Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Object Curiously Quiet About The Detention of Pussy Riot

You might think I am being unfair, you might say that Objects focus is on the United Kingdom and the scandal about Pussy Riot is a Russian affair. That said, as Object are currently in something of a lather on their Facebook page about strippers in Canada, they clearly have an international viewpoint. Pussy Riot are the feminist punk rock inspired collective that stage impromptu performances that comment on aspects of life in Russia. The problem is that their last impromptu performance was in the Cathedral of Christ The Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow and they now face up to 7 years in prison for daring to criticise Putin and worse still, delivering the criticism in a cathedral of one of Putins biggest fans, Patriach Kirill 1.

In fact  Patriach Kirill1 was so upset about it that he said it was "blasphemous" and then went onto to say that the  "Devil has laughed at all of us ... We have no future if we allow mocking in front of great shrines, and if some see such mocking as some sort of valour, as an expression of political protest as an acceptable action or a harmless joke."

As you can imagine Pussy Riot are being completely stitched up by their Russian prosecutors and the plight has become an international cause, with support from just about everywhere and everyone.....Apart from Object, which is a mystery to me because Object are willing to attach their name to just about any cause they can in order to raise their profile.

That said, maybe there is a reason for Object being so quiet.....

You see the Pussy Riot protest that saw them landed in detention was conducted in a cathedral and as we know Object aren't choosy when it comes down to selecting allies, as we have seen with their alliance in Tower Hamlets with religious conservatives. In fact we have seen that the church has been an important ally for Object. Maybe the reason they are keeping quiet is in order not to offend their new religious pals.....

Lets face it, Pussy Riot stand for open and free expression, something that Object with their faltering campaign against lap dancing clubs and contribution to Levenson (which everyone ignored) are clearly against.

If you want to see what Pussy Riot actually did to deserve their ludicrous treatment at the hands of the authorities, see the video below....


Follow this link to see a great article in ArtsFreedom and also see the Wikipedia article here. I have to say that Pussy Riot kind of put The Muffia and the Solent Feminist Network into perspective, don't they.

Below you can see another typically restrained performance from Pussy Riot and I find it a pity that we can't get them along for the September meeting of Tower Hamlets Council. This is of the course the meeting where they decide whether or not to make about 500 people jobless, most of them women...



5 comments:

  1. And to think that Object describes itself as a 'human rights organisation' and has been known to hold its meetings in Amnesty's offices...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very good point Brute, in fact right round the corner from many Shoreditch venues....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Considering that it's a UK organisation, Object members seem to be almost obsessed with North America, to judge by the contents of the Facebook group!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Of course, they've hardly set the world alight in Britain, so maybe they want to explore other 'markets' and other funding solutions....

    ReplyDelete
  5. I dunno 7 years seems like a fair sentence to me for creating that racket!, i love my punk rock but ouch that's really bad.... on a more serious note with regards to the church, the rev Wilson has been in the papers again following the Shades club SEV victory and he's been fibbing again:
    http://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/south-warwickshire-news/2012/08/16/leamington-nightclub-gets-strip-club-licence-92746-31633666/
    Really 600 signatures? actually it was more like 390 and to quote his 'a clear and reasoned opposition.'oh that will that be the false residential area claim then.

    ReplyDelete