An old H. L. Mencken quote comes to mind - "Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is happy." I grew up in the South and I am pretty sure that cross-dressing is frowned upon by the SBC. I do not know what the Baptists call excommunication or disfellowshipping, but I think that is what awaits him - unless he gets down on his knees and tearfully begs Jeebus to forgive him.
When I lived in SW Virginia in the 1980s and early 90s, our local volunteer fire department held a "womanless beauty pageant" every year to raise money. It was literally a drag show, although these men couldn't compete with a real drag queen, it was fun to see them try to walk in high heels! It was a huge hit with the locals, too.
Personally, I think I got the better deal in the plumbing department, but hey, if you want to wear clothes typically worn by the opposite sex, have at it. I will defend to the death your right to choose.
"Finocchio's Club was a former nightclub and bar in operation from 1936 to 1999 in North Beach, San Francisco, California." The owner of this club got the idea of a drag show from a customer who got up on stage one night and brought the house down. The performers were gay and straight men and they were good and put on great show. It has been replaced.
No one took crossdressing performances as a serious moral transgression. Not in ancient Greek theatre, not in a Shakespeare play, nor in comedy. Our nation should have an official national crossdressing day. A day men and women can appear fabulous and GQ respectively. The lusty month of May is the perfect month for it.
Copeland's church is not a part of the SBC. They are part of the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. They broke away from the SBC in 1991 when the SBC leadership to a hard Right wing turn. They are a more moderate group of Baptists. However, I could find no information in regards to their policy regarding the LGBTQ+ community.
Great deep dive. I read that the Amish split from the Mennonites because they thought the Mennonites were toooo radical. They wanted to jettison the horse for more horsepower. A reflection of the sad state of religion where congregatiuons split over argument essentially purity and kicking compassion and common sense to the curb.
That is true, but he was one of the leading practitioners of the age of the 'bon mot'! Hard, to this day, to beat the comments of his, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, Oscar Wilde...
Up-vote for the Mencken quote. Have to agree, too; Copeland is in for a world of sorrow, even though we're actually NOT talking about the SBC here. My sense is that he's a decent guy who is doing his best, and simply has an off-axis means of decompressing.
It’s a funny quote. But a more accurate definition of puritanism, IMO, would be “the haunting fear that some woman, somewhere, is enjoying obligation free sex.”
The female libertine scares men. Men's default setting is male sexual dominance. Freud traces this male sexual dominance back to the Primal Father monopolizing all females in the tribe. I see in the practice of family law where the male has dominated the female until, and hopefully, they say "I'm done!" and the courts put him in his place.
Hijacking top comment to say this story has taken a very sad turn... he just committed suicide after he was outed. I don’t know enough of the context but I am very sad to see this update to the story.
Once again, we've got Baptists of one stripe or another getting bent out of shape on a sexual issue. This issue HARMS NO ONE and has no particular impact (at least none that I can see) on his functions as mayor or pastor. Yet the powers-that-be want to create an enormous foofaraw around it, because bible-morality-SOMETHING.
Apparently, those who would judge Bubba can't take him at his word when he says that it's just something that he does to relieve stress. Then, too, there's that strain of Baptists that take EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY, and nothing can be beneath their notice. It makes me wonder how they live their lives and if there's any joy at all in them.
Hate to say it, but I don't see this turning out well for Copeland, and that's a shame ... but then, shame is what those who are harassing him are all about.
Think of all the various mass shootings and think of how much somebody who's out in the world feeling alone and isolated and thinks oh this person's like me and here's what they're going to do and maybe I could do it too. And they're not thinking it's fiction they're not thinking it's somebody's fantasies... They are thinking they could act on them.
Totally different from someone who's a crime writer. Who writes the novel who does not have an online presence where they're actually acting out the things that the murderer professes to do. Which is in fact what this person who is no longer here in a physical form did.
That's a very nice fiction that you wrote about--have you given any thought to becoming a writer? With your vivid imagination, I'm sure you must have more to contribute to the planet than making up outrageous fantasies about what could possibly result (but has not) from the erotic fiction stories written by a dead man.
You wouldn't be dismissive if the target in the story was a 'transwoman'. You would at the very least be performatively horrified. But it's just a woman. Misogyny is the most ubiquitous form of hatred in existence.
Copeland says "There's no instruction manual for this job. However, I do have my own personal manual and that is my Bible. God will sustain you through anything as long as you commit your life to Him."
He might want to consult his manual, as it condemns men and women who wear each others clothing.
