Counter-demo for Springer protestors

Jerry Springer: The Opera opened at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester last night accompanied not only by the usual gaggle of Springer protestors, but also by a counter-demo by the active Leicester Secular Society in support of free speech. As far as we can gather, this is the first time the anti-Springer brigade have encountered organised opposition.

If the show is coming to a theatre near you, and you want to know what the Christian demonstrators are up to (if anything), Stephen Green of Christian Voice has helpfully set up a web page (Stopspringer.com) with contact details for would-be activists.

UPDATE: The Leicester Secular Society reports that supporters of the show actually outnumbered anti-Springer protestors!

UPDATE: This was not the first time Springer protestors had faced opposition. A couple of hardy souls turned up in Birmingham to defend free speech, too. Well done them! (Thanks Andrew and Marc in the comments)


14 Responses to “Counter-demo for Springer protestors”

  1. Joe says:

    And once again Mr Green’s famously flexible morality comes into play; the FAQ at http://www.stopspringer.com/faq.html contains links to a – presumably illegal – Russian website with a copy of the libretto for JS:TO.

  2. JP says:

    The website links to an Independent article saying that Woolworths and Sainsbury’s have withdrawan the DVD due to customer concerns. “Sainsbury has admitted it received just 10 complaints.” I wonder who there’ll react to a counter campaign…?

  3. Dadblog says:

    Hurrah for Leicester

    Finally, someone is standing up to the Christian bullies trying to stop the tour of Jerry Springer: The Opera. Jerry Springer: The Opera opened at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester last night accompanied not only by the usual gaggle of Springer protest…

  4. Marc Draco says:

    Hear hear. I wanted to protest at Middlesbrough, but they haven’t got here yet and I only heard about York too late.

    As to that website, the FAQ is laughable, funnier that JS:TO itself in places. Check this out:

    “Can’t your God look after Himself?

    “That’s the worrying part. He can. He can rain fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah, He can wreck the economy of ancient Egypt with natural disasters. He can overturn kingdoms and thrones. He sends prophets to warn the people and if the people and their rulers do not listen, He moves in judgment against them. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. His arm is not shortened. He demands obedience from individuals and from nations. Christians are told that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind, and the second is to love thy neighbour as thyself. It is out of that love that we warn this United Kingdom to repent.”

    Ya de ya de ya.

    “He” hasn’t made a single move on anything in properly recorded history that cannot be attributed to purely natural means. Even the plagues of Egypt were perfectly natural if you study the scientific examinations.

    If Green’s god were so incensed he could have wiped out the BBC, Ofcom and David Soul in a single lightning strike, earthquake or tsunami. But he hasn’t and he hasn’t for one of two reasons:

    1) He doesn’t exist (and can’t hear the prayers of Green and co).
    2) He doesn’t care.

    The only people who are offended by it are those who have an axe to grind – and guess who God (if you believe in him) was pissing on in York while the audience roared with laughter inside the theatre…

    The prosecution rests.

  5. Paul Christopher says:

    Another quote from the FAQ:

    ‘It being on in a London Theatre must offend Christians just as much as a murder or rape happening behind closed doors offends’

  6. Stuart says:

    If rape behind closed doors offends Christians so much, how come ‘civilians’ who do it get jail sentences, but priests just get moved to another parish and protection from a conspiracy of silence?
    In similar vein, if rape is only offensive to Christians ‘behind closed doors’, does that mean Green would rather flog tickets to his flock to watch it in public?

  7. Marc Draco says:

    It’s just Green using spin and poor comparisons to make his point. By tying an emotive issue that everyone agrees with to one that only he and his band of merry prayer-beetles agree with, he hopes to muster support.

  8. Phil says:

    From the FAQ
    [QUOTE]
    The Lord God brought 1,500 Christians in protest outside BBC venues all over the United Kingdom on the evening of 8th January in an unprecedented street vigil of prayer and praise to Almighty God.
    The 400-500 at White City alone prayed for God to have mercy and stop the transmission. By letting it go ahead, it was clear God’s heart was for judgment instead. And also, although He could send a York-Minster-style thunderbolt, He is generous enough to involve His people in His triumph, which will come.
    [/QUOTE]
    I find it soooo hard to comprehend that a supposed adult can come out with such utter infantile drivel.

  9. Andrew says:

    Not so much of an organised counter-demo, but we saw this guy outside the Birmingham performance, standing in the midst of the Christian Voice protesters:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/krypto/101559700/

    We told him he was cool 🙂

  10. marc says:

    Not forgetting this young lass!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/krypto/101259816/in/photostream/

    If Green shows his ugly mug in Middlesbrough, I’ll show him something that’ll really upset him! 😉

  11. […] (via MediaWatchWatch who have discovered that a cople of hardy souls also turned up in Birmingham to support free speech.) Posted by Paul in UK (March 2, 2006 at 10:04 pm) […]

  12. martyn says:

    “Sainsbury has admitted it received just 10 complaints.”
    Well perhaps we should get 20 people to complain about them selling man u merchandise because they have satan on their crest??

    If fact, I think I’ll do that just to see if I get a reply.

  13. marc says:

    Odd as that comment may sound, it’s not quite as daft as it seems. Perhaps we can find something more “offensive” to complain about though.

    I rather doubt the decision was moved by only 10 complaints, more the threats of the furore that might have ensued if Green and his prayer beetles starting baying at their stores.

  14. Well now there’s more organised campaigners FOR the show, thankfully!

    http://www.bringbackspringer.com