Andrew Potter
When you look at the world today, you see nothing but the destruction of sacred sites as punk rock bands, corporations and house representatives of our state use their own selfish motives to invalidate the sanctity of these locations.
The Russian punk band Pussy Riot recently underwent a government protest in Moscow’s Russian Orthodox Church. They could have staged their demonstration in the middle of Red Square itself, but instead they rushed into a holy building and corrupted it with their speeches of hate.
Likewise, Starbucks created a coffee shop inside a funeral home to help mourners cope with their loss. They wanted to have the public eye thrust upon them for crafting a surprise venture, much like the controversial opening of another Starbucks in the Forbidden City in China years ago. And our very own Kevin Yoder desecrated the holy Sea of Galilee with his naked body, even though they allow one to swim with bathing suits. Mr. Yoder, I assume, believed he was holier than the rules.
If anything, these people’s actions show their stupidity and self-righteousness over any message. They actively seek to destroy something meaningful to not just one person, but a group of people. These people and companies desecrate symbols holy to entire populations all around the world, not in the name of some worthy cause, but of their own desire for attention. And we, of course, give them all the attention they want.
They never asked the question of how their actions would affect the places they chose, but moved forward anyway, destroying hundreds of years of sanctity in the process. It can take millennia to create a feeling of holiness, and yet seconds for megalomaniacs to weaken it.
As a man of an atheist leaning, even I see these actions as nothing but sickening. I may not believe in the sacredness of the building itself, but I do realize that others have a strong belief tied to them. With organizations on our campus that devote themselves to maintaining even the most basic of sacred places, we need to stop and judge our own actions. We cannot put our own voice above the destruction of beliefs we may not understand.
We cannot afford to have more skinny-dipping representatives destroying what is good in the world.
I think there is a vast difference between “pussy riot” protesting in a greek-orthodox church in Russia vs Starbucks being opened in a funeral home.
Yes, the circumstances are essentially the same, but the purpose behind both are vastly different.
What this punk band did was an act of political dissent and civil disobedience. I would admit it is the wrong place to do such a protest, but they can protest all they want in red square- nobody will listen to them. Make a message in a church, you’re serving a very serious purpose, that has more potential to start a revolution than anything else. I’ve been to Russia and lived in a post-soviet country the last 2 years. Yes, it is a serious problem there.
Starbucks in a funeral home – That’s simple… Corporate greed and exploitation of circumstance.
Of course, who am I to judge–Starbucks can get away with it. If you’re an individual trying to make a difference in your society- well, you can’t get away with it.
So— Yes, there is “desecration” of holy sites. In either circumstances, they are just disrespectful.