War on Christmas 2011: "Gay Apparel" edition

[FORD]

'Gay apparel' back in song for Michigan students

Associated Press

4:05 AM CST, December 6, 2011

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich.

A Michigan elementary school principal says students are back to singing "gay apparel" in a well-known Christmas carol after a music teacher had them sing "bright apparel" instead.

Cherry Knoll Elementary School Principal Chris Parker told television station WPBN on Monday that he was disappointed with the decision to make the change to "Deck the Halls" after children kept giggling.

One line in the popular version of the song is "Don we now our gay apparel," referring to festive holiday clothing.

Parker says it's a teachable moment for the educator and students at the school in the Traverse City Area Public Schools district.

The students have a concert this month where they'll perform Christmas songs.

[FORD]

Michigan Students to Don “Gay Apparel” After All

The line caused some concern, but principal Chris Parker says grade-schoolers in Traverse City, Mich., will once again be singing about donning “gay apparel.”
By Trudy Ring

After a bit of controversy, students in an elementary school in Traverse City, Mich., will once again be singing about donning “gay apparel.”

Chris Parker, principal of Cherry Knoll Elementary School, says the line in “Deck the Halls” has been restored, the Associated Press reports. The school’s music teacher had changed “gay apparel” to “bright apparel” because students giggled at the use of “gay.”

Parker had told local TV station WPBN Monday that he was disappointed with the teacher’s move, and he subsequently announced the restoration of the original lyric as the students prepare for a holiday concert later this month. He said the matter constituted a teachable moment for students and staff.

Several people who commented online on the station’s story called the teacher’s decision ridiculous. One wrote, “Can one word in a 150-year-old classic Christmas carol really offend someone?”

Some wondered how the students — first- and second-graders — would know that “gay” meant homosexual, while others pointed out that the children were probably giggling simply because they perceived it as a taboo word. Only a few comments were overtly homophobic; one said the use of “gay” to mean homosexual was a way to “distroy” the English language.

[Sensible Shoes]

I hate every bit of PC bullshit surrounding Christmas.

I was surprised that they aired Charlie Brown last night because Linus quotes from Scripture. I don't even think Sesh would mind that.

[FORD]

Non-Existent 'War On Christmas' Is Apparently Being Won By The People Who Invented It

Posted: 11/28/11 02:45 PM ET


Were you aware that we recently won a major battle in the "War On Christmas?" Because over at Fox Nation, it seems that we are "winning the war on Christmas," due to a decision that was recently made by Walgreens, a retailer that specializes in -- wait...were you not aware there was even a "war on Christmas?" Sorry, let me back up.

Yes, if you are a traditional adherent of Christianity, you are probably hearing the words "war on Christmas" and wondering if you happened to miss some big news story. I can understand your confusion. For most mainstream Christians, the Yuletide season is one in which enormous accommodations are made to those who practice the Christian faith. You get time off from work, and schools get out so your kids can visit family, and on every block, there is an illuminated reminder that Christmas has arrived. You've probably noticed that this began about mid-October.

No holiday is as well accommodated in America as Christmas. It is perhaps one of the best celebrated religious holidays in the history of mankind. You have to go back to antiquity to find more lavish celebrations -- like, say, the inaugural games of the Roman Colosseum, which lasted 100 days because the Romans wanted to pull out all the stops to appease the gods they literally believed wanted to kill them all with plagues and volcanoes.

In fact, many Christians -- myself included -- register a basic level of annoyance at the way the Christmas season now stretches back into October, because we don't really need a basic reminder of how to properly celebrate the birth of Christ or His divinity on account of the fact that there is this basic concept called "faith" that we keep in our hearts, and which suffers no impediment from the way the nice people at the grocery store thank us for our custom. But there are another group of Christians who are incapable of holding onto their faith unless it is repetitively validated in the utterances of people who work at major American retailers. And it is on this front that the "war on Christmas" has historically been fought.

And yet, there's a "war"? Yes, apparently, there is, and my recitation of the explanation of the "war on Christmas" is, for long-time readers, becoming as heralded a tradition as the yearly airing of Linus Van Pelt's recitation of the Gospel of Luke on national network television!

Why the "war?" Well, as near as I can tell, being the top-dog, religion-wise, just isn't good enough for some people. There apparently exist adherents who are so feckless and inconstant in their faith, that nothing short of constant validation will do. So when one of these lesser lights walks into Walgreens and hears "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas And Praise Be To You Who Were Smart Enough To Practice The Best Religion Ever!" something inside these adherents' psyches snaps, breaks, and they come to develop an insane persecution complex.

It's pretty ironic that many years ago I selected "Walgreens" at random as my stand-in for a typical, American retailer, because per the Houston Chronicle, here's this year's major victory:

Walgreens is the latest store to return to explicit references to Christmas, switching its position a day after some Christian groups threatened to boycott over its generic holiday wording.

The American Family Association and the Liberty Counsel--Christian groups that maintain lists of "naughty" and "nice" retailers based on which stores reference Christmas--applauded Walgreens' switch, along with several other big stores who are coming off the naughty list for the first time in years.

