Last post we got to, once again, dance thru the yearly ritual of political correctness at Christmas time. As usual I had my take on it which would be predictable to most. Although every year I keep hoping and even praying that I will not have to expose yet another form of religious intolerance and bigotry based on one individuals extreme bias's towards a particular group of faith. Especially when the "group" is not responsible for the said blame.
Up here in the great white north (that would be Canada) Judge Marion Cohen's decision of ignorance was felt across the land and quite the uproar it stirred. But here is what made the uproar so intriguing. The uproar was not coming from the Christian community. It was coming from everywhere else. Take for example Edmonton Sun's very Pro choice, pro gay (marriage), pro feminist, anti-religious, and very liberal, Lyn Cockburn. The following snippets are taken from a recently published article of hers.
"And in Toronto, Judge Marion Cohen ordered that a small Christmas tree in the Ontario Court of Justice be put in a back hall away from the entrance because its presence suggests to non-Christians that they are "not part of this institution."
Oh, for God's sake, put the damn thing back, judge."
"Christmas is - or ought to be - a time of joy; a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ for those among us who are religious. A time of peace, kindness and reflection for those who are not. It is a time to be enjoyed by all, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and atheists. It is not, or at least it should not be, exclusive. Something tells me Jesus would not have approved of His birthday party invitations going out to selected Christians only."
"At my corner store, the Muslim owner tells me his little boy has a long list of things he wants for Christmas, the No. 1 thing being, of course, the newest PlayStation. Dad rolls his eyes at the specific requests of small boys and then wishes me a Merry Christmas as I leave the store."
"If a Muslim pleasantly wishes me a Merry Christmas, am I insulted? Not unless I'm off my meds."
Not bad for a Liberal!
You can read the article in it's entirety here.
Even more surprising was a response written to the editor of the Winnipeg Sun from A SIKH!!!
"My family is not Christian by any means. We are Sikh. Yet we put up a Christmas tree and call it a Christmas tree. And every day, my girls come and ask if it’s Christmas yet. It’s not a holiday tree and certainly not a multicultural tree. There is nothing multicultural about a green tree with ornaments hanging from it.
Why can’t people just stop whining about everything? If you don’t like it, if you don’t believe in it, then don’t put a tree up. But my Sikh family will continue to celebrate Christmas because it may not have the Christian meaning for us but it certainly is a time of giving, sharing, caring and being with family.
To those who can’t live with the term Christmas tree ... BAH HUMBUG!!!"
Kiran Singh
You can read more responses here
I must say that is encouraging to see that other's out there from a variety of different backgrounds, beliefs, and ideological values can still see the stupidity, ignorance, and redundancy in boneheaded decisions such as the one Marion Cohen made.
Merry Christmas to all!
Until next time...
19 comments:
TIO:
I've posted a response on this (sort of thing) here..
I still want to know why the judge had to make a ruling on this in the first place. Were there complaints or not?
On the one hand, it's a bonehead decision, because the tree has nothing to do with Christianity, except for some folks' perceptions. And if some folks can perceive it to be xian in a good way, I suppose some folks can perceive it as xian in a bad way and could object to it.
On the other hand, if it's not a big deal, then who cares? What's one more tree in one more lobby?
On the other, other hand, if it's an inclusional thing, then put the tree back up, with a menorrah and a pentagram and the atheist symbol and a sun and whatever.
On the other, other, other hand, it IS a court of law. Don't put anything in it except that which applies to law. Let people celebrate the season-whatever it is-in the privacy of their own, non-public, non-govt. homes.
Karen,
"I still want to know why the judge had to make a ruling on this in the first place. Were there complaints or not?"
No. In fact it was the staff in the building who erected the tree just like they did every other year for the last umpteen decades. This was a lone decision on behalf of the judge.
"I suppose some folks can perceive it as xian in a bad way and could object to it."
C'mon Karen. As you say, even IF the tree was perceived as a Christian symbol, with all of it's trimmings and lights aglow just what the (Bleep) is so offensive? How does it offend someone unless they are an embittered miserable little person just looking for a bowl of cereal to crap in. Realistically, there is no issue, Judge Marion just wanted to make one.
"On the other hand, if it's not a big deal, then who cares? What's one more tree in one more lobby?"
My point exactly.
"On the other, other, other hand, it IS a court of law. Don't put anything in it except that which applies to law. Let people celebrate the season-whatever it is-in the privacy of their own, non-public, non-govt. homes."
Why don't you tell us all not to be humans while your at it. In a democratic society the government is to be for the "people" by the (those same) "people" and if the "people" have no objections then gov't officials can leave their personal bias at the door on the way in and stop blaming the "people" for their boneheaded decisions. Do the individuals who work there own the property or do the "people" own the property? Our government buildings are funded by me the taxpayer and the Judge is paid by my tax dollar as well. So if the "people" across all religious and ethnic lines are offended by her removing it then who is she to say just who it offends? It is obviously personal with her.
