Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Paper

Hope Galmarini

Eng. 306

29 September 2016

Rhetorical Analysis Assignment Paper

The Nation vs. The West Boro Baptist Church

            Extremism is seen throughout the religious realm, and does not discriminate. Therefore, extremism can be seen within the Church of Islam, Judaism, Catholicism, and Christianity. The West Boro Baptist Church is an unaffiliated Baptist congregation in Topeka, Kansas that many would argue are the epitome of religious extremism. They are infamous for creating a public spectacle of themselves, by protesting gay pride events, the funerals of fallen military members, movies, Comi Con, and an assortment of other public events throughout the nation. These protests have garnered the attention of the nation by the use of their imagery, language, and expression of sheer anger. The church is small, being only members of the Phelps family. The founder of the church, Fred Phelps who died in 2014, created the congregation. Since his passing, the group has not slowed down. His daughter, Shirley Phelps now leads the congregation and continues to picket public events. Shirley is also the primary ‘face’ of the church, and usually speaks on behalf of the church since her father’s passing (Cult Kids).

            The primary goal of the West Boro Baptist Church is unclear, even on their largest media outlet: their website. Through the rhetoric of the group, which is mainly presented during these pickets, one could speculate that the group truthfully believes in their continuous acts of protest against the modern world, and that this is exactly what God wants. They seem to truly believe that they are spreading the word of God, however their tactics of protest make this unclear. Is spreading the word of God truthfully their primary goal, or is sensationalism? Through the groups continuous acts of protest, and unrelenting fear mongering and hate, it appears that the West Boro Baptist Church has found a bridge between these two seemingly separate ideas. The group utilizes

sensationalism and spectacle to spread the word of God, or  at the very least their personal view of what God’s word is.

            Through the years the group has garnered lots of media attention. Mainly this attention has been that of outrage and disgust. Recently, in the aftermath of a mass shooting in Orlando that took place within a popular LGBT nightclub, picket. The gay community being one of the group’s many targets, has seen this before. The day the picketers arrived at the public funeral of the fallen members of the gay community, they were blocked with counter protestors dressed as angels. (Spotswood, Beth)

            Counter protesting has become a typical reaction to the West Boro Baptist Church. Another incidence of reactionary protesting, in 2011 at the Sundance Film Festival semi famous director Kevin Smith attacked the group head on when they attempted to protest his movie Red State. Coincidentally the inspiration for the film was the West Boro Baptist Church. Smith was prompted that the group would be protesting the first showing of the film. He decided that he had to do something. After reading about the group, and seeing a multitude of media coverage on their pickets, Smith decided that he found their sensationalistic behavior to be ‘ridiculous’ and out right silly. So, his friends and colleagues took it upon themselves to make their own counter protest signs. Along with their own picket signs, Smith prompted all attendees of the showing to bring their own signs. Whoever came with the best, most ridiculous, and maybe offensive, sign would win a free ticket to the screening. Some of the signs created by Smith and his friends read things like: “God hates press screenings”, “God hates Mondays”, “Shirley you can’t be serious”. All of these picket signs directly mocked signs previously used by the group. The winner of the free screening ticket created a sign simply with the image of an Ewok, covered in a ‘Ghostbusters-esque’ ‘no’ symbol, as Kevin Smith described in his filmed Q & A session “An Evening With Kevin Smith.” (Smith, Kevin).

            The audience for the group seems not to be those that particularly agree with their practices, but those who are outraged by the language used and the messages promoted by the Church. As illustrated by the multitude of counter protesting throughout the nation, it can be said that reactionary protestors are now part of the West Boro Baptist Church’s audience. Therefore, the intended audience is those who are outraged along with those willing to present their outrage.

            Rhetorically speaking, the group heavily relies on ethos, by utilizing the highest authority possible: God. Their overall argument against the current state of our society is supported primarily by the word of God, or at least their unique interpretation of the Bible. With the authority of the highest power, combined with emotionally fueled dialogue, the West Boro Baptist Church creates a rhetorical argument against the society we live in.

            When evaluating the West Boro Baptist Church’s protest, they are somewhat successful. It is clear that they have one goal to spread the word of God. The technique they utilize in accomplishing this goal is sensationalism. The group is successful in gaining media attention, and through their relentless picketing have become a household name.  It is unclear whether becoming a household name actually means they are spreading the word of God and obtaining new members of the church. There is no indication that the church has seen much growth in membership throughout the years. This means that their success has only gone so far, that their protest has only been partially successful. They have become a household name, but they have yet to gain new members of the church and grow as a movement. This is due to the fact that the general public sees their movement as that of hate, and this is because of their overall rhetoric against our modern society. Rhetorically speaking, the major flaw in the West Boro Baptist Church’s argument is overly emotionally charged dialogue. This seems to dissuade the audience, and many times incite reactionary protests. Overall, the West Boro Baptist Church’s movement against modern society has not been successful in gaining new membership but could be if the group changed their dialogue to more successfully appeal to members of our modern society.

             

Works Cited

Spotswood, Beth. “Angels to Block Westboro Baptist Chruch” SFGATE. Hearst Communications. Web. 27 Sept. 2016

“Cult Kids: Westboro | Vice | United States” VICE. Web. 14 Sept. 2016

Smith, Kevin. "Kevin Smith: Burn in Hell." Youtube. N.p., 21 Sept. 2015. Web. 1 Sept. 2016.

“Westboro Baptist Homepage” Westboro Baptist Home Page. Web. 14 Sept. 2016