But it went something like this: While walking my daily rounds on the treadmill at the gym this morning, I noticed that the television, which is usually turned to Fox, was running a story on the American Family Association. These fine americans, who tend to be of the Christian persuasion, want to boycott businesses that wish to dishonor jesus by using the word "holiday" instead of christmas in their promotions.
Dick's Sporting Goods was on the list but saw the error in their ways and retooled their promotional campaign.
They also have J.P. Morgan in their gunsights for being anti christmas as well.
Not content to only unmask these grinches who want to diminish the lord's birthday, they also have a campaign against Home Depot for promoting diversity and succumbing to the dreaded "gay" agenda.
I also read this little gem on their site from Bryan Fischer - Democrats: the party of atheists, pagans and secular fundamentalists.
God forbid that a company in America recognize that
there are citizens living here with a different creed or point of view than the christian majority.
And just what is the message to these people? - You can be different but just make sure that you don't make any noise - you know who's running the show.
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Of course that is not the only boycott around. Europe and the United States are starting to get calls to boycott first Israel and now jewish businesses. Not the first time, I am afraid. Started out in Italy and now spreading around. The call went out by an italian labor leader Giancarlo Desiderati to "identify and boycott" Jewish-owned shops in the Italian capital to show solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
Other anti Israel and anti jewish boycotts, both merchandise and cultural, have been in place since 2005. The Toronto initiative, the refusal to host Israeli athletes and dance troupes, we know that Israelis and jews in general are the most evil people walking this earth today.
We have not been immune from this sort of thing in America. The White Supremacist group Stormfront has long been an advocate for boycotting jews and their businesses.
The biggest proponent of a boycott is of course the Presbyterian Church and their proxies. Interesting op ed by Marvin Hier in the Wall Street Journal last week, Presbyterians against Israel.
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And finally, Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress has started the website grinchalert.com to warn people away from businesses who do not celebrate christmas properly. So people don't take the Christ out of Christmas.
Pastor Robert Jeffress told The Dallas Morning News, “Too many businesses have bowed down to political correctness. I thought this would be a fun way to call out businesses that are refusing to celebrate Christmas.”
I learned that the Sears in Grand Junction, Colorado says "Happy holidays while selling Christmas trees."
And that the Discount Tire in Fort Worth "Wishes you a Merry Christmas, and plays Christmas music in the waiting area."
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20 comments:
Let me marginalize Christmas for you: FUCK CHRISTMAS. (In the ass!)
Love,
Jeff
It is my contention that there is not 'too much' religion in our daily life, but too little. I believe that it is the responsibility of every living being to create and proselytize there OWN religion, create their own hierarchy of bishops, priests, nuns, and if need be, pope, all within themselves. The ramifications of this are bombastic. Not the least would the effect be felt in the 'holy' city of Jerusalem. Rather than a clash of three great religions, at the Wailing Wall and Temple Mount, there would be a cacophony of prayers, demands, rivalries, and most of all sublime insight into the absurdity of whose belief system has the most adherents (1) or prestige (none) above all others. In accordance, at this propitious moment, I declare myself King God of the Universe, Pope Everyman the First.
Ciao, Babe
M. Luther
I see no difference between the previous two comments.....
Yahweh the Great
Jeff is gross, and M. Luther is deluded; not much difference, really; wake up, you're living in darkness.
Well, I must defend my friend Jeff. He is a refugee from the church, and witnessed some pretty nasty scat. I support his right to self expression.
Martin Luther would make a hell of a god, if you must believe in one.
i defend their right to spew, also; well, i've reached my two comment limit; must be going.
That's Maximus Luther, short gladiator, slayer of Caesers and part time Vestal Virgin.
Parkyurcarcus
One could argue that Martin Luther was the Julian Assange of his era.
Lex Luthor Si, Martin, no lo pienso
Your friend Jeff is an belligerent asshole, no matter how bad he feels treated by Christianity. His comments were vulgar, offensive to Christians and over the top.
I don't think it was too smart of you to defend such an idiot...........
I suggest that you take that up with Jeff.
