Years and years ago, Democratic candidate Al Smith,
attacking FDR and the spendthrift policies of the New
Deal.
said “Nobody shoots at Santa Claus.” As our War
Against Christmas competition has shown over the
years, Smith was wrong. People are taking potshots
at Santa all over the place. But this year Santa is
shooting back.
For the first time that we can recall, there’s been
resistance to the War on Christmas. People have
apparently decided to fight. We reported earlier that
the Kensington, MD
ban on Santa Claus had been met with a
Million Santas March. King County, WA supervisor Ron
Sims had
”clarified” his ban on public employees wishing each
other a Merry Christmas. You may not have heard that,
after the Poinsettia Ban Ron Kyser reported on, in which
Ramsey County, MN banned red poinsettias from their
courthouse, some public employees in Minneapolis
apparently braved the post 9/11 security checks and
smuggled in red poinsettias.
A letter from
George Holowchak alerted us to a pro-Christmas
column by Lawrence Hall in the New Jersey Star-Ledger
that was typical of the countrywide reaction to the
WOC:
Attack on holiday tradition is becoming an evergreen
“In Canandaigua, N.Y.,
teachers and staff at the Canandaigua Primary School are
being advised to use other words than Christmas.
"It has been brought to
our attention by concerned individuals in the community
and in our schools that the word 'Christmas' is being
used in relation to the season," Cheryl Eng-Link, the
school's principal and p.c. commissar, wrote in a memo
distributed to school staff.
"Please be advised it is
more appropriate for us to use words such as 'holiday,'
'evergreen tree,' etc." The memo directed staff to use
words that are "secular in nature." “
And an extremely anonymous correspondent wrote:
“More GOOD news:
In the halls of a very,
very, very large transnational corporation (certainly
how they like to think of themselves), of which the
CEO's lips are regularly affixed to the hind quarters of
Jesse Jackson, there appeared a band of merry-makers
numbering about a score, singing ... Christmas Carols!
And they did go on and on!
One would hardly have
seen this a short year ago.
With respect to the
Christocentric American culture, the status of
hypersensitivity in this corporation-state? Gone with
the Wind.
I had been telling
everyone that this was going to be a very strong
Christmas, as patriotism would naturally translate into
strengthening the bonds of the native culture.”
Fred Fries, one of our most alert readers, was among
the first to notice the resistance theme. He wrote:
You predicted it, Peter! (And worse in store, if
people don't act. My kids are already bringing home
horror stories from school of "Winter Solstice Holiday"
as a synonym for Christmas.)
And later added, kindly:
“Looks like Vdare.com's
friends are legion, many probably without realizing it!
Check out these few voices, randomly chosen…from at
least a dozen-and-a-half I've come across this Christmas
Season which have been raised in strenuous, sometimes
bitter protest at the annual assault on The Season.
Vdare.com's influence shows itself here and elsewhere:
I doubt such a convergence would have happened were it
not for its leadership.”
Santa is appalled by Bill O'Reilly
If religion offends you, stop reading by Linda Chavez
Further assaults on Christianity by David Limbaugh
Christmas and the Sensitive Person's Veto by John Leo
The abolition of Christmas, by Patrick J. Buchanan
For this blatant flattery, we’ve decided to award
Fred the traditional autographed copy of Alien Nation
- substituting a bottle of champagne if he already
has too many copies of Alien Nation in his
library of incorrect literature or just prefers a drink.
Now that establishment
columnists have noticed the War Against Christmas, is it
over? No, it’s just been joined. Just in case, you’re
relaxing, look at this from
Shara Rollins in Oklahoma City:
Last week I attended my
city's Christmas parade, which as of this year has been
re-christened "The
Festival Of Lights Parade." Of all the floats in a
parade that is supposed to celebrate a religious
holiday, the only float that represented a religious
organization was a float done by the pseudo-religious
Chinese meditation cult, Falun Gong. We were accosted by
a drove of small Chinese women handing out Falun Gong
literature. I guess nothing says Christmas like a bunch
of meditating members of a cult. I've attached a
picture of the festive float. Notice
the plea for compassion and tolerance.
(This is obviously some
kind of mistake on the part of the Falun Gongers.
Everyone knows that
Truth-Compassion-Tolerance Day
is on May13th.)
See you next year!
(Coming Soon: Tom
Piatak reflects on the reaction to his
Happy Holiday? Bah, Humbug! article.)
January 06, 2002
