Posted on 12/27/2006 1:32:38 AM PST by beaversmom
Americans celebrate Christmas in many different ways but in Bakersfield, California, an apparent secular fanatic observed the holiday by dousing himself with flammable liquid and setting himself ablaze.
According to press reports, he meant to show his passionate objection to Thursday nights decision by the Kern High School Board of Trustees to change the name of the winter break to Christmas vacation and the spring break to Easter Vacation. The protester (the headline proclaimed, Name Change Sparks Protest) first set fire to a Christmas tree and several flags, then lit himself to express his displeasure at the Boards decision. Fire Department spokesman Garth Milam indicated he suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms and received treatment in a local hospital.
Many commentators have condemned the alleged hysteria and extremism by religious conservatives who complain about the War on Christmas, but none of the holidays defenders has tried to burn himself (or herself) to death to protest less attention to the seasons religious origins. It took a militant secularist (driven to suicidal rage by the designation of a school break as Christmas vacation?)to give macabre new meaning to the season of light.
Yes, its a sad story and the perpetrator is probably insane but the incident still illustrates a point Ive made repeatedly on the radio show: in todays battle between Americas religious majority and a beleaguered (and tiny) secularist minority, theres far more extremism, intolerance, militancy, aggressiveness and even insanity on the secular side. The separationists and non-believers feel threatened by religiosity, and compelled to attack it, in a way that the faith community seldom feels menaced by atheism or secularism. The reason for the greater tolerance from religious believers is simple but profound: if were wrong about Gods existence, the long-term consequences are insignificant, but if atheists are wrong in their non-belief the impact on them could be substantial and, in fact, eternal.
In contrast to our Muslim counterparts, Christians and Jews dont observe our holiday seasons by attempting to secure heaven through suicide or self-mutilation, but a secular-minded lunatic just lit himself ablaze in order to protest even the slightest, most subtle reminder that he might face even more painful flames in the future.
Yule Log?
It obviously wasn't much of an inferno, he hardly got a good sunburn out of it.
"He suffered first degree burns"
I can get those just by stepping into bright sunlight for ten minutes. Luck o' the Irish, surely!
I don't watch TV but my liberal relatives tell me that the evil Bill O'Reilly is behind all of the moves to keep Christmas in Christmas. O'Reilly is the leader of some massive cult empire where his robotic followers visciously attack anyone who doesn't say "Christmas".
In my Navy days, this guy would have been referred to as either a Running, or Screaming, Class Alpha Fire...
thanks! i'm looking for examples of simile and metaphor... i'm going to teach these to my son next week... very good!
Build a man a fire, and he stays warm for a day.
Set a man on fire, and he stays warm for the rest of his life.
Plus plenty more, right on this thread.
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