Megan Phelps-Roper: I grew up in the Westboro Baptist Church. Here's why I left
ميغان فيلفس-روبر: ترعرت في الكنيسة المعمدانية لويتبورو. إليكم لمَ غادرتها.
A former member of Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper is now a writer and educator on topics related to extremism, bullying and empathy in dialogue. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
chubby-cheeked five-year-old
زرقاوين وخدّين ممتلئين
on the picket line for the first time.
في صفوف الاعتصام لأول مرة.
my dolls in the minivan.
in the heavy Kansas humidity,
في كنساس ذات الجو الرطب جداً،
a sign that I couldn't read yet:
لافتة لم أكن أعرف أن أقرأها بعد:
a daily occurrence
عادة يومية
of Westboro Baptist Church,
on picket lines across the country.
في صفوف الاعتصامات عبر البلاد.
ضد المثليّين،
التقيتهم على تويتر
of engaging the other.
spiritual battle between good and evil.
بين الخير والشر.
at odds with the world,
our otherness on a daily basis.
between the unclean and the clean,"
إلى الجنائز العسكرية،
with neon protest signs in hand
احتجاج بأيدينا
how "unclean" they were
they were headed for damnation.
in a world that sits in Satan's lap.
لأقدم شيئاً للعالم المرتمي في حضن الشيطان.
with all my heart,
with a special sort of zeal.
بقدر خاص من الحماس.
هو ما دفعني لتويتر.
I encountered on the platform
الذين قابلتهم على المنصة
of the screaming hordes
للجحافل المدوّية
since I was a kid.
منذ كنت طفلة.
with the usual rage and scorn,
بنفس الغضب والإزدراء المعتادين،
of Bible verses, pop culture references
ومراجع من الثقافة الشعبية
confused and caught off guard,
ليصبحوا مشوشين فجأة.
outrageous conclusions about the world?
الحانقة عن العالم؟
even bled into real life.
ينتقل إلى العالم الحقيقي.
to the picket line to see me
of heated but friendly arguments online,
لكن الودي على الإنترنت،
at a picket in New Orleans.
from Jerusalem, where he lives,
من القدس حيث يعيش،
عليها "الرب يكره اليهود."
about our positions,
was becoming blurred.
أصبحت مبهمة.
as human beings,
we spoke to one another.
لبعضنا البعض.
planted seeds of doubt in me.
بذور الشك فيّ.
to understand Westboro's doctrines,
عقائد الويستبورو،
I'd missed my entire life.
التي لم أنتبه لها طوال حياتي.
the death penalty for gays
without sin cast the first stone?"
أن يُلقي بالحجر الأول؟"
praying for God to destroy them?
أن يدمرهم؟
by these strangers on the internet
هؤلاء الغرباء على الانترنت
the demons I'd been led to believe.
ليسوا شياطيناً كما صوّر لي.
the ultimate arbiters of divine truth
الذين يحملون الحقيقة الإلهية
of protesting funerals
of trust in my church,
ثقتي اتجاه كنيستي،
impossible for me to stay.
I left Westboro in 2012.
تركت ويستبورو سنة 2012.
was almost paralyzing.
from the judgement of my family,
speak to me again --
لن يكلموني بعدها أبداً --
had meant everything to me.
تعني لي الشيء الكثير.
I'd rejected for so long --
الذي رفضته لوقت طويل --
to give me a second chance
على منحي فرصةً ثانية
because it was all over the internet --
لأنه موجود على الإنترنت --
and hundreds of interviews,
to "The Howard Stern Show" --
حتي برنامج "ذ هاورد ستيرن شو" --
with open arms anyway.
رغم كل ذلك.
for the harm I'd caused,
could never undo any of it.
لن يمحو أيّاً منه أبداً.
هو محاولة بناء حياةٍ جديدة
to repair some of the damage.
to doubt my sincerity,
the light and a way forward
وطريقاً نحو الأمام
we'd targeted for so long.
التي استهدفناها لوقت طويل.
a Jewish community in Los Angeles.
مع الطائفة اليهودية في لوس أنجلوس.
of a Hasidic rabbi and his wife
(هازيديك) وزوجته
three years earlier
قبل ثلاث سنوات مضت
"Your rabbi is a whore."
about theology and Judaism and life
عن اللاهوت واليهودية والحياة
in their kosher kitchen
ذي الطقوس اليهودية
I had during that time --
في تلك الفترة --
to let go of the harsh judgments
التخلص من الأحكام المؤذية
about nearly every person I saw.
حيال أي شخص أراه تقريباً.
of my mind lately,
in our public discourse
عل الساحة العامة
that ruled my former church.
التي كانت تحكم كنيستي السابقة.
more than at any other time in memory,
أكثر من أي شيء في تاريخنا،
freedom, dignity, prosperity --
الكرامة، الازدهار --
I walked away from four years ago.
at the other camp.
as out-of-touch liberal elites
نخبةٌ ليبرالية بعيدة
and understanding for the other side,
وفهم الطرف الآخر
who deserves more empathy.
the flaws in our positions
when they dare to question the party line.
