[Imc-lwg-general] can you please support our protest?
martin wyness
martin at redravenhouse.freeserve.co.uk
Tue, 7 Jan 2003 15:50:52 -0000
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
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I was lying on my back in a police cell in London last Friday. Up on the =
ceiling was a big sign saying "crime stoppers" with a number to ring to =
shop your fellow criminals. I wondered, "How do you stop a crime that is =
so far removed from the loving environments that we try and create for =
our families that it cannot even be processed properly in our minds. How =
do you stop a crime when that crime is not yet recognised by the =
authorities."
=20
I am talking about the current onslaught on our moral boundaries by =
television production companies. Recently, these have been strained to =
breaking point with Channel 4's obsession with dead bodies as art and =
entertainment. This includes giving much airtime to Professor von Hagens =
Body Worlds, an exhibition that has bought and displays for profit the =
tiny corpses of four infants. After this first moral hurdle was jumped, =
Channel 4 quickly went against public opinion and showed Body Worlds =
public autopsy, felling yet another.
=20
After all my recent, mostly lone protests on issues such as these, I =
took the decision not to demonstrate again as I thought I had done all I =
could to try and motivate our communities into standing firm. Somewhat =
defeated, I wondered what horrors would be next? I could not have =
guessed the awful answer.
=20
Late last Thursday evening; Channel 4 screened a documentary that =
showed the artist Zhu Yu attempting to eat a dead human baby. It also =
showed him and his wife dripping their own blood through tubes into the =
bodies of two tiny dead children on the floor. This was an "art =
happening"
=20
I was so shocked that I got into my car and drove through the night to =
be at channel 4's building in London at nine o clock the next morning. =
There, I carefully painted the outside of their beautiful modern =
building with huge, easy to clean off slogans protesting about how their =
lack of sound judgement was helping to destroy the mental and spiritual =
health of this nation. Working with Mountain Rescue and as an artist =
myself, I can assure the curious that there is nothing remotely arty =
about the sadness that handling dead bodies brings.
=20
To me, Thursday night's TV programme brought the issues that Body World =
raised back into sharp focus. We failed to stand up to Channel 4 and von =
Hagens with Body Worlds and now, I can see how that failure paved the =
way for this latest outrage. I think it is fair to say that now we have =
observed baby eating on our TVs, truly, with Channel 4 anything =
disguised in the cloak of education or art will be possible.=20
=20
I thought of how I had written to forty-three mainstream religious =
groups in the immediate vicinity of the Body Worlds exhibition, asking =
for support with a peaceful protest to pressure von Hagens into giving =
the babies inside a decent burial. I thought of how on the day I stood =
with only my immediate family at my side as we faced over a hundred very =
vocal supporters of the exhibition. I remembered how I had been =
unsuccessful when I asked members of local Cumbrian churches to protest =
with me, even in a small way. In fact the notice I put on one of their =
their boards was only up for a few hours before it was taken down. I can =
understand that it's content was too disturbing for people to see. =
Unfortunately, the fact remains it is too disturbing, messing with dead =
people, especially children will always be disturbing, and if the =
churches will not defend such boundaries, then who will?=20
=20
I understand now that it is all of us, as individuals who have to defend =
boundaries of decency, boundaries that are needed to ensure a world of =
compassion and love for those who come after us, our children. The =
non-religious cannot afford to leave this all up to the churches. =
Likewise, the religious cannot afford to just pray and hope these =
problems will go away. We cannot continue to leave it up to some one =
else.
=20
=20
For Christians where, or more importantly where would your churches not =
be now if Jesus' disciples decided that the problems they faced belonged =
to someone else. They had to suffer, had to face evil in person, had to =
use up their own equally important time to try and ensure that those =
coming after them inherited a world as God intended it to be. Should we =
do less, is Jesus' example not clear enough for us to follow now that we =
are so far down the road.=20
=20
=20
I intend to peacefully and lawfully demonstrate outside Channel 4's =
building in London on Sunday the 9th of February at 12.00. There I hope =
to draw attention to the pressing issue of their lack of responsibility =
to the communities that their licence allows them to serve. This protest =
will only be successful if you join me in getting many people together, =
so that we may show this rogue element of the media that we have had =
enough. Please come, and encourage others to do so as well. Thank you.
