Humiliation Rituals
Or, the meaning of the rainbow crosswalk
According to an article on medium.com, “humiliation rituals” involve humiliating others in various ways, exposing them to the public, and verbally or physically abusing them. The purpose of such rituals is to “establish and reinforce social hierarchies within a group or community.” The article goes on the say that “subjecting people to this type of energy aims to exert dominance and control, reminding participants of their place in the social order.
As Canadian citizens, we have for some time been subjected to a growing number of humiliation rituals. Consider the rainbow crosswalk as one prominent example. The rainbow, a symbol of God’s promise revealed and explained after he destroyed the world with a flood and began again, has been appropriated by those who revel in the kind of sin that led to that great flood in the first place. Rainbow flags, buttons, pins, T-shirts, and logos abound, especially during the Month of Shame, when men pridefully expose their grossest sins in the light of day, to the delight of those who are seeking to destroy normality and institutionalize perversion.
But consider this: why would activists be so gung-ho about painting crosswalks with that distorted rainbow, when they could instead (and do!) paint murals, hang signs, and plaster stickers on every available surface?
It is because the rainbow crosswalk is a humiliation ritual, designed to remind dissenters that we are not in control. If we want to cross the street legally, we have to do the walk of shame on what has been transformed into a symbol of shame, and of God’s judgment upon a society. In many cases, people are left without a choice. You are forced to walk that walk, and be reminded that the principles you know to be true are no longer broadly accepted, nor are they considered acceptable. You are an outsider. You have been defeated. Get used to it, and humble yourself. Feel bad, you homophobe. Weep and mourn. Walk that rainbow road.
That’s the message of the rainbow crosswalk.
Symbols are powerful things. You are right to be repulsed by the use of a profoundly meaningful Biblical symbol to promote a way of life that is profoundly anti-Biblical, whose promotion is evidence that God has “given over” a society (Psalm 81:12; Romans 1:24,26,28). Understand the purpose of these symbols, and why they are being forced upon us. And work to reclaim that beautiful symbol of God’s gracious promises, which are always linked with his acts of judgment. Those who enact these humiliation rituals will be judged. They have already received their reward.