Media Misses That Man Who Killed Montana Deputy Was a Christian Fundamentalist
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2017/05/17/media-misses-that-man-who-killed-montana-deputy-was-a-christian-fundamentalist/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=Nonreligious&utm_content=44
Once again, there’s a mindless murder, and, once again, much of the media misses (or ignores) that the suspect in custody is a fundamentalist Christian. That’s not to say 61-year-old Lloyd Montier Barrus’ religion is what drove him to kill an officer during an otherwise routine traffic stop, but rather that his faith would be a primary subject of discussion if he were Muslim or atheist.
So, let’s take a look at his Facebook page, where he posted everything from Bible verses to confederate flags to praise of Donald Trump.
On May 6, Barrus mocked the idea that there could be more than two genders. That same day, he posted a seemingly threatening image of a man with a gun that says: “The Republic was not established by cowards and cowards will not preserve it.”
Barrus also posted a vaguely racist image of Hillary Clinton and a video declaring that “Our troops should be able to share the Bible anywhere!” The most chilling posts, however, are his pictures of an open Bible.
The mainstream media’s neglect here isn’t unusual. In April, I pointed out that the San Bernardino shooter who shot up a special needs classroom was actually an outspoken Christian pastor:
I searched through Cedric Anderson’s Facebook page, which is still public for the time being, and found some interesting references to God, religion, and guns that have been ignored by most reporters so far. Anderson’s last post, for instance, in response to the conviction of former L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca, said, “God heard our prayers!!!”
I also noted that a suspect who identified as an atheist was treated differently in a past case:
So what? It doesn’t matter what the shooter believed since the crime is seemingly unrelated, right? That’s what I thought until February 2015, when three Muslim students were killed in a tragic attack carried out by an atheist named Craig Stephen Hicks. The dispute at the center of that shooting involved parking spaces, but media reports consistently cited the suspect’s atheism as a possible cause because of how frequently atheist memes and messages appears on his Facebook page.
This isn’t the first time a murderer’s professed Christianity has gone ignored, and it won’t be the last, but I hope that by discussing this issue and bringing it to the attention of the masses that we can reduce the impact of this double standard.
When is a killer’s religion important? For many in the media, it’s when the suspect isn’t a Christian.
Once again, there’s a mindless murder, and, once again, much of the media misses (or ignores) that the suspect in custody is a fundamentalist Christian. That’s not to say 61-year-old Lloyd Montier Barrus’ religion is what drove him to kill an officer during an otherwise routine traffic stop, but rather that his faith would be a primary subject of discussion if he were Muslim or atheist.
So, let’s take a look at his Facebook page, where he posted everything from Bible verses to confederate flags to praise of Donald Trump.
On May 6, Barrus mocked the idea that there could be more than two genders. That same day, he posted a seemingly threatening image of a man with a gun that says: “The Republic was not established by cowards and cowards will not preserve it.”
Barrus also posted a vaguely racist image of Hillary Clinton and a video declaring that “Our troops should be able to share the Bible anywhere!” The most chilling posts, however, are his pictures of an open Bible.
The mainstream media’s neglect here isn’t unusual. In April, I pointed out that the San Bernardino shooter who shot up a special needs classroom was actually an outspoken Christian pastor:
I searched through Cedric Anderson’s Facebook page, which is still public for the time being, and found some interesting references to God, religion, and guns that have been ignored by most reporters so far. Anderson’s last post, for instance, in response to the conviction of former L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca, said, “God heard our prayers!!!”
I also noted that a suspect who identified as an atheist was treated differently in a past case:
So what? It doesn’t matter what the shooter believed since the crime is seemingly unrelated, right? That’s what I thought until February 2015, when three Muslim students were killed in a tragic attack carried out by an atheist named Craig Stephen Hicks. The dispute at the center of that shooting involved parking spaces, but media reports consistently cited the suspect’s atheism as a possible cause because of how frequently atheist memes and messages appears on his Facebook page.
