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.

    • 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.