He also said (after his alternate life was aired) "It's a hobby I do to relieve stress. I have a lot of stress..."
It seems his god and manual aren't all they're cracked up to be.
Thank you my fellow cherry picking friend, you show your vast knowledge of their manual again.
Deuteronomy 22;5 clearly states that men wearing women's clothes, or women wearing men's clothes are an abomination to YHWH.
This comes in a section that micromanages their lives to the point of cursing their fields if they plant two kinds of seeds in it, or cursing them if they wear blended fibers.
Reading and truly comprehending what the bible says is the easiest thing in the world. It's stupefying that the book's most ardent advocates simply don't. Don't they realize how vulnerable this makes them to those who do?
Yeah, the Bible and Torah reflect environmental adaptive behaviors. However, times and tech have changes and all the advice about particular human behaviors is so Bronze Age.
In that age a civilization was living on the edge of survival. We no longer live as if the wolf is at he door, except in Russia, so rely on scientific knowledge and utilize magick and religion to bow to the mystery of existence. “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.”
Bravo, Hamant -- your well-reasoned, sensible reaction distills the extreme irresponsibility of Craig Monger and 1819 News, which posted a "story" in search of a purpose.
In his LinkedIn bio blurb, the so-called reporter says he's a former theology student who's "humbly joining my Alabama brethren in the pursuit of truth." But as you accurately note, not all truths deserve to be made public. "There ought to be a damn good reason," indeed.
OT : just saw one of the doctors. I will have to come back, date unknown for now, to stay several days in diabetology. I was, of course, overjoyed at the prospect of DM alone at home and told such to the doctor.
Doctor : "We can arrange for a stay in the same ward for your mother".
I seriously consider it. DM alone at home is a big NO !
PS : Since diabetes is considered a pandemic here, my hopital bills should amount to 0. Sorry cdbunch.
"As far as I can tell, there’s no evidence that Copeland himself has ever participated in those right-wing attacks. I have yet to see a sermon clip where he rails against drag queens or trans people. I can’t find a single policy he’s promoted as mayor that would make life worse for the LGBTQ community."
Then he does not deserve to be outed. Only those who try to oppress the LGBT community and are hypocrites deserve to be outed.
The Church has no business in our bedrooms. The State has no business in our bedrooms. Period. As an atheist, I may not agree with his religious beliefs, but what the Mayor/Pastor does with his wife behind closed doors, consensually, is no one else's business. End of story. The mistake this man made was placing his private pictures on line. Rather than condemning the Pastor, he, and his church should allow this to be a teaching moment and he should sit down with folks from the LGBTQ community, especially transgender folks and talk about issues of concern. These people are human beings first and foremost, something that I am sure the man you worship and follow would like to remind you of. After all, Jesus did hang out with 'Tax collectors and sinners.' He also spent a lot, and I mean A LOT of time with twelve other dudes.
You also bring up a great point. When we hear the word 'Baptist' we jump tp the conclusion that they are the foaming at the mouth type Baptists that are ready to call for the deaths of LGBTQ folks. (IFB Pastors). Or Southern Baptists who may not be that extreme as the IFB, but would love to see Gay rights abolished. However not all Baptist churches believe this. There are many that are affirming churches and openly welcome LGBTQ+ folks into their membership.
I firmly believe no one has the right to tell you that your life is worth living, but I wish I'd had a chance to talk to him, share my story, that there can be more than the fear, hatred, and despair.
Honestly, it would feel fucking liberating to be so important as to be personally hated by a god- if they existed. Like, my putting on a skirt is such a terrifying existential threat to the 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 that he 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 came down from on high to end me? 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩, call me Lady Satan!
But nope. Gender nonconforming folks are just a scapegoat to fearmonger about, the flavor of the week to distract the ignorant masses from [𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺/𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦]. They don't even really care that much about 𝘶𝘴, when all's said and done- if there were someone else easier to stomp on right now, that's who they'd be going after instead. We're just a target of 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦- and that's just fucking depressing.
I'm always bemused when I run across any sort of story about "cross-dressing", because it's yet another reminder of the modern USA's obsession with sex-role stereotyping. How much attention do you suppose ever gets paid to this "issue" in rural China, where everybody dresses in shapeless shirts and baggy pants and works in the fields. How would you even EXPRESS the idea that you wanted to be the “other” sex if nobody could readily tell the difference?
But the USA is so hyper-sexually aware that we have different sports leagues, different bathrooms, different baby clothes, different acceptances of assertiveness, different hairstyles, even different awards for acting and singing, all dependent on the very, Very, VERY, VVEERRYY important distinction of what your reproductive plumbing is.
