Alabama Mayor And Pastor F.L. "Bubba" Copeland Died By Suicide After His Social Media Accounts Are Exposed by Conservative Newsblog

[essentialsaltes]

The conservative news blog 1819 News published the social media accounts of F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, who was the mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama, and the pastor at First Baptist Church in Phenix City, where Copeland goes by Brittini Blaire Summerlin and refers to himself as a “Transitioning Transgender Curvy Girl.” Copeland posted on Reddit as his alter ego and had a private Instagram page, according to the news blog.

During a welfare check on Friday, Copeland shot himself in front of police, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

 

[RileyG]

How sad. It's always tragic when someone takes their own life.

 

[Landon Caeli]

They shouldn't have outed him like that. That's a little too sensitive of a topic.

A lot of people, similarly get blackmailed online, where someone coaxes them into sending private pictures, and then they threaten them for thousands of dollars... Those victims too, have been known to commit suicide.

High school football player Jordan DeMay driven to suicide after Nigerian sextortion scam, anguished family reveals

A Michigan family is sounding the alarm about sextortion scams in social media after three Nigerian men allegedly drove their 17-year-old son, a high school football player, to commit suicide.

nypost.com

 

[Pommer]

They shouldn't have outed him like that. That's a little too sensitive of a topic.

A lot of people, similarly get blackmailed online, where someone coaxes them into sending private pictures, and then they threaten them for thousands of dollars... Those victims too, have been known to commit suicide.

High school football player Jordan DeMay driven to suicide after Nigerian sextortion scam, anguished family reveals

A Michigan family is sounding the alarm about sextortion scams in social media after three Nigerian men allegedly drove their 17-year-old son, a high school football player, to commit suicide.

nypost.com

Maybe if society didn’t seek to shame people about what clothes (or lack thereof) they choose to wear in photographs we could nip this in the bud?

 

[Landon Caeli]

Maybe if society didn’t seek to shame people about what clothes (or lack thereof) they choose to wear in photographs we could nip this in the bud?

Yeah, but Bubba begged the blog not to publish the article. I think it should be considered sextortion.

 

[Pommer]

Yeah, but Bubba begged the blog not to publish the article. I think it should be considered sextortion.

Maybe a District Attorney will call a grand jury?
Probably not as it is a “free-speech” issue, but there’s the possibility.

[ @George95 why doesn’t a new line automatically capitalize the first letter?]

 

[friend of]

None of this would have happened if he didn't engage in perversion according to the bible.

 

[eleos1954]

None of this would have happened if he didn't engage in perversion according to the bible.

This is the truth. Do not mock God.

He had to be experiencing great inner turmoil ... sad circumstances ... may he rest in peace.

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

The conservative news blog 1819 News published the social media accounts of F.L. “Bubba” Copeland, who was the mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama, and the pastor at First Baptist Church in Phenix City, where Copeland goes by Brittini Blaire Summerlin and refers to himself as a “Transitioning Transgender Curvy Girl.” Copeland posted on Reddit as his alter ego and had a private Instagram page, according to the news blog.

During a welfare check on Friday, Copeland shot himself in front of police, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

It's sad that he took his life instead of turn to GOD for help to get through this, especially as a pastor.

Some are more resilient and for a longer time to cognitive dissonance than others.

 

[Larniavc]

None of this would have happened if he didn't engage in perversion according to the bible.

Or the blogger's kept their bullying noses out of someone's business. They should be charged for cyber bullying.

But your compassion is noted.

 

[Larniavc]

The blame here lies purely with the bloggers. Without their intrusion into this man's life he would still be alive.

 

[RestoreTheJoy]

Or the blogger's kept their bullying noses out of someone's business. They should be charged for cyber bullying.

But your compassion is noted.

It was private business when he kept it PRIVATE. If someone were snooping with a camera at his home, peering through his bushes into a window, you would have a point. Once he put it out on the internet, it is NOT PRIVATE. Had he refrained from doing so, this may be actionable.

As my parents used to say, back when common sense reigned, "If you don't want to see it on the 6 o clock news, don't do it in public."

 

[Pommer]

The blame here lies purely with the bloggers. Without their intrusion into this man's life he would still be alive.

While I can agree that the ethics of the bloggers are suspect, Mister Copeland did post pictures of himself in drag and was very visible and thought himself “safe” from prying eyes. He killed himself (from shame!?) after he found out that his secrets would be published.

 

[essentialsaltes]

While I can agree that the ethics of the bloggers are suspect, Mister Copeland did post pictures of himself in drag and was very visible and thought himself “safe” from prying eyes. He killed himself (from shame!?) after he found out that his secrets would be published.

He was comfortable revealing this side of himself to a limited audience, but not a general audience.

I've refrained (well, until now) from editorializing on the OP, but it seems to me that this story has relevance to the recent spate of changes at schools, forcing them to mandatorily report to the parents if a child is adopting a trans persona or forbidding schools from using a kid's preferred name if the parents object. Certainly parents are interested parties, but one of the (to me persuasive) arguments against these rules is that the student may find the school to be a comfortable environment, whereas home may not be. 'Outing' the child to the parents could have similar repercussions as in the OP. [Or the knowledge of it could keep children from feeling comfortable anywhere.]

 

[JustOneWay]

None of this would have happened if he didn't engage in perversion according to the bible.

Yep....he was a sinner, and if he hadn't been a sinner he might still be alive. It is strange how more of us don't kill ourselves for being sinners?

 

[Nithavela]

Yep....he was a sinner, and if he hadn't been a sinner he might still be alive. It is strange how more of us don't kill ourselves for being sinners?

Maybe y'all need a good public shaming for your sins.

 

[friend of]

Or the blogger's kept their bullying noses out of someone's business. They should be charged for cyber bullying.

But your compassion is noted.

If he killed himself because of what he was doing in secret, maybe he shouldn't have been living such a lifestyle. We are supposed to live in the light and not hide things in the darkness. We are also told to expose the unfruitful works of darkness where they may be. So you can't fault the bloggers for outing him, in order to warn fellow believers about the man. They aren't responsible for his overreaction of taking his life.

 

[Larniavc]

They aren't responsible for his overreaction of taking his life.

Yes they are. How is this different from kids who kill themselves because of cyber bullying?

 

[Desk trauma]

Yes they are. How is this different from kids who kill themselves because of cyber bullying?

Well I mean if the kids had just been normal they would not have been bullied…

 

[Landon Caeli]

We are also told to expose the unfruitful works of darkness where they may be. So you can't fault the bloggers for outing him, in order to warn fellow believers about the man.

I can't imagine Jesus standing in the center of town, knowing everyone's sins, and then pointing each individual out for their sins in front of an open crowd.

...That would never have happened.

So I can't agree that we're supposed to publicly expose people's sins as a kind of Christian duty.