MY NEW HERO
Laura Lush
In a fortuitous conjunction of publicity whores, Get Shot!, a California band billing itself as “the sleaziest punk band in the world,” has shot a two-minute video of its bass player lying on a blanket and masturbating on the lawn of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas…. Bassist Laura Lush (Lydia Lunch libel!!) said in a press release on the band’s sad Facebook page, “The Phelps family and Westboro Baptist Church are ridiculous and do nothing except spread hate and cause controversy. As a bisexual woman and the bass player of a ridiculous punk band, I wanted to spread my legs and cause controversy”.
It’s Day 5 of the government shutdown, and I’m already sick to death of the cheap, tawdry drama. Since the GOP hardly needs my help committing political suicide (they’re acquitting themselves admirably all by their lonesome), I thought I’d cast about for something of greater and more redeeming interest. What could be better than the combination of sex and the merry inbreds of the Westboro Baptist Church? It’s the perfect gift at the perfect moment- exposing the wingnuts to the very sort of thing that’s likely to make pointy li’l haids ‘splode. It’s difficult to know if this more protest or viral marketing stunt for an unremarkable punk band…but, hey; I’m writing about, so whatever it was seems to have had the desired effect, no?
When I think of protest, I generally don’t think of autoeroticism on a blanket in front of a church (NSFW picture here). I’m fairly certain that few would wish to see me naked, anyway, much less…oh, never mind. This is why, generally speaking, my protests, such as they are, rarely involve the word “disrobing.”
Even though the methods and ideology of the WBC have become passé and a cheap exercise in self-parody, I always appreciate seeing bigots and zealots held up to rich-deserve ridicule. And full credit to Ms. Lush for bravery and creativity. I haven’t seen the video (nor do I plan to), but this being the Internet we’re talking about, anything even vaguely pornographic is likely to go viral almost immediately. I’m not certain that’s a good thing, but there it is.
Remember when public nudity (and self-gratification) were considered shocking and disgraceful? Now such silliness barely raises an eyebrow. We’re either just that tired of the WBC, or a woman masturbating on a blanket in front of a church no longer rises to the level of shocking our collective moral sensibilities.
Go ahead; watch the video. Then be prepared to spend the rest of the day trying to purge those images from your brain. Good luck with that one.
