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Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:20 am  |
First of all, for those who are curious, here's the article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16150563/?GT1=8816
Apparently a Rabbi complained about the Christmas Trees being displayed at sea-tac airport, and requested that a Menorah also be displayed or legal action would follow. After consulting lawyers, sea-tac decided that they didn't have time to cover all of the religious/cultural groups equally, so to avoid a lawsuit they just removed all of their Christmas trees. Did anyone else find this to be extremely sad? I have nothing but respect for the Jewish community and I don't want anyone to feel excluded, but threatening to sue a well-meaning airport that was just trying to spread some holiday cheer to weary travelers feels very mean-spirited to me. How does everyone else here feel? Non-Christian EDS members: are you upset/offended by the Christmas Tree by EDS's logo? (I hope not--- seeing that cute little guy really boosts my mood, to tell you the truth...  ) I'm Christian, but for example when I was traveling in Asia and often saw Buddhist symbols, I never felt upset or excluded. And when I frequent parts of the country that are mainly Jewish (On the east side of Cleveland there are several areas that are almost completely Jewish), I enjoy and appreciate seeing their decorations and symbols of worship. Also, I know that the Christmas Tree is a traditional decoration for Christmas, which is by nature a Christian holiday, but Christmas trees are also enjoyed many non-Christians, and by many of my Jewish friends. I hope that what happened at sea-tac is not an indication of things to come--- I love the holidays and I always look forward to holiday decorations of any kind. |
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27, sensitive/reactive/acne prone skin, dark brown hair, blue eyes, possibly the palest woman alive... |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:41 am |
I am totally agreed with you.
I'm not a Christian. But I do respect others' freedom of worship. If they absolutely cannot accept other forms of worship, and they are so strict and loyal to their own religion. They SHOULD NOT take any Christmas holidays!!!!
That is what I thought. |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:52 am |
I saw a blurb on the morning news. The rabbi says he's stunned and disappointed that the christmas trees were removed.
I don't understand why the airport can't just say "any religion is welcome to display as long as they are willing to install/dismantle/take care of the holiday decoration'. And, if any wack jobs try to display something ... the 'religion' needs to prove that it's holiday tradition.
I sort of wonder if part of the issue isn't the airport trying to "teach" the rabbi a lesson ... we'll make it miserable for everyone.
I read an article in People mag about colleges that kick suicidal students off campus to avoid law suits. |
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mid 40's, Hawaiian/Japanese, combo skin, med/dark complexion. "If life hands you lemons, throw them at your enemies" |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:56 am |
I thought you weren't allowed to call it a christmas tree anymore....it's a holiday tree now or something  |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 11:57 am |
| Wow. I heard about this while watching CNN this morning...I have to say it made me very angry. Dont all religions teach basically the same things? Love, compassion, acceptance, peace? If something like a Christmas tree offends someone so much that they threaten to sue, my guess is this person needs to get a life. Why are they not offended by disease, rape, famine and abuse. Those IMO are some very worth while causes. This is a largly Christian nation while it may not be fair the Christmas tree is a American tradition. I would never go to another country and get upset that I didnt see any there. I really think that the US has gotten way too PC. Its absurd. Remember last year when we were'nt allowd to say "Merry Christmas" it had to be "Happy Holidays"? Gimme a freakin' break. |
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27~Texas~Oily~ fair~ breakout prone~ easily congested~Cysts caused by emotional stress~ Using Ayurvedic skin care and philosophy~ Dry brushing body and face~ On strict less is more routine~ We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars~ Oscar Wilde |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:06 pm |
Threatening to sue seems to be more and more of a general trend these days, and the prospect of incurring legal fees is enough for some to take measures to avoid them. This is saddening.
The tradition of Christmas trees is thought by some to have pagan (pre-Christian) origins. Christ wasn't born on Dec. 25 so this makes sense -- rituals and feasts celebrating harvest and life (especially during dreary weather) were festive diversions in ancient cultures. It was only much later in history when Christians adopted evergreens as a religious symbol of the season.
I LOVE Christmas trees and lights! And I love hearing Christmas carols! And I love watching "A Christmas Story", "White Christmas" and "It's A Wonderful Life" every year at this time. They're about the only things left that I like about the season, truth be told. When I see people trampling each other at malls while rushing to buy trendy toys for their children, I can only shake my head (and use very bad language).
I can't blame Sea-Tac though -- who wants to waste money defending something such as this? That rabbi needs to "lighten" up. And get a [Wonderful] life. |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:09 pm |
| m.april wrote: |
Threatening to sue seems to be more and more of a general trend these days, and the prospect of incurring legal fees is enough for some to take measures to avoid them. This is saddening.
The tradition of Christmas trees is thought by some to have pagan (pre-Christian) origins. Christ wasn't born on Dec. 25 so this makes sense -- rituals and feasts celebrating harvest and life (especially during dreary weather) were festive diversions in ancient cultures. It was only much later in history when Christians adopted evergreens as a religious symbol of the season.
