Sometimes, I make fun of Unitarians. I have many Unitarian Universalists in my family, and have more or less grown up on the fringes of UU culture. My father, step-mother, and sisters are deeply committed Unitarians and have been active in the society for years. My father’s memorial service was held at the Unitarian church where he, uh, didn’t quite worship but did sing enthusiastically. The Unitarians have a long history of commitment to social justice, of commitment to radical inclusion, of commitment to interfaith dialogue. Above all, they are the best and kindest of universalists, sure that in the end, the ocean refuses no river. I honor them for that.
Yesterday, a gunman opened fire at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville. Two church members were killed before the deranged gunman was tackled and taken into custody. One of the two dead parishioners stood in the path of the attacker’s shotgun, protecting others with his body.
Today’s reports reveal that the assailant targeted the Unitarians for their liberal views.
One of my regular readers — and a Facebook friend — is Sarah, a student at Tennessee and a member of the church. She was not there yesterday, and is well, though badly shaken. She and all her community are in my thoughts and prayers.
An RJ Eskow op-ed at the Huffington Post today puts the blame squarely on the religious right:
Jim Adkisson of Powell, Tennessee was the man with his finger on the trigger. He had mental health problems, and a hard and bitter life. He apparently left a letter explaining that he hated the church for its liberal beliefs and opinions. And the church had a sign outside indicating it welcomed gays and lesbians.
Who really killed those Unitarians? Was it the preachers who spread hatred and intolerance? The politicians who court and flatter them instead of condemning their hate speech? The media machine that attacks liberals, calls them “traitors” and suggests you speak to them “with a baseball bat”? The economic system that batters people like Jim Adkisson until they snap, then tells them their real enemies are gays and liberals and secular humanists?
If you ask me, it was all of the above.
You killed them, Pat Robertson. You killed them, Pastor Hagee. You killed them, Ann Coulter. You killed them, Dick Morris and Sean Hannity and the rest of you at Fox News.
Ouch. Is Eskow’s case fair? At least in part, yes. I’m not willing to absolve Jim Adkisson of personal responsibility for what he did. But when we make the case, as some right-wing pastors have done, that God has withdrawn his favor from America because of liberalism’s perceived (and much exaggerated) cultural victory, then we imply (or state explicitly) that liberalism is to blame for economic downturns, housing crises, high gas prices and hurricanes. It’s one thing to say “My opponents are wrong”, another altogether to say to the poor and downtrodden that the suffering they are enduring is a direct consequence of divine wrath at theological liberalism and a willingness to embrace gays and lesbians. I don’t know if Dick Morris has made that odious suggestion, but pastors Hagee and Robertson certainly have.
I blog in very strong terms against pornography. I am careful, however, never to villify pornographers. If, say, an unstable reader of mine saw me attacking porn producers by name, or suggesting that porn producers were responsible for all harm that ever came to women and then that student went and shot up an adult industry production set, I would be devastated. I would certainly look very carefully at my own words as a result. I get very angry at those who experiment on animals; if a reader of mine murdered a vivisectionist, I would be quick to do some serious soul-searching to see if I had, in any way, sent the message that direct and violent action was the only way to cope with the problem.
Those of us who speak publicly or prophetically have a moral obligation to think about how the least balanced of our students, the least well-equipped of our followers, the least stable of our adherents might respond to what it is we say in anger. That doesn’t mean never speaking out against what we regard as sinful or destructive. I’m still going to lament the grave harm done by vivisection, factory farming, and the adult entertainiment industry. But I’m reminded by this incident of the challenge to be grace-filled, and of the challenge to avoid causing others to stumble. Someone — or a whole lot of someones — convinced Jim Adkisson that liberal Unitarians were deserving not only of his wrath, but of destruction. Though the legal punishment should fall on Adkisson alone, the moral culpability for his action is, I think, far more widely shared.
Today, I am a Unitarian.
Thank you for your kind words, Hugo. This has truly devastated our communities.
Karen Rayne
Lifelong UU
I’m writing this as my father reads his “Culture Wars” newsletter. As a former fundamentalist, I can personally attest that, sadly, RJ Eskow isn’t far off the mark.
Thanks for your kind words for my family’s congregation, Hugo. Although I didn’t really know any of the injured I grew up in that church. By various quirks my father wasn’t there that day (the first time in years he missed when he wasn’t ill) and because my mother and sister were late arriving in town neither they, nor my brother, nor most of my nephews and nieces would have gone either.
They’re all rattled as can be.