I woke up way too early to untangle this- there is just 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 to unpack here. Here's a few undeveloped thoughts:
- The fact that it was a right-wing outlet which broke the story, and that there is of yet no evidence of hypocrisy here, leads me to be more critical of the 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 than the 𝘰𝘶𝘵-𝘦𝘦 for now. If we were talking about someone from the left yanking the curtain on a known hate-preacher, that'd be a different thing entirely.
- At first blush, it kinda looks like this pastor would like to be more outwardly progressive than the rest of the sect, but has to dogwhistle about it instead of saying it outright, like some sort of odd inversion of the way bigots do when they think the space they're in wouldn't be accepting of their bigotry.
- I hope you checked your pockets after meeting Chump.
*𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵- More data, indeed. Whether Pastor Copeland was a drag queen or a trans woman doesn't really matter, now, does it? I don't think it really even matters what his sermons were about, at this point. All 1819 News cared about is that a person dared to wear the wrong article of clothing with the wrong naughtybits, and that to their minds was sufficient cause to destroy a life. He's just another victim of the Nat-C culture war, now- and proof of their true intentions. This is the outcome they 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, when they ran that story. Full stop.
I lean toward that he's playing with zir real self instead of the self he thinks is *supposed* to be his real self. As Ben and PaineDuMonde said upthread, he's walking as close to the coffin (closet) door as he dared. I expect ze's working toward giving zirself permission to be the woman ze feels zirself to be. As tough as the next few months/years are going to be, it may be one of the best things that ever happened to ze.
I still remember when I came out to myself deciding to try being gay for a week, not do anything about it, just give myself permission to think of myself that way. It didn't take a week for me to realize this was the *real* me. It still took nearly two months to tell anyone. The one person I was virtually certain would accept it and I was still terrified.
Yeah... the more I look at what's there, the more I get that vibe. That photo doesn't really scream "drag persona" to me- then again, if what we've got to go on are his word, or that of the outlet that did the outing... he says he's a he, then that's that until he says otherwise. That's a basic courtesy I'd afford even the most vile slime (although I'd have plenty of other 𝘧𝘢𝘳 less courteous things to say, as well).
H o w e v e r . . . "it's just for fun" as a cover story is something very, very familiar to me. One of 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ways I explored myself before I ever dared to give voice to what I was feeling was to roll up a female character in a favorite game and just live vicariously through her for a while. Pre-selected list of excuses and handwaves loaded up and ready to go, and everything, just in case I raised any eyebrows. I was doing that shit before I even figured out 𝘸𝘩𝘺 I was doing it.
If someone close to me 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸, during that time- someone who I could trust to help me with clothes, makeup, etc... yeah, I think I probably 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 have had a second self on social media (I 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 have had people like that, if I hadn't had my head too far up my own ass to realize the blindingly obvious, but that's a whole other story). I'd 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 have probably backpedaled pretty hard if certain 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 people then found out about it. I was, and am, in 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 more welcoming circumstances than I'd have been at the head of a Baptist congregation in Alabama, and I'm 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 not out to everyone in my life because it doesn't feel safe to take that last step yet. So there's that.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵... without at least a 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 more information, it feels a little too much like projection, to me, to just say "yeah, (s)he just got scared deeper into the closet" and conclude that I've cracked the case.
I am assuming that the conservative staff member of 1819 who accidentally stumbled upon the racy Instagram account of “Transitioning Transgender Curvy Girl” only did it because he was thoroughly investigating how woke culture was destroying the traditional family unit, and for no other reason. He had absolutely no other reason to be cruising transgender Instagram accounts other that to research how evil they were. And he didn't want to corrupt the other staffers, and that's why he did it late at night, and why the door to his office was lock. He also had a cold, which would explain the amount of tissues. And he had dry skin, which explains the hand cream.
Once again, I must thank Hemant for a balanced account of the situation.
The general evidence is that neither the Pastor nor his church has taken anti-LGBT positions. That's unique, considering where his parish is located.
So, while I can be one of the harshest judges of church follies and foibles, give Bubba a pass. He could help with change more than the joy of punishment.
If he’s not damning LGBT people, it’s fine. But I’m not sure that cosplaying a transitioning transgender person is really all that great. Be a cross dresser, that has a long and distinguished history. There’s just something about pretending to be transgender that puts me off, they’ve been demonized so much, and even murdered for being transgender that it gives me the ick. I’m not condemning him, or trying to shame him or anything, but maybe he should think twice about that aspect of what he’s doing if he’s not really transgender. And I’m willing to hear an argument from transgender folks who don’t agree with my take. I’m open to being wrong about it.
