Immaterial Girl

I saw this little news item the other day. Seems that the Dusseldorf, Germany authorities are going to be keeping their eye on Madonna this weekend to make sure she doesn't offend anyone. If you haven't heard, Madonna is pissing off people with her mock crucifixion during a part of her show on the current tour. The Catholics in Italy are not happy and the Germans are giving her the stern warning that if she does it there it could be "construed as insulting religious beliefs."

Geez, who cares? I still don't understand at all what is wrong with insulting people's religious beliefs. It is no different than insulting people's political beliefs, and nobody seems to have a problem with that. Hell, turn on FOX News or any talk radio and you'll see my political beliefs insulted about once every ten seconds. I don't see the difference, beliefs are beliefs. And actually, most people don't actually have a problem with religion in general being insulted, they have a problem with their religion being insulted. Nobody makes fun of other people's religion better than religious people.

Remember the comet people from several years ago? The ones who committed suicide together because they believed that an approaching comet was going to pick them up and take them to heaven? Well, nobody stopped themselves from making fun of that. Of course, with them all dead I guess there's no danger bashing them. Everyone I heard calling them foolish and misguided for such silly beliefs was usually a Christian. Right, believing in a magic comet is so less believable than a guy born to a virgin mother (with God's seed) dying on a cross and then coming back to life three days later. Or that the same guy turned water in to wine. Or some guy took two of every animal on the entire planet and fit them on one boat, and then sailed for forty days.

Talking bushes, parting whole seas, walking on water, images of Mary in grilled-cheese sandwiches. And the comet people were the crazy?

And I know what you are thinking, "But Deni, you make fun of religion all the time."

True, but I don't believe in any of that nonsense. I make fun of all of them. I don't defend one while making fun of another or get all offended when mine gets insulted. Making fun of, or insulting, religion is fair game.

And really, don't these idiots realize that this is exactly what Madonna wants to happen? She's pushing fifty and nobody really pays attention to her anymore. Controversial shit is how she gets noticed. And apparently it doesn't even have to be very original. All that's happening is a rehashing of her shtick from 1989. Yawn.

Have the anti-free speech nut jobs learned nothing? Ice-T and his band Body Count sold so many more copies of "Cop Killer" because of the attention they brought it. And one of the worst rap groups of all time became huge because some right-wing Puritan ass-hole in Florida was offended by "Me So Horny." As soon as he tried to get it banned it went to the top of the charts. Then we all had to endure that fucking awful "Banned in the USA" song.

So all they are doing is making Madonna feel important again, when she really hasn't mattered for a long time. Just ignore her and she'll go away.

All this fuss over Madonna, who is about as relevant as.......well.......an unemployed guy in his mid-thirties with an opinion and a blog.