Bubba Copeland shot himself in front of police on Friday, days after he begged 1819 News not to expose his private life.

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.

    • dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net
      742·
      1 year ago

      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@aussie.zone
        24·
        1 year ago

        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@kbin.social
      1639·
      1 year ago

      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

      • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
        515·
        1 year ago

        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.

          • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
            14·
            1 year ago

            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@lemmy.world
              116·
              1 year ago

              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.

            • Mossy Feathers (She/They)@pawb.social
              12·
              1 year ago

              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.

          • opp@lemmy.world
            913·
            1 year ago

            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@lemmy.world
              74·
              1 year ago

              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.

        • Diplomjodler@feddit.de
          538·
          1 year ago

          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.