Escape from Westboro Baptist Church: Is fresh start possible for Phelps’s granddaughters?

The Washington Post published an article written by Diane Reese yesterday, reporting the departure of significant members of the Westboro Baptist Church. Reese first begins by describing the horrigfic acts that the organization has committed against local high schools in the area, and national protests. Two 27 year olds, Megan and Grace Phelps, who happen to be the granddaughters of the church's founder, publicly departed from the organization this past week. Reese plays into pathos by including heartfelt quotes by the sisters explaining their regret for the actions committed by the church and their strong desire to try and start fresh. She continues to sympathize with the sisters by including the hard decision they had to make, and all the sacrifices they made just in order to state their personal beliefs. Reese's use of pathos and not much else in the article allow people to see the good in the sisters and what their future entails, as opposed to only seeing them as homophobic monsters.