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TONGUE TIED ARCHIVE
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December 24, 2005Traditional Dress OK -- but not if it's Scottish
I am sure that Muslim garb would have been OK. And if the guy had accused people in Muslim garb of looking like clowns there would have been hell to payAs I myself wear full Highland dress on occasions (See here) I was pretty disgusted to read this story. Every person with Scottish connections recognizes the kilt as a formal and dignified form of dress. Excerpt:
"Nathan Warmack wanted to honor his heritage by wearing a Scottish kilt to his high school dance. Then a principal told him to change into a pair of pants. What began with a few yards of tartan has sparked an international debate about freedom, symbols and cultural dress. More than 1,600 people have signed an Internet petition seeking an apology for the high school senior....And while they weren't trying to dress in kilts, a few boys were allowed to wear skirts to class at Franklin Community High School in Indiana in 1997, when a superintendent said different people express themselves in different ways....
After Nathan Warmack and his date posed for pictures, principal Rick McClard, who had not previously seen the kilt, told the student he had to go change. Warmack refused a few times and said the outfit was recognizing his heritage. Warmack alleges McClard told him: "Well, this is my dance, and I'm not going to have students coming into it looking like clowns."...Several Scottish heritage organizations are angry, saying the kilt is a symbol of Scottish pride and considered formal dress. "To say the traditional Scottish dress makes you look like a clown is a direct insult to people of Scottish heritage and those who live in Scotland," said Tom Wilson, a Texas commissioner for the Clan Gunn Society of North America, a Scottish heritage organization.
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Sinterklaas
We mentioned here yesterday the heartburn being caused in some quarters over the Dutch Santa Claus (Sinterklaas) -- the trouble being that Sinterklaas has a helper called "Black Pete". Black Pete carries a large bag with him into which he puts naughty children to teach them a lesson. This centuries-old joke is now of course seen as "offensive" among those who make a profession out of being offended. Anyway, I thought readers might like to see a picture of Sinterklaas and "Zwarte Piet" with his bag. The picture was taken in Australia on Sydney's most famous city beach -- Bondi. Santa Claus gets around, you know.
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That Fictitious War on Christmas
Parents in Medway, Mass. are scratching their heads after their grade-school kids came home from school with news that Christmas had been watered down somewhat in local schools, reports the Milford Daily News.
After getting complaints from a couple of parents offended by religious themes, school administrators quashed a planned performance of several numbers from Jesus Christ Superstar during the annual holiday show. They also renamed the Christmas tree in one scene a "magical tree" and changed the kids' red and green elf hats to green and white elf hats to shy away from the traditional Christmas color scheme.
"The philosophy of the middle school is one of acceptance for cultural and religious diversity. The study of Jesus Christ, Superstar was approached from a strictly musical perspective," Middle School Principal Joanne Senier-LaBarre explained to parents in a letter sent home. "However, in retrospect, we understand that some members of our school family are uncomfortable with what they feel is a musical work that has religious ties."
Some parent were more than a little peeved.
"Aren't we supposed to embrace each other's differences?" said one parent. "If someone is trying to promote something that's violent, that's one thing. But they're promoting a Christmas tree. The solution isn't to take Christmas out of the (programming). The solution is telling people to lighten up."
Discomfort
A former Oregon state legislator is in hot water for writing "white/male" on a form that asked whether he had any disabilities, reports the Oregonian.
Neil Bryant was filling out affirmative action paperwork related to his pending appointment to a university advisory board and says he meant the wise crack to be a joke.
But state officials, among them Gov. Ted Kulongoski, were not amused. His appointment to the board was withdrawn, and Bryant was forced to apologize.
"I sincerely and profoundly apologize for any discomfort I have caused," Bryant said.
(Thanks Fred!)
UPDATE: Devlin's Xmas Greeting
The Rev. William Devlin sends us the full text of his Christmas greeting:
Merry Christmas** with legal disclaimer 2005 from all of us at Urban Family**Legal Disclaimer: "Merry Christmas" (hereafter "The Greeting")... this announcement is not intended to offend, alienate, foster hate or be a precursor for any egregious acts(legal or illegal), thoughts, words or deeds. "The Greeting" is made only in the context to which it may be legally received, if in fact, it is received at all. It is not intended to be nor should it be, in any way, connected to any other type of greeting, real or imagined, past, present or future. No references to any persons, things or substances, animate or inanimate, real, fictional or otherwise should be assumed by the reader or receiver of the greeting (hereafter, 'the greetee'). The greeting is not being made to (nor will tenders be accepted from or on behalf of) nonbelievers in 'The Greeting' in any jurisdiction in which making and or accepting the greeting would violate that jurisdiction's laws or feelings (also refer to local statutes and ordinances related to 'The Greeting'). In any jurisdiction in which perceived 'greeting' is not welcomed nor agreed upon by all 'greetees', then the 'greetor' of 'The Greeting' will be held harmless in this life and the next, including all issuing posterity both now and forever. 'The Greeting' may be made by a licensed 'greetor' and any liability assumed or created by the 'greetee' shall be the sole responsibility of said 'greetor'. If you have been aggrieved, offended, waylaid, parlayed, filleted or delayed in any way, either real, imagined or perceived by said 'Greeting' and or by 'greetor' as the result of receiving said 'greeting', you can call toll free 1-800-CHRISTMAS to speak with legal counsel."