The specific chain of events that brought Jim Adkisson to the TVUC sanctuary was a recent decision to erect a sign specifically welcoming LGBT people into the congregation. That choice evidently set off a firestorm in the local right-wing community with the specific church and its location named repeatedly on right-wing and evangelical radio. The gunman, already looking for someone to take out his rage on, evidently took the path of local least resistance.
At any rate, while I’m not sure it’s even worth assigning blame, it’s not likely that Jim Adkisson would have driven the ten miles from his exurban hovel to my family’s church if he hadn’t learned what he needed about where to go on the radio.
The family members I’ve spoken to are pretty shaken up even though they weren’t there, and maybe a little *because* they weren’t. And if so then I think I know how they feel. I dunno. Pretty tragic all around.
figleaf
I hadn’t known that there had been specifics about the church on right-wing talk radio, figleaf. I’m just flabbergasted.
My best to you and your family, and to all the UUs out there.
Thank you for your kind and wise words. I’m still not at a place were I can really write about what happened beyond my near-miss time-line and how wonderful Greg was. Things still feel shaken up. I still feel like I’m in “help everyone” mode since I escaped the trauma and want to be there for my friends who didn’t. Learning about the motives today gave the whole thing a whole new frightening level that I know is going to be felt long after the bare facts of the tragedy wear off. I don’t think I’ll really know how I feel until Greg is buried. But thank you again for all your thoughts and wisdom for the people at Westside and TVUUC. We need these words. ((((hugs))))
Anger seems an appropriate response to this tragedy. It seems it could have been prevented. But controlled anger, always. I am no longer a religious person, but I miss the ability to pray right now. A burning candle will have to speak for me, and for all who are suffering as a result of this event. And thanks to you for your level response.
When an environmentalist commits an act of terrorism, I certainly hope you don’t dismiss all of environmentalism, as you seem to be willing to dismiss all of conservatism here.
“…you seem to be willing to dismiss all of conservatism here.”
All?
That’s just plain dishonest.
The headlines about this man indicate that he was “Angry at Liberals,” indirectly (but perhaps intentionally) maligning anyone who calls herself or himself a conservative. This very post seems to endorse the idea that we should blame Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity or the Fox News Channel for the actions of a lunatic. Even if some of these commentators hold anti-gay positions — positions with which I strongly disagree, by the way — they aren’t saying to shoot Unitarians or homosexuals or anyone else. Eric Rudolph bombs the 1996 Summer Olympics, and so people point a finger at…Rush Limbaugh? It’s quite a leap.
It’s not a leap at all.
If a propaganda machine is working full time, knowingly spreading misinformation (for example, the Jews are to blame for all societies hardships), and then systematic oppression begins with the complicit help of half the population, those who spread the message are guilty.
Your words mean something. You can’t pretend like they don’t.
That’s why hate speech is illegal.
Start paying attention. It isn’t just innocent “disagreement of opinion” that’s playing on cable news, it’s willful aggression.
It’s sometimes hard to be a Unitarian Universalist here in the South–usually we are the target of theological bullet points slung by people sincerely concerned for our spiritual welfare. Our children are told by classmates–and sometimes by guest speakers at public schools–that they’re going to burn eternally.
Sometimes we get a little nervous wingnuts like the Phelps Klan or extreme Right-to-Life activists come to town to import havoc, or worse, as in the murders committed by PCA minister Paul Hill. But we know they don’t represent the vast majority of decent, traditional Christians.
Don’t y’all just wish that everyone made more of an effort to imitate Jesus, rather than pass ill-informed judgments in His name.
I appreciate this posting and also the link to Purple State of Mind. Listening and working to to understand should become before judging and condemning.
Knoxville folks, my deepest condolences to all. I sure hope that this tragedy has encouraged local hate-media to show a little love.
Good grief, Mike. What news outlet or pundit has said anything on a par with “the Jews are the source of all the world’s problems”? We were discussing national news pundits here, not your ignorant next-door neighbor. Try not to get lost here, Mike.
Your article is a breath of fresh air. I couldn’t agree with you more.
As a Jewish UU, I was shaken to the core when I heard of last week’s shooting. What compounded the shock and pain was the lack of coverage it received on Fox, CNN and MSNBC. It was mentioned less than the 44 pound cat or Brittney Spears child custody court date. I couldn’t help but think, “If this were a liberal guy saying he hated conservatives” this would be all over the papers and news shows all day long.”
My heart goes out to the victims and their families, and to the congregation members who witnessed this horrific crime. It also goes out to liberals everywhere who have been victimized by yet another terrorist domestic hate crime, spurred by anti-liberal propaganda. As UUs, as liberals, and as decent people, we stand together to say, “We shall overcome.”