The rest of it, he doesn’t deserve to be scrutinized negatively just for dressing as a woman. I dressed up as Ursula for Halloween, it’s just fun to step outside our selves for a while. I’ve dressed as a man on occasion.
I'm honestly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until we have more information. If he grew up in small-town Alabama, it's not as if that cultural context would've provided much in the way of guidance on the dos and don'ts of navigating queer identities (I mean, sure, there's the internet... but if you don't even know where to start looking?). It's worth noting that many people cycle through multiple different labels until they find one that fits, especially if they've had to do it without any kind of supportive community... and having an alter ego who's out on the internet when you can't be in the real world isn't exactly unheard of, either.
One of the problems with managing a large group of people using fear is that you have to keep that fear going. It needs new targets regularly or it starts to fizzle; living your life afraid all the time takes a lot of energy, and if people have time to stop and think they might start wondering what they were afraid of. Can't have that!
I may well be wrong, but looking at this, what I see is an attempt to keep that fear going. Sure, it's reprehensible and a cheap shot, but that's not the sort of thing that stops some people. What I see is a desperate attempt at "Look! Look! It's even in CHURCHES now!" to try and keep the sheeple in line, because for me, the news over the last month or so has been pretty close to the "All Israel, all the time" channel. (Yes, the war in Israel/Gaza is important, and yes, I want updates. But some of the news has been more than a shade lackluster, and for a while it was all the news talked about for the whole program.) This pastor probably doesn't deserve it, from what I've seen, but he'll wind up suffering for it anyway; if he gets lucky he'll land on his feet so to speak.
They believe their god created the whole entire fucking universe and everything that has ever existed since forever...and they also believe that this same all powerful being gives a rat's ass about some guy's private eccentric wardrobe choices. SMH.
So long as the person isn't hurting LGBTQ people, I don't particularly care what he does in his spare time and neither should anyone else.
I suppose the folks in his church might want to talk about whatever erotica he wrote and if it violated their church's teachings, but that's for them to decide.
An old H. L. Mencken quote comes to mind - "Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is happy." I grew up in the South and I am pretty sure that cross-dressing is frowned upon by the SBC. I do not know what the Baptists call excommunication or disfellowshipping, but I think that is what awaits him - unless he gets down on his knees and tearfully begs Jeebus to forgive him.
When I lived in SW Virginia in the 1980s and early 90s, our local volunteer fire department held a "womanless beauty pageant" every year to raise money. It was literally a drag show, although these men couldn't compete with a real drag queen, it was fun to see them try to walk in high heels! It was a huge hit with the locals, too.
My, how things have changed.
Makes you wonder how those ying-yangs would have reacted to Milton Berle in drag, back in the day.
Theatre in 16th century, women were not allowed in plays. Who do you think played Juliette ?
I remember Sandy Duncan playing Peter Pan.
Bob Hope, Tony Curtiss, Julie Andrews. We have been entertained by people cross-dressing our whole lives, but now it is something unacceptable...
If it's a choice between the haters and either Bugs Bunny or Monty Python, I'll take Bugs and the Pythons.
At least with Bugs, you got opera...
Show of hands: Who here got their first exposure to opera as kids because of a certain Oscar-winning rabbit?
Personally, I think I got the better deal in the plumbing department, but hey, if you want to wear clothes typically worn by the opposite sex, have at it. I will defend to the death your right to choose.
Especially if they dress to kill...." short skirt and a long jacket."
"Finocchio's Club was a former nightclub and bar in operation from 1936 to 1999 in North Beach, San Francisco, California." The owner of this club got the idea of a drag show from a customer who got up on stage one night and brought the house down. The performers were gay and straight men and they were good and put on great show. It has been replaced.
We have Julia's On Broadway here in Seattle up on Capitol Hill.
https://www.juliasonbroadway.com
How's the food? ;)
No one took crossdressing performances as a serious moral transgression. Not in ancient Greek theatre, not in a Shakespeare play, nor in comedy. Our nation should have an official national crossdressing day. A day men and women can appear fabulous and GQ respectively. The lusty month of May is the perfect month for it.
Copeland's church is not a part of the SBC. They are part of the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. They broke away from the SBC in 1991 when the SBC leadership to a hard Right wing turn. They are a more moderate group of Baptists. However, I could find no information in regards to their policy regarding the LGBTQ+ community.
