And so chanted Alice, myself, and a theatre full of people of all ages and from all walks of life, having just spent the past few hours pissing ourselves laughing and all having a bloody fantastic time. Laughing our heads off, and then laughing all the more cos we are comfortable in the knowledge that we will be going straight to hell. Or so
some people believe. And to those people, we laugh, and say that it is they, not us, that can all go, in the words of Satan, get “fucked up the ass with barbed wire.”
Putting it simply; the show was amazing. Brilliantly put together, fantastically performed, and hilarious. Warring infidel lovers, a chick with a dick (with a heart), grown people in nappies, Satan, Jesus, God, Steve the Head of Security, and tap-dancing members of the KKK. That’s right; TAP-DANCING MEMBERS OF THE KKK! That really is as fucking funny as it sounds.
So, supposedly, Jerry Springer: The Opera is a hate show, targeted towards Christianity. But to any reasonable person who actually goes to see it (unlike, I’m sure, a lot of the Christians who have been protesting) this is plainly not the case. If anything, it’s ultimately a story of good vs evil; like all the best stories are.
The protesters complain that Jesus and their religion is ridiculed; that this show is blasphemous. These two observations are pretty much true; but that does not mean that such shows cannot be created. Why cannot a show that mocks Christianity be made? Never does the show say that Christians are wrong, or idiots, or horrible people. The story of Christ is simply used to create humour. And thanks to that wonderful little thing called freedom of speech, that’s allowed!
However, the Christians who speak out against the Opera claim very much to be in favour of free speech. Yet, they want to try and stop the show from being shown on stage for people who want to see it to go and have a great time. They’ve tried, and fucking succeeded, in stopping DVDs of the show from being sold in certain supermarkets. In other words, they believe in freedom of speech so long as that speech doesn’t offend them or disagree with them in any way.
What is so wonderful about the world in which we live is that everyone is different. We all have different opinions, and we all have different beliefs. And I, as do most atheists, respect the Christian beliefs. We don’t agree with them, but we respect them. There’s a difference. But, it seems that many Christians (far be it from me to judge an entire group of people. I’ll leave that job to the protesters) do not respect the beliefs of others. The belief that they may be wrong. Cos, as the end of the day, beliefs are just that; ‘beliefs’. They are how you were brought up. They are what you have been taught. That doesn’t make them REAL.
So fine; be offended. I understand how this show will offend SOME Christians. But also, I’m offended by their reaction and their judging of me and everyone else who goes to see the Opera as heathens and immoral people. I’m offended by them trying to physically stop productions of the show. And I’m offended by their lack of a sense of humour, and lack of common sense and reason. If they don’t like the show, THEY DON’T HAVE TO WATCH IT!
Anywho, I should probably wrap this up before I start to rant.
I just want to finish by saying how much I would have loved to have hung out with the cast of the show afterwards. They clearly enjoyed every minute of the show as much as the audience did. I bet that they are the most interesting, fun, reasoned and open-minded people you could ever have the rare pleasure of meeting. And they put on a fucking kick-ass show.
“Jesus, grow up for Christ’s sake, and put some fucking clothes on!”
