So if you actually read the history of this family it's honestly pretty horrific. The old man was basically just a fiery preacher turned conman. We Fred Phelps first started he actually even defended members of the black community in court waaaay back in the day. But pretty early on he changed pretty dramatically. There was a lot of substance abuse and he literally beat his children into slavery and servitude. Like most of the adult members of that household now were hardly ever allowed to sleep more than a few hours a night and would be beaten with an axe handle if they didn't meet sales quotas.

Not trying to defend them at all mind you, but the whole story just puts the Phelps clan in a quite honestly tragic story. Several members of the family have famously left the cult, and I hope that continues. But damn man it's rough to be open toward people who hate you.