Let me try again again (this didn’t post the first time).
“The headlines about this man indicate that he was “Angry at Liberals,” indirectly (but perhaps
intentionally) maligning anyone who calls herself or himself a conservative.”
“Angry at Liberals?” And from that - your own interpretation, I might add - you get “all
conservatives.” That’s more dishonesty. It should be “One Guy Angry at Some Liberals.”
“This very post seems to endorse the idea that we should blame Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity or
the Fox News Channel for the actions of a lunatic.”
Hugo explicitly says “in part.” You should have added Michael Savage and Bill O’Reilly to your
list of influences on this One Guy - see the Firedoglake link below.
“…they aren’t saying to shoot Unitarians or homosexuals or anyone else.”
Perhaps not using those precise words. But there’s some very harsh eliminationist language coming
from many popular and influential conservative commentators.
“It’s quite a leap.”
That’s a perfect description of your reasoning.
Please read the following links and educate yourself. If you cannot see that there is a deep and
profound evil that infests the conservative movement, then there is no hope for you. Perhaps you
are part of the problem.
(I’ll split this into a couple posts - maybe my post was rejected for too many links)
Let Us Hate What Is Evil
http://www.streetprophets.com/story/2008/7/28/221528/608
OK, i’m a little ticked off about the formatting…one more try.
Let me try again again (this didn’t post the first time).
“The headlines about this man indicate that he was “Angry at Liberals,” indirectly (but perhaps intentionally) maligning anyone who calls herself or himself a conservative.”
“Angry at Liberals?” And from that - your own interpretation, I might add - you get “all conservatives.” That’s more dishonesty. It should be “One Guy Angry at Some Liberals.”
“This very post seems to endorse the idea that we should blame Ann Coulter and Sean Hannity or the Fox News Channel for the actions of a lunatic.”
Hugo explicitly says “in part.” You should have added Michael Savage and Bill O’Reilly to your list of influences on this One Guy - see the Firedoglake link below.
“…they aren’t saying to shoot Unitarians or homosexuals or anyone else.”
Perhaps not using those precise words. But there’s some very harsh eliminationist language coming from many popular and influential conservative commentators.
“It’s quite a leap.”
That’s a perfect description of your reasoning.
Please read the following links and educate yourself. If you cannot see that there is a deep and profound evil that infests the conservative movement, then there is no hope for you. Perhaps you are part of the problem.
(I’ll split this into a couple posts - maybe my post was rejected for too many links)
Let Us Hate What Is Evil
http://www.streetprophets.com/story/2008/7/28/221528/608
Hey Hugo…do you allow only one link?
I’m not giving up. This bmmg39 guy needs a few clues.
Of Madmen and Martyrs
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2008/07/of-madmen-and-martyrs.html
Ok, we’ll do this just one link/clue at a time.
Eliminationism in America: I
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/2006/12/eliminationism-in-america-i.html
(I’m tempted to do all ten parts of this series, one link at a time)
Next…
Knoxville Update: ‘All Liberals Should Be Killed’
http://firedoglake.com/2008/07/28/knoxville-update-all-liberals-should-be-killed/
OK, I think this is it.
http://www.hatehurtsamerica.org/
bmmg39, if you’d like some more education all you have to do is respond in the way you’ve done before and continue making yourself look like a foolish and ignorant bigot.
Geez, Grupetti. I’ve been asking for evidence that Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh and people like that have suggested that liberals/gays/lesbians/Democrats be brutally murdered, and so far all you’ve provided is a list of blogs by people who tend to agree with you.
Now, Michael Savage I’ll grant you. I’m more likely to listen to NPR than I am the conservative talk-show hosts, but I have been appalled by the things I’ve heard Savage say the few times I tuned in (though I doubt he told his listeners to kill Unitarians or liberals). I certainly don’t support “jokes” about killing liberals, but just replace the word “liberals” with the word “conservatives” or “neocons” or “lawyers” or “men” and you’ll likely find the same jokes, somewhere…
“bmmg39, if you’d like some more education all you have to do is respond in the way you’ve done before and continue making yourself look like a foolish and ignorant bigot.”
Nope, not sure why you’re now accusing me of bigotry, when I’m clearly on the side of people getting along and settling their disputes in a peaceful manner. I’m no acolyte of any particular talk-show host, but throwing around names as accomplices to murder without being able to provide any justification is libel, and, well, a rather bigoted thing to do.