A Person in the Crowd

Trouble began in the town of Middle Of Nowhere shortly after Belief Corp started setting up its new facility. Had the company properly considered the implications of attempting to sell its product here, it may not even have tried. As it was, Belief Corp had been so successful in bigger cities that arrogance had seeded. Management felt that it had proof of concept, as demonstrated by the market. Everyone, everywhere was clearly looking for a personalised new religion. A hard lesson was about to be learned.

The day after the gigantic BC logo was hoisted into place (bringing to mind the McDonald’s of religion), a lone protestor turned up with a placard reading: 

Not in my town! BC ONLY means BEFORE CHRIST

For a week, he marched up and down in front of the building bellowing “Belief Corp go home!” Much debate was had by the water cooler about what this sentiment might mean. Companies don’t have homes after all. 

Management was not worried. It felt confident in history’s lesson that alternatives to existing religions always ruffles feathers but if enough people want the new, nothing can stop them getting it. The staff at the Middle Of Nowhere facility were instructed not to worry about the protestor, and that deadlines were to be kept. 

The next week, the singular protestor had blossomed into a little group. They made a complete nuisance of themselves by getting in the way of deliveries, shouting abuse at Belief Corp staff, and spray-painting hostile messages on the building when they thought no-one was looking. Management still elected to do nothing. This would all blow over, they thought. Muscling in now might fan the flames unnecessarily. The staff on the ground were not impressed. It wasn’t the far-off suits who were weathering colourful variants of ‘hell-bound God-haters’ every day. 

The following Monday surprised everyone. Middle Of Nowhere liked to think of itself as a wholesome, God-fearing place. It avoided contemplating was the fact that not everyone agreed on which God to fear. While the Christians were warming up for the day by erupting new insults at staff, they were temporarily silenced by the arrival of a handful of Muslim protestors. This presented a problem. What was everyone to do? Were they on the same side? Acquaintances from the two groups waved hesitantly at each other. In this tense calm, a Buddhist, a Sikh and a Jedi materialised, all dressed in their own religious garb. 

Contrary to how it sounds, this is not a joke. Clearly, everyone had come in order to object to Belief Corp. Were they allowed to complain together? Each group began to chatter urgently within itself. The Buddhist, the Sikh and the Jedi spread as far as they could from each other. Then came the fateful entrance of an anarchist, all in red and wearing a balaclava. She ran full tilt past the chattering groups and hurled a Molotov Cocktail through a window of the building. 

There was a scream inside. All hell broke loose. 

Afterwards when the police were interviewing everyone, there were so many differing accounts that it was impossible to know exactly what had happened. Here are some facts. The anarchist had been trampled to death. The fire had been extinguished without causing much damage to the building but having brutally burned one of the staff. 

And one person in the crowd, hurled adrift by proceedings, changed their mind.