- Who is Adrian Chen? and how does his background/areas of expertise help inform you about his perspective as it relates to this article?
Adrian Chen is an American blogger and former staff writer at The New Yorker. Chen has written exclusively on internet culture as a night shift editor for Gawker. Unfollow discusses much on the effects of culture on a personal level, specifically through the use of social media, similarly to much Chen discusses through specific topics displayed on the internet.
2. Write a brief summary, using your words and direct quotes, of Megan Phelps-Roper’s personal transformation, as described in Chen’s piece. Be sure to include 2-3 direct quotes, framed properly. Choose quotes that help illuminate changes Phelps-Roper experienced along the way.
Megan Phelps-Roper has been influenced by the Westboro Baptist Church from the day she was born. A church founded by her grandfather, Megan had no other choice than to be a part of the Church, and frankly did not know any better. After all, the three words her mother instilled in her to follow from the Bible were “Obey. Obey. Obey” (Chen 7). Having any “rebellious thoughts was the first step down the path toward Hell” (Chen 7). All Megan said and did was in her mind to “be good” and to be “the object of my parents’ pride” and “go to Heaven” (Chen 7). Over time Megan learned to treat everyone that did not line up exactly with the beliefs of their Church as a target. All of the nasty things she did, flags she made, posts she created were all justifiable in her mind through what the Bible passages taught her.
Later on in the passage the death of Brittany Murphy comes up, and this begins the starting point in her transformation. “She couldn’t bring herself to post a tweet thanking God for Murphy’s death” (Chen 16). Phelps-Roper realized her hesitance was more related to the feelings of people outside the Church. Megan began to see all of her enemies as human beings just like her. The double standards in the Church became more and more evident to her to the point where she truly wondered “if something was wrong with the church” (Chen 23). Even though Megan was scared to death of what would come of her leaving, she became convinced in what she believed and took a leap of faith out of the Church.
3. In your opinion, how did social media embolden Phelps-Roper’s initial message as a spokesperson for Westboro Baptist Church? How did interactions via social media influence her drastic shift in personal belief? Use at least two direct quotes, framed with help from our discussion/slides on Quote/the Quote Sandwich method, to support your claims.
Social media has embolded Phelps-Roper’s initial message as a spokesperson for Westboro Baptist Church through the traction she was receiving. Chen explains Megan’s “reaction on Twitter seemed more real than a quote in a newspaper” (3). She has previously given hundreds of interviews about her Church, but had never before had so much tangible evidence that people were seeing and reacting to her words when using Twitter. Her actions via social media influenced her drastic shift in personal belief, specifically through her developed connections with her opponents. Meeting C.G was no exception. Despite C.G. originally being snarky in his first tweet to Phelps-Roper about Westboro, he was able to see the “friendly demeanor” (Chen 22) in her. Adding on, Megan was able to see his true curiosity in the subject and through giving him a chance to speak learned “he seemed to genuinely like people and care about people, and that resonated with me” (Chen 23). Phelps-Roper had previously heard all the arguments C.G. made on the cruelty of Westboro, but because she recognized him more in his humanity and sincerity, she was more deeply affected by what he said in a way that brought light to her personal transformation.
4. “Anybody’s initial response to being confronted with the sort of stuff Westboro Baptist Church says is to tell them to f*** off,” said blogger David Abitbol (Chen 79). But it was less-aggressive communication styles that “got through” to Phelps-Roper, that in part influenced her to reconsider her belief system. What style(s) of conversation (consider message, tone, perspective) had the most impact on Phelps-Roper? What might her story teach us about confronting hate speech? What about redemption?
A curious, genuine style of conversation had the most impact on Phelps-Roper. On one hand, a fiery conversation back and forth may get you more attention, but on the other hand a more open and calm conversation may teach you more than you know. That is not to say that you can’t have both. For example, in Phelps-Roper’s conversation with C.G., it started out as an “angry, nasty tweet” (Chen 22), but led to something much, much more. Megan’s story teaches a lot, but what it emphasized to myself the most was to remember in all situations, to be first curious, not judgmental. Furthermore, redemption should not be retaliation. In fact, a stronger message will most likely always be made through acts of kindness and love.
5. If you were to meet Phelps-Roper today, what question would you want to ask her, and why?
If I were to meet Phelps-Roper today, I would ask her if she has any regrets leaving the Church? She had to leave her family, home, and everything she had any connection with whatsoever. I do not believe Megan regretted leaving the Church, because deep down she believed that was the right thing to do in her heart. She would have much more regret if she chose to stay.
