Posted on 12/11/2006 8:14:08 AM PST by beaversmom
The tree is not a Christian symbol. Many conservative religious preach against it--for myself, it's a decoration and tradition. But I guess it's close enough to a Christian symbol that the airport decided to run scared. Sensible.
But if you're not scared of a lawyer high on fees and spite, you're not smart.
I'm not hateful at all. I believe things have only gotten better for all groups here but that's because people have fought to speak up for themselves if they felt they were being treated unequally. That said, sometimes simply opening your mouth is a far better approach than resorting to a lawyer.
Agreed but you'd never get to the "now" without getting past the "then". OMG, I sound like the slick one. Shoot me now!
Good point and maybe I'm naive but I just don't think this guy is trying to stomp on others' beliefs. If that's his goal then shame on him but I'd like to think he's just truly trying to get equality.
SEATAC, Wash. There will be no more Christmas trees at Sea-Tac Airport this season after the Port of Seattle received at least one complaint about them.
For more than 25 years, the airport has celebrated the holidays with Christmas trees over its entrances. But overnight, the Port of Seattle ordered all 15 trees removed.
The Port allowed "holiday" decorations to remain but decided to take down all the Christmas trees after a Seattle rabbi complained they were offensive... The Port of Seattle says it had little choice. It says the Seattle rabbi with the Central Organization for Jewish Learning hired a lawyer and threatened to sue... (KOMO-TV, KING-TV)
Looks like you don't think an apology amounts to much. You have a lot of company.
Well said. Totally with you on that.
But be aware, pro-Israel chr*stians, that the moment 12/25 passes you will go right back to having nothing in common with anti-Semitic chr*stians who prefer Constantine to Solomon, Rome or Constantinople to Jerusalem, [the] writings of medieval saints to the inerrant Word of G-d. These "friends" of yours who are so up in arms about the war on chr*stmas will go right back to promoting evolution and the idea that the "old testament" is mythology and parable, and you will be alone again. Don't fall for it. I'm begging you, don't fall for it.
We're doin' good until the second sentence, which gives the impression that Christians who actually attempt to follow the word of God cannot possibly be the same ones offended by secular, Jewish or legalist activists trying to suppress public expression of Christian symbols. And that they are cultivating or elevating the opinions of "friends" who are obviously uninformed in the scriptures.
Or am I misreading your intention?
Actually...they did. But not for this issue.
During a Town Meeting this year the ACLU sent lawyers to speak against an article that was being voted on. This article would define exactly what was considered a "family" by the Planning (Zoning) Board and would also provide stiff penalties for landlords who rent their units to parties not fitting within these parameters.
The intent was to prevent large numbers of unrelated illegal immigrants from packing themselves into a single rental unit and living like rats in a flop house. (It happened in a few places in town)
The ACLU lawyers were shouted down, told they were not town residents or Town Meeting members and were asked to leave.
The article passed but our über liberal State Legislature found out about it (probably via the ACLU) and shot it down.
So we are probably on the ACLU shiite list.
"Threatening a federal lawsuit was assinine."
Having had all too much interaction with AgencyPersons, I can assure my fellow FReepers that often only threat of a federal suit will cause any positive action on the part of the Agency or the AgencyPerson.
"Threatening a federal lawsuit was assinine."
Having had all too much interaction with AgencyPersons, I can assure my fellow FReepers that often only threat of a federal suit will cause any positive action on the part of the Agency or the AgencyPerson.
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He ain't goin' to cotton to that!
You may be right but his way of achieving equality smacks me as mean-spirited.
Here is my email to the Rabbi. His email address is: rabbi@chaiseattle.com
Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky,
Why is removing Christmas trees from public forums during the Christmas season so important to you? When I see Jewish symbols I am not offended. I am very happy to see them. It tells me that there are people of faith and kindness. My first impulse when I see Jewish symbols is not to say there must also be a Christmas tree or I am going to sue!
Personally, I find your actions to be very petty and childish. Millions of people will go through the SEATAC terminals and be denied the traditional Christmas experience because you could not see your chosen Jewish symbol. That does not strike me as a positive way to win friends and find common ground with your opponents.
Hundreds of millions of Christians in this country generously support the State of Israel and all that she stands for. Do you think your petty stand “You must take down the Christmas trees, if you do not put up Jewish symbols, or I will sue is really the appropriate action to be taken? Why cannot you be as generous and understanding of American Christians as they are of the Jewish faith and the State of Israel?
You really have disappointed me. Your actions bring great sorrow to me and many others.
Sincerely,
The Rabbi and his organization, including a fellow named Mitchell Stein who was on the Port advisory board (I'm still trying to find out who this guy is)--were in full knowledge that a lawsuit had been threated. See the new thread from the Seattle Times on FR. The airport did the only thing it could--get rid of the trees. The Rabbi was demanding a ceremony which would have provided a focus for further controversy...Seattle is on edge from the killing of a prominent Jewish lady a few months back.
The Rabbi didn't get what he wanted, but he got what he threatened.
the point of mine to which you are referring is merely, that Chabad-Lubavitch arranges for public Menorahs paid for with private funds so you don't have to worry about your tax dollars paying for them.
just curious, in your mind, was WWII about saving Jews or destroying tyranical regiemes which sought to destroy America? was saving Jews a by-product of the war or it's cause?
just curious 2
do you know how many Jews served in the US Armed Forces in WWII?
Approximately 550,000 Jewish men and women served in the United States armed forces during World War II, the equivalent of 37 divisions. The participation of 11 percent of the Jewish population in the service, 50 percent of the men age 18 to 44, ensured that few Jewish families would not have a close relative in uniform. Widespread involvement in the military turned Jews into fighters. They became seasoned soldiers, competent in handling arms and comfortable in taking risks. It was the only generation of American Jews to know military life firsthand. The experience changed their lives, their perceptions of the world and their self-understanding as Jews. "The experience of the war years," Lucy Dawidowicz observed, "had a transfiguring effect on American Jews and on their ideas of themselves as Jews."
When Jews Were GIs: World War II and the Remaking of American Jewry
so does one privately paid for Menorah in Seattle equate to "50 percent of the men age 18 to 44" in your mind?
Uh, yeah. You have a problem with that? Was a loved one killed in the riots?
I'm a little slow this evening. What religions place trees up in December?
No.
re-read the responses, substituting "hate-filled liberal" for what you assumed "Jew".
No, I can't say why Jews (as a group!) vote over 85% for liberal hate-filled international socialist atheistss, when ONLY republican conservatives (many of whom are REAL Christians) love and support the Jewish communities and their ethics.
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