U2start.com | Joshua Tree 2019 tour hits Manila

MattG

5 years

enters thread

colbourne25

5 years

Well... this took a bit of a turn didn't it...

popmarter

5 years

I'm sure the band are more worried about balancing the books than annoying a few protesters who don't like their choice of venue they've played political hotspots in the past like Israel, Sarajevo, Colombia, Mexico,Chile and Sth Africa despite reservations by some who thought it wasn't politically correct to play in those countries.

jick

5 years

Guys I've been constantly editing my post because I keep finding typos in it, and I also keep adding more details. The post is really intended for my fellow Filipinos but I am just sharing it here too for reference.

This discussion has made a left-turn pretty fast. Let me just say this which is my own opinion. I think the Filipinos respect all forms of religion. While we are mostly Catholics, we have a lot of Muslim brothers. There are also some other Protestant variations of Catholicism and the Iglesia Ni Kristo is one of them. They are still Christians and believe the same Bible. They are by no means a "cult." How can a cult build the biggest indoor arena in the world? While I am not an Iglesia Ni Kristo member, I travel around the country a lot and even in the most far-flung regions, there is always an Iglesia Ni Kristo church. They've been around for a long long time. From Filipinos at least, I can assure you there will be no protests about U2 playing that venue. Other big acts have played there before.

Cheers,

J

Turkued

5 years

Originally posted by popmarter:I'm sure the band are more worried about balancing the books than annoying a few protesters who don't like their choice of venue they've played political hotspots in the past like Israel, Sarajevo, Colombia, Mexico,Chile and Sth Africa despite reservations by some who thought it wasn't politically correct to play in those countries.

Playing politics?

It's not about playing in the Philippines, it's about playing in a venue used by a human rights violating sect to increase its stature. Has U2 forgotten their commitment to equal rights for our LGBT brothers and sisters? Wikipedia:

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The Iglesia ni Cristo adheres to the teachings of the Bible and they denounce those who practice homosexual acts, as they are seen as immoral and wicked. The organization has been called by international human rights organizations as one of the most homophobic religious sects operating in the Philippines.[99] These acts include having sexual affairs and relations with partners of the same sex, cross-dressing, and same-sex marriage.[99] Furthermore, men are not allowed to have long hair, for it is seen as a symbol of femininity and should be exclusive to women only. LGBT people born into INC families reportedly suffer the greatest as their existence is branded explicitly as wicked by their own family and the pastor of their locality. Numerous cases also exist where INC members who chose to leave the faith faced massive backlash from family members, pastors, and other INC members locally and abroad, making it hard for INC members to get away from the church. Hate crimes and forced conversion therapy committed by family members towards INC LGBT teenagers have also surfaced and are backed by the Templo Sentral, the central establishment of the INC church. The INC has been widely known to the Filipino LGBT community as the most dangerous and discriminating religion for LGBT Filipinos. The church believes that no matter what a person does, good or bad, if the person is homosexual (closeted or not), he or she will still burn in hell.[99][100][101]

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Further, concerning the arena:

The Iglesia ni Cristo allows non-Iglesia tenants to use the arena. The church reserves the right to disallow activities which it sees violate its religious principles,

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Will U2 guarantee that LGBT members of the U2 community will be able to attend this concert in the church first building of a LGBT bashing sect that ranks as "one of the most homophobic religious sects operating in the Philippines"?

When North Carolina passed the bathroom bill Bruce Springsteen, and others, cancelled their concerts there in protest. I remember the beautiful screen shots of love of all types during the last tour. Is U2 really going to legitimise homophobes and human rights violators?

Maybe I was wrong about this community and this band. I thought we were about more than songs and money. The band needs to address this - perhaps the plan is to go into the church/arena and uphold the values this band has supported. That would be great. Until then, assurance need to be given that LGBT members of our community will not be harassed by church employees / security guards etc.should they want to attend this concert.

colbourne25

5 years

Originally posted by Turkued:[..]
Until then, assurance need to be given that LGBT members of our community will not be harassed by church employees / security guards etc.should they want to attend this concert.

Your last sentence just shows how ridiculous and over the top you're being... are member of the LGBT community going to be broadcasting their sexual preference which would then lead to them being harassed? Are the church employees/security guards going to be asking people what their sexual preference is are they?

Anyways, this discussion is pointless and ridiculous and no good will come of it. The only thing that will likely happen is people within this forum will now avoid opening this thread because they don't want to read about some political nonsense.

miryclay

5 years

Because U2 is an openly political band, and for an Irish band to be playing the Philippines is also, at the macro, a political act. Let's not forget The Beatles got 'ran out' of the country in 1966. Further, U2 has supported LGBT quite strongly in the last two years.

The whole point of U2 is to get people talking.

Remy

5 years

Alright, time for politics to slowly fade out of this thread

Let’s not make this general Manila topic something people don’t want to open or participate in.

colbourne25

5 years

Originally posted by Remy:Alright, time for politics to slowly fade out of this thread Let’s not make this general Manila topic something people don’t want to open or participate in.

Thank you!

SJKamal

5 years

Who's thinking of going to this show then?

ddarroch

5 years

Originally posted by Turkued:
The Iglesia ni Cristo allows non-Iglesia tenants to use the arena. The church reserves the right to disallow activities which it sees violate its religious principles.

Will be interesting to see if Love is Bigger is played then. I hope so, it was great live, & it's a great message to bring to this part of the world.

jick

5 years

Here's a video I just made, I hope it doesn't get taken out for copyright infringement. I used the studio versions for audio so that it will sound familiar to Filipinos.

U2 In The Philippines Preview Trailer - The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 compiled by yours truly....

Cheers,

J

Joshua Tree 2019 tour hits Manila - All discussions

2019-12-11 - Manila

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