Killing in the Name of
I thought long and hard about whether or not to post this photo, knowing it would likely offend many people, yet realizing that it is necessary to “push the envelope” at times to make a point, to relay a message. I have become very interested in symbols and the power of symbolism and was looking to incorporate that more into my photos rather than just always taking snapshots of life. At the same time I have been reading Joseph Campbell, about myths, rituals, and belief systems and how they relate to the worlds religions and societies both now and in the past.
There is a fundamental need for belief systems and rules on how to act, otherwise society will degenerate into anarchy. Where this becomes an issue is when certain subgroups of society profess their belief system to be the ultimate truth and are willing to force those beliefs on the nonconformists. The greatest purges of mankind have occurred to force a set of beliefs on a populace, in many cases religious beliefs. This is a way of control; purge the freethinkers, the independent individuals who constitute a threat and society as a whole tends to follow meekly along.
There are a multitude of examples of this philosophy throughout history: the Crusades, the witch trials, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, the McCarthy era. There are multiple examples even today, just not on the same scale. Why else would it be considered acceptable to order a woman gang-raped because her brother’s wife caused some offense to him (Pakistan)? Why else would it be considered acceptable to deny the same rights to homosexual couples that are enjoyed by heterosexual couples (US)? It all boils down to a means to control a part of a population and force them to follow your belief system.
This photo uses 2 previous photos from Peru in an attempt to symbolize the amount of violence and killing that has been committed in the name of God and of Christ. I tend not to believe in the existence of God, but I do believe in Christ the man, the teacher. I am sure he would be ashamed of and deeply sorrowed by all the blood that has been spilled in his name.
To any offended by my photo, I apologize. That was not my intent. It was to provoke thought on how the preaching of intolerance is not that far from the preaching of hate, and how easy that leads to violence against those that don’t conform to a set of ideals.
The name come from a song by "Rage Against the Machine"
Killing in the Name of
I thought long and hard about whether or not to post this photo, knowing it would likely offend many people, yet realizing that it is necessary to “push the envelope” at times to make a point, to relay a message. I have become very interested in symbols and the power of symbolism and was looking to incorporate that more into my photos rather than just always taking snapshots of life. At the same time I have been reading Joseph Campbell, about myths, rituals, and belief systems and how they relate to the worlds religions and societies both now and in the past.
There is a fundamental need for belief systems and rules on how to act, otherwise society will degenerate into anarchy. Where this becomes an issue is when certain subgroups of society profess their belief system to be the ultimate truth and are willing to force those beliefs on the nonconformists. The greatest purges of mankind have occurred to force a set of beliefs on a populace, in many cases religious beliefs. This is a way of control; purge the freethinkers, the independent individuals who constitute a threat and society as a whole tends to follow meekly along.
There are a multitude of examples of this philosophy throughout history: the Crusades, the witch trials, the Inquisition, the Holocaust, the McCarthy era. There are multiple examples even today, just not on the same scale. Why else would it be considered acceptable to order a woman gang-raped because her brother’s wife caused some offense to him (Pakistan)? Why else would it be considered acceptable to deny the same rights to homosexual couples that are enjoyed by heterosexual couples (US)? It all boils down to a means to control a part of a population and force them to follow your belief system.
This photo uses 2 previous photos from Peru in an attempt to symbolize the amount of violence and killing that has been committed in the name of God and of Christ. I tend not to believe in the existence of God, but I do believe in Christ the man, the teacher. I am sure he would be ashamed of and deeply sorrowed by all the blood that has been spilled in his name.
To any offended by my photo, I apologize. That was not my intent. It was to provoke thought on how the preaching of intolerance is not that far from the preaching of hate, and how easy that leads to violence against those that don’t conform to a set of ideals.
The name come from a song by "Rage Against the Machine"