This isn’t the first time a murderer’s professed Christianity has gone ignored, and it won’t be the last, but I hope that by discussing this issue and bringing it to the attention of the masses that we can reduce the impact of this double standard.
When is a killer’s religion important? For many in the media, it’s when the suspect isn’t a Christian.
Tags
Who is online
426 visitors
Once again, you are a Christian if you say you are a Christian. Killing a cop doesn't make you any less of a Christian, and shooting someone over a parking space doesn't make you any less of an atheist.
Interesting article that actually digs a little below the surface to make a point. Patheos is a good site.
How hard is this to figure out. There is no evidence that Burress was motivated by religion. Zero.
Think. There religion was not mentioned because there is no evidence that it mattered.
The Terrorists in London Explicitly claim to be motivate by their Islamic religion.
That's why it matters. Muslim Americans kill all sorts of Americans and its not news when they kill for the usual reasons. It's only when they start slaughtering innocent people in the NAME OF THEIR RELIGION that the religion becomes an issue.
But again, it good to see you jumping in to normalize Islamic terrorism. If there's one thing we can count on in the wake of yet another Islamic terror attack, will start blaming Christians or Trump or anyone but the actual terrorists.
Deleted as CoC violation. D.
"That’s not to say 61-year-old Lloyd Montier Barrus’ religion is what drove him to kill an officer during an otherwise routine traffic stop..."
And thus his religious affiliation is irrelevant.
You'd think the author would have stopped right there, but zealots don't let facts get in the way.
Or understanding...
''but zealots don't let facts get in the way.''
Thank you for mentioning that Sean...We see way too much of it on NT daily.
For instance the numerous articles seeded by a member from ''American Thinker''.....
Now there is a zealot.
Wow. I should have guessed that conservative atheists on this site would entirely miss the point of this article, no matter how clearly it was laid out. That speaks volumes about the conservative mindset.
Or about the progressive left's attempt to distract from the dangers of jihadism. ISIS appreciates your assistance.
... and the dangers of atheism! Gasp!
The point of the article is yet another attempt to play the silly moral equivalence game.
Let's point out a crime that has nothing to do with religion, but pretend it does and then pretend we know what the response would be in order to equate it with yet another terrorist attack explicitly done in the name of a religion. It's pathetic.
There have been so many Islamic terrorist assaults followed by your attempts to deflect any blame at the Islamic religion that you defend so vigorously, that the attempts to minimize the prevalence of Islamic terrorism are as predictable as the sun rising.
No, the point of the article (it was written by an atheist activist) revolves around your favorite word - HYPOCRISY. It doesn't, by any stretch of imagination, make a claim that Christian religions have anything to do with crimes. It does, however, point out how when crimes are committed by atheists, their atheism gets a special focus, much like how a Muslim would be treated when charged with a crime having nothing to do with their religion. Your Uncle Tom version of atheism hasn't changed a bit.
"Your Uncle Tom version of atheism hasn't changed a bit."
Your use of racist rhetoric does not surprise me.
Lol. It's a thing . How unsurprising that you would deflect straight to unintended racism.
Your Uncle Tom version of atheism hasn't changed a bit.
The very fact that you adopt an explicitly racist phrase and justify it's use demonstrates how far detached you are from the normal thought.
Only those obsessed with racist and group ideologies think the use of phrases like "uncle tom" are ever appropriate.
But "my version" of atheism is not a facade to justify anti-christian bigotry and to act as an apologist for Islamic terrorists. It
Unlike fanatical extremists, my opinion of people is based on what they do, not on what they believe. I've met far too many fanatically obsessed atheist assholes to ever look down upon a christian just because they are a christian.
When people blurt out racist language like that (see Maher and Gibson), I assume that they are closeted bigots.
The Montana killer seems to have made HIS religious proclivities a major feature of his social media output. Many millions of people don't mention their religious beliefs at all on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, and we can make the assumption that those who do emphasize their religion put it at or near the forefront of all they do.
Had this killer put praise of Allah on his social media pages it would have been mentioned in the news stories about the killing. The same should go also if he is of another region than Islam.