> I can add some details to this which Chuck0 didn't mention. There are 22,000
> of these conventioneers, and they are all members of the same fundamentalist
> pentecostal (or charismatic, though those have a slight difference of
> meaning) denomination which Ashcroft is a member of, the Assemblies of God
> (http://ag.org/). Just to be very clear: the convention is not just for
> youth ministers and their flocks, though those make up a large percentage of
> the attendees (they are specifically attending an event called the "Fine
> Arts Festival", which, predictably, is neither about fine art nor is it a
> festival in any sense).
Thanks for the additional details!
Yes, I noticed that AOG was on many of their t-shirts. I was trying to find out if this convention was just for one denomination or youth church groups in general.
> The larger event is known as "General Council" and it's roughly equivalent
> to the large convention the Southern Baptists have every year: there are
> items of church polity up for vote by licensed ministers. Some of these are
> interesting in their own right, including stuff about the impermissibility
> of divorce ("strengthening the family"), but also a few which aim at
> softening the denomination's traditionally harsh stance against women
> leadership (not that it will make any difference in practice).
>
> I live about 4 blocks west of the new convention center, in downtown DC, and
> these 22,000 (almost entirely white, as Chuck0 mentions) conventioneers have
> taken over this part of DC like a plague of locusts. I have been regularly
> talking to (and at) them in the street, when opportunity presents itself,
> saying random, "blasphemous" things ("Jesus was a fag" is my favorite; it
> really freaks'em out), as well as low-key conversations about terrorism, the
> Middle East, Ashcroft, etc.
They've also infested the subway system out to Virginia where I live.
My preference towards dealing with these folks is to shock them. My roommate prefers to talk with them. She came from a secular childhood in rural West Virginia where they had bookburning, whereas I came from a fundamentalist Lutheran upbringing. I guess when you have an intimate hatred for fundamentalism, you have less patience for fundies.
> I've repeatedly seen these AG conventioneers rebuff homeless folks asking
> for spare change, almost always by being offering a religious tract. I don't
> necessarily think refusing to give spare change is problematic, but offering
> a religious tract instead plays like a huge insult, especially given the
> unchanging racial dynamic.
I wouldn't be surprised if many of the conventioneers reacted in fear when they came in touch with the homeless. The convention center is designed so that it sits on top of the Metro system--conventioneers don't even have to experience the neighborhood if they don't want to.
It was interesting yesterday to walk alongside the new convention center and see the contrast between a billion dollar building and the still run down houses and businesses across the street.
> Their stay in DC is will culminate in a big prayer event on the Mall on
> Sunday, where they will pray for a myriad of things, including:
My roomie told me that several of the teens had no idea what the rally was really about. They were more focused on the Saturday competitions.
Chuck0