In the end, this appears to be a minor blip that was massaged and aimed to bring out the exact behavior it did. It manipulated Us-vs-Them thinking and actions. But there are consequences to all of this wrangling. It adds to the negativity and unhelpful energy in the world. We don’t need more!

 

By David Jones

 

Quick background: the Olympic Opening Ceremony included a live recreation of a feast for the ancient Greek god Dionysus. The Olympics are an ancient Greek thing. The 2024 Summer Games were held in France. Some folks from both cultures enjoy art, wine, and the occasional transgression of Good Moral Values. So this was totally on brand.

I don’t watch the Olympics, so I didn’t see the presentation, and didn’t know it upset folks until other writers started commenting on it.

Someone said this was a blasphemy, a mockery of The Last Supper. I didn’t get that myself. Soon it escalated from a flurry to a blizzard, a full-on controversy!

One side had some Conservative-leaning folks wearing the label “Christian,” and man did they sound angry. Accusations about mocking Jesus, disrespecting their beliefs, and untrue complaints about a “War Against Faith” were at full volume.

The other side had some Liberal-leaning folks wearing the label “Not Christian” (with variations), and they were laughing at the angry people. The Last Supper was not being mocked, but the maligned “Ridiculous Christians” were.

Look, I believe a few folks were honestly angry about the presentation at first, but not at all like it became. This outrage didn’t feel organic. No, it took intentional and strategic poking and prodding to get the masses this riled up.

So here are some things I hope we think about:

-If friends, neighbors, loved ones, religious leaders, or I tell you something, please for the love of God don’t just assume it’s true. And investigate before spreading it.

-Just because you read or hear a few loud folks wearing the “Christian” label assert something, it doesn’t mean all of Christendom believes it or agrees. You don’t have to believe anything to click the angry emoji, comment your disgust, and share it out. A few do not represent the whole. None of my Christian friends knew what I was talking about when I first brought this up.

-Art. Everyone’s a critic.

-People often climb on their group’s bandwagon reflexively, without really thinking about it. The social psychology involved is astonishing: some folks predictably join their peers in spreading the outrage, other folks predictably join their peers in making fun of them.

-When I saw the pictures, my mind went to Bollywood, not da Vinci. Most Christians didn’t make the connection between the Dionysus Revel and The Last Supper…until someone connected those specific dots for them. Once that happened, like the “Wolverine’s head looks like two Batmans kissing” meme, they couldn’t unsee it. That’s the power of suggestion.

-Americans are primed for outrage 24/7. It’s reflexive behavior, which is why we can become angry over absolutely anything. Americans are also predisposed to berate anyone in “the other group.” If we default to either of those reflexive reactions without pausing to think about it, we’re aiding and abetting the controversy.

-Controversies are like viruses, and they grow and spread the same way. The infection of a mere few can erupt into a full-blown pandemic of outrage as millions mindlessly comment and react, spreading the contagion. If neither side had such weakened or compromised “meda immune systems” this would have died out in a few hours. Instead, it took hold and spread out of control.

-This whole thing smelled artificial as soon as I read about it. It was carefully crafted to make Team A rage-post and Team B ridicule them for it. This overblown controversy didn’t care about truth, just beefing up the bottom lines. For Community Influencers and Content Creators, who live or die by their metrics (Click-Throughs, Page Views and Ad Views), this made for easy work and a nice algorithm bump. For church leaders, it galvanized their sleepy flocks. For Social Media folks, who live or die by the engagement with posts (reaction emojis, comments, and post shares) this was a prayer fulfilled.

Folks profit from our mindless antagonism. After all, Enraged Is Engaged.

In the end, this appears to be a minor blip that was massaged and aimed to bring out the exact behavior it did. It manipulated Us-vs-Them thinking and actions. But there are consequences to all of this wrangling. It adds to the negativity and unhelpful energy in the world. We don’t need more!

It encourages folks to be quick to anger and slow to truly hear others, dulling any habit of thinking through our words and actions first. Don’t let the anger of a few lead you to follow them or their anger blindly.

It drives us all further apart. Like we need this? Judging others for their culture, views, or whatever Does. Not. Help. Whether accusing someone for being part of Woke Culture or of a dumb religion is not skillful and not mindful.

By inflaming wrath in others just because we’re angry and want company, or inflating divisions between human beings (Over an art piece? Really?), we work against Right Speech, Right Thought, Right Action, and Right Mindfulness. We work against Love, Compassion, and Understanding.

We need to reach out with understanding instead of ridicule. We need to treat others the way we want to be treated, not the way we think they’ll treat us. We need to question our leaders and our peers instead of just playing the game when someone says Go!

Please be helpful. Because I’m called to be a peacemaker. And I’m starting to feel pretty damn alone out here.
Folks profit from our mindless antagonism. After all, Enraged Is Engaged. ~David Jones #olympics #clickbait Share on X

 

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Photo: Pixabay

Editor: Dana Gornall

 

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