Students listen to Brother Jed speak while they wait for Sister Cindy arrive on Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021 at Speaker’s Circle in Columbia. Sister Cindy announced on social media that she would meet students at noon to take selfies before preaching.
Abby Lee is a sophomore at MU studying journalism and women’s and gender studies. She is an opinion columnist who writes about social issues.
A chant disrupted the calm of an otherwise uneventful Wednesday, its epicenter a crowd of rain-soaked college students huddled around Speakers Circle. And in the center of that, a woman.
The crowd chanted “Ho no mo. Ho no mo.” From the slogan alone, I managed to piece together who had stopped by MU that day. Cynthia D. Lasseter Smock, known as Sister Cindy when she preaches, and husband George Edward “Jed” Smock, Jr., or Brother Jed, travel the country throughout the school year to preach on college campuses.
Sister Cindy is among the few campus guests that could draw students out into the rain and keep them there, and it’s apparently not for her evangelical messages. Students have claimed to gather for Sister Cindy’s speeches in spite of the rhetoric she spreads, not to support it. Nevertheless, students are showing up and therefore supporting what borders on hate speech.
It’s her TikTok fame, or perhaps infamy, combined with her unjustified confidence and outlandish, often outright offensive messages that have made Sister Cindy into a celebrity caricature.
FSU News describes Sister Cindy’s campus visits as a “mutual mock-fest,” referring to students largely attending these sermons as a form of entertainment rather than in genuine interest or support.
While it may be exciting to see someone so confidently out of touch, it’s important to remember that showing up to a sermon, in itself, is supporting the speaker. Mock-support still brings a crowd, and any press is good press. Giving Sister Cindy and Brother Jed a platform as large as theirs is irresponsible and dangerous.
This is true at MU in particular because of existing issues with sexual assault prevalency and lack of diversity. Amplifying the voice of a categorically racist, sexist and homophobic speaker only serves to fan the flames of MU’s problems.
In a short talk I had with Brother Jed, he said, “They are more interested than they want to let on or admit to.” Smock is clearly aware that in this crowd of laughing and chanting students, interest is bound to be piqued somewhere. This is an intentional, manipulative move on Sister Cindy and Brother Jed’s parts, and the Smock’s are taking advantage of their fame and MU students.
The reach and support college students give the Smock’s strengthen their wolf in sheep’s clothing act. If there’s a crowd and they’re smiling and laughing, Sister Cindy can’t be that bad, right?
Throughout her speech, Sister Cindy frequently made claims that appealed to a more progressive crowd before slipping into more contested territory. Sister Cindy has called herself a “gay icon” on TikTok, and at her MU appearance she started a “real men don’t rape” chant that had the audience cheering.
That being said, the audience didn’t neglect from chanting even her more problematic takes. A chorus of voices matched Sister Cindy’s volume when she yelled, “Sister Cindy is here to do some good old-fashioned slut shaming.”
Slut-shaming, or the act of disparaging others for being sexually active or behaving and dressing in ways deemed immodest, is a real problem on college campuses that does not need to be exacerbated by an internet celebrity.
This chant isn’t the only problematic take Sister Cindy offered the MU crowd. After all, she never goes more than a few minutes without saying something vile.
In recent months, college students across the nation have organized anti-rape protests challenging university and city policies that allow violent perpetrators to avoid punishment. Just a little more than a week before Sister Cindy’s visit, MU students held their own protest in Traditions Plaza.
When informed of the sexual assault prevalency at MU, Sister Cindy’s response was less than supportive of victims: “Men, be careful. These women can be very aggressive.” Also in her sermon, Sister Cindy equated men consuming pornography to “being a slave owner.”
The crowd booed in response to both remarks, but it never thinned.
Sister Cindy’s behavior is morally reprehensible, and college students should not be giving her the time of day.
Whether the masses are poking fun at this pair or not, Sister Cindy’s TikTok following publicizes her beliefs and hateful messages. Young people and college students in particular dictate many pop culture trends, Sister Cindy’s sermons included. While this is an exciting role, the power college students hold is a responsibility and should be treated as such.
Carrying out this responsibility can be done passively by not supporting those who challenge common ethics — people like Sister Cindy. The only surefire way to deplatform Sister Cindy and those like her is to stop supporting her, to stop attending her sermons on campuses.
Young people should be deliberate with who they support, and they should feel comfortable in knowing that those they stand behind are good people. Decent entertainment sources don’t force their audience to set their morals aside.
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Edited by Sarah Rubinstein | srubinstein@themaneater.com