Copyright: Urban Family, 2002 - permission given to copy and distribute parody with credit. The mission of Urban Family is to advocate for life, marriage and family by educating, persuading and building interracial and cross-cultural partnerships in the City and surrounding areas.
Santa's Racist Little Helper
The Christian Science Monitor tells us that the original Santa Claus, or Sinterklaas, is under fire in his native Holland because he has a dark-skinned sidekick named Black Pete (Zwarte Piet) who some are calling racist.
There is some debate as to whether Black Pete is dark because of all the chimneys he goes up and down delivering presents or whether he is dark because Sinterklaas picked him up en route from Spain when it was still under Moorish control. The tradition has been around since the 12th century.
Either way, some recent immigrants to the Netherlands -- among them an African-American musician named Patrick Chapell -- say they are offended and wish Piet would fade into history.
Leave it to The Times
The New York Times reports that racial tensions are bubbling over in the NY transport workers' strike "as representatives of a mostly nonwhite work force trade recriminations publicly with white leaders in government and at the transportation authority."
Unions officials were forced to shut down a website where people could comment on the strike because people shafted by the union were calling its members monkeys and "you people." Union officials also took exception to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's characterization of them as "thugs."
Leroy Bright, a black bus operator who is also a union organizer, said Bloomberg's choice of words were racist. "The word thug is usually attributed to people of color whenever something negative takes place," he said.
Unions officials and their supporters compared Bloomberg to Bull Connor, the Alabama police chief who used police dogs and fire hoses on civil rights protesters in the 1960's.
Surprise Surprise
A California man explicitly denied entry to a national conference of social workers because of the color of his skin is not finding many people to champion his cause of discrimination, according to the Bakersfield Californian.
Brian Parnell has complained to the IRS and the federal Department of Health and Human Services after he was turned away from a meeting of the National Association of Black Social Workers in New Orleans. Members of the group told him, after he flew across the country, that white folks were not allowed to attend the meeting.
But no one seems to care, he said, and he remains frustrated about his "inability to do anything about what was an obvious instance of racism." He wonders why an organization created to combat racism feels "justified in exercising racism themselves."
Modern Justice
A Minnesota man accused of killing another gang member for wearing the wrong color in the wrong place could have the results of this third trial for the crime thrown out because two jurors think they heard other members of the jury use the term "boy" during deliberations, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Alonzo Ferguson was first convicted of murdering Allen Wheatly Jr. in 1996, but the decision was overturned by the state supreme court. A second trial ended with a hung jury and this, the third, ended with another conviction.
A judge is now hearing evidence regarding the "boy" comments and will be asked to decide whether there were race-based comments and what effect they had on deliberations.
Perilous Peck
The wife of an Australian police inspector formally complained of sexual harassment because her husband's former boss, the police commissioner, kissed her on the cheek at a Police Youth Club function, reports the Brisbane Courier Mail.
The complaint against Queensland Commissioner Bob Atkinson was referred to the Crime and Misconduct Commission, which promptly threw the case out.
Unclassy
A columnist with the Indianapolis Star is among those in that city unhappy with a local leader's characterization of a woman as a "classy dame."
John Ketzenberger writes that a couple women in town found businessman Mickey Maurer's reference to outgoing Commerce Secretary Patricia Miller inappropriate, sexist and out of touch.
Maurer says he didn't intend the comment "in any derogatory way.
"Folks that take issue with that need to move on and find something else to take issue with," he said.
Crib Craziness
Hospital managers at a facility in Ireland have insisted that the traditional Christmas crib be removed from the foyer and retired to non-public areas to avoid showing preference for any one faith over another, according to the Mayo News.
Managers at the Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar said the crib can only be put out in the chapel oratory. This, despit the protests of staffers -- including many Muslim and other non-Christians -- who signed a petition asking that it remain in its usually prominent position.
The locals ain't happy.
Says Mayo TD Michael Ring: "Irish people have always respected other beliefs
wherever they went around the world. They wouldn't dream of asking other people to remove symbols of their faith and celebrations. This is another case of people gone completely overboard with political correctness."
Possible Symbolic Hate Crime
The theft of a plastic statue of Balthasar from a nativity scene in front of a church in New York is being investigated as a hate crime, according to Newsday.
The fact that the black wise man has gone missing two years in a row now, and that a white sheet was left in his place makes it a sort of hate and a religion-related crime.
