Standing Against Bigotry in Siouxland
Late last December, still warm from the glow of the season, no doubt; a group of citizens decided to end the year by carving another notch in their crosses.
One of our steadfast supporters, 4th Street Revue, distributed an issue in November that got some fine, upstanding Christians riled. If you read the 4th Street Revue, you know I'm talking about the "SEX" issue. Several writers took a look at the modern obsessions with sex, and attempted to put them into some sane perspective, with a little humor and a grain of salt.
Apparently, our Christian friends didn't get past the front cover. Or, they did, and were horrified that anyone had anything to say about the subject other than "Sex. Bad."
Whatever the circumstances, this group of people claiming to speak for the Christian Community in Siouxland (along with the obligatory "Family Values") went straight for the jugular, calling and complaining to all of 4th Street Revue's supporters and urging them to drop their ads. They attacked the 4th Street Revue for being "anti-Christian" (so?), for printing pornographic material (!!), for printing articles by gay writers (gasp!), and for being generally immoral and unsupportive of "traditional family values".
Through it all, Cindy and Reba did their best to let it pass, to turn the other cheek. As the results of the spiritual SWAT team's antics became apparent, though, to the tune of several hundred dollars of advertising lost, their patience began wearing thin. Finally they began looking into legal recourse against the group, and suddenly, it was all over. One leader promised to call off the dogs, and hoped everything could be nicey-nice again.
Cindy is confident this incident is over now, and the good news is that many of the advertisers that were originally persuaded to drop their ads have come back on board. It was scary, though, that a small group of people could exert so much influence over one's livelihood. Because they disagreed with the 4th Street Revue's point of view, they made a concerted effort to shut it down. "It hurt a bit," Cindy says, "but we're getting through it. We feel very strong, now."
One finds some interesting points to think about in this incident. Who was the most Christ-like? Cindy and Reba put much effort into turning the other cheek, and allowing this group to fully express their opinions and beliefs. Christ never went looking for trouble, save on one occasion: He drove the money lenders out of the Temple and confronted the Pharisees' hypocrisy in allowing the Temple to be profaned by greed. Christ never attacked anyone, with one exception: The religious leaders of his day were fair game. And what about the leaders, so suddenly backing away from their righteous attack, trying so desperately to smooth things over once legal action was threatened? What does that say about their faith? Is faith true faith when it has a price?
Envoy is glad to stand behind the 4th Street Revue as well as Bell, Book & Candle. We're proud of the bridges being built in this community, regardless of race, gender, politics, spirituality, through businesses and people like these. Thanks, Cindy and Reba, for helping make a strong foundation in Sioux City.
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© 1998 envoy@willinet.net