I LOVE Christmas trees and lights! And I love hearing Christmas carols! And I love watching "A Christmas Story", "White Christmas" and "It's A Wonderful Life" every year at this time. They're about the only things left that I like about the season, truth be told. When I see people trampling each other at malls while rushing to buy trendy toys for their children, I can only shake my head (and use very bad language).
I can't blame Sea-Tac though -- who wants to waste money defending something such as this. That rabbi needs to "lighten" up. And get a [Wonderful] life. |
Well said. Im still snickering from that last part...hehe. |
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27~Texas~Oily~ fair~ breakout prone~ easily congested~Cysts caused by emotional stress~ Using Ayurvedic skin care and philosophy~ Dry brushing body and face~ On strict less is more routine~ We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars~ Oscar Wilde |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:15 pm |
| Some stores do not let their employees greeting "Merry X'mas" to their customers in the US. I Think Wal-Mart and Target are two of them. |
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53, DermaQuest, NCN Products, PMD, Dermarolling |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:19 pm |
| MACrisis wrote: |
| Some stores do not let their employees greeting "Merry X'mas" to their customers in the US. I Think Wal-Mart and Target are two of them. |
Wal-mart recanted that, they now "allow" it. |
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27~Texas~Oily~ fair~ breakout prone~ easily congested~Cysts caused by emotional stress~ Using Ayurvedic skin care and philosophy~ Dry brushing body and face~ On strict less is more routine~ We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars~ Oscar Wilde |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:27 pm |
| Personally, I think it's unfortunate people would object to a tree. |
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40, fair skinned, dark hair, blue eyes |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:35 pm |
| MACrisis wrote: |
| Some stores do not let their employees greeting "Merry X'mas" to their customers in the US. I Think Wal-Mart and Target are two of them. |
Personally, I would not be offended if someone greeted me for a holiday that I do not celebrate (Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Solstice, whatever), because I would take the greeting in the spirit in which it was meant. |
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27, sensitive/reactive/acne prone skin, dark brown hair, blue eyes, possibly the palest woman alive... |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:39 pm |
| Likewise - I'd probably add "Same to you" and not think twice about it. |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 12:39 pm |
| manslayerliz wrote: |
| MACrisis wrote: |
| Some stores do not let their employees greeting "Merry X'mas" to their customers in the US. I Think Wal-Mart and Target are two of them. |
Personally, I would not be offended if someone greeted me for a holiday that I do not celebrate (Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Solstice, whatever), because I would take the greeting in the spirit in which it was meant. |
Silly, thats because you are a rational human being!   |
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27~Texas~Oily~ fair~ breakout prone~ easily congested~Cysts caused by emotional stress~ Using Ayurvedic skin care and philosophy~ Dry brushing body and face~ On strict less is more routine~ We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars~ Oscar Wilde |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:06 pm |
Some school in Sydney now don't allow Christmas carols as they don't want to offend non- Christians.
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:08 pm |
| manslayerliz wrote: |
| MACrisis wrote: |
| Some stores do not let their employees greeting "Merry X'mas" to their customers in the US. I Think Wal-Mart and Target are two of them. |
Personally, I would not be offended if someone greeted me for a holiday that I do not celebrate (Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Solstice, whatever), because I would take the greeting in the spirit in which it was meant. |
Ditto. I welcome all holidays from all religions .... because it usually means FOOD! |
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mid 40's, Hawaiian/Japanese, combo skin, med/dark complexion. "If life hands you lemons, throw them at your enemies" |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:12 pm |
| Rjez wrote: |
| I welcome all holidays from all religions .... because it usually means FOOD! |
Same here! I was fortunate enough to celebrate Hannukah with some Jewish friends once and it was a wonderful experience.
Now I'm married to a Chinese American, so we celebrate Chinese New Year with his family and I couldn't be happier about it. |
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27, sensitive/reactive/acne prone skin, dark brown hair, blue eyes, possibly the palest woman alive... |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:51 pm |
| manslayerliz wrote: |
Now I'm married to a Chinese American, so we celebrate Chinese New Year with his family and I couldn't be happier about it. |
Mmmmm ... moon cakes. I used to work with a muslim woman and every year she still sends me dried fruits, nuts and pastries during Ramadan. |
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mid 40's, Hawaiian/Japanese, combo skin, med/dark complexion. "If life hands you lemons, throw them at your enemies" |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 1:57 pm |
| manslayerliz wrote: |
..................
Now I'm married to a Chinese American, so we celebrate Chinese New Year with his family and I couldn't be happier about it. |
I bet you that RED envelops made you happy!!  |
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53, DermaQuest, NCN Products, PMD, Dermarolling |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 2:56 pm |
WARNING: Rant Ahead!