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<P class=3DMsoBodyText style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT face=3D"Times =
New Roman"=20
size=3D5>I was lying on my back in a police cell in London last Friday. =
Up on the=20
ceiling was a big sign saying =93crime stoppers=94 with a number to ring =
to shop=20
your fellow criminals. I wondered, =93How do you stop a crime that is so =
far=20
removed from the loving environments that we try and create for our =
families=20
that it cannot even be processed properly in our minds. How do you stop =
a crime=20
when that crime is not yet recognised by the authorities.=94</FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <?xml:namespace prefix =3D o ns =3D=20
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" =
/><o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman">I am talking about the current onslaught on our =
moral=20
boundaries by television production companies. Recently, these have been =
strained to breaking point with Channel 4=92s obsession with dead bodies =
as art=20
and entertainment. This includes giving much airtime to Professor von =
Hagens=20
Body Worlds, an exhibition that has bought and displays for profit the =
tiny=20
corpses of four infants. After this first moral hurdle was jumped, =
Channel 4=20
quickly went against public opinion and showed Body Worlds public =
autopsy,=20
felling yet another.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>After all my=20
recent, mostly lone protests on issues such as these, I took the =
decision not to=20
demonstrate again as I thought I had done all I could to try and =
motivate our=20
communities into standing firm.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =20
</SPAN>Somewhat defeated, I wondered what horrors would be next? I could =
not=20
have guessed the awful answer.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"><SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: =
yes"> </SPAN>Late last=20
Thursday evening; Channel 4 screened a documentary that showed the =
artist Zhu Yu=20
attempting to eat a dead human baby. It also showed him and his wife =
dripping=20
their own blood through tubes into the bodies of two tiny dead children =
on the=20
floor. This was an =93art happening=94<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman">I was so shocked that I got into my car and =
drove through=20
the night to be at channel 4=92s building in London at nine o clock the =
next=20
morning. There, I carefully painted the outside of their beautiful =
modern=20
building with huge, easy to clean off slogans protesting about how their =
lack of=20
sound judgement was helping to destroy the mental and spiritual health =
of this=20
nation. Working with Mountain Rescue and as an artist myself, I can =
assure the=20
curious that there is nothing remotely arty about the sadness that =
handling dead=20
bodies brings.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman">To me, Thursday night=92s TV programme brought =
the issues=20
that Body World raised back into sharp focus. We failed to stand up to =
Channel 4=20
and von Hagens with Body Worlds and now, I can see how that failure =
paved the=20
way for this latest outrage. I think it is fair to say that now we have =
observed=20
baby eating on our TVs, truly, with Channel 4 anything disguised in the =
cloak of=20
education or art will be possible. <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">I thought of how I =
had=20
written to forty-three mainstream religious groups in the immediate =
vicinity of=20
the Body Worlds exhibition, asking for support with a peaceful protest =
to=20
pressure von Hagens into giving the babies inside a decent burial. I =
thought of=20
how on the day I stood with only my immediate family at my side as we =
faced over=20
a hundred very vocal supporters of the exhibition. I remembered how I =
had been=20
unsuccessful when I asked members of local Cumbrian churches to protest =
with me,=20
even in a small way. In fact the notice I put on one of their their =
boards was=20
only up for a few hours before it was taken down. I can understand that =
it=92s=20
content was too disturbing for people to see. Unfortunately, the fact =
remains it=20
is too disturbing, messing with dead people, especially children will =
always be=20
disturbing, and if the churches will not defend such boundaries, then =
who=20
will?</SPAN><FONT size=3D3> </FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT size=3D3><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman">I understand now that it is all of us, as =
individuals who=20
have to defend boundaries of decency, boundaries that are needed to =
ensure a=20
world of compassion and love for those who come after us, our children. =
The=20
non-religious cannot afford to leave this all up to the churches. =
Likewise, the=20
religious cannot afford to just pray and hope these problems will go =
away. We=20
cannot continue to leave it up to some one =
else.<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoBodyText style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT =
size=3D5><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></FONT></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman">For Christians where, or more importantly where =
would=20
your churches not be now if Jesus=92 disciples decided that the problems =
they=20
faced belonged to someone else.<SPAN style=3D"mso-spacerun: yes"> =20
</SPAN>They had to suffer, had to face evil in person, had to use up =
their own=20
equally important time to try and ensure that those coming after them =
inherited=20
a world as God intended it to be. Should we do less, is Jesus=92 example =
not clear=20
enough for us to follow now that we are so far down the road.=20
<o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></FONT></SPAN></P>
<P class=3DMsoNormal style=3D"MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 0pt"><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman"><B><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">I intend to =
peacefully and=20
lawfully demonstrate outside Channel</SPAN></B><SPAN=20
style=3D"FONT-SIZE: 16pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt"> <B>4=92s building =
in London=20
on Sunday the 9<SUP>th</SUP> of February at 12.00.</B> There I hope to =
draw=20
attention to the pressing issue of their lack of responsibility to the=20
communities that their licence allows them to serve. This protest will =
only be=20
successful if you join me in getting many people together, so that we =
may show=20
this rogue element of the media that we have had enough. Please come, =
and=20
encourage others to do so as well. Thank=20
you.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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