Alabama Mayor Kills Self After Right-Wing Blog Outs His Cross-Dressing

A small-town Alabama pastor and mayor killed himself Friday, days after a local conservative news website published a story that included photos of him wearing women’s clothing and makeup.

F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, who was the mayor of Smiths Station and the pastor at First Baptist Church in Phenix City, shot himself in front of police during a welfare check, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said.

Copeland’s private life was exposed Wednesday by the conservative blog 1819 News, which was once owned by the right-wing Alabama Policy Institute and whose top editor is a former Breitbart News contributor.

downpunxx,
downpunxx avatar

All Republicans are hypocritical bigots, by definition. It's the core of their political party, it's who they signed up to be identified with, it's who they are, or in the case of this poor bigoted fuck, were. I don't want to see any "but this was a nice republican" bullshit. After the Southern Strategy in 1964, all Republicans are trash, every single one.

Institutionalized racism, misogyny, homophobia, and white Christian separatism as party platform. No matter how "conservative" Republicans claimed to be, The Southern Strategy was the core value and singular driving force for the past 60 years. MAGA isn't a symptom, it's result.

There's more work to be done :

hugz,

As a republican, he was part of the problem

hardcoreufo,

It’s people saying shit like this that is part of the problem. While the left is generally much more accepting than the right our community needs to be better about accepting people who don’t share all our beliefs. Maybe that way when they start to become more progressive and can help bring other people over that have some fledgling left wing values in them.

downpunxx,
downpunxx avatar

yeah we're pretty intolerant of intolerance here on the left, but we know you "live in a society"

pivot_root,

And apparently, very tolerant of generalizations.

hardcoreufo,

Luckily intolerance and republicanism are learned traits and can be changed.

This guy killed himself because his his inherent traits were outed. Traits that are usually ones we want acceptance and equality for.

Nipplecreek,

Republicans love stuff like this. If you’re different they think you should die.

SaakoPaahtaa,

“Copeland” more like “Donecopingland”

cannibalkitteh,

I’m absolutely horrified by so many folks in the comment section blinded by partisan hate.

jerome,
@jerome@lemmy.world avatar

Welp, conservatives fucking suck.

theangryseal,

It’s even worse than that. No one knows the story at all but they all have a fully developed opinion from reading the headline.

Maybe some of the locals whose children he posted to pornographic websites won’t miss him.

Maybe the local businesswoman he obsessed over while he wrote stories about killing her, seducing her husband, and stealing her life won’t miss him.

It is scary how easy it is to get people to rally over things they know nothing about. I’m not holier than thou either. I’ve caught myself reacting before thinking.

Edit: I want to make it clear that I wish this person had got help. I definitely feel empathy for this person, I just don’t think that the cross dressing is the primary issue here. This person was public figure posting deranged and terrible things online using real people from his town as objects of fantasy.

cannibalkitteh,

None of that is in the article.

theangryseal,

You’re right, it’s in the article referenced, with screenshots and evidence.

cannibalkitteh,

It is not.

theangryseal,

Here you go, THE ARTICLE REFERENCED AS THE REASON KILLED HIMSELF.

You could have found this all on your own.

1819news.com/…/to-say-i-was-a-stalker-would-be-a-…

Olhonestjim,

That’s the hard right shitrag that drove him to suicide.

Olhonestjim,

That’s the hard right shitrag that drove him to suicide. They are not credible.

ThatFembyWho, (edited )

Conservative = death cult

Pity; if he lived in a progressive city, he could’ve gotten help for whatever underlying issues he had with depression and such, and learned to accept his gender expressions as something beautiful and not shameful. Plus we have excellent drag venues…

[Note: this comment was made before discovering the individual identified as “transgender curvy girl” online, and so was quite likely transfem.]

Getawombatupya,

Live in a progressive city any you can be Bubba the trans mayor on the ballot.

ThatFembyWho,

And might even win, if you act like you care about the inhabitants, rather than declaring war on them…

cupcakezealot,
@cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

charge the owners of the blog with 3rd degree murder.

