According to a writer at http://difficultrun.nathanielgivens.com/2012/12/18/robbie-parker-and-his-critics/, Robbie Parker is clean-cut in appearance, has several children, and refers to God as Heavenly Father. These are all signs that he is Mormon, or a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I agree that these are clues, and although I noticed only the last of these when I first saw Parker’s press conference, I did pick up on the fact that he might be Mormon, also because of the spiritual understanding he exhibited. I found it interesting that someone else picked up on some of the same things I had.
There are a lot of conspiracy theories going around on the internet about Parker and his role in the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy. Some people have made the claim that he is an actor, or a crisis actor. There is no real evidence for this, other than he was smiling before the press conference.
In trying to ascertain whether or not Parker was Mormon, the writer of the article came across a site where the writings are essentially anti-Mormon. The writer of the original article highlights a few of the statements made on the anti-Mormon site. The first one is the issue of how Mormons are taught to use deaths of loved ones to promote the religion. Another critic on the anti-Mormon site states that they are uncomfortable with the fact that Parker had already asked for donations and had the presence of mind to dress in a suit and have a news conference in the first place. Another person critical of Parker points out that key words like forgiveness and free agency are common for Mormons to say. This critic implies that Parker should have been more incoherent if he were truly grieving, and not sound so polished.
The writer of the article who quotes these critics of Parker wants to make the point that while these people are allowed to have their opinions, of course, it is a shame that we have become jaded and cynical in our society. The writer of the article was impressed with Parker (as I was). The writer does not mention anything to do with the conspiracy theories, but I would like to make my own point that I agree that people are becoming too cynical. There is no reason to believe that Parker is anything but what he seems: a religious young man with a great deal of spiritual maturity, one who fell back on his religion, understandably, to anchor him in his time of grief.
