Dilemma

This semester, I got involved in a music group on campus which was created in hopes of growing into a decent sized orchestra. I will refer to the group as an orchestra for the purposes of this thread.

We were invited to play for two Christmas concerts, the first of which has passed.

Turns out, tonight is not a concert, but a mass. Praying, praising Jebus, and all the other rituals that I don't care for. I was told by the man running the affair that it would not be so when I first raised my concern at the first rehearsal for this. So now I have a problem. I've been duped into rehearsing for a ceremony that I  participating in and am receiving no compensation for. I am the lead of 3 trumpet players, and the only one that reliably makes it to performances and rehearsals.

Do I inform the members of the orchestra that I wish no part in the ceremony, and look like an ass for not participating?

or

Do I sit through two hours of drivel and support a cause and an audience that works to oppose people who share my ideals?


Edited by Tolgak - 03 December 2009 at 1:30pm

You made a commitment. You are only as good as your word.

Nice tolerance btw...

FreeEnterprise wrote: Nice tolerance btw...

Pot calling the kettle black.

FreeEnterprise wrote: You made a commitment. You are only as good as your word. Nice tolerance btw...

Difference between tolerance and not wanting to hang around and listen to mass...

show up as an orchestra in some cool Traditional Turkish garb, and see how long it takes them to freak out as all your trumpet cases have clocks and wires attached to them.

High Voltage wrote: A gig is a gig, Tolga. Play this one and hopefully you guys will get more in the future. Also, have some good laughs while you're playing the mass.

Yea, the plan has always been to go. I'm just wondering what other people think about it. The people around me share my sentiments, so it could be a good time.

Play the imperial death march when that pastor/priest/holy guy first walks on the stage. 

so if its agaisnt what you believe in and you were lied to about it how do you even begin to feel like you have to go. this is as clear as it gets to me. dont go and just tell them you dont appreciate being lied to, and good luck.

nickman98 wrote: so if its agaisnt what you believe in and you were lied to about it how do you even begin to feel like you have to go. this is as clear as it gets to me. dont go and just tell them you dont appreciate being lied to, and good luck.

This was my initial idea, but it wasn't the group that lied to me, it was the people that asked us to come. As a new group on campus, it would look horrible for a player with important parts to abandon a rehearsal. The population of my school is as religious as it gets for non-religious institutions.

To the student population, it wouldn't matter that the organizer lied. I would have skipped out on a church ritual. A Christmas one. That paints me as hellspawn and the group in a very negative light if the organizer decides to get vocal about it (judging by how much of an ass he is at rehearsal, it's very likely).

I can't afford to build a bad reputation for myself on religious grounds when the goal is to be a pilot. The population of the industry is too conservative and religious.

The best I can do is to ensure that we never let this happen again. If we are to be called for a religious ritual, we should be told in advance of the nature of the ritual so that people who don't want to participate can opt out before it is too late.

FreeEnterprise wrote: Tolgak wrote: As far as tolerance goes, I don't have to tolerate rituals or beliefs. That doesn't mean I can't tolerate those people when they aren't dragging me into those sorts of things.     Tolerance   1. a fair, objective, and permissive attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, etc., differ from one's own; freedom from bigotry. 3. interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to one's own; a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint.   Freedom from Bigotry...   Hmm, what is bigotry?...   1. stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own. 2. the actions, beliefs, prejudices, etc., of a bigot.   Good thread, made me laugh.

Fair: My belief is certainly fair. I don't believe in the validity of the ritual, so it is fair for me to call it nonsense.
Objective: Not much to say here. I studied Christianity soon after dropping Islam. I was a free soul looking for religion to cling to. I determined that I could not agree with the writings.
Permissive: I'm certainly not advocating for the ritual to be stopped. I just don't want it forced upon me.

I TRY to be ethical. They lied to put me in this position. My commitment to the group is being used to keep me at the ritual.

That 3rd definition doesn't have much of a place here. By that definition, nobody is tolerant nor do they always try to be. You likely have no interest sitting through Friday prayers at a mosque. Definitely not for multiple services. That definition demands that a tolerant person be active and have interest in other ideologies.

You rode BMX. If you had a crew that was hired to provide some entertainment in a parade, and was told the day of the performance that you were working for a gay pride parade, would you still perform? Your history of posts on this forum makes that answer a highly likely "no." Your justifications for not going would firmly place you under the definition of bigot.