حين يتجرؤون على مساءلة خط نظامنا.
sniping, deepening polarization,
وزاد من حدة القطبية،
we can do something about this.
هو أنه يمكننا فعل شيء حيال هذا الأمر.
to people we disagree with.
الذين نختلف معهم.
لا يمكننا الفهم بعمق
came to their positions.
that ours is the right side,
extending empathy and compassion
التعاطف والتسامح
hostility and contempt.
is so tempting,
by those people I encountered on Twitter,
على تويتر مصدر إلهامي،
who became my beloved friends.
الذين أصبحوا أصدقائي الأعزاء.
understanding and generous guy,
و كريما للغاية،
about the way I responded to him.
over the past few years
القليلة الماضية
they did differently
قاموا بها على نحو مختلف
in difficult conversations today.
لأستخدمها في المحادثات الصعبة.
were aggressive and offensive,
I was doing the right thing.
almost instantly cuts us off
why someone does and believes as they do.
يقوم بما يقوم به.
that shaped their mind,
on that first wave of anger,
الأولى تلك،
ever moving beyond it.
أن تتجاوزها.
framework for dialogue.
across ideological divides,
الأطياف الأيديولوجية،
helps us map the disconnect
مكان عدم التوافق
we can't present effective arguments
the other side is actually coming from
to point out flaws in our positions.
العيوب في مواقفنا.
serves another purpose;
that they're being heard.
stopped accusing
to ask them questions
the dynamic of our conversation.
how my manner of speaking affected others.
لطريقة حديثي أن تؤثّر على الآخرين.
justified my rudeness --
insults, interruptions --
is ultimately counterproductive.
is natural in stressful situations,
في حالات التوتر،
to an unsatisfactory, explosive end.
لنهاية نارية وغير مرضية.
just an anonymous Twitter acquaintance,
مجهول الهوية على تويتر،
became hard and pointed,
حادةً وصعبة،
from the conversation.
to bring us back to an even keel.
communication makes us less civil,
يجعلنا أقل تحضراً،
conversations have over in-person ones.
بالمقارنة مع المحادثة وجهاً لوجه.
whose ideas we find so frustrating.
نحسّ بالحنق.
we can pause, breathe,
ونأخذ نفساً عميقاً،
of having strong beliefs
is or should be obvious and self-evident,
أو يجب أن تكون بديهية،
have to defend our positions
it's their problem --
فتلك مشكلته --
made their arguments,
to see the world in a different way.
أن أرى العالم بطريقة مختلفة.
to spontaneously change their own minds.
أن يغيّروا مواقفهم بشكل تلقائي.
their beliefs or their principles --
عن معتقداتهم أو مبادئهم --
infinitely justifiable offense
التي لها مبرراتها الكثيرة
tempered with kindness and humor.
of outrage, disdain and violence.
والتحقير والعنف.
the time or the energy or the patience
أو الطاقة أو الصبر
available to all of us.
that we can do hard things,
أنه يمكننا القيام بأشياء صعبة،
but for us and our future.
ومن أجل مستقبلنا.
and intractable conflict
a few weeks before I left Westboro,
من مغادرتي لويستبرو،
I could stay with my family.
with every pulse of my heart
that chubby-cheeked five-year-old,
الممتلئتين في الخامسة من عمرها،
holding a sign I couldn't read.
تحمل لافتة لا تستطيع قراءتها.
but to trust God and my elders.
وفي من يكبرونني سناً.
the bigger picture --
رؤية الصورة الكبرى --
by that most basic fact,
من خلال هذا المعطى البسيط،
with generosity and compassion.
بكرمٍ وعطف.
contributes to the communities
that we make up.
begins with one person
تبدأ بشخصٍ واحدٍ
these destructive, seductive impulses.
المثيرة والمدمرة.
that it's going to start with us.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Megan Phelps-Roper - Writer, activistA former member of Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper is now a writer and educator on topics related to extremism, bullying and empathy in dialogue.
Why you should listen
Megan Phelps-Roper was raised in the Westboro Baptist Church, the Topeka, Kansas church known internationally for its daily public protests against members of the LGBT community, Jews, the military and countless others. As a child, teenager and early 20-something, she participated in the picketing almost daily and pioneered the use of social media in the church. Dialogue with "enemies" online proved instrumental in her deradicalization, and she left the church and her entire way of life in November 2012. Since then she has become an advocate for people and ideas she was taught to despise -- especially the value of empathy in dialogue with people across ideological lines. She speaks widely, engaging audiences in schools, universities, faith groups, and law enforcement anti-extremism workshops. Her forthcoming memoir will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Megan Phelps-Roper | Speaker | TED.com