Remember when Chris Crocker defended Britney Spears in this tearful, screaming, epic video? Well he’s back with more emo in this tearful, screaming rant against Christians who insult Chris’ purpose or meaning.
I admit I laughed when I first watched it (wide-eyed, drama-shocked, nervous laughter). The crown of thorns? Wow. God instructs people to brush their teeth? Okeedoke.
I played it again and realized that beneath the hysterics, there is a worthy, relevant message. How could any Christian (or non-christian, but the video is about believers) point a finger at someone who’s different and off the beaten path of social acceptability and claim to know anything about how god feels about them or what god would want them to do? It is intensely arrogant that anyone could claim to speak for an infinite, unexplainable, unimaginable deity. If this god is so large and so all-powerful and all-knowing and all-loving, then how could one man, book, tradition, or creed even grasp one minute speck of an idea about what god is or wants?
A Canadian game show called Just Like Mom aired from 1980-1985. Fergie Olver [whose name I kept misspelling, which is now fixed] and his wife Catherine Swing co-hosted the show for 4 of those years. Mr. Olver seemed to have a little obsession with affection, and a viewer caught on to that trend and edited the video you’ll see below. This is what it can look like when an adult is showing inappropriate sexual attention to a child.Oliv
I’m neither a psychologist nor expert on these issues, but I’d like to share my interpretations and thoughts about what’s going on here:
The Mothers
Why don’t the mothers do anything about Fergie Olver’s behavior? They’re sitting right next to their daughters who are being pressured into giving out kisses to a middle aged man. I think they hold back out of embarrassment or fear. If they say something, it’s on television in front of an audience that wants lighthearted entertainment. The producers and director would be angry for the disruption. They’d draw attention to themselves. Maybe it’s not a big deal, they might think. This is just funny and non-threatening.
Can someone who was the age of those children or older tell me what affection with strangers or family friends was like back then? Was it more socially acceptable?
The Audience
Is it nervous laughter we hear in the background, or is it truly amused chortles? It bothers me to hear little snippets of cheering when a girl finally gives in to the pressure.
The Host
Fergie Olver uses a light, playful tone of voice when talking to the girls. He showers them with compliments and asks about their personal life–even the dating practices of one girl. He uses his body to get very close, covering their personal space with his arm around the back of the chair and his head stooped low to make eye contact. He moves closer and tricks the girls into bringing their faces up before stealing a peck on the cheek or even the lips.
When a girl refuses or acts nervous, Olver either goes for the kiss anyway and ignores their feelings, or he tries to persuade them; he even tells Alison (0:46) with a whisper in her ear that if she gives him a kiss, she’ll win the show. When she refuses, he warns her of the consequences. What do we call coersion of a sexual nature? That’s right kids: sexual harrassment.
What. A. Fucking. Skeezebag. I wonder what Olver’s wife thought of his sexual miscunduct on the show? What was he like in private when the cameras weren’t rolling?
The Kids
Who’s my favorite kid? Alison (0:46) who says clearly that she does not give out hugs and kisses freely and that no she will not give him one even when he asks repeatedly. Alison’s mom calls him a “dirty old man” after he tries to bribe Alison. That’s the one piece of honest observation we get to see in this video, and I don’t feel that anythiing is amusing or wrong about her saying what everyone should have been thinking.
The girls’ body language should say enough: We see two of the girls physically move away from Olver when he goes in for the kiss. They’re startled, frightened, and uncomfortable. That is called unwanted sexual touching.
How did this douchebag get away with such flagrant behavior? Have we simply grown more aware of the dangers of that sort of attention than we were back then? What do you think of these clips?
Jesus loves you so much that he killed himself so that you would receive a mass-produced and over-simplified printed flyer.
When trying to “reach the lost” for Jesus, there are no holds barred and no pop culture topics left untouched. Anything and everything can become a preaching tool. I remember my church giving us evangelism tracts to use during summer vacation as a challenge. They looked like money (see the back of the bill above) and were designed to lure the greedy sinner into picking them up. My youth pastor gave us tips for how to give them out:
Leave them on the ground; someone will pick it up and maybe read!
Leave it with your tip in a restaurant (I know someone who left these tracts on the table without any real money as a tip. Yeah, so Christ-like!)
Put it in an envelope with a bill payment.
Tuck it into the g-string of a stripper (just kidding! Though I wouldn’t put it past someone to do this.)
I want to get to know you better and am eager to try an experiment. Are you up for an excercise in honesty that demands you to say one truthful thing about yourself every single day for one week?
This is my challenge!
Original photo by Lady Vic (flickr.com)
Are you a blogger or journaler? Do you have a youtube channel? Do you have twitter or facebook? It doesn’t matter if you’re an atheist, republican, Canadian, teenager, stay-at-home mom, food blogger, cartoonist, scientist, or anything at all. There areno restrictionson who can participate.
Here’s What to Do
Write, blog, plurk, tweet, or record one honest moment or thought each day for one weekstarting whenever you want.
Be honest and take your time. Say something you may not have said to your audience before. It has to be about you, and it will hopefully be a bit more revealing of who you are than a statement like “I hate Chinese food.” Work with me here! If you’ve had writer’s block like I have, this could help you jump out of it. Use it as a springboard to talk about anything you like!
When you start the challenge, leave your link below so we can all read it/watch it/fap to it.
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