HawlSera,

And no one of value was lost

pivot_root,

Purportedly, he wasn’t a hypocrite. He didn’t hold or express anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. I would consider that a loss since he’s probably going to be replaced by one of the bigoted politicians.

FauxPseudo,
@FauxPseudo@lemmy.world avatar

He was a member of a group that didn’t want him as a member. He slept with leopards and they ate his face. Hypocrisy takes many forms.

HawlSera,

Then I recant my previous statement

DizzoMyNizzo,

Hate post》skip if you want to save yourself some time

What a bunch of retarded mother fuckers. They have so much fear of being who they are around the people they align themselves with, that they will literally anhero themselves the second anything comes out about them that they and the rest of the party isn’t doing themselves; or have built such a strong vindictive campaign against a community against, that they take their own lives out of guilt. Crossdressing? Dead. Outed gay? Dead. Dating someone who’s friends with gays, needs baptism by fire. Not Christian?Avoided. Fucking kids? God forgives. Beating kids? God forgives. Killing kids? The jury is out. Hears out the other side? Crucified. Dissagrees with problems within their own party? Needs to die. Supporting the businesses of murdering/abandoning children? Political points. Hate speech and dillusional manipulation of the angry and mentally unstable base that follows them? BIG political boost. Be revealed as the person you really are, after you’ve sold your soul to a hateful political party you know will crucify you for being the thing they target for sensational political favor? Fucking anhero quick.

Why? What’s the point? What is the point, the ultimate goal, of building a pyre of political beliefs that will scorch the entirety of everything around you and the weell-being of the future of those and many more to come? Especially when you know it goes against who you really are deep down, and how it may affect you if/when the tides turn…

I hate this party so much. I understand the reasons why they do the things they do. I understand why they believe in the things they believe. But, I just can’t tolerate it anymore. I have empathy for these people in these situations, but I also have an understanding.

If two of your friends were in a relationship, that was symbolically the most dearest thing to your heart, and over time you noticed one of them becoming more cynical/violent/abusive/hateful/radical/corrupt/etc. While the other was hernestly trying to fix and build the relationship they know they were stuck in to male things better; not only for themselves but better for everyone around them… would you stand there, silent, absent of action and rationality?

I hate the fact that our system, our country, is in the volatile condition that it’s in. I know you do too.

Vote, protest, listen, communicate, have patience, fight. Those are your options. Just choose wisely and try to follow that order I guess.

moog,

Fuck I just feel sorry for them

RagingRobot,

Poor guy. This is sad. I hate hearing stories like this

dylanmorgan,

I wouldn’t feel as bad if he was a raging bigot about lgbtq issues, but apparently he didn’t have much to say about that which is pretty impressive for a BAPTIST PREACHER IN ALABAMA.

Instigate,

Yeah, he obviously dealt with a lot of cognitive dissonance between his experience and the culture he was raised in. He wasn’t some hypocrite who was preaching ‘family values’ or some other nonsense, just a tortured soul driven over the edge.

The world just lost another potential ally. He could have helped shape the discourse in his town for the better, but instead he’s being buried. This is a sad day.

downpunxx,
downpunxx avatar

poor poor racist republican, joined the republican party to hold down women, and minorities, didn't wanna get into the whole the leopards that eat faces party that i joined might eat my face should they find out i like wearing women's clothing, here, let me just defund another domestic violence shelter, nope, i'll be just fine

MossyFeathers, (edited )

Actually, I looked more into his history and you know what I found? They (using neutral pronouns because there’s confusion about whether or not they were actually trans or just cross-dressing) seemed to actually be a pretty cool person. They were very supportive of their trans sisters online and generally encouraging to them.

To be honest, that really isn’t all that surprising. The smaller the town, the less likely it is for local party politics mirror state or federal politics. Normally this means small town politics tend to swing hard-right and either radical libertarian or authoritarian, but it sounds like in this case they probably wanted to be more supportive and inclusive and was possibly being held back by locals. The reality of it is that they were probably Republican because it was the only way to get elected, not because they agreed with the Republican party. Let’s be honest here as well, does it really make sense that someone would be supportive of trans people and then turn around and demonize them?