For the American Family Association, which is best known for issuing a fatwa against the Gap for not using the term "Christmas" when it actually was, it's a hard-won concession. For the rest of us, we won't even notice this, because all Walgreens has decided to do is "use the word 'Christmas' to describe items [they] are selling for Christmas decorations and gifts." So, expect things like "Christmas tree ornaments" to be labeled "Christmas tree ornaments" at Walgreens, thus ending the confusion that must have been keenly felt by zero people.

Meanwhile, the continuing use of the term "war on Christmas" to describe the reaction of people who do not receive full validation of their religious beliefs from cashiers 100 percent of the time is still a grievous insult to people around the world who are legitimately persecuted for expressing their religious faith, and who look to the way religious freedom is accommodated in America with envy.

Link

[VHscraps]

Reminds me of that scene from Almost Famous, when budding rock critic William and his wacko Mom (who prefers to celebrate Christmas in September) pass a store where some dude is painting 'Merry Xmas' on the window:

Mom to poor guy painting the sign: "Excuse me! - I'm a teacher. 'Xmas' is not a word in the English language. It's either 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Holidays'."

Scared dude to scary Mom: "Thank you."







I often get that movie mixed up with Laurel Canyon, in which that actress - Frances McDormand - plays a louche record producer in Hollywood with an uptight son, whose hot wife (Kate Beckinsale) she beds.

[Hardrock69]

The holiday is Christmas.

But Jebus has nothing to do with "Christmas".

Christmas is about Santa Clause.

Since Jebus was born in September (in many expert's opinion [including historians]), and since there are numerous other "prophets" who were born on Dec. 25th, of an adulterous mommy who fucked gods, went on to heal the sick, raise the dead, die and come back to life as a zombie in a white bedsheet, thousands of years before Jesus was even a twinkle in Yahweh's eye, if anything Christmas should be associated with one of the early "prophets", as Jebus is just a "Prophet-come-lately" "also-ran" who decided to hop on the "propheteering" bandwagon because he did not want to grow up beating nails with a hammer like dear old dad.

Funny how Christians are getting a persecution complex over a holiday that has nothing to do with Christianity. I mean, it's not as if they are being forced into the arena at spear-point to play with oversized housecats or something.

[Hardrock69]

Oh, and don't fuck with the lyrics to Christmas carols. If kids wanna giggle about gay apparel, so what?

Even gay people think it hilarious.

And I would surely love to bed Kate Beckinsale!

[Nickdfresh]

[Seshmeister]

I hate every bit of PC bullshit surrounding Christmas.

I was surprised that they aired Charlie Brown last night because Linus quotes from Scripture. I don't even think Sesh would mind that.

The more scripture quoted the better. There is no greater proof of the ridiculousness of the bible than watching the simple writers trying to crowbar a Jewish messiah fable into the middle of an Egyptian religion in the middle of a pagan holiday.

It's a good time to teach your kids critical thinking and a bit of history. It can be a proud moment when they ask a teacher why is there no record of this census at that time and even if there were why would everyone have to go back to their ancient ancestors city? The oldest is getting interested in astronomy so at the weekend I was going to show her how the night sky appears to rotate around polaris and make it more interesting by showing how the three wise men would of course have been walking in circles if they followed the 'star'.

I do all that and then let them think that a magical man on a flying sledge delivers to a billion houses in one night because I'm being PC. Politically Correct means not being unneccesarily rude or upsetting to people and so I go with Santa because to not would cause upset amongst their peers.

I have misgivings about that but who wants to rain on the parade and apart from being significantly more plausible, Santa doesn't have a history of starting wars, killing people, taking their money, fucking their children, spreading AIDS or discriminating against people.

[Seshmeister]

Merry Xmas...

[Seshmeister]

the "propheteering" bandwagon

Notes for future stealing...

[Hardrock69]

The more scripture quoted the better. There is no greater proof of the ridiculousness of the bible than watching the simple writers trying to crowbar a Jewish messiah fable into the middle of an Egyptian religion in the middle of a pagan holiday.

[Hardrock69]

I have no doubt Sesh that you are a fine Dad, and your kids love you lots. At the very least you are sensible, and not trying to cram a Bible up their arse.

[Seshmeister]

I've honestly been really surprised.

10% of people go to church here, our kids go to what you would call 'public school' in the US and they are getting hit with a ton of religion.

It's weird. Probably most of the parents and the teachers aren't religious but the kids get pumped full of this shit and the main reason seems to be that it's traditional. They then tie themselves in knots by teaching non Christian religions too but they don't do it in a scientific way. So you then have the situation where your kid is standing up saying 'I am good at this and less good at that because I was born in the Chinese year of the fucking idiot dog or something.

It's fucking ludicrous, I've been really close to just pulling them out of the whole situation. My kids are getting told they will burn in hell by other kids at a funded state school for not believing in god(s) by kids in their classes when most of the parents and teachers don't attend church and probably half are atheists.

Fucking insane but the other part of me is thinking that I don't want to impose beliefs on them or make them rebel and end up born again invisible friend or something.

[Seshmeister]

I've only been trying to push them gently towards thinking critically but the line that seems to have made them go all atheist is asking them who made God then? In a way it could all be great, I remember going through grade school being the only kid who liked rock music like Rush or whatever and it didn't do me me any harm.

I guess all parents go through this, you absolutely want your kids to be independent thinking individuals and you also want them to be popular happy members of the crowd. You want them to be exceptional but invisible, interesting but conformists.

No wonder we're all so fucked up.