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Merry Whatever-the-fuck
December 24, 2004 ( politics )
Bill O'Reilly has ruined my holiday season. Traditionally, I've laid down my atheism and happily participated in Christmas traditions, particularly the gift-giving and general holiday cheer of friendlinessand brotherhood. There's something nice about a holiday that's all about, in these modern times, getting along and giving things to people.
But O'Reilly is on this rampage (Salon.com article) about people trying to be, of all things, tolerant of other religions and saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." First off, holiday comes from "Holy Day" -- not exactly secular that, but it at least manages to include people celebrating other holy days in December, like, oh, Chanukkah, Solstice celebrations, heck, even Kwanzaa. Thing is, it's a popular time of the year to celebrate. In the North, you're now past the halfway point of winter, in the South, you're harvesting your crops.
If you want to get down to the nitty-gritty, Christmas lost its Christianity a long, long time ago. Do a bit of searching on the Christmas tree, yule, and the winter solstice and I'm sure "yule" find a lot of surprising things about what you thought were good Christian traditions. here's some traditions to start off with.
At least he's revealed himself fully as an intolerant, anti-semetic right-wing-nut, and some people are calling him on it:
But during his Dec. 3 radio show, O'Reilly got more specific. When a caller identified himself as Jewish and began to complain about "the secularization of Jews and about Christmas going into schools," O'Reilly shot back that "overwhelmingly, America is Christian. And the holiday is a federal holiday honoring the philosopher Jesus. So, you don't wanna hear about it? Impossible. And that is an affront to the majority. You know, the majority can be insulted, too. And that's what this anti-Christmas thing is all about."At one point, O'Reilly told the caller, "Come on, if you are really offended, you gotta go to Israel then." (Media Matters for America, a liberal media monitoring organization, quickly posted transcripts from the radio show.) "It was offensive and over the top," says Steven Freeman, associate director of the civil liberties division at the Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish civil rights organization.
Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., is circulating a letter among colleagues on the Hill that urges O'Reilly to apologize for his remarks. "By suggesting that Jews do not have a place in American society unless they accept without comment its 'predominantly Christian' nature, you are brushing aside the basic freedoms guaranteed to all by our Constitution," she writes. Lowey tells Salon, "Bill O'Reilly's comments were the tip of the iceberg from some conservative news outlets that are suggesting minorities should keep quiet or leave the country. It's really dangerous and I'd hope wiser heads would understand this and cease and desist."
"O'Reilly crossed the line to overt anti-Semitism," adds Michael Lerner, head of the progressive Jewish organization Tikkun. "He's trying to tell his audience that Jews have no legitimate role in public life except as second-class citizens."
If anything is destroying Christmas, it's crass commercialism driving this buying frenzy inspiring people to trample each other on the day-after-thanksgiving shopping day. Here's a concept -- give donations to charities in the names of everyone on your gift list, or make crafts, or just simply enjoy each others' company this holiday season, and celebrate nothing more or less than your friends and family. But really, be happy, and be kind to others, regardless of their race, creed or color (red or blue).
Posted by griffjon at December 24, 2004 01:07 PM
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