Do you agree with vandalism?
For those of you who don’t know, I am currently enrolled at the University of Waterloo. It is a great place, usually. The people are friendly, for the most part, we have some very decent-looking girl-types, and our campus is well… okay it’s ugly. Last week I came to campus and was walking to class when I saw, drawn in large chalk lettering, the words “DO YOU AGREE WITH BYRON?” Assuming they meant the poet Lord Byron…
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies
I said “yeah sure, she’s pretty hot, whoever she is.” I later found out that this question was in reference to a more contemporary Byronic figure.
Byron is a guy from Mississauga, Ontario who, according to his bio, was living a fairly sweet life until he found Jesus, and now he is happy all the time, or something like that. The chalked-out questions, which were smeared ALL OVER the campus, were a reference to Byron’s quest to spread the message of rebirth in Christ to everyone.
I didn’t think too much of the message until I happened to run into some friends of mine discussing the issue. “If I ever met Byron, I would kick his fucking ass” said one friend. “What right does he have to force his beliefs on me?” “You’re right,” said another “What if I had put up signs that said ‘Do you agree with Hitler?’ I would be kicked out of school!” My university bubble crumbled under the weight of their senseless retorts. I had assumed that university was a place where people made rational decisions and reasoned out their opinions. Apparently I was wrong.
Many people are going to be upset that I do not share their hatred for Byron and his tasteless ad campaign. I assure you that I do not support this method of advertising. Byron’s group, Campus Crusade for Christ has taken the ground we walk on, the buildings we learn in, the very place many of us call home, and defaced it to further his own selfish goals (I will come back to this). It is the severity and focus of people’s anger that I question.
The most common complaint I’ve heard is that beliefs are being forced down other people’s throats. People, you need to realize something. Every time someone puts an ad on television, in a magazine, on the radio, in the bathrooms, on a bus, etc. they are forcing their ideas just as much as the morons from CCC. These are in fact more forceful than the chalk scribblings in question. But, as intelligent consumers, we know that just because the commercial says “Buy Tide”, you have the choice not to buy Tide. Do you want to kick the ass of the president of Tide? Unlikely. We live in a society where other people’s opinions are constantly being thrown at us (case in point, you are reading a post on a website that is 100% based on opinion). We have the choice to agree, disagree, or ignore the opinions of others.
I beg anyone who goes to UW or who finds themselves in a similar position to keep a sense of perspective. Byron isn’t going to come to your house, hold you down and baptize you. CCC isn’t kidnapping lone students and brainwashing them into going to church. Chalk drawings can’t get up off the ground and yell at you. If you don’t agree with Byron, then you have an easy answer “NO!” Then you can go on with your life.
There is another side to this though.
CCC has made the grounds of the university a billboard. They, like any mega-corporation are interested in selling their product to the general populace. The only difference between the two is that CCC is getting advertising for free. If Nike had representatives draw logos and sayings on the grounds, there would be a major law suit. Why does CCC get away with using our school-grounds as a place to hock their religious messages? From time to time we will see a club with an ad for a barbecue or other event chalked out on the sidewalks. These are University-sponsored events, and as such, subject to Feds regulations (Feds – the Federation of Students). CCC is an independent group that operates outside the auspices of the university, and as such has absolutely no right to spread their message on school grounds.
Secondly, these advertisements are intended to change people’s minds. That is the goal of advertising an opinion. The stupidity behind this campaign is mind-boggling. You’re taking a weak premise – the experience of a single person – and marketing religion (a big no-no in Canada) to a large group of educated people. The most likely response you are going to get, Byron, is people who want to kick your ass. You have taken away people’s ability to decline to hear your advertisement by placing it EVERYWHERE THEY GO. Even if people agree with your message, your methods are reprehensible. This campaign will give you the opposite effect than you intended – it will make people less likely to listen to you.
So, in conclusion: people, try to keep your heads on straight. This is not a person asking you to commit mass murder or give away your life savings or anything like that. CCC, get your shit the hell off my campus. If I ever catch one of you shitheads I am going to throw stuff at you.
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies
I said “yeah sure, she’s pretty hot, whoever she is.” I later found out that this question was in reference to a more contemporary Byronic figure.
Byron is a guy from Mississauga, Ontario who, according to his bio, was living a fairly sweet life until he found Jesus, and now he is happy all the time, or something like that. The chalked-out questions, which were smeared ALL OVER the campus, were a reference to Byron’s quest to spread the message of rebirth in Christ to everyone.
I didn’t think too much of the message until I happened to run into some friends of mine discussing the issue. “If I ever met Byron, I would kick his fucking ass” said one friend. “What right does he have to force his beliefs on me?” “You’re right,” said another “What if I had put up signs that said ‘Do you agree with Hitler?’ I would be kicked out of school!” My university bubble crumbled under the weight of their senseless retorts. I had assumed that university was a place where people made rational decisions and reasoned out their opinions. Apparently I was wrong.
Many people are going to be upset that I do not share their hatred for Byron and his tasteless ad campaign. I assure you that I do not support this method of advertising. Byron’s group, Campus Crusade for Christ has taken the ground we walk on, the buildings we learn in, the very place many of us call home, and defaced it to further his own selfish goals (I will come back to this). It is the severity and focus of people’s anger that I question.
The most common complaint I’ve heard is that beliefs are being forced down other people’s throats. People, you need to realize something. Every time someone puts an ad on television, in a magazine, on the radio, in the bathrooms, on a bus, etc. they are forcing their ideas just as much as the morons from CCC. These are in fact more forceful than the chalk scribblings in question. But, as intelligent consumers, we know that just because the commercial says “Buy Tide”, you have the choice not to buy Tide. Do you want to kick the ass of the president of Tide? Unlikely. We live in a society where other people’s opinions are constantly being thrown at us (case in point, you are reading a post on a website that is 100% based on opinion). We have the choice to agree, disagree, or ignore the opinions of others.
I beg anyone who goes to UW or who finds themselves in a similar position to keep a sense of perspective. Byron isn’t going to come to your house, hold you down and baptize you. CCC isn’t kidnapping lone students and brainwashing them into going to church. Chalk drawings can’t get up off the ground and yell at you. If you don’t agree with Byron, then you have an easy answer “NO!” Then you can go on with your life.
There is another side to this though.
CCC has made the grounds of the university a billboard. They, like any mega-corporation are interested in selling their product to the general populace. The only difference between the two is that CCC is getting advertising for free. If Nike had representatives draw logos and sayings on the grounds, there would be a major law suit. Why does CCC get away with using our school-grounds as a place to hock their religious messages? From time to time we will see a club with an ad for a barbecue or other event chalked out on the sidewalks. These are University-sponsored events, and as such, subject to Feds regulations (Feds – the Federation of Students). CCC is an independent group that operates outside the auspices of the university, and as such has absolutely no right to spread their message on school grounds.
Secondly, these advertisements are intended to change people’s minds. That is the goal of advertising an opinion. The stupidity behind this campaign is mind-boggling. You’re taking a weak premise – the experience of a single person – and marketing religion (a big no-no in Canada) to a large group of educated people. The most likely response you are going to get, Byron, is people who want to kick your ass. You have taken away people’s ability to decline to hear your advertisement by placing it EVERYWHERE THEY GO. Even if people agree with your message, your methods are reprehensible. This campaign will give you the opposite effect than you intended – it will make people less likely to listen to you.
So, in conclusion: people, try to keep your heads on straight. This is not a person asking you to commit mass murder or give away your life savings or anything like that. CCC, get your shit the hell off my campus. If I ever catch one of you shitheads I am going to throw stuff at you.
Posted by Crommunist @ 7:17 am |
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