OK I'm getting Sick and Tired of Political Correctness

[lemurian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Whore "There is a concern here that the Jewish community will be portrayed as the Grinch."

Well that's pretty silly, this guy apparently has way too much time to be concerned about EVERYTHING. First, how day they disrespect Jews by not having a menorah and second how dare they disrespect Jews by taking down the trees to appease them and everyone else because they don't have Kwanzaa decorations. I say HOW DARE HE ASSUME THAT PEOPLE WILL THINK THAT HE IS SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF ALL THE JEWS In my experience I've never known a Jew or Muslim or anyone, aside from some silly athiests, who have a problem with Christmas. In fact, I've known Jews who have a Hannukah Bush, and even members of the Nation of Islam who celebrate Christmas because.. well.. why wouldn't they? Christmas is not an exclusive holiday. Everyone is free to partake and also free to exclude themselves if they want. In fact I know some pretty cheap Christians who do just that

Thanks for the article, and glad to know that the trees are back up. I'd be sad if I were unlucky enough to be travelling over the holiday and didn't at least have the consolation of some pretty trees

 

[lemurian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarniMac Haha...this reminds me of my mom...she sent me a Christmas card (knowing that I'm not a practicing Christian and she and my dad are) and she said "Since I don't know how you feel about Christmas, I will just close with Happy Sparkle Season." It kinda made me want to gag. (No, I'm not that close to my parents haha). PC is like most things...great in moderation, but it has been taken to the extreme. Youbeabitch, I used to have this one friend who was OBSESSED PC. Example convo between us: Me: "Les, I just got back from 711 and there were these huge, black footballer players..." Les: "Stop, stop, stop. Start the story over and take the "black" out of it." Me: "Ok, ok. So you will never guess what the huge, football players said to me. They said I was a "sweet, young juicy thang." Les: "Don't say "thang."

Aww, I think your mom is cute!! She was trying to respect your thoughts and feelings. Plus the phrase Happy Sparkle Season is adorable! Or maybe I'm just being a little soft because this is my first Christmas without my mom

*sniff*

 

[MarniMac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemurian Aww, I think your mom is cute!! She was trying to respect your thoughts and feelings. Plus the phrase Happy Sparkle Season is adorable! Or maybe I'm just being a little soft because this is my first Christmas without my mom *sniff*

Well, you are right, it was cute...and I do like the fact that she was being sensitive to me...I just wish she could realize that I'm more than happy to hear "Happy Christmas" from her...she doesn't have to walk on eggshells around me.
*Hugs* to you...I'm really sorry for your loss

 

[Indigowaters]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemurian Well that's pretty silly, this guy apparently has way too much time to be concerned about EVERYTHING. First, how day they disrespect Jews by not having a menorah and second how dare they disrespect Jews by taking down the trees to appease them and everyone else because they don't have Kwanzaa decorations.

Lol. I'm just not sure how Kwanzaa got in this, that's not a Jewish holiday.

 

[Bernadette]

Youbeabitch, I couldn't agree more. I think ALL overly PC stuff is joke. God the amount of tax dollars that is spent on every silly complaint about someone having their feelings hurt. You even see it here on message boards

!
I'm not PC and I'm not afraid to be honest and say what I think. It's to the point now-a-days that when you voice an opinion you have to vocalize a waiver beforehand and say "This is only my opinion." or people freak out. I hate overly sensitive cry babies and drama queens! You aren't alone!

 

[lemurian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indigowaters Lol. I'm just not sure how Kwanzaa got in this, that's not a Jewish holiday.

Hehe.. well, I figure they could come by a menorah pretty easily, but in the article they wrote that they felt that they'd have to acknowledge all religions that celebrate in December, and *I* for one don't know where to buy Kwanzaa stuffs I wouldn't suppose that many people in Washington state do! No wait, is that prejudiced of me to say? Ah well, you get my meaning

Edited to say: Conversation amongst underpaid airport employees probably went something like this:

Underpaid1: Do we have a menorah somewhere?
Underpaid2: Maybe, hang on.. ..here we go.
Underpaid3: Are there some Kwanzaa decorations in there?
Underpaid2: Is that even a religion?
Underpaid3: Nah, but don't we gotta represent?
SomeoneInCharge: Just take everything down. Christ.

Something.. like that

 

[Indigowaters]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lemurian Hehe.. well, I figure they could come by a menorah pretty easily, but in the article they wrote that they felt that they'd have to acknowledge all religions that celebrate in December, and *I* for one don't know where to buy Kwanzaa stuffs I wouldn't suppose that many people in Washington state do! No wait, is that prejudiced of me to say? Ah well, you get my meaning

Oh. Thanks. I guess I didn't see that article. It wasn't prejudiced to say, I just wanted to know how Kwanzaa got in it. I don't do Kwanzaa (yet), but I might down the line with my future family. It's not a holiday so much as a practice. The only way I would know how to find Kwanzaa stuff is to do a Google search.

