Pussy Riot and Russia.

What is more probable than others by itself needs proof. Show me that Christian church that only allows people in when invited are more probable than space aliens. Show me that it is more probable that the Russian church itself doesn't allow people in unless invited, when almost every other Christian church does, than it does.

edited 21st Aug '12 12:35:22 AM by IraTheSquire

As a private citizen, I feel that having to parade through the streets to prove a point is really fucking obnoxious, regardless of what that point is. That's all.

Welp, there goes a big part of the Civil Rights Movement's toolkit.

A major part of any political protest is how annoying and disruptive it is. Sit-ins, boycotts, mass marches - they're all about shoving your opinions in someone's face, because people have a bad habit of ignoring you otherwise. Seriously, you think MLK would have got anything done if he'd just sat at home and sent a couple of politely-written letters to the government?

Pretty much the only way to get shit done on a wide scale these days is to get it into the consciousness of the media.

Which generally involves either being a loud, annoying shit, buying your way into the papers, or both. And since disadvantaged groups tend to be short on money by default...

Hasn't that been the way it's always been done?

Precisely.

Like some other posters here, I'm not a fan of crashing a church to make a political point, however valid; and several of the band's reported actions would probably be illegal in most countries.

But you know what? Let's play out what would've happened if the incidents had happened in, say, St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC:

At worst, the girls would've been arrested, read their rights, and held for a definite, limited time before trial. They might have faced civil & criminal charges ... only, it'd be before a jury of unbought, unintimidated peers; before a judge who didn't directly owe his independence and safety to the President whom the defendants are insulting; and against an independent plaintiff who wasn't the aggrieved President's handpuppet. They'd have gotten something ranging from simple probation, to time served, to a couple months in stir at worst.

And no one could honestly say that the political target whose chain the girls were jerking had interfered at all—much less cheated and manipulated like a pro-wrestling villain. Neither could anyone reasonably claim that the "church" they'd invaded was something closer to a bought-and-paid-for, corrupt arm of the government and its head of state.

But that's not how it works in Russia, and that's what people are torqued about—rightly so. You don't have to approve of public disorder or disrespect churches to be on the defendants' side (with reservations), or to infer dismal things about the country that imprisoned them.

http://rt.com/news/pussy-riot-support-germany-111/

This appears to be relevant. People in Germany may face a similar prison sentence for a copycat protest like Pussy Riot's.

Of course, this IS Russia Today, so take from that what you will.

edited 21st Aug '12 12:03:46 PM by stripesthezebra

Russia: Killer demands that Pussy Riot be freed

After a few weeks of protests, this one is quite ironic.

http://rt.com/news/pussy-murder-kazan-professor-012/

And now it gets weird.

If I were a conspiracy theorist, I'd think Putin's men had arranged this murder. How much publicity is this getting in Russia?

Why is a conspiracy theory necessary? It's already been made obvious that the perp made a dumb, transparent attempt to blame the Pussy Riot protests in order to cover his tracks.

Conspiracies Theories are always necessary!

So... what? This was a secret, multi-layered plan by Pussy Riot to get their message out whilst simultaneously having the perp dismissed as a lone nutter?

Well, considering the Russians were the people who gave the word "maskirovka", you may not be too far from the truth. I doubt it though.

Here's another update:

Pussy Riot: No regrets despite prison sentence

Or as an experienced fellow put it: "In Russia, only cranks believe in 'lone gunmen.'"

Honestly, I thought it was an agent provocateur myself until I saw that article. If it doesn't serve to cast actual Pussy Riot supporters in a bad light, there's no reason for the Putin regime to do it.

I'm not sure whether the fact that it was so colossally, idiotically clumsy makes it more or less likely that someone else was behind it as well.

Update: Pussy Riot torches Putin's portrait in a video.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/entertainment/20120816/ENTERTAINMENT-US-RUSSIA-PUSSYRIOT/

Hate to double-post, but:

Orthodox Russian deacon stands up for Pussy Riot

What a guy, huh?

Man, this thread has a lot of catching up to do..

Anyways, the remaining Pussy Riot prisoners were released in December.

Earlier this month, they toured New York City.

Yesterday, two members were arrested in Sochi. They were freed after a few hours.

And today, members of the band were attacked in downtown Sochi on Wednesday by plainclothes police officers using an irritant spray and by Cossacks brandishing horsewhips.