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Boston "Holiday Tree"

BPSCG

Penultimate Amazing
B
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Boston set off a furor this week when it officially renamed a giant tree erected in a city park a "holiday tree" instead of a "Christmas tree." The move drew an angry response from Christian conservatives, including evangelist Jerry Falwell who heckled Boston officials and pressed the city to change the name back.

"There's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas," Falwell told Fox Television.

The Nova Scotia logger who cut down the 48-foot (14-meter) tree was indignant and said he would not have donated the tree if he had known of the name change.

"I'd have cut it down and put it through the chipper," Donnie Hatt told a Canadian newspaper. "If they decide it should be a holiday tree, I'll tell them to send it back. If it was a holiday tree, you might as well put it up at Easter."
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Link.

Well, we need to be sensitive, after all. After all, Jews decorate trees for Hanukah, don't they? Everyone's heard of the great Hanukah tree.

Oh, they don't?

Okay, but Muslims decorate trees for... well, what holiday are they celebrating these days?

Okay, what about Kwaanza?

What, no tree there, either?

Well, us atheists decorate trees at the winter solstice, don't we?

No?

Look, people, it's a goddam Christmas tree. And nobody's going to keel over and die if you call it that.

Okay, if they do keel over and die, they were probably on their way out anyway, and if the shock of hearing it called a Christmas tree didn't do it, then the next revolting Hollywood story probably would have.

Yeesh.

OBTW, Merry goddam Christmas, y'all (it's not illegal to say it yet, right?).
 
BPSCG--

Phone the Boston mayor, claim you are the official spokesman for the Boston Satanists, and issue a complaint about 'holy day trees'.
 
95% of the stuff I hear about christmas being "disallowed" strikes me as pure media crap. I am an atheist and I like christmas. I really don't give a crap about "in god we trust" on money, and most of the other "offences" against separation of church and state.

The unfortunate fact is that news is no longer news. It is a package, more now than ever before, to generate audience and therefore ad revenues. If this sort of crap is not an issue, people won't watch, therfore it is an issue.

The media sets the agenda and thru incessent repittition, creates awareness and "caring" about issues that have virtually zero effect on anyones day to day lives. Tiny minorities, because they are newsworthily loony, get millions of dollars worth of air time. Why? Because it is marketing for the news outlets.

The situation sickens me.
 
Where did this overt PC begin, anyway? I think it was in the schools, because we aren't allowed to endorse one religion over another (proper in theory, IMO, but wicked difficult in practice, sometimes), and so we had to refer to the "winter holidays," for the multicultural sake of our non-Christian students.

And I think that in theory that's a noble goal, to try to make all our students feel as if they belong, or at least to not obviously exclude them. If you were on the receiving end of that, especially as a child or teen, you wouldn't like it much, I think.

But while the philosophy behind this educational theory may be sound, I don't think in actuality we know just how to go about it. It's the practice that's bad, not the reasoning. It's the same reason TV stations now say "Happy Holidays" more often than "Merry Christmas." They have viewers out there they don't want to alienate who celebrate other holidays.

But, durn it, a Christmas Tree is a Christmas Tree, and BPSCG's right: it doesn't belong to any other holidays and so there's no one to alienate by calling it what it is. BUT, should the city then put up a menorah, and other winter holiday symbols, next to the Christmas Tree, in order to be equitable to its diverse residents?

Oh, heck, that's another thread.
 
Now wait a minute. I'da thought the fundies (and heck, other Christians) would be pleased that Boston is correctly separating the historically pagan elements of the holiday from the truly Christian part (which apparently involves deeply discounted laptops at Circuit City).
 
slingblade said:
Where did this overt PC begin, anyway? I think it was in the schools, because we aren't allowed to endorse one religion over another (proper in theory, IMO, but wicked difficult in practice, sometimes), and so we had to refer to the "winter holidays," for the multicultural sake of our non-Christian students.
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I like bloody christmas trees. I will have a 15 footer myself this season. When I was a kid, the principle in grade school would begin assemblies by reading a psalm. I didn't give a sh!t then, and I wouldn't now. Thinking back, I am not sure that I really knew what she was reading from.

Given the very real problems involved with being a human being, with a family, in the early 21st century, I submit that this argumentation about separation is largely misdirection at worst and a marketing ploy at best.

Then there is the case of Las Cruces. A couple of people take issue with the three crosses on the logo of the town as well as with the name itself. I saw an interview with some fat bastard who said "everytime I pass a police car with the emblem on it, I feel that religion is being forced down my throat". I'd like to foce some more food down his fat throat, slaughter him and eat his f'in liver. So this tiny town now has to defend against a lawsuit? WTF?
http://www.americandaily.com/article/10221

This is just over the top, and bullsh!t. No opinion, humble or otherwise, just fact.

Oh, heck, that's another thread.[/QUOTE]
 
Would somebody explain to me why the city of Boston feels the need to burn taxpayer money with a big honkin' decorated tree to begin with?
 
