LogFAQs > #960315872

In a sense, that has sort of happened with Floyd.

Not only is this not true but I wouldn't blame anyone who put you on ignore for that statement just now.

At it's most favorable interpretation Floyd was an innocent man killed by police brutality/negligence due to racism. This is the MOST favorable interpretation and glosses over things like his prior criminal record, drug use, and the like. It also neglects basically everything Jesus was doing that lead up to his arrest. Jesus preached redemption, a personal relationship with God, and that the religious orders at the time did not hold a monopoly upon religious matters. To Christians he is also believed to be the son of God who was divinely sent to die to provide a pathway for us to be redeemed and be with God.

If you get away from the outrage over "the mural is saying Floyd is Jesus!" and instead think about it in terms of "Floyd's death was like Jesus' in that it has brought great things to the world, and we should honour and uphold those things so that his mother's sorrow was not in vain," it makes enough sense.

Even if one could argue that this was true, it doesn't change the fact that it is being highly offensive to people of a personal religious belief, treading on what is basically sacred ground for little more than political reasons, and making a false (and highly offensive) association. Even if you think that it isn't offensive because of the reason you just stated that doesn't change that it IS potentially highly offensive to a certain religious belief and a failure to acknowledge that ruins any point you may potentially have about it. I'm not saying the people don't have a right to make pictures like this, that it should be censored, or the like. Just that it is walking a very thin line of being offensive or not (and many will) and probably shouldn't be located in a school.

If you don't want somebody to be turned into a martyr, don't martyr them.

There are many people who are martyrs for a multitude of reasons. Just being one doesn't mean people should make images of them being equivalent to Jesus. This doesn't mean their sacrifice/martyrdom wasn't important, significant, heroic, or the like. Just that it shouldn't be treated like it means they are the same as Jesus. Peter himself asked to be crucified upside down because he didn't feel he was worthy enough to be crucified the same was as Jesus was and this was the man who, by all accounts, was his best friend. It's why the upside down cross is on the Pope's chair (and it's sacred to Catholics).

It's important to remember that there are other things people value beyond 'equality'. This does not mean that they are bad people or even against equality (they may even champion it) but matters of faith and the sacred, for good or ill, need to be handled different than those of something like racial justice. If you think Floyd's martyrdom has brought about great change and what-not, I won't fight you, since that's not my point. My point is that comparing him to Jesus is an extremely fine line that will offend quite a lot of Christians and needs to be understood and acknowledged as such. This boy has every right to be offended over this and I don't believe for a second he's in the wrong. At most he's over-reacting but it's a VERY understandable over-reaction at that.