As the Great Blue Heron has been kind enough to comment on my blog, it's high time I returned the favor.
The wish for a "Merry Christmas", whether welcome or not, comes from a good place. Usually. It can get a little threadbare after a while, like "Have a nice day" or "Let's go Red Sox". I can't be sure that every cashier or barista really hopes that I get that mint condition 1974 Pontiac Firebird I've been writing to Santa about for years.
But in no lexicon does Merry Christmas mean FU. Most often, those who wish one upon you wish you that and no more. They don't ask you to accept Christ as your Savior, or Walmart as your one-stop shopping center. Just Merry, and Christmas, for a few weeks a year.
That said, I can't see boycotting an establishment for substituting "Happy Holidays" or "Super Solstice". I find those more lame than offensive.
But neither can I see the call for a boycott of a store for not saying Merry Christmas in the same light as a call for the boycott of Israel for being Jewish, or the rise of Italian fascism under Mussolini. Just not the same thing.
America is 75% Christian, was founded by Christians, and has a lot of Christian language and imagery in its founding documents. It is understandable that some of that Christianity, whether devoutly felt or not, will seep into the culture. "Merry Christmas" is hardly "Repent, sinner, or die!" But a little forgiveness, charity, and understanding from both sides would go a long way, especially in this "holiday" season.
BTL
I am not AN belligerent asshole, I am A belligerent asshole.
Thanks and Happy Holidays.
Love and other indoor sports,
Jeff
Well well well, BTL, journeying on down to liberal hell...welcome stranger. Toke? For old times sake?
I obviously don't disagree with anything you said. But we do legitimately disagree on the pernicious nature of the majority culture and their drive to force the rest of us to walk their line. Good article in the NYT yesterday about the new anti abortion legislation push. In Texas the jewish head of the RNC was told that he lacked the right theological perspective for the job. This is how things started out in Germany and it does scare me.
You disagree and say not to worry. I do worry. Call me ultrasensitive. Thanks for coming on board. I did a piece a few weeks ago called conversions and self loathing that I am sure that you will hate.
Best,
Robert
Oh BTL, one more thing - the italian boycott against jewish businesses is taking place in 2010, not in 1939. Don't know if you actually hit the link or not.
Oh BTL, one more thing - the italian boycott against jewish businesses is taking place in 2010, not in 1939.
Ah, I see now. Well, tell 'em the line to boycott Israel forms to the left (get it?). As Nixon said of the Italians, wonderful people, but they don't have their head screwed on straight.
I read up a bit on the Texas RNC kerfuffle you alluded. Not very nice. Not as bad as it could have been (their objections to the guy were on policy, specifically abortion, not so much on faith), but not very nice. It's all well and good that your favorite person of all time was a Jew (and a happy 2010th birthday to him!), but it never sounds good to say some of your best friends are Jewish, black, whatever. Almost all of mine are liberals, which doesn't speak well of me.
I have to wonder (not for the first time), how smart Texans are. On the one hand he says, "I try to select every time a Christian conservative to help." Yet he then says, "Christian isn't even the most important thing when it comes to leadership," he allowed. "I want somebody in office that has moral values." We may disagree with his definition on moral values, but he doesn't sound like late Weimar to me.
BTL
"...Almost all of mine are liberals, which doesn't speak well of me."
And many of mine are conservative, which shows that we have the same role in our bizzaro universes. Probably why I like to read your blog so much, even though I rarely agree with you.
Because people like us need to test our belief systems against the most hostile crowd imaginable. A friend once told me that I thrived on negative reinforcement.
And I think that our quest for intellectual integrity causes us to seek out affirmation from the other side, not to gain converts necessarily, but as sort of a grounding mechanism.
It gets awfully boring when people agree with you all the time.
Apologies all around except to Anonymous who called me "an (sic) belligerent asshole". Pot-Kettle; Kettle-Pot and all that. Don't care much for many aspects of Christmas, but the F-Bomb was uncalled for. I also do not believe there is a "war on Christmas." Give me an F-bombing break. :) Any who, Happy Winter Solstice to all. Merry Festivus for the rest of us, and all that.
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