SEMPER ‘FIE’: Julius Spohn, outraged by the gross Santa display...ripped it down, but later apologized. Photo: Rick Dembow
Posted on 12/19/2005 4:32:33 AM PST by Liz
SEMPER ‘FIE’: Julius Spohn, outraged by the gross Santa display...ripped it down, but later apologized. Photo: Rick Dembow
A former Marine took a stab at saving the Christmas spirit yesterday — knocking over a bloody, knife-wielding Santa that was part of a controversial display outside a Manhattan home.
Julius Spohn, 64, of Newark, said he had read about the display in The Post and wanted to see the macabre scene in front of the East 18th Street brownstone belonging to Joel Krupnik and Mildred Castellanos.
Curious after seeing it, he opened the gate, walked into the small front yard and knocked down the "Bad Santa." "I think it's atrocious," said Spohn of the display..............
Krupnik has said he erected the sickening Christmas display in protest against the commercialization of the holiday.
But Spohn called it "an insult to people on this block, to the community in general."
.....Krupnik's 16-year-old daughter, Darla, was inside the tony brownstone — and confronted Spohn. When she demanded to know what he was doing, Spohn said he replied, "I'm ripping this piece of garbage down."
Darla called the police.
"Somebody taking [Santa's head] off and his body down — that's creepy," Darla said later. Darla said the entire display — which she claimed is welcomed by most people — will go back up. The family is even discussing next year's display, she said, which may include one of Santa's elf helpers driving a hammer down on another elf's severed noggin.
On Saturday, the family hung a new doll head on the tree after the original head was stolen last week by a Brooklyn group calling itself The 7th Avenue Boys for a Merry Christmas.
Spohn said.....the display wasn't considered the sort of freedom he was protecting while serving in the military, he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
"Merry Christmas to our military men and women."
thank you nypost for giving the location of this ""nyc mansion .""
Julius Spohn, you beat me to it!
Semper Fi !
Amen.
These two crackpots are not fooling anybody......they used "commercialization" as the peg to hang their Christmas animus.
I wish I could tell people on Freerepublic my opinions regarding Santa without being flamed as ignorant racist bigot, like I was last Christmas day.
But Chronic, your aside story tells me that you at least appreciate what Santa means to me - and a whole raft of soldiers here in Iraq who have been raised up by FReepers and their generosity.
Santa has visited my troops, not just on 24 DEC, but every week since we arrived in Ramadi. The spirit of that generosity, sharing the bounty of THEIR Christian belief, will make joy here for us. THAT, FRiend, is what Santa's iconography is about, not just a knee-jerk commercial hate.
All gifts come thru Christ, and Santa is a very special delivery guy, an agent of His will, just as so many of us are.
But this year, Santa is wearing ACU's and is bringing presents to Iraq - freedom being one of them. Santa's always been a part of the season for me, and these last two years, because of Freerepublic's good people, I and my family and my soldiers have seen the spirit of Santa mixed in with the true meaning of Christmas.
Someone should have reported the two loons to Child Welfare----for endangering children.
Nicholas was born during the third century in Patara, a village in what is now Turkey. His wealthy parents, who raised him to be a devout Christian, died in an epidemic while Nicholas was still young. Obeying Jesus' words to "sell what you own and give the money to the poor," Nicholas used his whole inheritance to assist the needy, the sick, and the suffering. He dedicated his life to serving God and was made Bishop of Myra while still a young man. Bishop Nicholas became known throughout the land for his generosity to the those in need, his love for children, and his concern for sailors and ships.
Exactly, if a legal argument exists for preventing the display of American flags (Amherst, MA), the awful 'insult' of a Christian creche (you pick the town from the ACLU list), and a home owner is legally liable for what happens if the don't block access to an 'attractive nuisance' - I don't see where this unvarnishted insult to Christmas, both secular and religious, was clearly meant to provoke and demean.
Kudos to this ex-Marine who knocked it down and then accepted responsibility. Unlike the moronic coward who destroyed the creche in New Hamshire and ran away.
I just call them the way I see them.
If this clown was still an active Marine, I have no doubt he would be charged with conduct unbecoming a US Marine.
Good work, Marine. As usual.
My thoughts too.
We're supposed to be a nation of laws.
*smooches!*
What an idiotic display. My kids know the reason for the season is Jesus, but good Lord, we do have fun with SAnta. I get so sick and tired of people thinking that they cannot peacefully coexist. ARGH!
I consider this one small rung in the ladder to the culture war that has been brewing for some time. The dirty nasty leftist love to push the envelope of decency and tolerance- just to see how far the limit is for good normal folks... they have been lucky up to this point. IMO- Someone, like this freak family, is going to get hurt over this kind of nonsense.
Freedom of expressions does not mean you are protected from consequences of hate. If that Santa were not white skinned the media would be in an uproar.
If my child thought for one moment that display were funny I would know I have failed as a parent. All those parents have done is spawn a Michale Moore fat head.
For good news: I was wished a Merry Christmas yesterday by a Chinese friend and a Muslim shop keeper, and when I looked at them with a big smile and a big thank you- it seemed that they were gratified to have said something nice and meaningful to me. Seriously.
There is good and bad.. it is ebb and flow....and Santa is real... Always remember that! :]
Merry Christmas!
Look at your language and choice of words here-
people in glass houses.....
If that does indeed happen, the perpetrators who cause any harm to this somewhat non-conformist family should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
He was wrong but his heart was in the right place. LOL
In your opinion and his it was hateful.
Not everyone shares your opinion.
These kinds of people have been getting a free ride in America for a very long time. Face it- at some point these freaks are going to saturate the market on free speech and find the breaking point they so crave.
Attention whores, like this, will get some attention all right- because people are HUMAN. I am not advocating violence against this family- but I would understand how it would happen. These people may want to learn why it is we have respect for people and their beliefs- part of the reason why is so we can all get along.
YOu mean- This passive agressive- hate filled ,group of dysfunctional freaks. :]
They have failed as a "family" they are a group of idiots living together and Co-raising each other.
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