It's that time of year again - the leaves are being homicidally pushed from the trees, there's a chill in the air, and Fundamentalist Christian groups are beginning to falsely equate inclusion with bigotry.
Yes, it's time for the annual "War on Christmas" and the AFA is starting the season by targeting Gap Incorporated. It seems Gap has shunned the "Merry Christmas" message, even going so far as to release the following statement:
"Gap recognizes that many traditions are celebrated throughout this season and we feel it is important to display holiday signage that is inclusive to everyone."
The outrage! Why, it's almost as if Gap executives looked at one of those good old American calendars and noticed that Chanukkah, Christmas, Winter Solstice, and Kwanzaa were all celebrated within the same two-week span and then callously decided that they should wish ALL of their customers happiness instead of righteously focusing on the ones that worship Jesus!
While such reasoning sounds completely ridiculous when I word it, I'm sure the AFA's wording sounds much more logical:
"Christmas is special because of Jesus. It's not just a 'winter holiday.' For millions of Americans the giving and receiving of gifts is in honor of the One who gave Himself. For the Gap to pretend that isn't the foundation of the Christmas season is political correctness at best and religious bigotry at worst."
Hrm... actually, that doesn't sound much more logical at all. I don't think Gap is pretending that the giving and receiving of gifts in honor of Jesus (aka - "the One who gave Himself") isn't the foundation of the Christmas season. It does seem, however, that the AFA is pretending that Christmas is the foundation of the holiday season. I simply don't know how they manage to get any work done over there while covering their eyes, pluging their ears, and belting out holy renditions of Silent Night in order to ward off any nasty facts that might challenge their world view. You know, like the fact that Chunakkah pre-dates Christmas by... oh... a couple thousand years. Or that the "Christmas" tradition of giving and receiving gifts began with the Pagan celebration of Solstice, just like the tradition of decorating an evergreen tree, or burning a yule log, or keeping a candle lit through the night, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Regardless, AFA is asking people to call up Gap and "in a firm but polite manner" ask them to reconsider its policy of "censoring Christmas in promotional material" and to boycott stores owned by the company until the word Christmas is seen in their advertising. I, of course, am asking that you give them a call to let them know that you appreciate their efforts to spread holiday cheer to all people, regardless of their religion or lack thereof.
The toll-free number is: 1-800-427-7895. The company number is: 650-952-4400.
4 comments:
I think, this year for Christmas, we should all take the lead from Jesus and give ourselves to others more often!
And what about Festivus? Are we just going to go on blindly ignoring the wonders of Festivus? The shame!
Oh goody. I look forward to the annual flamefest in the local paper.
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