might as well face it.....

i read an amazing article yesterday. maybe it was a novella, not sure. it was called "addicted to hate" and written by a journalist named jon michael bell. the project is basically an expose about fred phelps and the westboro baptist church.

here's a really fun fact: according to the conservapedia, phelps is a democrat. i was shocked until i read the article and found that this due to the fact that there is a vast difference between the man he thinks he is and the man he actually is.

the article alleges that phelps is an emotionally disturbed man who has abused his position as a parent and pastor. with charges ranging from daily physical beatings to being the towering, domineering architect of a clan whose only mission in life is to terrorise his fellow citizens, phelps seems much like jim jones, but without the kool-aid or the charm.

i read a really interesting blog about phelps. in it, the blogger postulates that he believes that phelps is a kaufman-esque clown parading a focused mirror back onto the christian right. a sort of effort to out-right-wing the fundamentalists. the optimist in me wants to believe that the world is such a mad place that it is just possible, but after reading the article, i find there are more similarities to kafka than kaufman.