Great deep dive. I read that the Amish split from the Mennonites because they thought the Mennonites were toooo radical. They wanted to jettison the horse for more horsepower. A reflection of the sad state of religion where congregatiuons split over argument essentially purity and kicking compassion and common sense to the curb.
"An old H. L. Mencken...".
There aren't any new ones. : )
That is true, but he was one of the leading practitioners of the age of the 'bon mot'! Hard, to this day, to beat the comments of his, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, Oscar Wilde...
Up-vote for the Mencken quote. Have to agree, too; Copeland is in for a world of sorrow, even though we're actually NOT talking about the SBC here. My sense is that he's a decent guy who is doing his best, and simply has an off-axis means of decompressing.
Except in Alabama, it ain't so "simply."
I lived there. I don't recall ever meeting a cross-dressing Baptist preacher.
Well if you stuff a bunch of cash in the collection plate you may be invited to the champagne rectory.
It’s a funny quote. But a more accurate definition of puritanism, IMO, would be “the haunting fear that some woman, somewhere, is enjoying obligation free sex.”
The female libertine scares men. Men's default setting is male sexual dominance. Freud traces this male sexual dominance back to the Primal Father monopolizing all females in the tribe. I see in the practice of family law where the male has dominated the female until, and hopefully, they say "I'm done!" and the courts put him in his place.
Hijacking top comment to say this story has taken a very sad turn... he just committed suicide after he was outed. I don’t know enough of the context but I am very sad to see this update to the story.
Once again, we've got Baptists of one stripe or another getting bent out of shape on a sexual issue. This issue HARMS NO ONE and has no particular impact (at least none that I can see) on his functions as mayor or pastor. Yet the powers-that-be want to create an enormous foofaraw around it, because bible-morality-SOMETHING.
Apparently, those who would judge Bubba can't take him at his word when he says that it's just something that he does to relieve stress. Then, too, there's that strain of Baptists that take EVERYTHING SERIOUSLY, and nothing can be beneath their notice. It makes me wonder how they live their lives and if there's any joy at all in them.
Hate to say it, but I don't see this turning out well for Copeland, and that's a shame ... but then, shame is what those who are harassing him are all about.
Conservative theists of all stripes tend to value rote conformity a whole lot more than anything resembling actual morality.
Boy, do they EVER. [sigh]
You're not being fair to those Baptist. Of course there's joy in their lives. The joy of making other people miserable.
Yes.
... How about his "erotic fiction", where he plans on killing and then assuming the identity of a local business woman..?
That's just not right
Did you somehow miss the "fiction" part?
Think of all the various mass shootings and think of how much somebody who's out in the world feeling alone and isolated and thinks oh this person's like me and here's what they're going to do and maybe I could do it too. And they're not thinking it's fiction they're not thinking it's somebody's fantasies... They are thinking they could act on them.
Totally different from someone who's a crime writer. Who writes the novel who does not have an online presence where they're actually acting out the things that the murderer professes to do. Which is in fact what this person who is no longer here in a physical form did.
That's a very nice fiction that you wrote about--have you given any thought to becoming a writer? With your vivid imagination, I'm sure you must have more to contribute to the planet than making up outrageous fantasies about what could possibly result (but has not) from the erotic fiction stories written by a dead man.
You wouldn't be dismissive if the target in the story was a 'transwoman'. You would at the very least be performatively horrified. But it's just a woman. Misogyny is the most ubiquitous form of hatred in existence.
Would it still be a fictional story?
Copeland says "There's no instruction manual for this job. However, I do have my own personal manual and that is my Bible. God will sustain you through anything as long as you commit your life to Him."
He might want to consult his manual, as it condemns men and women who wear each others clothing.
He also said (after his alternate life was aired) "It's a hobby I do to relieve stress. I have a lot of stress..."
It seems his god and manual aren't all they're cracked up to be.
Thank you my fellow cherry picking friend, you show your vast knowledge of their manual again.
Deuteronomy 22;5 clearly states that men wearing women's clothes, or women wearing men's clothes are an abomination to YHWH.
This comes in a section that micromanages their lives to the point of cursing their fields if they plant two kinds of seeds in it, or cursing them if they wear blended fibers.
Reading and truly comprehending what the bible says is the easiest thing in the world. It's stupefying that the book's most ardent advocates simply don't. Don't they realize how vulnerable this makes them to those who do?
Yeah, the Bible and Torah reflect environmental adaptive behaviors. However, times and tech have changes and all the advice about particular human behaviors is so Bronze Age.
