Feminist Punk Rock Vs Communism
via Russia’s Rock N Roll Riot « Acculturated.
By now it’s an established fact that the punk revolution of the late 1970s led to a genuine artistic achievement, as the movement and its Do It Yourself (DIY) ethic gave bands like U2, Green Day, and Radiohead the ability to create their own sounds in unique and imaginative ways. Incredibly, punk is still producing exciting art; one of the best bands I’ve heard recently is Neon P*ss. I know, I know–the vulgar names do get tiresome, but a lot of the music is still very cool. It remains one of the joys of life to come across a talented young band and watch them flourish.
Although it puts on an angry and nihilistic face, punk, or the best punk, is about trying to live a virtuous life in a world that often seems compromised by commercialism, war, and a basic lack of integrity. This is the 30th anniversary year of the punk magazine Maximum Rocknroll, and leafing through the anniversary issue it’s clear that punks today value what punks back in the 1970s and 80s valued: honesty, community, art for art’s sake, and real friendship.
That said, MRR has certainly fallen short in its lack of support for the band P**** Riot, a Russian all-female punk rock collective. Three members of the group were sentenced to two-year prison terms today by a Moscow court for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred”. This for performing a song at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior which asked Mary, the Mother of God–or “Theotokos”–to “drive Putin away.”
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More on art against totalitarianism at PJ Lifestyle:
These obscene clowns were arrested, not for protesting (which they could have done with impunity, somewhere other than in a church), but for disrupting and desecrating a church service. In effect, they were interfering with Russian citizens’ rights to practice their religion.
That behavior is inexcusable and should not go unpunished.
Greetings:
And a big requisite “Amen”.
I grew up in the Bronx of the ’50s and ’60s and was an altar boy in our local Catholic Church. If those jerks had showed up at our church, they would have found out what failures we were at “turning the other cheek”.
What they did was a clear breach of the peace. Why should the rest of us be constantly subjected to these ill-mannered, narcissistic outbursts? Too bad the OWS clowns who used St. Patricks for a public rest room aren’t also behind bars.
I pretty much agree with the other commenters’ opinions. However, I think a multi-year jail sentence was way too stiff a penalty. What would an American get for disrupting a church service? A ticket? A fine? Community service? Thirty days? I’d be interesting in knowing if Russian courts give people three years for being drunk & disorderly or appearing naked in public. If not, then we know these kids are being punished for dissent, not just acting like a-holes in a church.
Greetings:
Back in my Psychology studying daze, I came across a real psychologist by the name of B.F. Skinner who had pretty much convinced himself that rewarded behavior tends to be repeated. Or, as Oprah’s beloved Dr. Phil likes to intone, the best indicator of future performance is past performance.
This group of “artistes” didn’t stumble in there drunk and disorganized. They knew what they were doing and why they were doing it. In this country, when a group of people co-ordinate to break the law, they can be charged with “conspiracy” in addition to their actual offense.
As to the two-year sentence, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. As to your compassionate impulse, the opposite applies.
One has to remember the red history of reprssion against the church in the SU. The church those Ladies “performed” in and sung “the church is the shit of god”, was used as a public bath under the communist rule.
The “no pasaran” shirt one of the Pussies sported at court, has a clear massage, I would think.
One and a half year in prison may be hard, but the women knew what thei did.
I’m no fan of Putin or the current Russian regime, but I really don’t care what happens to these rockers who desecrated a church service. As the old saying goes, a broken clock is right twice a day.