen as an intolerable act of rebellion against God.
.. Westboro started picketing in June, 1991