McKay Coppins

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@TheRewiredSoul Of course they do. That's not really in dispute. But allowing the worst fringes to define a global religion practiced by millions of people is absurd, and I assume you wouldn't apply the same standard to other faiths. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@TheRewiredSoul Probably not productive to try to litigate every point in your thread here but I'm curious what you made of this scene, which comes at a climactic moment in the finale. Did you not think the show was saying that mainstream Mormons are responsible for the FLDS extremists? https://t.co/EAqQxQfdxh — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@EricDSnider 😅 — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@MattZeitlin I, a non-NBA expert Celtics fan, like half-believed this until they started playing each other, at which point the delusion collapsed. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

Question for DC-area parents with young kids: Anyone know how to find out when the @YardsParkDC splash pad is open? — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

RT @ASME1963: BCC 2022: Congratulations @theatlantic, finalist in the Best Conceptual Cover category of the ASME Best Cover Contest, for "W… — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@JerylBier No party or clique! — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

"Biden would be enjoying his 15th year of retirement if he had spent his career as a commercial airline pilot, or his 24th year if he had been an air-traffic controller. There’s a reason the FAA mandates compulsory departure times for these positions." https://t.co/fJ3EZJSraV — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@angela_zagami @AnthonyMBarr @DouthatNYT I agree with you there. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@angela_zagami @AnthonyMBarr @DouthatNYT The problem isn't that the Lafferty brothers are shown blaming Mormonism for their horrific crimes—it's that the show agrees with them. I hope you can understand that this isn't about "hurt feelings." It's about vilifying an entire faith and people based on the evil of two men. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@Adequate_Scott Not many! But there also are not many religious groups getting TV shows explicitly dedicated to the idea that they are inherently violent and that their faith teaches them to murder. (As I write, Muslims are the exception.) This goes beyond a “negative portrayal.” — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@DGreenbaum Thanks for reading! — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@Obla_da_obla_di @Kent_in_Utah @historicauthor9 @VegasMrr0ng @dbmoss7 He "stays in the faith" in the sense that he doesn't believe any of it anymore but continues to say prayers to appease his wife and kids. I know this is often the most generous happy ending offered in movies/TV shows for people of faith, but I'd argue it's not that nuanced — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@rickywlmsbong This suggests you either didn’t read the piece or didn’t understand it. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@JamieFord @ABlack55 Yikes, dude. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@vanya42st There's plenty in Mormon history and culture to critique. I get into some of it here: https://t.co/u9LSR7JSTO But I disagree with your premise. When a faith community is being attacked/mischaracterized in a popular TV show, members of that community should be allowed to respond. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@JamieFord https://t.co/v0S3GVQi4v — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@SuperMensch Well, if you're going to steal from someone... (Just kidding. I don't know if I've actually seen this; if I did, it was a decade ago. But it really is what watching pop-cultural treatments of Mormonism often feels like. I'm not surprised we arrived at the same analogy!) — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@cotterca1 I respect Lindsay Hansen Park's perspective and a lot of her work. She is not a practicing Mormon, as she would tell you herself. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@RosieGray May Heavenly Father bless you for your skepticism. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

RT @asymmetricinfo: I started UTBOH expecting an anti-religion hit job. Midway through, I was convinced the LDS really had a nasty violent… — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@natecooley rooting for you — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@crocken What is the "historical record" I'm pleading for you to ignore? — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@AnthonyMBarr There were parts of Pyre's faith crisis that felt real. I found the scene of him sobbing in his dark garage genuinely moving. But as @DouthatNYT notes, the catalyst for Pyre losing his religion is absurd https://t.co/6YSNnkj0Gz — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@cjanis @patrickqmason I agree. My sense, though, was that Brenda and her family were portrayed as exceptions—or at least not broadly representative of Mormonism (despite the fact that most members of the church would identify much more closely with them than with the Laffertys). — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

RT @seffikogen: .@mckaycoppins does a real service in taking down this offensive show. In doing so, he basically describes what happens whe… — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@SceneSallard Yes, I think this show is actually a pretty dramatic step backwards in Mormon representation—from goofy/weird/easily mocked to sinister/dangerous. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

@SceneSallard Thanks for reading! As I write in the piece, Mormonism is hardly the only religion that comes in for scornful Hollywood treatment. But the show's thesis—that the faith is somehow inherently violent and that all Mormons bear responsibility for extremists' crimes—is uniquely bad. — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

RT @SceneSallard: "Imagine making a series about any other religion like this." Embarrassed to say I was so into Under the Banner of Heav… — PolitiTweet.org

McKay Coppins @mckaycoppins

I wrote an essay in 2021 about my own experience growing up Mormon. I tried grapple with the faith's complexities and its darker chapters, while also showing the joys of lived religion. There's no murder in it, but you might find the piece interesting! https://t.co/u9LSR7JSTO — PolitiTweet.org