"Pope" Dick Lee I: Storm In A Teacup...?

Last Sunday, it was reported in the newspapers ("Dick Lee's Pope attire sparks outrage", Sunday Times, 20/8/2006) that Dick Lee, a local musician but, nowadays, he is known more to most people as being one of the Singapore Idol's judges, "appeared at his 50th birthday party last night (i.e. 19/8/2006) dressed as the Pope, sparking outrage among some people". This was in contrast to the "cheers and hoots of laughter" that Lee's guests gave him when they saw him in his "Pope" costume.

Well, while I think it is unwise and regrettable that Dick Lee chose to don a "Pope" costume to "mark 'the golden jubilee of his majestic existence'", I am also of the opinion that people may perhaps be over-reacting a little bit.

I mean, as far as I can see from the article, Dick Lee didn't indulge in any inappropriate behaviour, which would have demeaned the stature of the Pope, when wearing his "Pope" costume.

Of course, it may be argued that, just by donning the "Pope" costume, Dick Lee had already demeaned the stature of the Pope. Hmm... Yet, if we are to abide by this logic, we will also need to condemn Jon Voight, who portrayed the late Pope John Paul II in the TV movie: "Pope John Paul II", since he also donned a "Pope" costume for most of the abovementioned movie. In fact, we will also need to condemn those guests of Dick Lee's birthday party whom dressed up as Mahatma Gandhi, Chiang Kai Shek and the Queen of Jordan, if we are to follow the logic of: "if an individual dons the costume of a notable figure, he/she is demeaning the stature of that notable figure" to its logical conclusion.

In the end, I would like to reiterate that while I find it unwise and regrettable for Dick Lee to wear a "Pope" costume during his birthday party, I am also of the opinion that, in view of the lack of information about him behaving inappropriately when wearing his "Pope" costume, it would perhaps be a case of over-reaction for people to condemn him for demeaning the stature of the Pope.