censored

I've been meaning to post "A Fire in My Belly," the video that was recently pulled from an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.  (Unfortunately the library is blocking YouTube...go figure)  I want to post it to show my support for the museum and artists everywhere who battle censorship.  I also want to praise the Wexner Center for displaying the "banned" video that has certain stuffy lawmakers threatening the Smithsonian's funding.

It's not my place to explain the video or its relevance.  I will say that these lawmakers and religious officials have fallen into one of the booby traps of contemporary art.  You should never let yourself be fooled by the first glance, by one moment among many in an entire video loop, and fail to examine the issue that is the artist's true subject.  So, Right Wing, you have been duped into a false sense of superiority and righteous indignation, when the indignation is truly and rightfully directed at you and all who ignore the suffering of others. You are the ants crawling around, ignorant of the importance of other issues.

So let the video make you feel revulsion and disgust, and then ask yourself "why do I feel this?"  Don't stop watching, don't reply to me with religious damnation.  Keep watching and think about the issues.  Think about the analogy of Christ suffering amid intolerance and scorn to the suffering of millions of HIV and AIDS patients, also amid intolerance and scorn.

This video is not anti-religion or anti-Christian.  It is, however, pro-human.  Think about that.