Pussy Riot and the misunderstood symbolism behind their act

Pussy Riot and  the misunderstood symbolism behind their act

The Facts: 

Pussy Riot infiltrated Cathedral of Christ the Savior and with video cameras and guitars, made a video. This church is the scene where and is near the scene where, tens of thousands of  believers were murdered by a dictator who hated anyone who wasn't a devout Atheist. The rebuilding of the church is a symbol of the rebuilding of the Christian Spirit and the fall of the atheist communistic hell they used to live under. 

An act that seems to defile a place of religion is deemed to be an act against that religion, regardless of what that act is really trying to say. Trespassing without permission is still against the law and hence, is punishable under law. 

So why is what Pussy Riot did so controversial with so much support from around the world, especially the Western World? Keep in mind that ever since Communism took root in Russia, the Orthodox church has had extremely close ties to the government, even to the point of the Russian government needing to "approve" the sermons before they are spoken in church. 

1) The Western world largely sees it as a squashing of Free Speech. They conveniently ignore that the band trepassed into a place they did not belong, went up on stage where they did not belong, and dances and chanted in a way that was NOT appropriate for a Russian Orthodox Church. 

2) The Western world is largely against communism because it has practised keeping their constituents in line through violence, imprisonment, and fear. 

So, why did Pussy Riot choose that church, of all churches? I do not know their reasons, but here is what I see. 

1) The country of Russia has been trying to ban freedom of speech. The Russian government has been making and passing laws that take away and kill the freedoms of the Russian citizens. 

2) Why not illustrate how the Russian government is killing its citizen's freedom, by reminding people of the 10,000 people that were brutally murdered at the hands of a sadist? I believe that Pussy Riot is trying to say that the Russian government is killing us off just like they did the tens of thousands of Christians and that we must never forget their deaths as it will happen again. And, Pussy Riot believes that Putin is leading Russian towards this again and that the church should not ally itself with such a person. 

Issue: Christians see it only as mocking God. They do not see what else it could mean. Would there have been a better way of illustrating their point? Sure! But I guarantee you, it would have gone largely unnoticed and would NOT have gotten the world on their side. 

3) They may also be saying if God is real, then why do we still have the freedom killing people in office? Why are you Believers standing there, idol instead of doing something to stop the crimes against Russian citizens? 

4) Most importantly, they are asking believers to stand their ground and stop fraternizing with the enemy who has taken your freedoms away before. The government that was communist has squashed freedoms and killed. Putin is leaning harshly towards communism and can kill as well. 

Given the opinion that they had to use that church to get the attention they desired, was it justified? I would say mixed. It still breaks laws, and because of the laws it breaks, I am still 100% against what they did, but on the other hand, I do understand why they did that, and for those reasons, I am leery of giving them such a sentence. 

Did they destroy the church in any way? If they did, yes they should have to fix that damage, and do a proper job of it.