The Knoxville UU church shooting in 2008 should've been the real wake-up call

[Rocknrule]

Loughner may not have had a smoking gun in the form of a Sarah Palin blow-up doll or a massive collection of Coulter/Hannity books, but Jim Adkisson sure did. If you recall this incident, Adkisson (the shooter) had written racist diatribes and claims that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining America. While the death toll in this incident was fortunately far lower than what it could've been, it proved to me that all the "kill those who disagree" rhetoric from the right does have an influence and does have consequences. If people had maybe learned that from the Knoxville incident, the Tuscon massacre may have been prevented.

Actually for that matter, Oklahoma City should've been the wake-up call.

[LiberalEsto]

1. America doesn't want to wake up

Besides, a lot of people have misconceptions about Unitarian Universalists (of which I'm one). Some accuse us of worshiping the devil, etc.

[GoneOffShore]

2. As a lapsed UU, I know it's the coffee that's really important.

Or has that changed and is it all chai now?

[WCGreen]

4. Endless talk with little action....

I was on the board of a UU church. Don't ever look under the hood of a church...

[GoneOffShore]

7. It's that whole "consensus" thing that stops most UU's

in their tracks.

And I don't mean to derail the thread.

I do agree with the OP.

[WCGreen]

10. I think that goes with out saying...

that should defiantly been the re-awakening...

I can't think of the last conservative political figure who was killed or maimed by a liberal...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

8. I think they still worship the coffeepot.

Not sure, haven't been in a while.
I live in Redneckistan where they cannot grasp the concept of UUism, let alone be around them. There are no liberal churches, let alone UUs, around here.

[Ichingcarpenter]

12. I think that your opinion on the UU doesn't justify a guy

killing so many people and saying he wanted to kill all
congressional democrats and listened to glen Beck.

I tried the UU back in the late 80s trying to find my religion
while losing my religion decades before.. I gave up on
organized religion.


That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no, I've said too much
I haven't said enough

[GoneOffShore]

13. I was trying to be a little light about UU's, not using my remark as

any sort of justification for the murders.

Nick ............
(The bit about the coffee.) "That's the funny part. "


Murray Burns ...........
"You missed the funny part, Leo."

[Ichingcarpenter]

17. Ok... inside joke...

but morbid

That killing did say so many things about the US
at that time.

[LiberalEsto]

14. I'm a lapsed coffee drinker

but I think it's the conversation that matters most. People are so busy and stretched so thin that having 45 minutes to chat with friends becomes precious.

[bobbolink]

19. The coffee you stole from Lutherans?? ^_^

"The communion wine is out in the open. The coffee is under lock and key." -- Lutheran pastor :hi:

[BeFree]

3. It was for me

I tried to dream that the RW was not f'n crazy. The UU shooting stopped that.

[dkf]

5. If loughner had shot up his school Obama wouldn't have been at a memorial.

If the UU shooting had been at a political rally, we would have had this discussion ages ago.

[newspeak]

16. maybe, but it was what they found at his house

Books by O'Lielly, Hannity--in my opinion, some of the great spewing ignorance and hate wing blowhards. The guy was out of a job, but it's not Little Boot's fault, it's not big business' fault--it's all liberals fault. See how much power we wield in this country? We single handedly made this man lose his job, started those wars in the ME, gave Little Boot's friends all those lucrative contracts, and shipped all of those jobs overseas. And we made sure that Reagan's gloriously plan of the greedy trickling all over the masses, especially on this guy, was not fulfilled. I tell ya, liberals are the most evil people, keeping those businesses from giving him a job and paying him below minimum wage while laboring in an unsafe environment.

[Initech]

6. And yet the only solution they've come up with is "words mean things'.

:eyes:

[bobbolink]

20. Exactly! Like telling gay kids, "It will get better". Empty, empty words.

[The Straight Story]

9. Solution - make it illegal to shoot others, surely if they obey one law they will another

:evilgrin:

[bengalherder]

11. Some here are downplaying the role of UU's to coffee and consensus.

As a pagan, I must congratulate the UU's for what they DO agree on. In the midwest they allow pagan groups to use their facilities. And I saw my first lecture by a Tibetan Buddhist nun at a UU facility in Decatur, IL.

UU may not be a paradise, but there are others who are grateful for the niche you create.

[LiberalEsto]

15. Same in Maryland

Lots of groups, including LGBT organizations, find that UU churches are good places to have meetings.
My husband used to attend meetings of the SEA Alliance, an anti-nuke group, in a UU church, so that's where we got married and, eventually, became UUs.

[toddaa]

22. An oasis in a desert of exclusion

It's fun to joke about UUer's coffee worship, but when you live in Palinville, it's nice to find a place of respite.

I'm a militant atheist and an unrepentant, cynical misanthrope. If they'll accept me, then they'll pretty much accept anyone.

Plus, I can't think of a single reason why coffee shouldn't be an acceptable alternative to God. Coffee does far more for me than any god ever did. Never underestimate the spiritual benefits of being alert and regular bowel movements.

[Maat]

24. I'm a UU, and you can be a Pagan and a UU!

Many are ... I'm more just generally earth-centered. Everyone in the congregation goes to Sunday Service, but only the Pagans go to the Pagan Circle meetings - that's the way it works.

My little UU church folded in this conservative heck-hole, and we became a discussion group (handling the non-profit corp. was just too much, and planning services, and ...).

So, I joined the online UU church, the Church of the Larger Fellowship.

We are each on our own special spiritual journey ... UUs bless that and encourage that. We focus on the community service, and advocating for justice, as I'm sure that all here know.

My friend was a member of that church in Tenn., TVUUC, and came out here and settled. One of his friends was injured in the shooting and hospitalized. He came out here, as I said, and joined ... TVUUC (the churches had the same initials).

I'm out in SoCal.

It was a wake-up call for me, but not so much for others.:-(

[JI7]

18. how about Tiller and the Racist who went to attack at the Jewish Museum/Center place and killed a

black guard ?

how about the girl who got stomped on at some Rand Paul event and the loser coward thug piece of shit said she should apologize to him ?

[Faryn Balyncd]

21. Absolutely...Adkisson's suicide manifesto was filled with the concepts and language of his books by

....Savage, O'Reilly and Hannity, which he had at home.


Yet the corporate media gave them a free pass, despite enormous evidence that their bombastic propaganda had played a very significant role in causing him to decide to kill as many "liberals as possible".

[newspeak]

23. since Little Boot's was in office

blowhards like Limpballs, Coulter have expressed publicly about doing away with liberals. I believe it's down right Hitleresque. I'm stating Hitleresque, because my great grandfather was German and a democratic socialist. He, along with unionists, communists and any liberal loving person would be on the "hit list."

So, when Coulter and Limpballs makes such dark statements, is that supposed to be "dark humor?" See, no one is really supposed to go out and kill liberals, just because we're blaming them for everything, even for repug mistakes. The perfect scapegoats.

[Kurovski]

25. The Republican Party continues to use these individuals as an important part of their constituency.

They've always been an important part.

The Democrats rejected the left-wing violence of the 60s. The repubs just continue to embrace violence as they have throughout history.

On the sly, with a Palin-esque wink, with dog whistle speeches, they continue on.