Selective Outrage: Notes on the Religious Controversy Du Jour

When I first saw the video of drag artist Pura Luka Vega performing to a remix version of "Ama Namin" surrounded by a small crowd, my mind immediately went to Mideo Cruz in 2011. 

In case you need a refresher, Cruz is an artist whose exhibit at the Cultural Center of the Philippines that year ignited a firestorm of controversy not unlike what Vega is facing today. Poleteismo featured pieces that combined religious imagery with socio-political iconography. What really got ultra conservative Catholics going were specific pieces like “Relics,” which the CCP described as “a life-sized wooden cross juxtaposed against other icons and objects, including a gigantic rosary, an image of a bleeding hand, a piece of cloth, a UP sign, and a moveable penis;” and “Poon,” a plaster of Paris sculpture of a composite image of Jesus of Nazareth and Mickey Mouse.

The outrage was swift and severe. Cruz received death threats and even the CCP wasn’t immune to the collective anger of the country’s large conservative Catholic population. A criminal case was even filed against Cruz and the CCP Board of Trustees for violations against certain provisions of the Revised Penal Code covering the prohibitions against “Immoral doctrines, obscene publications and exhibitions, and indecent shows.” That case was dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2013.

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Online Outrage, or Why We Need To Calm The F*** Down

This time, it’s a drag queen’s latest stunt that’s at the center of the religious controversy du jour. Just like Cruz before her, Vega is now the target of online vitriol and hate for offending religious beliefs and basically turning the phrase “taking the Lord’s name in vain” the understatement of the century.

The remix apparently ­­isn’t new and has been floating around the internet for at least a couple of years. But throw in a D-list drag queen cosplaying as Jesus and suddenly the faithful are offended. A content creator mixing religious songs with secular music gets a pass (and plenty of laughs) but a member of the queer community surrounded by an audience singing along to a slightly faster version of the Lord’s Prayer than the ones we’re used to singing in church is deemed vulgar and blasphemous. Why the selective outrage?

I’ve seen the video and I don’t buy for a second that Vega is practicing her faith her own way, just as she claims in the defiant statement she made after the controversy broke. I might give her the benefit of the doubt, but I’ll bet a cookie she was doing it for the shock value and to entertain a generally impressionable crowd that just wanted to have a good time. Which of course, she has every right to do, given that she lives in a society where there’s still freedom of speech and expression (last time we checked anyway).

Whatever her intentions were, we’re not impressed. Cruz sought to challenge notions of faith and spirituality by juxtaposing images of the sacred with symbols of celebrity and capitalism. He asked us to examine what is it about our faith that keeps us grounded and helps us get through life beyond simply following what’s out there or what’s been taught to us since childhood. In the process, he critiques the very core of our beliefs: when the physical objects of worship are tainted by modern-day realities—what happens then?

In contrast, we see no art or cause in what Vega did. We see no deeper meaning beyond a man dressed as a woman dressed as a religious figure—a natural foe for conservative Catholics—dancing and singing to a worship song. It is what it is, and those who say otherwise are kidding themselves. They’re rallying behind a cause that doesn’t exist. 

But that’s exactly the point. Vega doesn’t need to attach meaning in her little stunt. The act itself is enough of a statement, and while we think it’s lazy and uninspired—the complete opposite of what Cruz tried to do with his art—we’re squarely on Vega’s side because, again, she has every right to do it. That’s how it goes, right? Somebody does something that toes the line between the acceptable and heinous, and people react, giving the creator a thumbs up or down depending on their own sensibilities and which way their moral compass points. It’s a way to gauge where we are as a species and what’s important to us; what we can tolerate and what we shouldn’t. It's a good system and I think we should stick to it.

What we shouldn’t do is police the right of people to freely express themselves and punish them outright for causing offense. Because that’s a slippery slope, and that way leads nowhere but suppression and censorship. That’s how authoritarian regimes and religious fundamentalism start, and nobody wants that (except perhaps, the authoritarians and the religious fundamentalists).

The point is that, whether you like what Vega did or not, that’s the price we pay for the freedoms we enjoy. If you’re offended, sure, be offended, but go all in. Don’t stop with Vega. Be offended by that guy who dressed up as Jesus during Holy Week hurling cuss words left and right. Be upset by the dozens of creators on social media who mine religious cliches for material. Clutch your pearls and feel insulted by that guy who mixes church and worship songs with pop songs. And please, for the love of god, speak up and express fury when people in government spit out vulgarities and take the Lord God’s name in vain. Because if you don’t, it’s pretty clear that the only reason you’re offended now isn't because the person you’re hating is singing a remix version of "Ama Namin" in a club—it’s because she just happens to be a drag queen.