| by Jill Vernon | 4/04/07 | 1813 views |
The sun’s attempt to invade the room was denied, much like a dream. Instead, a somber ambiance waited at the window and advanced no further. The curtains were drawn and dust was swimming through the fading rays of light. Candy was crying into a tissue as the depleted box sat nearby on the kitchen table. It was the third letter she had received that week, regarding her new business exploration.
“I just can’t understand why they hate me so much!” she screamed in agony. Zealots for God, an underground religious organization stationed on the border of Delaware and Maryland, has been sending Candy threatening mail as a warning of the ramifications that await her.
“They don’t want me to open my strip club,” explains Candy. “They don’t think college kids can handle the temptation. They just believe that everyone is immoral.” One letter, dated March 27th labels Candy a “Satan-loving idolater.” Hyperventilating now, Candy is losing her breath and her calm as her daughter Stardust awaits nearby, fixes coffee. With an unexpected outcry from ultra-conservative religious groups and from the City itself, the much-anticipated opening of the Candy Shop is endangered. These government and religious officials have made it public that they will not allow any new and “radical” form of entertainment on Main Street.
Zealots for God, a group that believes in “A Widespread Call to Holiness Through Suffering,” has been reputed to be involved with national affairs as well as worldwide issues. They perform corporal mortification, a startling and extreme practice. Zealots beat themselves and each other so that they may experience discomfort in the name of God. Through mysticism, Zealots for God believe they can directly contact God and Jesus. Currently, they are attempting to speak with the Holy Spirit and other deceased individuals, such as Joan of Arc, St. Anthony and Tupac Shakur.
Candy is ready to put up a fight to ensure her dream is realized. The Zealots claim they are acting out of “religious principle,” but Candy does not even understand what the word “principle” means. “I thought the kids would love it, but no one cares what I think. Let the kids decide.” Joining behind Candy has been an army of civil liberties and rights activists. At first, women’s groups were hesitant to join. Then a resounding voice was heard from campus organizations. Joyce,* a member of a student-run female club said, “This is about more than a strip club. This is about a woman being able to make it in a male-dominated society. Nowadays, men run every strip club. It is time for us to take the reins and open our own business.”
Candy’s voice must not be silenced and omitted. We must make an alliance behind her, creating a dialogue that moves silence into speech. For too long we have been unspoken as students, as our interests and lives have been controlled by a power-hungry supremacy. In the name of emancipation, we must not allow for the Strip Club to close before its opening. Let it live to see the dawn of a day where the sunrises over a world so sweet it allows its inhabitants to breath salvation. Stand behind Candy so we can make tangible the word “Freedom.” continue >>
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