In that age a civilization was living on the edge of survival. We no longer live as if the wolf is at he door, except in Russia, so rely on scientific knowledge and utilize magick and religion to bow to the mystery of existence. “The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.”
― G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles
Bubba, God gave you a right hand that reaches your (Mike) Johnson precisely to relieve stress.
What did T-Rex do to piss Him off?
It wasn't a T-Rex, it was a brontosaurus.
https://youtu.be/8y959WClQGU?t=50
While he is consulting the manual he will certainly ditch bacon. What would Jesus eat? Not bacon.
He'll also have to swear off ham, sausages, pork chops, pork loin...
Bravo, Hamant -- your well-reasoned, sensible reaction distills the extreme irresponsibility of Craig Monger and 1819 News, which posted a "story" in search of a purpose.
In his LinkedIn bio blurb, the so-called reporter says he's a former theology student who's "humbly joining my Alabama brethren in the pursuit of truth." But as you accurately note, not all truths deserve to be made public. "There ought to be a damn good reason," indeed.
OT : just saw one of the doctors. I will have to come back, date unknown for now, to stay several days in diabetology. I was, of course, overjoyed at the prospect of DM alone at home and told such to the doctor.
Doctor : "We can arrange for a stay in the same ward for your mother".
I seriously consider it. DM alone at home is a big NO !
PS : Since diabetes is considered a pandemic here, my hopital bills should amount to 0. Sorry cdbunch.
"As far as I can tell, there’s no evidence that Copeland himself has ever participated in those right-wing attacks. I have yet to see a sermon clip where he rails against drag queens or trans people. I can’t find a single policy he’s promoted as mayor that would make life worse for the LGBTQ community."
Then he does not deserve to be outed. Only those who try to oppress the LGBT community and are hypocrites deserve to be outed.
The Church has no business in our bedrooms. The State has no business in our bedrooms. Period. As an atheist, I may not agree with his religious beliefs, but what the Mayor/Pastor does with his wife behind closed doors, consensually, is no one else's business. End of story. The mistake this man made was placing his private pictures on line. Rather than condemning the Pastor, he, and his church should allow this to be a teaching moment and he should sit down with folks from the LGBTQ community, especially transgender folks and talk about issues of concern. These people are human beings first and foremost, something that I am sure the man you worship and follow would like to remind you of. After all, Jesus did hang out with 'Tax collectors and sinners.' He also spent a lot, and I mean A LOT of time with twelve other dudes.
You also bring up a great point. When we hear the word 'Baptist' we jump tp the conclusion that they are the foaming at the mouth type Baptists that are ready to call for the deaths of LGBTQ folks. (IFB Pastors). Or Southern Baptists who may not be that extreme as the IFB, but would love to see Gay rights abolished. However not all Baptist churches believe this. There are many that are affirming churches and openly welcome LGBTQ+ folks into their membership.
Well... congratulations, you wingnut ghouls- I'd say "I hope you're proud of yourselves," but you probably fucking are.
I'm not even gonna call it a suicide. This was a murder.
There was absolutely nothing "newsworthy" about this story. I hope Monger is proud that a man killed himself over his "journalism."
fuck.
Blame Hunter Biden. It's his fault.
By God himself?
No, by the ambulatory skidmarks who wrote that article for 1819 News. They knew what they were doing.
I firmly believe no one has the right to tell you that your life is worth living, but I wish I'd had a chance to talk to him, share my story, that there can be more than the fear, hatred, and despair.
No. But would that really be surprising if it was.
Honestly, it would feel fucking liberating to be so important as to be personally hated by a god- if they existed. Like, my putting on a skirt is such a terrifying existential threat to the 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 that he 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 came down from on high to end me? 𝘍𝘶𝘤𝘬 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘩, call me Lady Satan!
But nope. Gender nonconforming folks are just a scapegoat to fearmonger about, the flavor of the week to distract the ignorant masses from [𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺/𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦]. They don't even really care that much about 𝘶𝘴, when all's said and done- if there were someone else easier to stomp on right now, that's who they'd be going after instead. We're just a target of 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦- and that's just fucking depressing.
I'm always bemused when I run across any sort of story about "cross-dressing", because it's yet another reminder of the modern USA's obsession with sex-role stereotyping. How much attention do you suppose ever gets paid to this "issue" in rural China, where everybody dresses in shapeless shirts and baggy pants and works in the fields. How would you even EXPRESS the idea that you wanted to be the “other” sex if nobody could readily tell the difference?
