Mark Zuckerberg, who is a rather odd guy (I say that by way of affection, “normal” people annoy me), started Facebook.  He made millions upon millions of dollars and created a platform where people re-connect and share with one another.  Yes, it has problems.  They like to play fast and loose with privacy a good amount of time, and the timeline is evil.  Still, it’s quite an accomplishment for a guy who is under thirty.

Now Zuck is planning Facebook’s IPO, and when it happens he’ll turn into a Billionaire overnight.  That boggles my mind.  Still, all that he’s accomplished before turning thirty is not impressive enough for the parasites of Wall Street.  For them, apparently, Zuckerberg much bow down in homage and wear “grown up clothes” when coming and asking for money.  Instead Zuckerberg work jeans and a hoodie, which sent Wall Street in a tizzy about being “disrespected.”  Sigh.

Then, today, I read a post on CNet regarding comments by an analyst named Michael Pachter who linked coming to Wall Street in a hoodie to going to a Church wearing a hoodie and said, “You shouldn’t do that.”  Why?  Because it doesn’t show respect for the institution.

I made two quick points on Facebook regarding these comments.  I’ll share those here and then add one more.

First, there are enough grungy links between the greed of Wall Street and the Church (in people’s minds, even if not in reality).  Please leave us out of the financial sector’s huff, OK?

Second, if the Church, Wall Street, or any institution is either so insecure or arrogant that it get’s freaked out by a sweatshirt then, frankly, to the nether-regions with the institution.  Such a thin veil of security shows just how fragile and weak such institutions are – and I’m tired of their games.  Zuckerberg was right to wear his hoodie – as if to say, “Look, here I am.  This is who I am and it’s what brought me to this point in my life.  If you want me, you get me – not some grown-up version you think I should be.”

Third, Wall Street (much like the Church) has completely missed the point of this entire exchange.  They assume Zuckerberg is coming to Wall Street asking for money – because that’s their motivation.  May I strongly suggest that Zuckerberg is heading to Wall Street out of curiosity – offering what he’s made to the market just to see what it’s worth.  He’s not coming his hands empty, asking for more, he’s got something to give, and he expected the offended bankers to understand the difference.  The Church does this, doesn’t it?  We have people come in and the system says, “Oh, you want what we have?  Well, let’s see how you smarten up some before we let you all the way through the door.”  The reality is, if people come to a church, which is getting rarer and rarer the longer we don’t learn this lesson, they come because they want to give themselves to see what can happen through their service.  They’ll show respect for the institution when it proves it’s worth to help them serve.

So, wear your hoodies to worship – and if the institution balks then tell it to take a gut check about what’s really important, and then tell it to repent.