by Jonathan [last name redacted] By now you might heard of wonderful band P***y Riot who make benefit the great nation of Soviet Russia by playing famous place in glorious Moscow to the delight of passerby and many children.
Ok. I can't keep up the mildly offensive Russian ESL vernacular for longer than one sentence. P Riot. Yes, the band P Riot. P Riot technically call themselves something else, but unlike most of you I'm searching for gainful employment, so I don't want to end all chances of being hired by screaming the word "P***Y" because a bunch Muscovites got themselves arrested (Ben. Don't use my last name on this).
Well anyways. The social-outrage-flavor-of-the-month involves a group of women who put on an anti-Putin impromptu performance in a Russian Orthodox church. The outrage stems from the fact that the one minute performance garnered three of the women a two year prison sentence for hooliganism. Most people think that's a little extreme, and a lot of evidence points to Orthodox church politics being responsible for the excessive sentence (you know, the very thing the ladies were protesting).
The church performance marked the fourth time that the band had performed an anti-government song in a very public venue. I don't agree with the sentence, but after publicly performing three anti-government songs in a formerly communist country, and then performing a fourth profanity-laced one in a revered church of the state religion, who doesn't expect an excessive sentence? Especially with the Olympics coming up in 16 months (don't act like the Olympics had nothing to do with the length of the sentencing).
While the Patriarch of Russia condemned the band with some pretty strong words ("We have no future if we allow mockery in front of great shrines, and if some see such mockery as a sort of bravery, an expression of political protest, an acceptable action or a harmless joke."), the Russian Orthodox Church released a statement on August 17 urging the Russian government to show the women mercy (granted, it came well after the issue had gone global).
Reflect on the irony that this all began 2000 years ago with a man ticking off religious authority figures so much that the government put him to death for it. Ahh the irony. I can't imagine what Jesus would say to all of this. Bands with offensive names, Vladimir Putin, a one minute song in a church sending the entire world (and Sting) into an uproar. Why can't we all get along? Why can't the band practice first and then play in a normal venue like everyone else? Forgive and you will be forgiven? Judge not lest you be judged? Pray for your enemies and those who persecute you? Probably one of the above. But I don't know for sure. I'm not Jesus.
Jonathan is. He just is.
This, I think, offers a valuable insight from a clergyman in Russia. He wrote to Sir Paul McCartney. He's a bit long winded (as Russians tend to be), but worthwhile (as Russians also tend to be).
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pravmir.com/open-letter-of-fr-sergy-ribko-to-sir-paul-mccartney/