But the USA is so hyper-sexually aware that we have different sports leagues, different bathrooms, different baby clothes, different acceptances of assertiveness, different hairstyles, even different awards for acting and singing, all dependent on the very, Very, VERY, VVEERRYY important distinction of what your reproductive plumbing is.
I woke up way too early to untangle this- there is just 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 to unpack here. Here's a few undeveloped thoughts:
- The fact that it was a right-wing outlet which broke the story, and that there is of yet no evidence of hypocrisy here, leads me to be more critical of the 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 than the 𝘰𝘶𝘵-𝘦𝘦 for now. If we were talking about someone from the left yanking the curtain on a known hate-preacher, that'd be a different thing entirely.
- At first blush, it kinda looks like this pastor would like to be more outwardly progressive than the rest of the sect, but has to dogwhistle about it instead of saying it outright, like some sort of odd inversion of the way bigots do when they think the space they're in wouldn't be accepting of their bigotry.
*𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵- D̷i̷d̷ ̷n̷o̷b̷o̷d̷y̷ ̷t̷e̷l̷l̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷"̷d̷r̷a̷g̷ ̷q̷u̷e̷e̷n̷"̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷a̷n̷ ̷o̷p̷t̷i̷o̷n̷,̷ ̷h̷o̷n̷e̷y̷?̷ ̷B̷e̷c̷a̷u̷s̷e̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷'̷r̷e̷ ̷n̷o̷t̷ ̷a̷c̷t̷u̷a̷l̷l̷y̷ ̷a̷ ̷w̷o̷m̷a̷n̷,̷ ̷t̷h̷a̷t̷'̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷t̷e̷r̷m̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̷s̷h̷o̷u̷l̷d̷'̷v̷e̷ ̷b̷e̷e̷n̷ ̷u̷s̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷t̷o̷ ̷d̷e̷s̷c̷r̷i̷b̷e̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷r̷ ̷a̷l̷t̷e̷r̷ ̷e̷g̷o̷.̷.̷.̷ ̷b̷u̷t̷ ̷i̷f̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷'̷v̷e̷ ̷l̷i̷v̷e̷d̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷r̷ ̷w̷h̷o̷l̷e̷ ̷l̷i̷f̷e̷ ̷i̷n̷ ̷a̷ ̷r̷i̷g̷h̷t̷-̷l̷e̷a̷n̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷c̷h̷u̷r̷c̷h̷y̷ ̷b̷u̷b̷b̷l̷e̷,̷ ̷m̷a̷y̷b̷e̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̷d̷i̷d̷n̷'̷t̷ ̷r̷e̷a̷l̷i̷z̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷ ̷w̷a̷s̷ ̷a̷ ̷d̷i̷f̷f̷e̷r̷e̷n̷c̷e̷?̷ ̷O̷r̷ ̷m̷a̷y̷b̷e̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷r̷e̷'̷s̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷e̷l̷s̷e̷ ̷g̷o̷i̷n̷g̷ ̷o̷n̷?̷
- I hope you checked your pockets after meeting Chump.
*𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵- More data, indeed. Whether Pastor Copeland was a drag queen or a trans woman doesn't really matter, now, does it? I don't think it really even matters what his sermons were about, at this point. All 1819 News cared about is that a person dared to wear the wrong article of clothing with the wrong naughtybits, and that to their minds was sufficient cause to destroy a life. He's just another victim of the Nat-C culture war, now- and proof of their true intentions. This is the outcome they 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥, when they ran that story. Full stop.
I lean toward that he's playing with zir real self instead of the self he thinks is *supposed* to be his real self. As Ben and PaineDuMonde said upthread, he's walking as close to the coffin (closet) door as he dared. I expect ze's working toward giving zirself permission to be the woman ze feels zirself to be. As tough as the next few months/years are going to be, it may be one of the best things that ever happened to ze.
I still remember when I came out to myself deciding to try being gay for a week, not do anything about it, just give myself permission to think of myself that way. It didn't take a week for me to realize this was the *real* me. It still took nearly two months to tell anyone. The one person I was virtually certain would accept it and I was still terrified.
Yeah... the more I look at what's there, the more I get that vibe. That photo doesn't really scream "drag persona" to me- then again, if what we've got to go on are his word, or that of the outlet that did the outing... he says he's a he, then that's that until he says otherwise. That's a basic courtesy I'd afford even the most vile slime (although I'd have plenty of other 𝘧𝘢𝘳 less courteous things to say, as well).
