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

    • Carnelian@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Reading other articles it seems like no, he was generally very positive and encouraging to others online. The impression I get (from 10 minutes of reading, not saying this conclusively) is that he was not overtly hostile whatsoever to trans people.

      There are enormous social pressures in small conservative towns, and the man was 63. I can imagine life leading someone otherwise pro-trans into being a republican preacher in that environment. An awful tragedy

    • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      it does not appear he had taken any public positions against LGBTQ issues that could be construed as hypocritical

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              You’ve got me. I don’t understand why any trans person would be a Republican, but I guess money trumps all when you’re rich.

              • gkd@lemmy.ml
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                1 year ago

                Because they (wrongly) believe that being “one of the good ones” will save them from being targeted by republicans and their proposed legislation like Project 2025

                That doesn’t mean people who have previously voted red are in the wrong (lots of internalized homophobia can lead to opposite beliefs). But once you realize your identity and continue to vote against yours and other people’s human rights, you’re absolutely in the wrong.

          • meco03211@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Pretty sure there were slaves that actively sought to maintain slavery. In some cases, they had relatively decent lives compared to other slaves and even some free black people.

        • rchive@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          You can disagree with your party on one issue. There are tons of Democrats who are opposed to increased gun control, for example.

          • darq@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            But it’s not just “an issue”. We are talking about a demographic and their legal recognition. No I’m sorry but we cannot agree to disagree on something so fundamental as equal treatment of people.

            It’s not comparable gun control.

            • rchive@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              I’m talking about whether people are physically capable of breaking with their party on a single issue. They obviously are.

              Gallup poll

          • grue@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Disagreeing on policy is one thing; disagreeing on human rights is another. You cannot be a Republican and have respect for queer rights at the same time. It has to be a 100% deal-breaker.

            • rchive@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              I’m not sure what you’re talking about. There are tons of Republicans who support gay rights in some fashion, even if it’s not a majority position within the party.

              Gallup poll

              • grue@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                No, there are precisely zero Republicans who support gay rights. What you’ve cited is a poll showing some who claim to, but are lying. Their deeds, not their words, prove their true intentions.

          • FaceDeer@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            How likely are those Democrats to get bullied to the point of suicide if their “secret” of being against increased gun control was to come out? Or to preemptively commit suicide in anticipation of the bullying they’re going to receive?

            This is not the same thing. Democrats are, generally speaking, flexible about a lot of their positions. It’s how they wind up with problem members like Manchin and Sinema. The Republican party is very different.

            • rchive@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              That’s not the right comparison. He didn’t commit suicide because he was ashamed of supporting gay rights, he was ashamed of wanting to cross dress and of having engaged in the activity. Regardless of politics, that’s a pretty uncommon behavior. Most people don’t want other people to know they’re a sexual deviant of some kind. I’d guess that this behavior is much more maligned in conservative circles than liberal or left, for sure, but the point is that it’s not just the breaking from the standard beliefs of that side.

              • FaceDeer@kbin.social
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                1 year ago

                I’d guess that this behavior is much more maligned in conservative circles than liberal or left

                And that, right there, is exactly my point.

        • DreamerofDays@kbin.social
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          1 year ago

          I would imagine that becoming mayor in certain parts of the country is much easier if you’re a member of the dominant party in the region.

          • SheeEttin@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Or existing in society at all. Sometimes in those parts of the country the first question upon meeting someone is “what church do you go to”.

            • DreamerofDays@kbin.social
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              No, he didn’t. But people get to want things. Sometimes they want things for themselves, sometimes they want things for their communities.

    • Rusticus@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      The GOP has created a really shitty life for a lot of people.

      It’s a feature, not a bug.

    • Dkarma@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      He was a Republican so yes he voted repeatedly to hurt LGBTQ people AS LONG AS IT WASNT HIM

    • TheFriar@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      If you read the article, it said, about halfway through, that he never spoke up on LGBTQ issues despite being a Republican.

    • pete_the_cat@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It says he hasn’t posted or supported anything publicly so he wasn’t a hypocrite, he belonged to the wrong party though, I do feel bad for his family because he doesn’t seem to be a right wing asshole