Rich Lady Calls Cops On Statue Of 'Homeless Jesus' For Some Reason That Will Definitely Make Sense

Let's be honest. There is a lot of bad public art, like the terrifyingly large Marilyn Monroe statue or the rictus death smile Henry Winkler one, but sometimes public art is cool and provocative but then when it is those things, lots of people do not like it at all, oh no they don't. Take, for example, the homeless Jesus statue, which has many many rich people in a tizzy.

The statue depicts Jesus as a vagrant sleeping on a park bench. St. Alban's Episcopal Church installed the homeless Jesus statue on its property in the middle of an upscale neighborhood filled with well-kept townhomes.

Jesus is huddled under a blanket with his face and hands obscured; only the crucifixion wounds on his uncovered feet give him away.

That sounds very cool! And very in keeping with the life of Jesus, who was an itinerant wanderer who lived among the poor and downtrodden and "what you do for the least of my brothers" and all that hippie nonsense. But rich people do not really dig the poor and downtrodden, because they are more into that vengeful Jesus that makes them rich through that prosperity gospel stuff and also too Jesus wouldn't have been a wussy homeless person. 

The first time Cindy Castano Swannack of Davidson, N.C., saw the statue – called “Homeless Jesus" – she called the police. [...]

"I was concerned for the safety of the neighborhood,” she said.

 TRIGGER WARNING! 

“Jesus is not a vagrant, Jesus is not a helpless person who needs our help. We need someone who is capable of meeting our needs, not someone who is also needy.”

Yes, because if you have to remember that Jesus was an actual factual person with needs who often relied upon the kindness of others and extended that kindness in turn, it totally wrecks your worldview where Jesus is the cool Buddy Jesus that gives you stuff -- like winning a football game or getting a sweet-ass new CEO job -- because you throw some demand-prayers his way.

All props to the church that put the statue up, because it looks like they did so deliberately to tweak the noses of the rich people that go there and that live around them.

[St. Albans rector David Buck] "It gives authenticity to our church," he says. "This is a relatively affluent church, to be honest, and we need to be reminded ourselves that our faith expresses itself in active concern for the marginalized of society."

Haha rich people hate it so bad when you remind them that Jesus was not a rich person.

Perhaps the next time angry lady Cindy Swannack calls the cops, she'll get one stupid enough to try to roust sleeping Jesus and maybe break his toe kicking sleeping Jesus, much like those awesome Missouri police who stone cold murdered that concrete alligator a few years ago. For our part, we're just hoping someone takes out that weird Marilyn Monroe statue. Kill that thing with fire.

[ Raw Story / NPR ]