Shoot the Liberals: They Hate Us for Our Freedom

On Sunday a viable candidate for TNGOP poster boy walked into a Knoxville Unitarian Universalist congregation and opened fire on the fellowship with a 12-gauge shotgun, killing two and injuring seven. His justification? He hates liberals, a claim supported by his stash of books by right wingers like O'Reilly, Savage, and Hannity. With so many conservatives priming the hate-pump, it was a matter of time before one of its nuts came loose, and innocent people, including children, were forced into the line of fire.

In the aftermath, the local community has rallied to the UUs side:

Monday night Second Presbyterian hosted a big community candlelight vigil service for us to help us recover and to comfort and console us. That building was totally packed! There were people of all churches and no churches, from mosques and synagogues. Everybody was packed in essentially putting their arms around us. Our minister, [the Rev.] Chris Buice, said that there was a power in that room, and we really felt that. When [UUA President] Bill Sinkford said that our religion is about standing on the side of love and we’re not going to give that up, we really felt that, too.

We sang some classic UU hymns, and at the end the kids sprang up into the center aisle of the church at the front and sang “Tomorrow.” “The sun will come [out], tomorrow,” with bright faces, bright voices. We will never forget that. That was literally like sunshine. That was like life coming back at us. Those were the moments when we started back. We’re not back, but we’ve started back.

At a service of comfort [Tuesday] night, one UU said, “I’ve never been so proud to be a Knoxvillean,” and I would echo that. Knoxville showed us that there are a lot more good people than bad people.

This is the expression of freedom: even in the face of death they refuse to stop loving and caring for those whom others loath and spurn. The more hatred is fired at them, the more their cause is justified, and the more good people will come from the shadows to rally to their aid.