I applaud the decision to remove the trees and move on, because the Rabbi was being a jerk.
He was shocked at the Port of Seattle's reaction being not in the 'spirit of all of the holidays,' but that was after he said "I'm offended. . .you have 48 hours to add a menorah or take down the trees, or else I'll sue you." -- nice.
Now the rabbi is upset because it didn't go the way he wanted it to, and he wasn't able to make the statement he wanted. He just looks like an ass. The Port of Seattle is a HUGE organization that doesn't have the time to deal with a lawsuit threat like this in the first week of December. It's true that rabbi had a valid point, not to mention a case. The port avoided this mess in the most efficient manner possible -- a decision made by an obviously competant manager.
Yeah, IMHO it sucks that the trees aren't there, and that there aren't 1000 pretty paper mache menorahs made by little school children also donning the commons of Seatac Airport (that truly would have been very cool), but I'm sorry -- It is not the Port of Seattle that is lacking in the spirit of fairness. They are just trying to get y'all safely on your planes, and home in time for your respective holidays.
In all fairness, I'm sure that it is a drag for some of those that celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanza, Winter Solstice, Redhook Winterfest Ale, etc.. that Christmas dominates in this country -- I know that it bothers alot of of people. I personally just celebrate the Season -- but I'm afraid that I do it with a tree, because it's my husband's tradition and it's beautiful. . . even though technically I'm Jewish.
-- Bee |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 4:32 pm |
I wish people could just see the beauty in things and get into the season.
I LOVE CHRISTMAS!
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE!!! |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 5:20 pm |
I think it's completely ridiculous for a Rabbi, a religious leader and role model for his community, of all people, to show such ignorance and religious intolerance. First of all the Xmas tree or "holiday tree" or whatever the heck you want to call it (I prefer Yule tree LOL  ) was never a Christian symbol to begin with. True, it has been adopted by the Christian faith after once being scorned and is now a a much cherished icon, but it has held meaning for many cultures throught history. Here are a couple of links that explain the origins of this tradition:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_tree
http://www.religioustolerance.org/xmas_tree.htm
I for one wish we would decorate all places for every religion's holidays so that we can teach our children and the world that we are really more alike than some like to think. Plus seeing the beauty of so many traditions will not only open our minds but will create a festive feeling all year round. I also think we should get all the holidays of each religion off so we only have to work half the year. LOL Ok so that may be stretching it, but a girl's gotta dream.  |
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Global Butterfly & Certified Aromatherapist/Holisitc Therapist with a passion for travel and natural health.  |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 7:44 pm |
| It's the holidays for heaven's sake! How can someone be so petty? Sometimes I think we get so concerned with being politically correct and give all sorts of freedoms that we forget the bigger picture. The rabbi could've dealt with this so much better. |
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20's: rare pimples and oily T-zone..annoying little blackhead buggers on nose |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 8:08 pm |
| manslayerliz wrote: |
| Personally, I would not be offended if someone greeted me for a holiday that I do not celebrate (Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanza, Happy Solstice, whatever), because I would take the greeting in the spirit in which it was meant. |
Well said. I agree with this 100%! |
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Mon Dec 11, 2006 9:27 pm |
I'm not offended when I see a Christmas tree, or Menorah, or when I'm told "Ramadan Mubarak" or anything.
I was raised evalengelical Christian and am now completely non-religious. Having someone say Merry Christmas when I go into Wal-Mart won't make me go in there any less, nor would seeing a christmas tree or menorah in an airport upset me. Religion is part of culture, really. It's deeply-seeded and very important to many people.
Honestly, the only thing that really offends me is when people tell me I'm wrong to believe the way I do.
Otherwise, to each his/her own.
Putting a tree up in an airport, or a menorah in a window in a store, or whatever doesn't affect me in anyway, nor does it undermine what my own beliefs are. The same would go if I were still a Christian or if I were Jewish, Muslim, Ba'hai, whatever faith I might follow. |
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32, Fair Skin, combo/break-out prone. Simple routine of REN No. 1 Purity Cleansing Balm and Argan oil as a moisturizer; Clarisonic when needed. That's it! |
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Tue Dec 12, 2006 3:10 pm |
| Rjez wrote: |
| manslayerliz wrote: |
Now I'm married to a Chinese American, so we celebrate Chinese New Year with his family and I couldn't be happier about it. |
Mmmmm ... moon cakes. I used to work with a muslim woman and every year she still sends me dried fruits, nuts and pastries during Ramadan. |
OMG, I LOVE moon cakes!!! 
In other news, I read an update to this article. Apparently the Rabbi who originally threatened legal action rescinded his threat, so the airport put all of the trees back up, yay! It seems other area Rabbis were upset at the situation, and they even offered to help put the trees back up themselves, which I thought was very nice. |
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27, sensitive/reactive/acne prone skin, dark brown hair, blue eyes, possibly the palest woman alive... |
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