Tradition. Cities all over America have been wasting money on this for years and years and years. Imagine the furor if they stopped now.
 
Cleon said:
Would somebody explain to me why the city of Boston feels the need to burn taxpayer money with a big honkin' decorated tree to begin with?
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They have parades probably. They probably would do something if some stupid sports team won some irrelevant competition. I am not sure that everything can or should be quantified.

Compared to the Big Dig this is peanuts, barely one payoff to one crooked contractor.

Damn Boston, damn Irish crooked polital bastards, damn Kerry and Kennedy. Damn every Kennedy as a matter of fact. Damn fat, drunk Tip O'Niel, tip, thats what he did when he drank too much. Scum sucking city in a scum sucking state. Stupid PC Harvard, stupid damn snivvley "Boston accent". Goddamn tea party. If they would have controlled their drunken urges we'd all have medical insurance now. Embattled farmers my ass.
 
Another look at the issue... why's it so important to Christians that the city of Boston call it a "christmas tree"...? It's a nifty way around those pesky church/state laws, and you still get to put up a Christmas tree... there's a free speech amendment here, folks, go ahead and call it a fricking Christmas Tree all you want. If this is the worst problem with the terminology coming out of the city of Boston's lawyers, you're doing pretty well.

I swear, people think that if the government can't say something, then they're not allowed to either... think of how many will tell you that you can't pray in school.
 
Ed said:
Damn Boston, damn Irish crooked polital bastards, damn Kerry and Kennedy. Damn every Kennedy as a matter of fact. Damn fat, drunk Tip O'Niel, tip, thats what he did when he drank too much. Scum sucking city in a scum sucking state. Stupid PC Harvard, stupid damn snivvley "Boston accent". Goddamn tea party. If they would have controlled their drunken urges we'd all have medical insurance now. Embattled farmers my ass.
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Um, Ed, did you have a nasty fight with someone over the Thanksgiving dinner table...?
 
Cleon said:
Would somebody explain to me why the city of Boston feels the need to burn taxpayer money with a big honkin' decorated tree to begin with?
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Uh, 'cuz all the Jews, Muslims, and atheists would raise an outcry if they didn't? :rolleyes:
 
Ed said:
95% of the stuff I hear about christmas being "disallowed" strikes me as pure media crap. I am an atheist and I like christmas. I really don't give a crap about "in god we trust" on money, and most of the other "offences" against separation of church and state.

The unfortunate fact is that news is no longer news. It is a package, more now than ever before, to generate audience and therefore ad revenues. If this sort of crap is not an issue, people won't watch, therfore it is an issue.

The media sets the agenda and thru incessent repittition, creates awareness and "caring" about issues that have virtually zero effect on anyones day to day lives. Tiny minorities, because they are newsworthily loony, get millions of dollars worth of air time. Why? Because it is marketing for the news outlets.

The situation sickens me.
Click to expand...

Some of it is just quite frankly made-up. Often in the 80s in the UK there would be stories such as "Lambeth Council bans Baa-Ba black sheep", unfortunately more times then not it wasn't true.

Also I think someone should tell Mr Falwell "There's been a concerted effort to steal Christmas" that the Grinch is a fictional character. (Suppose I shouldn't be too surprised that he can distinguish reality from fiction.)
 
Ed said:
I like bloody christmas trees. I will have a 15 footer myself this season. When I was a kid, the principle in grade school would begin assemblies by reading a psalm. I didn't give a sh!t then, and I wouldn't now. Thinking back, I am not sure that I really knew what she was reading from.
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No, and you're also not the little Jewish boy I went to school with who was punished every single day by our teacher for refusing to recite the Lord's Prayer with the rest of the class.

I like Christmas trees, too. So?

Given the very real problems involved with being a human being, with a family, in the early 21st century, I submit that this argumentation about separation is largely misdirection at worst and a marketing ploy at best.
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Outside of public schools, I agree with you. So when my school refuses to serve breakfast and lunch to everyone during Ramadan, or gives everyone Yom Kippur off, or has all the kiddies cutting out paper lambs for Imbolc, then you can have your totally-Christian Christmas tree at my school.

Then there is the case of Las Cruces. A couple of people take issue with the three crosses on the logo of the town as well as with the name itself. I saw an interview with some fat bastard who said "everytime I pass a police car with the emblem on it, I feel that religion is being forced down my throat". I'd like to foce some more food down his fat throat, slaughter him and eat his f'in liver. So this tiny town now has to defend against a lawsuit? WTF?
http://www.americandaily.com/article/10221

This is just over the top, and bullsh!t.
Click to expand...

Why, yes, that's exactly how I'd characterize that outburst. (eat his liver? Hyperbole much?) But as to the actual issue of Las Cruces, dude should move. That simple.
 
To the people of Boston:

If a great tradgedy should befall Boston, don't look to god to save you. You have rejected god by renaming the "Christmas" tree to the "holiday" tree .....

Charlie (dear god, please bring Pat Robertson home) Monoxide
 
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