Yes! Here you see a very happy bunny. You remember last week when I posted here under the title 'this goes too far' about a the sex shop near our Parrish center that had a statue of Mother Maria amidst is wares who were openly displayed through clear glass?
Guess what? It's GONE! When we walked past it to chuch today with the children, I payed special attention. I spoke to one of my fellow catechists about it and he remembered having heard something about it on the local news. ((I really should considder getting my tv working again, if just for these things)).
Aparently many people like I had been indignant about it, and reacted. The owners of the shop, my collegue remembered had also been indignant, saying the shop had been displayed like that in the city of Ghent and no one had protested. ((Hurray for Antwerp! hip hip hip...!)) Furthermore they objected to being called 'a sex shop'. Well... forgive me, but if you fill your displaywindows with plastic whats-it-nots, toys and skimpy lingery.. what else ARE you? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... guess what I'm going to call it?
Anyhow, the statue is gone and is now (unfortunately) replaced by a much smaller plaque which still bears the image of the virgin Mary, because that happens to be the logo of the lingery.
I've looked it up on the net, can't find the logo displayed on the site but the thing is filled with images of churches, crosses etc: http://www.vivemaria.de/intro.swf (this page is a clear example of the incorporation of religious symbols and spares those that wrestle with the sin of purity the pictures of halfnaked women)
Anyhow, I feel so proud that protesting people like me HAVE made a difference here. *G* Probably inplanting that shop in the 'Holy Ghost street', near to a parrish center was less of a good move than they expected!
Guess what? It's GONE! When we walked past it to chuch today with the children, I payed special attention. I spoke to one of my fellow catechists about it and he remembered having heard something about it on the local news. ((I really should considder getting my tv working again, if just for these things)).
Aparently many people like I had been indignant about it, and reacted. The owners of the shop, my collegue remembered had also been indignant, saying the shop had been displayed like that in the city of Ghent and no one had protested. ((Hurray for Antwerp! hip hip hip...!)) Furthermore they objected to being called 'a sex shop'. Well... forgive me, but if you fill your displaywindows with plastic whats-it-nots, toys and skimpy lingery.. what else ARE you? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... guess what I'm going to call it?
Anyhow, the statue is gone and is now (unfortunately) replaced by a much smaller plaque which still bears the image of the virgin Mary, because that happens to be the logo of the lingery.
I've looked it up on the net, can't find the logo displayed on the site but the thing is filled with images of churches, crosses etc: http://www.vivemaria.de/intro.swf (this page is a clear example of the incorporation of religious symbols and spares those that wrestle with the sin of purity the pictures of halfnaked women)
Anyhow, I feel so proud that protesting people like me HAVE made a difference here. *G* Probably inplanting that shop in the 'Holy Ghost street', near to a parrish center was less of a good move than they expected!
