anti-liberal hate crime in TN

[cimorene]

Gunman kills 2, injures 7 in Tennessee church. A 58-year-old liberal-hating (presumably) nutter in Tennessee entered a Unitarian Universalist church and shot nine people during a children's service. UUs are generally white and middle class, but it's a hippie sort of religion embracing all spriritual/religious beliefs including atheism, founded mostly on social and political liberalism. According to the article his motive is not known, so possibly it's random and not a hate crime, but that seems unlikely when a church is the target.

Comments

[dreamnnightmare.livejournal.com]

He wrote a 4-page letter that included a statement about how he hated the "liberal movement." In the US, most homicidal nuts seem to come from the political right. This is the second liberal church attacked in the past year. And remember when black churches were being burned?

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Ahhh. That information was not in the article I found. Of course, if he thinks there's a 'liberal movement' (aside from one that encompasses most of the government of most countries and started in the 18th century at the latest) he's just completely insane.

[cimness.livejournal.com]

Or alternatively, doesn't understand the word "movement", I suppose.

hate crimes in Tennessee

[indolentncrazy.livejournal.com]

There is a hint that it may not have been a hate crime only against liberals, but that it was specifically because UUs welcome the GLBT community. Why is it not being headlined as Terrorism in the USA?

Re: hate crimes in Tennessee

[cimness.livejournal.com]

It fits the core definition, but that's not the way "terrorism" is most often used. School shootings, for example, are not called terrorism, nor are church burnings. "Hate crime" fits popular usage more nearly.