He has run the gauntlet of sin and temptation, fulfilling his chosen role as martyr, saint, avatar. The space around me is being filled with more and more bodies once active, now at rest, lured by the titillating scent of conflict. Bicycle riders, dog walkers and lovers on a stroll change their destination to view this spectacle of gritting teeth and arched backs. I find myself part of a large audience listening to the older Christian woman sermonizing over the edge of her big square poster. Two young women are now her targets, defending their right to be young and free.
Words fly back and forth.
Teeth are gritted. Voices break the notes of anger and tension. This was an unkind cut but true. I am transfixed on this religious right-winger, dismayed at her likeness to this disfigured image, an image that represents her own struggle. I look at the teenage girl, expecting some show of remorse, a look of embarrassment at her callousness, but I see nothing.