There ain't no hate quite like Christian love

Bubba Copeland, his family, and his community deserved better than to see him hounded to the point where he felt he had no option but to take his life

I can tell you a majority of the people here loved Mayor Copeland and wish he was still here

• Larry DiChiara

We live in a mean, bitter world where the self-righteous tend to throw the largest stones and the [1819 News] is the perfect example.

• Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL)

Mayor F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, 49, of Smiths Station in east Alabama, was by all accounts a good person. A loving and caring man, Copeland wore many hats in Smith Station, a community he loved and that loved him in return.

In addition to being the Mayor of Smiths Station, he was also the Pastor of the First Baptist Church. He served his church, city, and community, and you’d have to cast a wide net to find anyone in Smiths Station with a negative opinion of Copeland.

But there was a side to Bubba Copeland that no one knew about…one that shouldn’t have made a difference to anyone. Unfortunately, it did to a hard-right news blog in Alabama called 1819 News.

A small Alabama town has expressed grief and outrage at the death of a beloved mayor who died by suicide after facing intense online harassment when images of him dressed in women’s clothing and wigs were published by a far-right website.

Mayor FL “Bubba” Copeland, 49, of Smiths Station in east Alabama, killed himself on 3 November. At the time, local police were attempting to perform a wellness check on him, the Lee county sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“We lost a good man in a very senseless and tragic way. The community is all broken up about it,” Larry DiChiara, the former superintendent of Phenix City schools who has known Copeland for almost 20 years, said, adding: “He’s a hard man to replace.”

Here in the deep-blue Willamette Valley in Oregon, it’s unlikely many would’ve thought Copeland’s off-duty activities to be a matter of concern. Unusual, to be sure, but whatever gets you through the night.

But this is blood-red Alabama we’re talking about, and when outed, Copeland feared the worst…because he knew the sort of cruelty Conservatives in the Yellowhammer State are capable of.

Prior to his death, many had grown concerned for Copeland’s wellbeing after the hard-right website 1819 News in Alabama shared images of Copeland wearing makeup and dressed as a woman as well as excerpts of erotic fiction Copeland had written.

The 1819 News site also published screenshots of social media accounts used by Copeland, in which Copeland described himself as a transgender woman. Copeland, who is married to a woman and has children, confirmed that he ran the accounts, but said that he dressed up as a hobby to release stress.

Copeland specifically asked 1819 News not to publish such information.

What purpose did 1819 News think there was to be served by publishing information about Copeland that had nothing to do with his political or church jobs? He was harming no one, and few people, if anyone, knew about Copeland’s hobby.

Was 1819 News trying to shame and embarrass Copeland? What did the editorial staff (assuming it was more than a one-person operation) think would happen? Even though they can hide behind the 1st Amendment, what 1819 News did to Bubba Copeland served no purpose. Frankly, it’s about the most despicable hit job I’ve seen from a “news” outlet in…almost forever.

During a worship service last Sunday, First Baptist church member David White shared remarks on the passing of Copeland, who was also the pastor there.

“Despite what may have been implied in the media, members of this church have been steadfast in their love and concern of their pastor,” White said, in a recording of the service.

“I know that my friend Bubba Copeland loved this church and its people,” he added.

Copeland was laid to rest three days ago and community members praised his “heart of gold”.

Bubba Copeland did nothing wrong. No accusations were laid against Copeland, merely the hit job done by 1819 News. It was a cheap attempt to embarrass and ruin a good man. And it worked; Copeland was ashamed and embarrassed and felt as if he’d be exposed as a pervert and less of a man in the eyes of those in his community. The online response to the report made life miserable for Copeland.

In the end, Bubba Copeland couldn’t live with that and the intense online harassment resulting from the 1819 News report. I haven’t seen or read any comments and don’t care to. I know how cruel people can be in situations like this, and it’s sickening that human beings can treat one another in such a despicable and thoroughly mean-spirited manner.

Prior to his death, many had grown concerned for Copeland’s wellbeing after the hard-right website 1819 News in Alabama shared images of Copeland wearing makeup and dressed as a woman as well as excerpts of erotic fiction Copeland had written.

The 1819 News site also published screenshots of social media accounts used by Copeland, in which Copeland described himself as a transgender woman. Copeland, who is married to a woman and has children, confirmed that he ran the accounts, but said that he dressed up as a hobby to release stress.

Copeland addressed the articles in his last sermon.

“I apologize for any embarrassment caused by my private and personal life,” Copeland said to the church’s congregation.

“I have nothing to be ashamed of. A lot of things were taken out of context,” he added.

Copeland was correct; he had nothing to be ashamed of. He’d harmed no one. All he’d done was color far outside the lines in a deeply Conservative society that doesn’t tolerate those who stray beyond those bounds. He was different, but his “different” didn’t harm others.

Perhaps the saddest aspect of this sorry saga is that in a state so thoroughly steeped in racism, homophobia, and transphobia, Bubba Copeland never engaged in any of those behaviors. There’s no record of him ever engaging in anti-LGBTQ behavior or voicing any sentiments that would’ve led anyone to believe he was anti-gay or anti-transgender.

There is no record of Copeland preaching any hypocritical, ani-LGBTQ+ messages, the Los Angeles Blade reported.

Community members described Copeland as an empathetic and dedicated leader.

The First Baptist church published a eulogy for Copeland, underscoring his long history of service in Lee county.

“[Above] all, beyond serving his church, city and community, Bubba loved spending time with his family,” the church said.

Former Alabama Democratic US senator Doug Jones praised Copeland’s leadership and friendship in a via X, formally known as Twitter.

“He was a good man and a great mayor who led the small town of Smith Station through the tough times of a devastating tornado a few years ago,” Jones said, referring to tornado in 2019 that killed 23 people in Lee county.

Copeland was also one of few officials who supported local Pride events, as Alabama continues to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, the Associated Press reported.

Chad Peacock, a former resident of Auburn, Alabama, told AP that he believed Alabama’s anti-LGBTQ+ environment played a role in Copeland’s death.

In Alabama, a state where anti-LGBTQ hate is nurtured and cared for like sourdough starter, Bubba Copeland was an exception to the rule. Where people hated, he loved. Where people harassed, he served. And where others destroyed, he built.

As the Pastor of a church in Alabama, he was notable for being that rare preacher who didn’t pitch anti-LGBTQ hate from the pulpit. Copeland was a good man who loved the people of his community…and those folks loved him in return.

Bubba Copeland was a family man, a preacher, and a mayor, and the order depended on when you caught him and what he was doing. So what if he liked to dress in women’s clothing and write erotic fiction? Perhaps it’s not what you or I might do to relieve stress, but if that worked for him, what of it? If no one was being harmed- which by all indications appears to be the case- why would anyone care what Copeland did in his spare time?

I like to read, write, work out, or perhaps play my guitar…because that’s what I enjoy doing to unwind. It was very different for Bubba Copeland, and that’s OK. It should’ve been no one’s damned business…until the knuckle-dragging cretins at 1819 News decided to make it everyone’s concern.

Neither they nor the imbeciles who felt they were within their right to harass Bubba Copeland will be held culpable for his suicide, but they deserve to be tried as accessories to murder. But, the 1st Amendment being what it is, they can all hide behind their free speech rights and proclaim that they did nothing wrong.

If you participate in harassment that ultimately drives a man to suicide, are you genuinely innocent?

Bubba Copeland, his family, and his community deserved better.

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