Sophie

[emmelinemay]

kirsten2 texted me to say I was on TV this morning - thanks to the BBC's iPlayer I got to see this one second of red-eyed fame.

The show is called Sunday Life, you can check it out for a week here. The 10 minute section in question is about Sophie Lancaster, and about goths being attacked for the way they dress. It's about 32 minutes in, if you just want to see that bit. You briefly see me crying over my flower during the memorial in Whitby.

Sophie's mum is on it - the more I see about her the more I admire her and her strength. They talk on the show about setting up a programme where people go into schools to teach tolerance and understanding -this is really something I'd love to be involved in so at some point I need to compose an email and write to them and say I'd like to help - I'm sure they get hundreds of emails a day, but it's worth trying as not only is youth work and outreach in general something I'd like to get involved in the whole S.O.P.H.I.E campaign and what it stands for is something particularly important to me, for obvious reasons.

The rest of the show was also very interesting - the section about organ donation reminded me I've not posted my annual 'register as a donor' reminder - I must do that soon, when I'm less hungover. It seems wrong to talk about organ donation when I appear to have attempted to destroy my own liver in the name of fun. A section featuring a family learning about different religions was also fascinating - I know next to nothing about the Sikh religion, and indeed many religions other than Christianity and those other ones cursorily covered in my RE lessons. I have decided to read up about a few - if I'm going to take this 'I disagree with organised religion' stance I should really know what I'm saying I disagree with. The Sikh religion seemed, from the brief coverage on the Sunday Life show, to be a really peaceful and down to earth one, with ethical core values and very much based on tolerance and all things under god being equal. Of course, they only had 10 minutes, and so a limited amount was covered, they didn't go in to the history or any negative sides, which made me want to read more about it; and about other religions too.

I've often said if you're going to have a strong opinion, make it an informed one, so I need to own those words and learn more about organised religions before I decide I don't like them based on news coverage and a few years of RE at school.

I shall get me down the British Museum, I think, as they have a number of exhibitions there about the origins of the major religions.

This post was far too serious and thoughtful for someone with as bad a hangover as I have, so I'm going back to bed now.

Comments

[blu-matt.livejournal.com]

That's precisely why I have as many religion books as I do...

Of course, when one sees things like this, one doesn't really need to expend too much intellectual vigour in rejecting them when the counter argument is "coconut".

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

or pointing out that monkeys have been eating bananas for longer than we have...

[blu-matt.livejournal.com]

Ah, but they think the earth's only 6,000-10,000 years old, and if monkeys ate bananas before people, it was only a matter of a day...

[shackers.livejournal.com]

Can't get BBC iplayer outside UK bumpottypoo

when I did a course in comparative religions as part of my OU thing, I was really struck by the tolerance of the Sikhs to other creeds, and this was also borne out by the Sikh girls that I used to teach.

The founder of Sikhism is one of the historical characters I have most respect for:
From Wikipedia:
Guru Nanak had many beliefs which were not popular at the time but are now widespread.

* Equality of Humans: During the time of Nanak caste based discrimination was deep rooted in Indian society. Nanak preached against discrimination and prejudices due to race, caste, status, etc. He said: "See the brotherhood of all mankind as the highest order of Yogis; conquer your own mind, and conquer the world." (Page 6);[15] also "There is one awareness among all created beings."(Page 24)[16] and finally "One who recognizes the One Lord among all beings does not talk of ego. ||4||" (page 432).[17]He urges his followers to "conquer" their minds to these evil practices. All human beings had the light of the Lord and were the same–only by subduing one's pride and ego could one see this light in all.

* Equality of Women: In about 1499 Indian society offered little status or respect to women, Nanak Dev sought to elevate the position of women by spreading this message: "From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman." (Page 473).[18] In so doing he promoted the equality of women in the 15th century. Nanak Dev also condemned the ritual of Sati.

* Universal message for all People The followers of Nanak were from all faiths and he addressed all without discrimination. To the Muslim he said: "And when, O Nanak, he is merciful to all beings, only then shall he be called a Muslim.||1||" (page 141";[19] to the Hindu, he said "O Nanak, without the True Name, of what use is the frontal mark of the Hindus or their sacred thread? ||1||" (page 467);[20] and to all he preached: "To take what rightfully belongs to another is like a Muslim eating pork or a Hindu eating beef." (Page 141).[21]

Upon being asked which religion, Hinduism or Islam, was the true path to God, he replied that the true way to attain God was to worship Him who is eternal and contained in the whole Universe.

[fracture242.livejournal.com]

A friend has just pointed this (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/sunday/index.shtm) out to me - it's from this morning's BBC programme on religion. I'm shocked that after all the recent media coverage concerning the ill-treatment and abuse of Goths that the BBC got away with such an incredibly insulting and discriminatory report. I've written in to complain, as have several other friends - you can't call Goths Satanic Nazis in an offical BBC braodcast and not expect people to be offended. If you pass it around to people who may be interested enough to complain we can try get a little bit of a point across.

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

Looks like the page has been taken down?

[rssefuirosu.livejournal.com]

rofl, was that me?

Anyhow, yeah, you were in the VT, hi :D

[emmelinemay.livejournal.com]

Hey, is that you?

Thought the piece was really good, although the presenters seemed to not have a clue what goth was all about.

I'm seeing my face all over those reports, I didn't even notice the cameras. Under normal circumstances, I'd be all HEY CHECK IT OUT I'M ON TELLY, but for really obvious reasons that's not how this feels. I'm having problems explaining how it feels. I'm wishing I'd noticed the cameras and hid.

[fracture242.livejournal.com]

No, it's just my rubbish linking abilities. Here's the url without silly cut thingies:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/sunday/index.shtml

[fracture242.livejournal.com]

Incidentally, the report starts at about 5:18 and ends at about 11:18. The general gist of it is that the reporter has swallowed every piece of propaganda about Goths that's ever been dreamed up and, as part of a report on grave desecration in France, suggests that all Goths are Satanist Nazis bent on mutilation and mass murder.

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

the more I think about the Sophie Lancaster case, the more I think that it's vital to work for social justice from all angles - to re-enforce a basic idea that people are *people* before and beyond all other groupings.