Rabbit {Paint me like one of your 19th century gothic heroines!}’s Reviews > Banished: Surviving My Years in the Westboro Baptist Church > Status Update

The last few chapters were focused on mostly life in the cult, instead of protests. Still fucked up, but I love the light shade being thrown now on Pastor Phelps, is amusing.

Shirley runs the vast majority of the cult, though the Pastor is the figuire-head, at least that is what I am getting from the narrative.

I'm going to stop reading this, for tonight. Sometimes, I can feel my blood pressure rising. I feel bad for Lauren. I hope she is seeing a good therapist to heal from her trauma.

Her cognitive dissonance in this part of the book, is so sad.

Our primary motivation was to let people know God hated them, but we weren't trying to convince them we were right.

So not only do they, as a collective, have a martyr complex, they have the maturity of children going "I'm right, and you're wrong." in protests that have no real significance or purpose. They have spent so much money doing it too.

So rational. Much maturity.

/sarcasm

I love how Canada does everything in it's power (involving the border police) to prevent them from protesting in Canada.

Freedom of Speech~~~

Go back home then, this isn't the USA. Your laws/constitution doesn't apply.

Wow, this church is fucked up. I also feel bad for teenage Lauren, but I kind of side-eye her then-admiration of Fred Phelps on the basis that he has opinions at 21 and is brave enough to speak them~~. Like what? Nevermind the actual content.

Drain was isolated and brainwashed so she went to the only thing that gave her any love and affection from her family, mainly her father.

He also physically assaulted her would-be boyfriend by head-butting him and breaking his nose. He later was cleared of all charges by the love notes sent to his daughter. The assault of a minor was ruled justifiable for that reason alone. He even got a restraining order against the kid. Wtf Florida!?!

This is before he even officially joins the cult.

I'm feeling punchy.

Yeah, her father is a narcissistic sociopath. He has most if not all the symptoms. /armchair psychologist

He abuses Drain verbally, physically, and by isolating her from her peers.

Her parents are a lot like mine. It's kinda weird, but it makes sense. Idk.