Sometimes the only way you can make a difference is to walk through the leopards’ cage and hope you don’t get eaten before you reach the other side.

Finally, I’m not even fully convinced that they did kill themselves. Personally, I’ll be waiting to see if any bodycam footage shows up. Small town cops only side with the mayor when they want something done, or when the mayor is actively supporting them, otherwise the mayor is just as much an enemy to them as anyone else.

Edit: it’s also possible that they were a Republican before discovering their love for cross-dressing or desire to be trans, and they were stuck between a rock and a hard place. Because they were in a conservative area, it’s entirely possible they were afraid for their life and or were so heavily indoctrinated by Republicans that they believed that they were the problem, not the party (though the latter doesn’t explain why they were supportive of trans folk online); and considering they supposedly committed suicide in front of cops with no witnesses, it’s entirely possible they were killed by cops and therefore justified in their fear. It’s easy to forget or underestimate just how dangerous it is to be trans in America, especially if you’re from a more liberal city.

Diplomjodler,

If you join fascist organisation, you’re a fucking asshole and there’s absolutely no excuse. Defending these people just makes you an asshole too.

Feathercrown,

Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

maryjayjay,

That’s a pretty absolute statement

Feathercrown,

youtube.com/watch?v=XAlEXITX3eE

Lophostemon,

He probably couldn’t run as a Dem, so he ran as GOP because that’s all that would be elected locally. Doesn’t nesc mean he was a Magat.

downpunxx,
downpunxx avatar

Fuck. and. You.

All Republicans are hypocritical bigots, by definition. It's the core of their political party, it's who they signed up to be identified with, it's who they are, or in the case of this poor bigoted fuck, were. I don't want to see any "but this was a nice republican" bullshit. After the Southern Strategy in 1964, all Republicans are trash, every single one.

Institutionalized racism, misogyny, homophobia, and white Christian separatism as party platform. No matter how "conservative" Republicans claimed to be, The Southern Strategy was the core value and singular driving force for the past 60 years. MAGA isn't a symptom, it's result.

opp,

You’ve clearly been reading too much Wikipedia. There’s a great deal of Republicans who aren’t bigots or homophobic who just want a smaller government and for the constitution to be interpreted as a living document meaning interpreting it literally as it’s written and not having our basic rights get taken away by hypocritical liberals. If you want socialism go learn about the tens of millions killed under Stalin and Maos regimes or move to North Korea.

Dkarma,

I love how you act like u give a shit about nuance then come right out and say

Socialism=Stalin

As if there’s only one kind.

Wow you’re fucking dumb.

opp,

I also mentioned mao, and your buddy Kim jong whatever

PRUSSIA_x86,

Now I remember why I tagged you, turn 15 yet?

MossyFeathers,

Your post prompted me to look through the histories of some of the people responding, and dear lord… what a bunch of hateful, angry people. Like, I’m not perfect, I’ve said things I regret or don’t fully agree with, either because I got caught up in the moment or because my view on something shifted; but I generally try to correct myself or delete my comment(s) when that happens.

These people though? I’m pretty sure they’re just stirring the pot.

MossyFeathers,

I already said it once and I’ll say it again. Sometimes the only way to make the world a better place is to walk through the leopards cage and hope they don’t eat you before you come out the other side. The alternative is to kill all the leopards.

You wanna be the one who picks up a gun and starts killing the leopards? No? Then shut the fuck up while the adults try solutions that don’t involve bloodshed. If you start killing the leopards then a hell of a lot of people will die due to retaliation and most of them will be innocent. Get off the internet and go touch grass.

Now, I don’t know what this guy’s politics were like except that they were regularly supportive of their trans sisters online, where they had the freedom to be who they wanted to be because they weren’t being supressed by local conservatives. That tells me that this guy wasn’t completely rotten like many Republicans are.

But hey, go off I guess. Paint with a broad brush and ignore the bumps that don’t conform to your expectations, 'cause every time humans have done that it’s always lead to the betterment of humanity, right?