 

[Beauty Mark]

I don't understand why they wouldn't put up a memorah. Were they worried about lighting candles? It seems shady that they won't honor someone else's religion. I can respect that the man wanted a symbol of his faith, as long as he didn't expect them to take down the Christmas stuff

 

[*Stargazer*]

That article is pretty out of date A few days after the whole debacle, they put the trees back up. The sad part about it is, the rabbi never wanted the trees down, he just asked if they'd add a menorah as well. To me, the fact that they refused is lame. Blah blah blah about having to deal with people wanting all kinds of concessions. The fact is, there are two MAJOR religious holidays mid to late December, why not acknowledge them both?

 

[MAC_Whore]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ladybug10678 That article is pretty out of date A few days after the whole debacle, they put the trees back up. The sad part about it is, the rabbi never wanted the trees down, he just asked if they'd add a menorah as well. To me, the fact that they refused is lame. Blah blah blah about having to deal with people wanting all kinds of concessions. The fact is, there are two MAJOR religious holidays mid to late December, why not acknowledge them both?

I did mention that I had heard that they put the trees back up, but I did fail to mention that the publication date was 6 days ago. Sorry about that.

I do realize that the Rabbi didn't want the trees down and that he just wanted a menorah added. I agree that it would have been easy and nice to add a menorah. I am just thinking more about the airport's response in saying that they would have to acknowledge all other holidays.

In a real world you can't acknowledge everybody and make everybody happy. I hate that PC so often is an all or nothing mentality. It so often ends up taking something away from everybody. Why not understand that a tree can be here and no menorah, or a menorah can be here and no tree or at this spot we happen to have both a tree and a menorah. This idea of if everybody can't be acknowledged, then no one can absolutely sucks. So there goes your tree and your menorah. Did that make sense there? I just woke up and am afraid I am not making sense.

 

[Hawkeye]

I think, if I recall correctly, he wanted a BIG menorah and the airport people were afraid that if they did the Menorah then they would have to do a Kwanzaa symbol and a Ramadan Symbol and the symbol for those that worship the frogs, and a big Tom Cruise Statue up for those Scientologists, etc

 

[*Stargazer*]

It makes sense.

What I don't follow is the airport saying "well, we can't put up a menorah, because then we'd have to put up all kinds of other things" but isn't that contradictory since they've put up trees? Wouldn't that process include trees? Just seems odd to me that they make that distinction after being asked to include something besides trees but it doesn't cross their minds before the trees?

 

[Beauty Mark]

Within reason, I think it's acceptable to decorate for various holidays if you're notified about it.

I don't think it would be as big of a problem as the airport would believe. I think people are too lazy for the most part to think of complaining and then make it publicly known

 

[*Stargazer*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beauty Mark I don't think it would be as big of a problem as the airport would believe. I think people are too lazy for the most part to think of complaining and then make it publicly known

Case in point:

Quote:

Trees, Menorahs Light Up Hawaii Airports By TARA GODVIN AP HONOLULU (AP) - Despite a dustup in Seattle over whether Christmas trees and menorahs have a place in that city's airport, both were put up this season at airports throughout the Hawaiian islands without controversy. "In light of everything that's going on, we thought it was a good idea to approach the state ... and see if we can put the menorahs up there. And we got a very, very favorable response," said Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky, director of Chabad of Hawaii. The national Chabad organization has put up menorahs in public places throughout the country, including one in Waikiki, which Gov. Linda Lingle was to help light Saturday night to celebrate Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish festival of lights. Earlier this week, maintenance staff restored 14 plastic trees to their places at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport after the trees had been removed after a rabbi threatened to sue over the lack of a menorah in the airport's holiday display. Airport managers believed that if they allowed an 8-foot-tall menorah the rabbi requested, they would also have had to display symbols of other religions and cultures. On Monday, port officials learned that the rabbi's organization would not file a lawsuit. This year marks a first for menorahs in the common areas of Hawaii's airports, said Krasnjansky and Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for state Department of Transportation which has authority over the state's airports. "It's a general holiday display. We're not going to have one or the other stand out," Ishikawa said. Each Hawaii airport menorah is six feet tall, with one each on all the major islands except Oahu where one is in the international terminal and another in the interisland terminal. Ishikawa said the state has received no complaints from the public so far over the trees and menorahs. Displays of faith aren't uncommon in Hawaii where sessions of the state Legislature's House and Senate open with religious prayers. And while the historic Kawaiahao Church in Honolulu is demurely decorated for the season with two wreaths on its front door and a simple, abstracted nativity scene in a side garden, across the street at Honolulu Hale is a whole other story. Massive effigies of Mr. and Mrs. Claus bathe their feet in a public fountain amid frolicking penguins. Next to them is a giant tree adorned with giant pieces of candy. And on the other side of the hall, a site set aside for charity groups features a nativity display by the Knights of Columbus urging everyone to "Keep Christ in Christmas" and a rainbow colored display by Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays of Oahu declaring "All You Need is Love." Inside city hall, a live Santa awaits amid a forest of Christmas trees to hear children's wishes beginning at 7:30 p.m. when the elaborate city lights display that covers the grounds attracts droves of local and tourist families. "I've never seen a Christmas display like you have here," said John Packer of Vancouver, Canada, who visited the Honolulu Hale Saturday with his wife of 49 years, Ellen. Taking a rest on a city bench, the couple said people should rejoice in their cultural and religious differences and avoid conflicts over them. "Give peace a chance ... couldn't hurt," John Packer said.

