Chen Reading
- 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 journalist and writer formally working at The New Yorker. He has written much about virtual communities like what Westboro was turned into thanks to social media like twitter. His past works help certify his success and trust as a writer.
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.
The first time we really notice her change is when she didn’t make a crude post about Brittany Murphy dying. Chen demonstrates this change well, “The contrast between the grief on Twitter and the buoyant mood in the basement unsettled her” (Chen 79). He makes this contrast between what she had been taught in person and how she really felt which she portrayed on social media. She was kind on social media and started making friends, those things she previously said she didn’t need. Chen’s writing makes it sound like after her first time she snapped back to her old self because she was yelled at by others from the church like Sam her brother, “… we don’t have to let it all hang out… Megan’s father made her block the Dutch journalists from her private twitter account” (Chen 79). The other members were worried about what she was telling her “friends” the things she had no need for and made her block them. She wanted to continue talking though.
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.
I think it did help their message out to others who believed similar things and the shift caused by social media was because people like Abitbol were willing to refute and prove her beliefs to be incorrect and misleading. For example when Chen mentions “ Abitbol knew that at least one member of Westboro had committed a sin Leviticus also deems a capital crime” he challenges the churches beliefs and practices by showing her that even people in the church couldn’t follow the standards set. Another example is when he makes her question the belief that killing gay people should be allowed. Chen paraphrases what Abitbol said like this, “But Abitbol wrote that if gay people were killed they wouldn’t have the opportunity to repent”(Chen). His thinking gets the worse of two things out of her head and she stops believing that gay people should be killed and instead forced to repent.
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?
the tones used with her reminded me of a parent trying to teach their kid. Or a teacher helping an elementary student see that what they did was wrong. Instead of just saying what they wanted to they listened to each other and gave feedback on each others points. I think confronting hate speech is really important for the growth of a person and being able to talk about what you did wrong is very important. Redemption can come for anyone who is willing to learn how they are flawed and whatever they did was flawed.
5. If you were to meet Phelps-Roper today, what question would you want to ask her, and why?
Do you think that if you weren’t born into the church that you would have followed its teachings? Why or why not.
