Knoxville Unitarian church murders now being investigated as HATE CRIME

[Bluebear]

Jim Adkisson, 58, was charged with first-degree murder after Sunday's shooting at the Knoxville church.

The gunman's motive is not yet known. The church, like many other Unitarian Universalist churches, promotes progressive social work, such as desegregation and fighting for the rights of women and gays. The Knoxville congregation has provided sanctuary for political refugees, fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, according to its Web site.

Kemper said the gunman shouted before he opened fire.

"It was hateful words. He was saying hateful things," she said, but refused to elaborate.

The FBI was assisting in the case in case it turns out be a hate crime, Police Chief Sterling Owen said. Police were taking statements from witnesses and collecting video cameras from church members who taped the performance.

There were about 200 people watching a performance by 25 children based on the musical "Annie" when the shooting took place.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/church_shooting
...

[Fed_Up_Grammy]

1. Man,that is one really weird looking dude! The hate shows in his face.

[stevedeshazer]

2. This is really tragic.

Words fail me.

[Cheap_Trick]

3. typical right-wing douchebag

scum-sucking piece of shit. I wonder what his "handle" was at freerepublic? freeptard_primus?

[Initech]

4. Damn it, shit like this pisses me off.

I hope this piece of shit gets what's coming to him.

[saltpoint]

5. Yes. I need to hear some more basic information, but I hope

against hope that it wasn't a case of some guy objecting to the UU church's liberal views on society and politics.

I don't have all the information, but my initial impression is with yours -- it angers me when/if this guy is trying to punish the UU congregation for exercising its Constituional liberty of choosing where and how to worship.

[miles 2 go]

24. I think I heard them say something about gays.

I don't know if the news actually said that but I think that is where I got it from.

[Clark2008]

33. It was because he objected to their liberal views

The man who is accused of Sunday's church shooting was described today by a long-time acquaintance as a loner who hates "blacks, gays and anyone different from him.''

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/woman-accused-shooter-hated-anyone-different-him/ (registration required)

I live in Knoxville. I can't wait to hear the local hate merchant's take on this shooting this afternoon - since they constantly bait conservatives into doing this very thing. :grr:

[napoleon_in_rags]

6. Kicked and rec'd for the rights of all.

Including God's queer and female children.

[southerncrone]

7. When I first read about this shooting this afternoon, I told my daughter

it would probably be some fundie upset over G&L issues, women's issues or some other "liberal" cause.

Though I've lived here all of my life, I'm ready to leave Tennessee. The fundie factor is too great these days. In times past, they stayed in their churches & pretty much left most people alone....not now....they are "in your face" & pushy with THEIR beliefs, as if they are the only "correct" ones.

[Pushed To The Left]

8. If this turns out to be a hate crime, the religious right has blood on their hands

I can respectfully disagree with people with differing political views, but I find some members of the religious right to be downright evil. If this was a hate crime, then this man committed an act of religious terrorism and should be treated no differently than a terrorist from Al Quaeda.

[Sanctified]

10. It's being reported that the guy had a beef with Christians and the Bible.

I highly doubt he was part of the religious right, maybe part of the far right but definitely not the religious.

[uppityperson]

11. So he shot up a UU church? Boy did he have his religions mixed up.

Sounds like he took it out on the wrong group.

[Sanctified]

12. Or he could hate all religions.

Most people I know who have anger in their hearts for Christians hold the same distaste for Jews, Muslims, Buddhists or anyone who participates in Organized religion.

[uppityperson]

13. I call UU the least organized organized religion there is. You don't have to believe in anything,

just in thinking about things. And potluck meetings. While this was not remotely amusing in any way, the thought of hating religions and therefor shooting up a UU meeting is funny in a very ironic way. Sounds like a rightwing nasty person who hates people helping each other or working toward equality.

[Sanctified]

15. The UU my mom attends is very spiritual and pretty heavy on the Creator stuff...

Not a lot about God and Jesus Christ although they do get some mention along with other deities.

[intheflow]

16. You do have to believe some basic stuff to be a UU.

You can't believe in torture, for instance. You can't believe it's okay to be bigoted. People always say UUs don't have to believe in anything, but they have to believe in the inherent dignity of all people and the planet. I know that's not what you meant, but unfortunately, what a lot of conservatives "hear" when they hear meme is that that UUs live perverted, immoral, hedonistic, seditious lives. :eyes:

Sorry to tangent-out on you, my friend. It's just that particular statement about UUs always gets me riled.

[uppityperson]

17. Good and thank you. I guess I take that for granted but others don't.

I mean you are not forced to believe in Jesus, the resurrection, the Bible, Buddha, reincarnation, hell or heaven or any of the trappings.

I'd like to try some of that perverted, immoral, hedonistic, seditious lifestyle stuff but am stuck with plain old librul with low moral value stuff. Oh well. Carry on.

Edited to add that I can see why some people would get upset at those who support the inherent dignity of all people and the planet. Very sad that they would.

[TommyO]

30. Not entirely true. There are principles that all UUs ascribe to

such as the inherent dignity and worth of every human being among others.

http://www.uua.org/visitors/6798.shtml for more info.

