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 (They/Them)
    53•8 months 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 (They/Them)
        16•8 months 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
          1•8 months 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.

          • paraphrandEnglish
            13•8 months ago

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

            • Mossy Feathers (They/Them)
              7•8 months ago

              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@lemmy.world
                1•8 months ago

                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.

            • @Dkarma@lemmy.world
              1•8 months ago

              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?

        • Mossy Feathers (They/Them)
          12•8 months 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.

    • @Diplomjodler@feddit.de
      6•8 months 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.