[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was a blue-eyed,\Nchubby-cheeked five-year-old
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I joined my family\Non the picket line for the first time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My mom made me leave\Nmy dolls in the minivan.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd stand on a street corner\Nin the heavy Kansas humidity
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,surrounded by a few dozen relatives
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with my tiny fists clutching\Na sign that I couldn't read yet:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Gays are worthy of death."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was the beginning.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Our protest soon became a daily occurance\Nand an international phenomenon,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as a member\Nof Westboro Baptist Church,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I became a fixture on picket lines\Nacross the country.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The end of my anti-gay picketing career,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and life as I knew it,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,came 20 years later,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,triggered in part by strangers on Twitter
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who showed me the power\Nof engaging the other.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In my home,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,life was framed as an epic spiritual\Nbattle between good and evil.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The good was my church and its members,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the evil was everyone else.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My church's antics were such that we\Nwere constantly at odds with the world,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that reinforced our\Notherness on a daily basis.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Make a difference between\Nthe unclean and the clean,"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the verse says.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And so we did,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from baseball games to military funerals,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we trecked across the country\Nwith neon protest signs in hand
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to tell others exactly\Nhow unclean they were
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and exactly why they were\Nheaded for damnation.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was the focus of our whole lives.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was the only way for me to do good\Nin a world that sits in satan's lap.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And like the rest of my 10 siblings,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I believed what I was taught\Nwith all my heart,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I pursued Westboro's agenda\Nwith a special sort of zeal.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In 2009, that zeal brought me to Twitter.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Initially, the people\NI encountered on the platform
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,were just as hostile as I expected.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They were the digital version\Nof the screaming hoards
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd been seeing at protests\Nsince I was a kid,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but in the midst of that digital brawl,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a strange pattern developed.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Someone would arrive at my profile\Nwith the usual rage and scorn,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would respond with a custom mix\Nof bible verses, pop culture references
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and smiley faces,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they would be understandably confused\Nand caught off-guard,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then a conversation would ensue,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was civil --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,full of genuine curiosity on both sides.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How had the other come to such\Noutrageous conclusions about the world?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sometimes the conversation\Neven bled into real life.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People I'd sparred with on Twitter would\Ncome out to the picket line to see me
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I protested in their city.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A man named David was one such person.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He ran a blog called "Jewlicious,"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and after several months of heated\Nbut friendly arguments online,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he came out to see me\Nat a picket in New Orleans.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He brought me a Middle Eastern\Ndessert from Jerusalem,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he lives,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I brought him Kosher chocolate,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and held a "God hates Jews" sign.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was no confusion\Nabout our positions,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the line between friend\Nand foe was becoming blurred.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We'd started to see each other\Nas human beings,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it changed the way\Nwe spoke to one another.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It took time,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but eventually these conversations\Nplanted seeds of doubt in me.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My friends on Twitter took the time\Nto understand Westboro's doctrines,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and in doing so,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they were able to find inconsistencies\NI'd missed my entire life.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Why did we advocate\Nthe death penalty for gays
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when Jesus said, "Let he who is without\Nsin cast the first stone?"
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,How could we claim to love our neighbor
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while at the same time praying\Nfor god to destroy them?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The truth is that the care shown to me\Nby these strangers on the Internet
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was itself a contradiction.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was growing evidence
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that people on the other side were not\Nthe demons I'd been led to believe.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These realizations were life-altering.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Once I saw that we were not\Nthe ultimate arbiters of divine truth
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but flawed human beings,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't pretend otherwise.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I couldn't justify our actions --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,especially our cruel practice\Nof protesting funerals,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and celebrating human tragedy.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,These shifts in my perspective
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,contributed to a larger erosion\Nof my trust in my church,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and eventually it made it\Nimpossible for me to stay.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In spite of overwhelming grief and terror,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I left Westboro in 2012.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In those days just after I left,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the instinct to hide\Nwas almost paralyzing.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted to hide from\Nthe judgement of my family,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who I knew would never\Nspeak to me again --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,people whose thoughts and opinions\Nhad meant everything to me.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I wanted to hide from the world\NI'd rejected for so long.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People who had no reason at all\Nto give me a second chance
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,after a lifetime of antagonism,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and yet,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,unbelievably,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they did.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The world had access to my past\Nbecause it was all over the Internet --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thousands of tweets\Nand hundreds of interviews,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything from local TV news\Nto the Howard Stern show --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but so many embraced me\Nwith open arms anyway.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wrote an apology\Nfor the harm I'd caused,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I also knew that an apology\Ncould never undo any of it.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,All I could do was\Ntry to build a new life,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and find a way somehow\Nto repair some of the damage.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,People had every reason\Nto doubt my sincerity,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but most of them didn't.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And giving my history,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was more than I could've hoped for --
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,forgiveness and the benefit of the doubt.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It still amazes me.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spent my first year away from home\Nadrift with my younger sister,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who had chosen to leave with me.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We walked into an abyss,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but we were shocked to find\Nthe light and a way forward
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the same communities\Nwe'd targeted for so long.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,David,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my "Jewlicious" friend from Twitter,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,invited us to spend time among\Na Jewish community in Los Angeles.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We slept on couches in the home\Nof a Hasidic Rabbi, his wife
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and their four kids.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The same rabbi that I'd protested\Nthree years earlier
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with a sign that said,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Your Rabbi is a whore."
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We spent long hours talking about\Ntheology and Judaism and life
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,while we washed dishes\Nin their Kosher kitchen,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and chopped vegetables for dinner.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They treated us like family.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They held nothing against us.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And again I was astonished.