Hate Crimes Bureau Det. Sgt. Robert Reecks says it's somewhere in between, adding that detectives are looking into the sheet's possible symbolic reference to the Ku Klux Klan.
Cal State vs. The Christians
The AP says California State University in San Bernardino has denied Christian students the right to formally organize a chapter on campus because the group's proposed bylaws discriminate against non-Christians and homosexuals.
The constitution put forward by the proposed Christian Student Association included a statement on sexual morality and required members and officers to be Christian. Recognition by the university would allow the group to receive money from student fees, bring speakers to campus and use university rooms for meetings.
The school said it cannot sanction a group that discriminates against anyone based on religion or sexual orientation.
Finally, Someone With a Sense of Humor
A Philadelphia minister has added a disclaimer to his annual Christmas message this year, according to the AP, insisting that his traditional "Merry Christmas" is "not intended to offend, alienate, foster hate or be a precursor for any egregious acts." It adds that people who are "aggrieved, offended, waylaid, parlayed, filleted or delayed" by hearing the words "Merry Christmas" might want to call a lawyer. The Rev. William Devlin, the founder of the Urban Family Council, says the disclaimer is a parody highlighting what he calls "the lunacy" of trying to purge any mention of Christmas from the holidays.
Painful Truths II
A French parliamentarian who remarked publicly that people who aren't physically able to procreate could be a threat to the future of the species is the first person to be charged under new laws against homophobic speech, reports London's Daily Telegraph.
Christian Vanneste, a member of the ruling UMP party, could fail jail time and thousands of euros in fines after being convicted of defaming homosexuals last week. Vanneste insists he did not say homosexuality was dangerous "only that it is inferior to heterosexuality and could, in extreme circumstances, become a danger to mankind."
The charges were leveled after three French gay rights groups called the remarks repugnant and said they could lead to physical attacks on gays.
No Hyperbole Allowed
A student leader in Wisconsin who, in a fit of frustration over the number and frequency of events catering to minorities and women on campus, suggested that his school needed a chapter of the KKK to add another point of view to the mix has quit his post following threats to his personal health, reports the Waukesha Freeman.
Jake Groom, former secretary of the Student Government Association at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha, said he was told by his colleagues that non-minority men don't have any issues worth discussing on campus.
"I became angry that just because you stand up for men - you are a sexist," Grooms said. "So what I said was that there could be a KKK group on campus - to make my point stronger."
Students immediately labaled the hyperbole as racist and offensive, and the school's chancellor had to mediate in the ensuing crisis.
Still At It
African-Americans in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. marched in front of a traveling exhibit of King Tut's treasures to protest the fact that he is depicted with caucasoid features in one of the displays inside, reports the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Waving placards with slogans such as "King Tut is back and he's still black," some 25 people marched in front of the Museum of Art in an effort to convince people that Tut was depicted inside as rather more pale than he was in real life.
"For the Image of the Living God (as Tutankhamun represents) to be replaced with anything else but a black man's is a slap in the face," said Alicia Milligen, a Lauderhill, Fla., nurse.
Incorrect to Photograph your own Children
I guess we are all pedophiles now, according to the loony below:
"Parents have branded a headteacher Scrooge after she banned them from filming their own children. Barbara Williams has banned camcorders and cameras from Christmas concerts at Blaenllynfi Infants' School in Caerau....Chairman of governors at Blaenllynfi, Rev Keith Andrews, said Mrs Williams had told him it was local authority policy. 'I support the policy because of child protection issues,' he said. 'If anybody gets photographs of children, they can be published anywhere.'
It's just a desperate attempt to appear "holier than thou".
Update
A good comment from a reader: "This is scary. It is getting to the point that we cannot touch another in sympathy, hold a hand in comfort, give a hug of simple affection, and now take pictures of our children and grandchildren without some idiot thinking it will be used for pornography! It is not only ridiculous but a way of negatively controlling people so that there is no normal any more only distance and coldness. When are people going to realize there has never been nor ever will be perfect protection from evil in this world and that you cannot give up being a human being to try to avoid evil? It just doesn't work that way. Evil is evil and it will always find a way. Just the same as you can't prevent all accidents"
Nativity Scene Removed even in Holy Ireland
Press excerpt:"Christmas cheer at the country's biggest hospital has been replaced by outrage over a decision to remove a festive crib due to fears of offending non-Christians. No sooner had the crib at St James's Hospital in Dublin been erected than it became the latest victim of political correctness. Hospital bosses ordered its removal yesterday, leaving many staff very angry. The crib, which was donated to the hospital by a patient, was assembled in the hospital concourse in the centre of the huge hospital development".Who on earth is a nativity scene going to offend in Holy Ireland? REMOVING it has certainly caused offence but that does not matter of course: Which shows that "avoiding offence" is just a pretext for the Left. UPSETTING ordinary people is the real aim.
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