Christmas Trees Removed from Sea-Tac airport after ONE complaint...

[K Frame]

I think everyone should write to the authority and tell them that you're highly offended that the trees were removed.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/295372_xmas10.html

[grislyatoms]

This crap seems to be accelerating at an exponential rate.

Jeez, if I had to worry about whether I would offend someone during the course of the day I would never get out of the bed in the morning.

Folks need to "take a chill pill" and focus on worthwhile pursuits, IMO.

[280plus]

Hello, the Christmas tree is a leftover from the pagan days and really has no real or true reference to Christianity. Talk about stupid. Actually, I don't think it even references PAGAN ritual. IIRC the tradition came from people bringing an evergreen tree into their cabins in the middle of winter to help freshen the place up cause it's been closed up and getting stuffy for the last couple months of cold weather.

I love this part

The Christmas trees are now in storage or hidden in unused areas of the airport where they won't be seen.

Yes, please hide the horrible sight of those evil Christmans trees from public sight! It's for the CHILDREN!! 

[Hawkmoon]

The news article I read said the rabbi who caused all the fuss is upset because they did what he asked, and removed symbols preferential to one religion. Apparently, what he really wanted was to add a symbol preferential to HIS religion, without taking into account that acceding to his request (actually I believe it was more of a "demand") would have opened the door to their having to mount displays for any and every organized religion that had even one vocal member willing to contact the airport management.

So now the rabbi is concerned that people will think that Jewish people are Grinches. Duh ... not all, only one.

Moron. He forgot the prime directive: "Be careful what you ask for, you may get it."

[Stand_watie]

The news article I read said the rabbi who caused all the fuss is upset because they did what he asked, and removed symbols preferential to one religion. Apparently, what he really wanted was to add a symbol preferential to HIS religion, without taking into account that acceding to his request (actually I believe it was more of a "demand") would have opened the door to their having to mount displays for any and every organized religion that had even one vocal member willing to contact the airport management.

So now the rabbi is concerned that people will think that Jewish people are Grinches. Duh ... not all, only one.

Moron. He forgot the prime directive: "Be careful what you ask for, you may get it."

If this is a case of "misreporting" (Common enough these days) and if this fellow isn't actually suing, but simply taking reasonable steps trying to get the Menorah imagery equally accepted with Christmas tree imagery at this mall, I utterly applaud him.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

Jeez, if I had to worry about whether I would offend someone during the course of the day I would never get out of the bed in the morning.

Your staying in bed all day would offend me, 'cause it isn't fair that you get to sleep all day while I have to work.

[Eleven Mike]

After consulting with lawyers, port staff believed that adding the menorah would have required adding symbols for other religions and cultures in the Northwest. The holidays are the busiest season at the airport, Betancourt said, and staff didn't have time to play cultural anthropologists.

Part of the problem, perhaps THE problem, is this idea that every culture or religion has to be represented.  Since Christmas is being celebrated by Christians, and Hannukah is being celebrated by Jews, we have to pretend that everyone else is celebrating something.  After all, all religions and cultures are really the same, right?  And Christmas and Hannukah are really just celebrations of the winter solstice with religious dressing, aren't they?  No doubt meant to keep women and homosexuals in submission, or to exploit natural resources, or whatever. 

In reality, there are only two holidays commonly celebrated at this time of year, with the possible addition of Kwanzaa.  There are a few scattered pagans out there celebrating the winter solstice and doubtless some followers of some Hindu sect or another who celebrate the circumcision of Hanuman, or what-have-you.  But we can't expect every business or govt. entity to recognize and celebrate every holiday that some passerby may or may not be celebrating.  Being a minority means you're a minority.  There are plenty of Christians who object to Christmas trees.  I doubt any of them are threatening to sue to have the tree removed from their local airport.  My wife has a religious scruple against going to restaurants that serve alcohol.  So, she doesn't go to those places.  She doesn't demand that these restaurants establish non-alcoholic branches.  She doesn't ask the airport to build a seperate terminal that doesn't have a bar. 

[LAK]

The Christmas tree has been a feature of american culture for a very long time; before these people start trying to change our culture they ought to find a homeland of their own and make up their own national culture.

-------------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org 

[BryanP]

Tree's back.  Show's over.

[Vodka7]

Yep, story's got a happy ending just in time for Christmas:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003473318_seatactrees12m.html

[Eleven Mike]

What an obvious publicity stunt.  The Sea-Tac airport was losing business to all the other airports in town, so it's pretty obvious they staged the whole thing.   

