Burning poppies and the threshold of offence
Yesterday, it would seem, a man was arrested for posting a picture of a burning poppy on Facebook. His crime was not to burn it in the first place, but to share his picture of the burning on a public forum. To my mind his act was offensive, disrespectful, and trampled roughshod over the feelings of those for whom Remembrance is a day of raw emotion and barely preserved dignity. It was stupid and hateful, but I am not convinced that anyone gains from an arrest. After all, the freedom for which so many have given so much allows those with whom we disagree to express their feelings.
Then again, maybe I am not offended easily enough. When Serrano Andres made his work pisschrist in 1987 I found it repugnant, but I did not expect him to be arrested. When Cosimo Cavallero’s exhibition including the chocolate Christ ‘My Sweet Lord’ was cancelled I was more disgusted by the death threats from the religious right than I was by the sculpture itself. When a local pub chose to display Banksy’s Christ crucified with shopping bags, I suggested that the best way for Christians to avoid being offended by it was not to drink there.
Christians are those who fall in line behind a Christ who led a less than charmed life and died a disgustingly undignified death. In my experience our righteous anger tends to be more anger than righteousness. I hope the man behind the poppy burning won’t do it again. I hope he will think long and hard about the offense he has caused to those who serve with the Forces and those who support them. I hope, too, that nobody will be busy processing his crime when they could be out preventing another one.
Oh God, make me offended to day only by the right things…
Beny Sur Mer