Judgement Day
San Francisco is a city proud of its hospitality and tolerance. So when a teenaged Christian group of about 25,000 gathers at AT&T ballpark this weekend city officials know just how to make them feel welcome; The board of supervisors issued a proclamation condemning the group for being anti-gay and anti-choice. State Assemblyman Mark Leno called them loud, obnoxious and disgusting--tolerance being a one-way boulevard in the city.
On Friday the group gathered on the steps of city hall to denounce advertisers who promote violence and sexuality and to call for a cultural clean-up. One counter demonstrator shown by the Chronicle shouting down the teens was identified by the Chronicle as Rev. Judy Tergis of The Church of Natural Grace. As the website for the church notes, Rev. Tergis is a minister who has been teaching others to develop their psychic awareness." That being the case, you would expect her to already know that the church also says, "Our teachers are non-judgmental, non-confrontational, friendly, warm, and accessible." Why...just like the city itself.
Update: The San Francisco Chronicle has editorialized against the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
On Friday the group gathered on the steps of city hall to denounce advertisers who promote violence and sexuality and to call for a cultural clean-up. One counter demonstrator shown by the Chronicle shouting down the teens was identified by the Chronicle as Rev. Judy Tergis of The Church of Natural Grace. As the website for the church notes, Rev. Tergis is a minister who has been teaching others to develop their psychic awareness." That being the case, you would expect her to already know that the church also says, "Our teachers are non-judgmental, non-confrontational, friendly, warm, and accessible." Why...just like the city itself.
Update: The San Francisco Chronicle has editorialized against the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
posted by Robert Holmgren at 3/25/2006
6 Comments:
Name one advertiser who "promotes violence". Well, excluding the U.S. Army.
World Wrestling Federation, video game industry, music industry, Hollywood.
Bob - you are so clever, and so unpolitically correct.
I notice the reader didn't ask you to name one advertiser that promotes sex.
People have a right to protest anything they want. Christians have every right to object in public to violence and sexuality in the media. Non-christians have every right to object in public right back to attempts to browbeat the media into depicting it less. If someone comes to my door and starts screaming about how I'm a heathen, I don't see where screaming right back is "intolerant". There's a huge difference between passing laws forbidding something and just protesting something. The former is intolerance, the latter - well, free speech, unless of course it rises to the level of assault.
I don't believe anyone said they didn't have such freedoms. Do you see that anywhere?
The writer is right. Judy Tergis did loose it that day. I know because I am Judy. To atone for this I held a picnic in City Hall Part to welcome the next Gathering of the Battle Cry group. I invited many ministers and groups to come and create a dialogue and heal the confrontational atmosphere created by thousands of strangers coming to our town to condemn us.
Unfortunately only about a dozen Battle Cry people came but we did talk with each other. We had brought bread from many lands to break bread together but they refused our offer.
I am ashamed of my behavior that day. Yet i learned a tremendous amount about the power group energy and my own need to acknowledge all my emotions before entering a group. The truth is that we are being judged and condemned and that is an invasion. Certainly if we brought tens of thousands of San Franciscans to some town to condemn their lifestyles they would feel invaded.
The trick is to rise above it and that does take prayer and meditation. I needed more that day but it will never happen again to me because of what I learned.
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