[uppityperson]

31. That is true. See my reply right above your post (to intheflow I think)

Other than that, which I take for granted, you don't have to believe in any particular prophet or god/God/goddess/Goddess/Gods/FSM/etc. That is what I meant in my poorly worded reply.

[TommyO]

37. right above, but many hours earlier.

I tend to read the threads and respond before seeing if anybody else has responded the way I would have.

[marshall]

38. He's obviously not a rocket scientist

He probably just saw a house of worship and didn't think beyond that. Crazies like that don't care about denomination.

[uppityperson]

42. Reading more about him today, he hated liberals, hated people who

are open minded and helping each other. What a crazy person.

[marshall]

43. Makes sense he would target a church

Where people are meeting together to support each other in their faith.

[Sparkly]

36. I heard on teevee this morning that he hated -- HATED -- "Liberals."

Sounds more like it -- and I'm glad it's seen as a hate crime!

[EFerrari]

9. That's so depressing.

[cyclezealot]

14. We are Unitarian

Worst thing ever happened in our Church( in the outback of Oregon) ; during our service the Fundie 's would enter our foyer and take pamphlets they disapproved . We had to post someone in the foyer to stop their practices. Never would I have expected this. The Unitarians were instrumental in the White Rose insurrection against Hitler. Unitarians for their free spirit are disliked in free socities everywhere; whether they be right wing Nazi or Communist. ( Romania.) THis some how is not a surprise.

[geomon666]

18. Man, looks like somebody got their ass whipped.

And deservedly so.

[VOX]

19. Neighbor says shooter described himself as a "Confederate" and a "believer in the old South."

And "self-identified in this way to her on more than one occasion." That would would certainly be the first step in keeping with a hate-crime scenario.

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=61322&catid=2
This story is wbir.com's coverage of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church shooting on the day it happened. The time-stamped story includes how events unfolded and when details became available on mass shooting.10:30 pm

A neighbor told 10News Adkisson described himself as a "Confederate" and a "believer in the old South." She says Adkisson , but that she didn't know what he meant by it.

[Bluebear]

20. Charming.

:eyes:

[bronxiteforever]

23. If he is a Confederate I say invoke the enemy combatant status and ship him to GitMo

Water Boarding isn't torture-the President says so

[johnfunk]

26. DOMESTIC TERRORIST -- there is no other term for him

From WBIR's web site:

A neighbor told 10News Adkisson described himself as a "Confederate" and a "believer in the old South." She says Adkisson self-identified in this way to her on more than one occasion, but that she didn't know what he meant by it.

A "Confederate" and "believer in the old South." In other words, he hates the United States of America.

Is it too goddamn hard for anyone in the media to
say he's a "domestic terrorist"?

[BR_Parkway]

27. Of course it is - he's not dark skinned enough to be a "terrorist"

If they were to admit that what he's done is no different - they might have to look at their own attitudes and beliefs. And they'd really have something to be terrorized about once they realized they had more in common than in different with those scary "others"

[ikojo]

21. Demonstrating that fundamentalist

Christian love for all of the creator's children.

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Duppers]

28. WTF???!!! "Hopefully not a DUer..."

You really think someone posting on DU would be this fucking insane and ignorant???!!!!

:wtf:

[Duer 157099]

22. Maybe he had a beef with somebody who attended there?

That would be my first thought, that it was personal and he knew where to find the person. Why does it have to be against a religion, just because it's in a church?

And who believes the nonsense that "neighbors" tell about their neighbors - I can only imagine what some of my neighbors might say about me! Most of my neighbors are totally clueless and would be pulling pure bullshit out of their asses if asked anything about me. I often think this is what most of these comments are, when things like this happen.

[raccoon]

29. I wish we could find out what "hateful things" he was saying. If anybody hears, please post. nt

[entanglement]

34. Adkisson hates "blacks, gays and anyone different from him"

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/jul/28/woman-accused-shooter-hated-anyone-different-him/

Also threatened to 'blow his (ex-) wife's head off' when their marriage went awry.

No surprises there.

[nam78_two]

32. As it should be.nt

[Two Americas]

35. from NPR

Just heard a few minutes ago on NPR - brief, sketchy, vague as always - that the gunman was after "liberals." Sorry I don't have more information than that.

[Bluebear]

39. Ah, a real "Patriot", no doubt egged on by Limbaugh, Coulter etc.

[Two Americas]

40. if so

If he did in fact say that he was after liberals, as NPR said he did, that is going to have some significant political ramifications.

[Two Americas]

41. confirmation

Police: Killer targeted church for liberal views

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - An unemployed man accused of opening fire with a shotgun and killing two people at a Unitarian church apparently targeted the congregation out of hatred for its liberal social policies, police said Monday.

Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said a letter had been been recovered from the SUV of Jim D. Adkisson, 58, by investigators seeking clues about the motive behind the attack. Authorities said he was an apparent stranger to the Tennessee church where gunfire punctuated a children's performance based on the musical "Annie." Two people were killed and seven wounded Sunday.

"It appears that what brought him to this horrible event was his lack of being able to obtain a job, his frustration over that and his stated hatred of the liberal movement," Owen said at a news conference.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25872864/