 

[Indigowaters]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ladybug10678 It makes sense. What I don't follow is the airport saying "well, we can't put up a menorah, because then we'd have to put up all kinds of other things" but isn't that contradictory since they've put up trees? Wouldn't that process include trees? Just seems odd to me that they make that distinction after being asked to include something besides trees but it doesn't cross their minds before the trees?

I don't think it's contradictory because I'm a Christian and trees don't represent anything to us, the Cross does. We aren't asking for a big cross or nativity scene being put up because 1) Jesus isn't a baby anymore and 2) someone's not putting up or taking down anything is not going to affect our faith one way or another. I say why all the fuss about public displays if you don't put a nativity, cross, menorah or any other symbol of what you believe in your own yard first? I think everyone is just wanting someone to acknowledge their religion more. It's like a spiritual tug of war and it's kind of getting out of hand. I'm going to be wishing people a "Merry Christmas" and if they want to say "Happy Holidays", so be it. I don't determine where they go after they die. Ok, I'm off now

Oh, and that rant wasn't about anyone in particular (not even the person I quoted). Just giving my 2 cents.

 

[*Stargazer*]

I think you may be in the minority though, when it comes to trees not representing anything to you as a Christian. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I don't think all Christians are like you, in the sense that they view all of the trappings of Christmas as representative of the idea behind it, you know? So to them, a Christmas tree in public IS a representation of Christ and Christmas, even though that have NOTHING to do with Christ, because they have become symbolic of Christmas time. If you ask someone about a pine tree decorated with lights and ornaments, their immediate response is Christmas. And they may not mean the true spiritual side of Christmas, but they mean the season. Christmas is unique among religious holidays, I think, because its the only one that has been adopted by secular factions.

You, someone I'd consider a real, devout Christian, you aren't upset by the removal of Christmas decorations because you get the real, non-secularized meaning of Christmas. There are many people who can't separate Christmas trees from their identity as Christians, though.

I think the idea of public displays commemorating major religious holidays are nice. I don't identify myself with any particular religion but I still appreciate a nice nativity scene or a menorah or a sign that says "Eid Mubarak." I think its nice when people of different faiths can wish each other well during special times, you know?

I say Happy Holidays to people when I don't know what they practice. I tell my Christian friends Merry Christmas, I tell my Jewish friends Happy Hanukah. Its not so much that I want to not hurt their feelings, because I honestly don't think that people get upset if you wish them something they don't celebrate because I think the feelings behind the wishes are genuine, but I like friends to know that I hope their specific celebration is happy. Personally, someone could wish me a Merry Christmas or a Happy Hanukah and I'd just be happy they weren't cutting me off in the Target line this time of year LOL

 

[lemurian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Indigowaters It's like a spiritual tug of war and it's kind of getting out of hand.

This is a great point and I love the way you've put it. Indeed, trees aren't a Christian symbol. Before Christmas was celebrated at this time of year the "pagans" celebrated the return of light after the Winter Solstice. But for most people this falls under the category of "yada yada yada"; no one wants to hear the truth or make any concessions because everything is a tug of war and everyone is convinced that they're right and demand that everyone acknowledge them. It's exhausting and completely out of synch with what is good and kind and respectful. It is no wonder that the people most adament about their beliefs are atheists. I mean, who can blame them when religion has become as alluring as politics.

 

[caffn8me]

Even the UK's Commission for Racial Equality seems to be hinting that political correctness has gone too far. They sent out a very amusing christmas card this year which was clearly a spoof on the PC movement.

You can see it here - roll your mouse over the big picture which shows the inside of the card and you'll then be able to see the front. It's rather good

 

[Indigowaters]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ladybug10678 I think you may be in the minority though, when it comes to trees not representing anything to you as a Christian. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but I don't think all Christians are like you, in the sense that they view all of the trappings of Christmas as representative of the idea behind it, you know? So to them, a Christmas tree in public IS a representation of Christ and Christmas, even though that have NOTHING to do with Christ, because they have become symbolic of Christmas time. If you ask someone about a pine tree decorated with lights and ornaments, their immediate response is Christmas. And they may not mean the true spiritual side of Christmas, but they mean the season. Christmas is unique among religious holidays, I think, because its the only one that has been adopted by secular factions.

Yes, and I'm glad that people do recognize that as a symbol of our religion but I'm just saying it didn't start there. I think alot of people are making it more about themselves rather than what the season is about and I think all religions are about you taking the focus off of yourself and putting it on who you worship (I happen to worship Christ), so it's funny and sad because I think of what everyone else must think of us fighting and we're the ones who are supposed to be upholding values and peace.

 

[MxAxC-_ATTACK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbeabitch and a big Tom Cruise Statue up for those Scientologists, etc

lol!!! haha can you imagine.