Boards
Pussy Riot are in jail after their punk rock lyrics offended the wrong people. | Source
Many Russian citizens and American pop stars (Madonna, Paul McCartney, Yoko Ono, Courtney Love) have publicly pleaded to “FREE PUSSY RIOT!” During the sentencing, protesters waited outside of the court room demanding that the trio be released. No dice.
We know everywhere can’t be like America (which of course has its own problems) and we don’t want everywhere to be like America. But it’s still hard to accept that in 2012 there are countries and governments that would deny a right as basic as freedom of speech.
Imagine if girls like Julia Bluhm who convinced Seventeen to include unPhotoshopped spreads in each issue to promote a healthier body image couldn’t speak out? Imagine if the three girls who petitioned to have a female moderator during the Presidential debates (and won!) couldn’t speak out?
Imagine if you couldn’t express your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs because it wasn’t what everyone else wanted you to believe? Imagine that your Tumblr, Twitter or Facebook could be used as evidence against you by the government for saying something like, “I don’t support ObamaCare!” or “I don’t think Obama has done enough for LGBT rights!” or “Obama is doing nothing to protect reproductive rights for women!” (Note: These are SO not our beliefs, we just needed examples. Totally cool if they’re YOUR beliefs though!) Now, imagine that if you were caught for expressing those opinions you could go to prison.
It’s really scary. Two of the Pussy Riot members are mothers of young children, now those kids don’t have their moms for two more years. How can the world really change when even the most non-violent forms of criticism (a song, people!) can send your butt to prison? I don’t have any answers and I don’t know that there is one.
The only thing we can do is be proud of the women and men who are brave enough to stand up for their beliefs, especially when so many of us are not. Perhaps we can take better advantage of our own freedom of speech in the U.S. to honor those people in other countries who can only dream of such a right?
Find something you really believe in, wholeheartedly, and stand up for it when you can, when it matters, even if it’s just protecting a kid from being bullied, casting a vote, or writing a blog post. Small actions can collectively make big differences, with so much freedom in America, we don’t have any excuse. Do it for Pussy Riot and anyone else unjustly punished for simply having a belief.
Do you think Pussy Riot’s punishment was fair? Let us know in the comments!
Actually, this article doesn’t say the whole truth. The band along with other youth came into a church, yes a place of religious prayer and turned it into a rock concert. They came into a church and started screaming and dancing in the middle of a prayer. Personally, and i think that many will agree with me, I think their act disrespected those that were praying and those that were working in the church. Although I don’t think that their punishment should be so severe, their act was wrong. It wasn’t freedom of speech, it was the full disrespect of everyone around them.
yes actually it is their righ to freeedom of speech yes what they did was very disrespectful and rude to all those around them but freedom of speech doesnt stop when somone else gets offended or feels disrespected as much as it may pain you to realize freedom of speech is a persons right to say whatever they want as long as it is not inciting physical violence or causeing imdiate danger to somone else neither of those things were present in this situation and so they had the right to say what they said even though they were inside a church.
I think the should let Pussy Riot go, it’s a fact that we should have our freedom of speech, besides what did it do? Hurt someone’s feelings. Aww grow up.. I mean seriously today’s world is different from the 1800′s or 1700′s, it’s a new world ha get over it.
Yeah….a worse world…What they did was just disrespectful and if we accept that then we are messed up…..
It is kind of sad that Russia is still stuck in the old times but this just shows us how lucky we are to live in a place that allows freedom of speech.
that’s effed up. what if green day went to jail for two years for american idiot? or the sex pistols for god save the queen? (i mean i think the sex pistols did get arrested for playing that song once, but not for two years!) i would be seriously pissed. this punk band didn’t do anything different from any other punk band. thats what punk bands do! they make political statements.