Dkarma,

This person didn’t “walk through the leopards cage” lmfao are u high?

Let’s get a few things straight.

This was not a repressed hero. This person was not brave.
This person was a coward. This person was self hating. This person joined a political party voluntarily …they didn’t have to be in politics. The party they joined is one who’s official positions demonize LGBTQ peoples.

The leopards in this case killed themselves.

Being supportive of trans people online while shitting on them irl is the height of not only hypocrisy but classic conservative rules for thee but not for me.

Delete your ignorant ass post.

paraphrand,

I thought it was established that they didn’t talk shit about people in public. Did I miss something?

Dkarma,

How is that relevant. They were actively participating in a political party that is trying to oppress trans people. Nothing else here is relevant.

This is my point. Being LGBTQ doesn’t give this guy a pass. Others seem to think it does. There are tons of gay and trans Republicans.
They are just as shitty as the straight ones.

This is the key takeaway from this whole thing. This guy would rather kill himself than be seen as part of the LGBT community. A community which their own experiences told them would be welcoming and understanding and would have been.

They could have been welcomed with open arms and they could have rejected republicanism and conservatism. Instead at the very end they made their choice to literally end their life instead of being known as part of the LGBT community.

This was an easy choice for this guy. There was no grey area. I’m not sure why other people are pretending there was. No one forced him. Hell in a month no one would have given a shit.

When Republicans start coming for the trans kids like they did with the gay kids…how are you going to tell the difference between the ones holding bats cuz of peer pressure or cuz they want to?

MossyFeathers, (edited )

No. You’re seeing people who only see the world in black-and-white or us-vs-them. It’s extremely unsettling for people, like myself, who rely on people like that for support. It’s why it is that if you hang out in LGBT spaces - especially for people who are trans, enby and/or a-spec (asexual, aromantic and/or agender) - you’ll see memes about false allies; people who claim to be allies, but only because your political views align with their own. Because if your own views or philosophies don’t align with theirs then they’ll drop you like a rock.

Again, I haven’t looked deeply into the mayor’s prior political views, I’ve mainly looked through articles covering their death, so it’s totally possible that they themselves held bigoted views. Nor have I been able to figure out if they held office before they started expressing themselves online (it looks like they deleted their accounts before they died), because it’s totally possible they held office before discovering themselves and didn’t know how to get out of their position (inb4 “just move lul” or “just swap political parties, lul ecks dee”; if the former were that easy I wouldn’t still be stuck in Texas, and the latter is a great way to get yourself killed in our current political climate). However, to effectively say they deserved it for being trans and republican while stopping just short of saying such, really reeks of disgusting false-ally bullshit.

Edit: actually, after looking through some of their posts, at best they’re just shit-stirrers, at worst they’re just hateful, angry, and taking it out on everyone else.

Dkarma,

Hilariously ironic that this guy was literally a false ally and you’re rushing to defend him.

Not everyone who is LGBTQ is your ally and not everyone who thinks you’re a complete idiot is your enemy.

No one ever said they deserved this for “being trans” thats simply not true. In fact no one ever said this guy deserved it.

Fapper_McFapper, (edited )

Conservative blog 1819 must be very proud of themselves.

Edit: I just emailed them asking which Republican they plan on killing next. Will let you all know if I get a reply.

pivot_root,

We need a RemindMe bot for things like what you’re doing.

Nusm,
@Nusm@lemmy.world avatar

One of the sad things is how big he’s smiling in the picture. Looks like a jolly guy.

eestileib,

But doctor, I am Pagliacci…

Nusm,
@Nusm@lemmy.world avatar

I actually got that reference, and I appreciate it.

SuperSpaceFan,

This is extremely sad. His own GOP community first outed him, then rejected him.

Fapper_McFapper,

Outed him and if you know anything about Southern Baptist, they killed him too.

SuperSpaceFan,

True!

Witchfire,
@Witchfire@lemmy.world avatar

Christofascism is on the rise - “I sleep”

“Journalist” claims I wear dresses - “I guess I’ll just die then”

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