H o w e v e r . . . "it's just for fun" as a cover story is something very, very familiar to me. One of 𝘵𝘩𝘦 ways I explored myself before I ever dared to give voice to what I was feeling was to roll up a female character in a favorite game and just live vicariously through her for a while. Pre-selected list of excuses and handwaves loaded up and ready to go, and everything, just in case I raised any eyebrows. I was doing that shit before I even figured out 𝘸𝘩𝘺 I was doing it.
If someone close to me 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸, during that time- someone who I could trust to help me with clothes, makeup, etc... yeah, I think I probably 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 have had a second self on social media (I 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 have had people like that, if I hadn't had my head too far up my own ass to realize the blindingly obvious, but that's a whole other story). I'd 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 have probably backpedaled pretty hard if certain 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 people then found out about it. I was, and am, in 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 more welcoming circumstances than I'd have been at the head of a Baptist congregation in Alabama, and I'm 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 not out to everyone in my life because it doesn't feel safe to take that last step yet. So there's that.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘵... without at least a 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 more information, it feels a little too much like projection, to me, to just say "yeah, (s)he just got scared deeper into the closet" and conclude that I've cracked the case.
I am assuming that the conservative staff member of 1819 who accidentally stumbled upon the racy Instagram account of “Transitioning Transgender Curvy Girl” only did it because he was thoroughly investigating how woke culture was destroying the traditional family unit, and for no other reason. He had absolutely no other reason to be cruising transgender Instagram accounts other that to research how evil they were. And he didn't want to corrupt the other staffers, and that's why he did it late at night, and why the door to his office was lock. He also had a cold, which would explain the amount of tissues. And he had dry skin, which explains the hand cream.
Once again, I must thank Hemant for a balanced account of the situation.
The general evidence is that neither the Pastor nor his church has taken anti-LGBT positions. That's unique, considering where his parish is located.
So, while I can be one of the harshest judges of church follies and foibles, give Bubba a pass. He could help with change more than the joy of punishment.
If he’s not damning LGBT people, it’s fine. But I’m not sure that cosplaying a transitioning transgender person is really all that great. Be a cross dresser, that has a long and distinguished history. There’s just something about pretending to be transgender that puts me off, they’ve been demonized so much, and even murdered for being transgender that it gives me the ick. I’m not condemning him, or trying to shame him or anything, but maybe he should think twice about that aspect of what he’s doing if he’s not really transgender. And I’m willing to hear an argument from transgender folks who don’t agree with my take. I’m open to being wrong about it.
The rest of it, he doesn’t deserve to be scrutinized negatively just for dressing as a woman. I dressed up as Ursula for Halloween, it’s just fun to step outside our selves for a while. I’ve dressed as a man on occasion.
I'm honestly willing to give him the benefit of the doubt until we have more information. If he grew up in small-town Alabama, it's not as if that cultural context would've provided much in the way of guidance on the dos and don'ts of navigating queer identities (I mean, sure, there's the internet... but if you don't even know where to start looking?). It's worth noting that many people cycle through multiple different labels until they find one that fits, especially if they've had to do it without any kind of supportive community... and having an alter ego who's out on the internet when you can't be in the real world isn't exactly unheard of, either.
*𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘱*
*𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘱*
*𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵- The fucking leopards won.
“𝐽𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑚𝑦 𝑤𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑖𝑡,” 𝐶𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑.
NOT NO MO'!!!
One of the problems with managing a large group of people using fear is that you have to keep that fear going. It needs new targets regularly or it starts to fizzle; living your life afraid all the time takes a lot of energy, and if people have time to stop and think they might start wondering what they were afraid of. Can't have that!
I may well be wrong, but looking at this, what I see is an attempt to keep that fear going. Sure, it's reprehensible and a cheap shot, but that's not the sort of thing that stops some people. What I see is a desperate attempt at "Look! Look! It's even in CHURCHES now!" to try and keep the sheeple in line, because for me, the news over the last month or so has been pretty close to the "All Israel, all the time" channel. (Yes, the war in Israel/Gaza is important, and yes, I want updates. But some of the news has been more than a shade lackluster, and for a while it was all the news talked about for the whole program.) This pastor probably doesn't deserve it, from what I've seen, but he'll wind up suffering for it anyway; if he gets lucky he'll land on his feet so to speak.
They believe their god created the whole entire fucking universe and everything that has ever existed since forever...and they also believe that this same all powerful being gives a rat's ass about some guy's private eccentric wardrobe choices. SMH.
So long as the person isn't hurting LGBTQ people, I don't particularly care what he does in his spare time and neither should anyone else.
I suppose the folks in his church might want to talk about whatever erotica he wrote and if it violated their church's teachings, but that's for them to decide.