[AmbulanceDriver]

Of course, the Rabbi didn't want the Christmas trees removed.  He just threatened a lawsuit in order to try to get equal airtime for his particular beliefs.  Never mind the "unintended consequences".......

[Winston Smith]

Before these people start trying to change our culture they ought to find a homeland of their own and make up their own national culture.

Yeah seriously quit with the smallpox blanket and one god crap.

/subtracting a couple hundred years

[matis]

  Of course if this is a case of "misreporting" (Common enough these days) and if this fellow isn't actually suing, but simply taking reasonable steps trying to get the Menorah imagery equally accepted with Christmas tree imagery at this mall, I utterly applaud him, and totally retract my "what an ahole" commment..

This IS a case of misreporting.  This rabbi is with Chabad-Lubavitch, a group with whom I am proudly affiliated.

The rabbi NEVER asked that the Christmas trees be removed.  He tried for over a month to get the airport authorities to respond to his request to ALSO allow a menorah to be displayed.  He got stone-walled and finally ignored.  THAT was when he brought up the possibility of a lawsuit.

The rabbi was horrified at the stupid reaction of the airport people, and took it upon himself to ASK THAT THE AIRPORT RESTORE THE CHRISTMAS TREE DISPLAYS.  And he retracted his threat to sue.


The great irony in all of this is that, unlike some Jewish groups, Chabad encourages religious displays and has even gone to court to fight for them.  The last group to fight Christmas displays would be Chabad.  They were only asking for equal time for the menorah.


I think that the years of war against religion and against religious celebrations and Christmas displays has increased the resentment (and who could blame them?) of religious people to the point where it boiled over in response to this incident.  Chabad took the resentment that belongs to those who actually hate religion.  Go to www.chabad.org for an article by Rabbi Tauber about this incident and for info on Chabad generally.


So you were correct in the last paragraph of your post, Stand_watie -- Chabad fights FOR freedom of religion, not against it.

But what's new about mis-reporting?



matis

[Antibubba]

I wonder if they could quietly erect an aluminum pole in a corner somewhere?   

[Stand_watie]

An excerpt from the article, Matis linked. It looks like Chabad-Lubavitch's greatest challenge may indeed be in getting a fair shake from the media.

My bad for not further researching the details of the case before commenting on it I'm redacting the original post to reflect that.
***

...The irony is that, for the last 25 years, there has been an ongoing debate within the Jewish community on the very issue of religious displays in public places during the winter holiday season--with Rabbi Bogomilsky and his colleagues squarely on the very opposite side of the debate than the side that's being attributed to him.

The sight of one menorah burning proudly through the night will do more for Jewish continuity than the removal of 1000 Christmas trees... There are 300 million people living in America, a large majority of whom are proud Christians; among them live about 5 million Jews. Come December, trees and other holiday paraphernalia blossom forth throughout the length and breadth of the land. Many Jews feel challenged by this phenomenon. "How can I raise my child to feel secure in and proud of his Jewishness," they wonder, "when he's confronted by these displays in every store window, hotel lobby and village square? How can I myself avoid feeling resentful, left out, discriminated against?"

Not long ago, the answer for many was: We'll fight the trees! We'll take them to court, we'll cite the Establishment Clause, and get all religious symbols removed from the public domain.

Chabad-Lubavitch took a different tack. Don't fight to remove the trees--put up menorahs! Don't direct your efforts to make America "less Christian"--work to celebrate America's freedom to encourage Jews in their Jewishness. Would not a single positive message be so much more effective than a thousand un-messages? Would not the sight of a single menorah burning proudly through the night do more for Jewish pride and Jewish continuity than the removal of a thousand trees?...

[matis]

An excerpt from the article, Matis linked. It looks like Chabad-Lubavitch's greatest challenge may indeed be in getting a fair shake from the media.

My bad for not further researching the details of the case before commenting on it I'm redacting the original post to reflect that.

Just the result of the usual mis-reporting.  I never worried about you, Stand_watie.


matis

[Unisaw]

Antibubba: 

[Gewehr98]

Festivus, for the rest of us!


Although, to be honest, Christian-bashing has become something of a fashionable trend these last several years.  Definitely not the same environment where I grew up, even my stepson seems to think his sensibilities as a Celtic Pagan descendant are somehow trampled upon by the introduction of Christian values to his pagan winter tree ritual, all of which happened hundreds of years before he was conceived.  He reminds me of the African-Americans who are trying to get money from the tobacco companies, because their ancestors, several generations removed, were subjugated by the same.

So I told him to F-off and die, in my sweetest, coffee-and-cookies Lutheran voice.