May 21, 2013

Oktoberfest organizer wants rain dance

Lushin loses Oktoberfest fight

By Rosie GithinjiJean Lushin is praying for rain.

He even has a couple of Native American Indians on standby to help him get it.

“Now, I’ve got two Indians willing to do a rain dance,” Lushin told the Traffic Commission Board when they said he could hold Oktoberfest downtown if Foster Park flooded out.

The decision was made by the board to approve a permit for Lushin to hold the annual Oktoberfest at Foster Park, should he decide he wants it, although Lushin has made it clear he is not interested in that location.

He said everyone he has spoken with would prefer the festival not be moved from the location it has been in the past 14 years, and the merchants he has spoken with have no issue with his request to remain downtown.

“I talked to our people, and they still prefer to stay downtown rather than go to Foster Park. And there are a lot of reasons for that,” he said. “They all, almost unanimously, would like Oktoberfest to remain downtown.”
Comment:  Stereotype alert!

So Lushin wants rain to flood one location so he can hold an Oktoberfest at another location? Talk about a gross misunderstanding and misuse of Native spirituality.

What's next...using a "rain dance" to break up an opponent's rally? To sweep the streets of litter?

Though he was probably "joking," this level of ignorance is impressive. It's like saying he'll get the Pope to exorcise his wife's shopping "demon"--a gross trivialization of a sincere religious belief.

For more on rain dances, see Skrillex Video Features "Rain Dance" and Apaches Perform No-Rain Dance.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hmm...Thanks to VH-1, I now know Kokomo is in Indiana. I don't think there are a lot of Hopis in Indiana, though I could be wrong. Also, rain isn't really a miracle in Indiana, unlike Arizona. ;)