Call it what it is Karen. A Judge with a chip on her shoulder exerting an abuse of power.
TIO
If the judge just took it upon herself to decide that somewhere, some people were offended by the tree, then it is an abuse of power.
Perhaps she doesn't have enough real work to do. But based on this decision, maybe she shouldn't have a judge's robes.
Happy Solstice!
In our nation, judges wield TOO much power. Their job is to enforce and uphold the laws of the land. These days they translate that too mean they can also re-write them as well as dictate their own morality.
Merry Christmas to you ;)
Hi! I came to your blog from iMuslim’s blogroll…
So first things first: Dude! You’re Canadian, too?! Woot! :D
As for this whole Christmas-tree issue, I think it’s ridiculous… honestly, does anyone even CARE? *Sigh* Clearly, some people have waaaaaay too much time on their hands!
Salaams Mouse-lette
Oh dear, now TIO has TWO muslims on his blog! I smell trouble a-brewin'... hehe
TIO i hope you don't mind me linking to you - i'm not sure if one needs to ask permission for such things... let me know if it's a problem!
IM, (Can I call you that instead?)
Not a problem at all. I am rather flattered.
"Oh dear, now TIO has TWO muslims on his blog! I smell trouble a-brewin'... hehe"
LOL Don't worry about it. I promise to go easy on you folks:) (well...maybe)
Anonymouse,
Welcome to the site and thanks for dropping by.
"So first things first: Dude! You’re Canadian, too?! Woot! :D"
And a Dang proud one. I am not a scottish/Irish Canadian I just AM CANADIAN :)
"honestly, does anyone even CARE? *"
Just Judge Marion who decided to take upon herself to decide that people like your self who are non Christian are offended.
I did not realise she spoke on behalf of all non Christians. (Obviously that is not the case)
IM, (Can I call you that instead?)
Ok, but make it a small 'i' with the M: iM
I think that looks cooler that way... yeah, i'm sad like that!
imuslim:
Ok, but make it a small 'i' with the M: iM
Ooooh, thass almost biblical. I AM.
Q,
Merry Christmas to you too brother.
"I can't help saying that Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Mormons all accept the scripture of what Christians call the Old Testament. It is hard to imagine how things fell apart so dramatically.."
That's easy for me. While the Christians recognised the truths and accuracies of the Old Testament teachings and prophecy's regarding the coming Messiah the rest followed teachings that parrelled the Truth. Life apart from Christ will eventually lead to everything falling apart.
See ya next year!
All the best TIO, hope you have a great Christmas and a very happy new year.
Lucy,
Thank you and a Merry Christmas to you too! And may we all have a happy new year with more peace in it.
KA: If you say so mate! hehe
TIO: i have posted THE entry i was talking about a while back. I thought Xmas day would be most fitting so i waited! However i imagine your "kind" (Christians, not infidels!) will be too busy with Mass/Church/stuffing the Xmas turkey to browse the net so i don't expect a response until you return - several pounds heavier i imagine! haha
Q: It was also hard for me to imagine how we could all stray from the path, but then i saw how easy it is for people who believe the exact same thing to start differing for the sake of it, and then it became easy to see.
Take care & best wishes to all.
TIO:
If you're interested, I have my latest post on evolution up here.
TIO
Sorry I didn't make it over here to wish you a Merry Christmas. I was very, very busy with the goings-on at my house and wasn't on the computer for 2 days. I hope you had a good one.
I'm having company in for New Year's weekend, so just in case I get too busy to compute again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
Love, Karen
Thank you Karen. And all the best to you as well.
I certainly understand the "time" factor during the holidays. I am typing from my in-laws computer and I am about 1,200 miles away from home.
I won't be heading back for at least another week so there will not be much going on over here(at the blog site I mean) as well. Which kind of sucks.
As you can see KA invited me over for another evolutionary debate. I read his post and found it fascinating! Althougth this is not the first time I have come across this type of information. There are always rebuttals to some of these claims.
To make a short point long, I will not have the time to get involved with his article but I think I will resurrect it with a future rebuttal.
Nonetheless it is still very intriguing and makes for great debate.
Happy New year to you and I truly wish you and your family all the best. (You too KA, just in case your reading this)
Blessings,
TIO
TIO:
To make a short point long, I will not have the time to get involved with his article but I think I will resurrect it with a future rebuttal.
I hope you won't use the empty post as proof?
Sorry, couldn't resist.;)
Happy New year to you and I truly wish you and your family all the best. (You too KA, just in case your reading this)
Happy holidays to you too, mi amigo.
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