Remember when I complained about the naming of the Tree at Pioneer COurthouse Square? My main complaint was that by removing even a reference to "The Holidays" from the name of the tree, just for the sake of inclusiveness, it had been rendered meaningless.
Well apparently, not everyone disagrees with me. At least not in the case of Bellevue, Washington's "Giving Tree". Apparently, even THAT is too "Christian" for some:
Sidney and Jennifer Stock are atheists.
They asked the city council to remove the tree because it represents Christmas which is a Christian holiday.
Stock says city hall should "Act as a place where everybody feels welcome. It is impossible for everybody's religious belief to be displayed and non-religious belief to be displayed, so therefore, no religious beliefs be displayed."
By that reasoning, NO holiday decorations of ANY kind should be displayed, and no holiday vacations granted for public empoyees whatsoever. After all, whether it's Hannukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or Solstice, they are all related to a specific religious belief. Without them, there's nothing special about the season, and no valid reason to decorate, celebrate, or vacate. It's just another month, right?
It still floors me that people think the only way to not exclude anybody is to exclude everybody.
Vonski raises an amusing point: "He has a problem with trees. Which, doesn’t make sense, since he lives in the PNW."
Furthermore, for once, someone in the media here in the Northwest makes some sense:
Ken Schram Commentary: The Grinch Has His Head Where?
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