Reformation

Sometime Monday night on the Reformation Wall in Geneva someone(s) painted, where are the women? in French on the monument. 

The wall gives me the creeps. The main figures are

• William Farel (1489–1565)
• John Calvin (1509–1564)
• Theodore Beza (1519–1605)
• John Knox (c.1513–1572)

To me their faces are cruel, angry, hate-filled. Calvin burned Michel Servatus for disagreeing with him and took most of the beautiful things such as jewelry, music etc. from Geneva. Women, beautiful or not, did not feature prominently in the social fabric at the time.

I try to avoid the wall. It is depressing, but I will take visitors there. At one time my former neighbor, a minister who was visiting Geneva and I went. I said nothing about my feelings.

His feelings were like mine. An overwhelming sense of negativity.

Later we were walking through Paquis, the red light district, but also a viable neighborhood where a former Swiss president lives. There was a big-titted hooker on the corner. "I think I prefer to the wall," he said.

I am not for vandalism, but as a feminist I understand. I do not understand a religion that negates the beauty of the world.