KUDOS TO GRUCCI: NO CHRISTMAS PARADE, NO FIREWORKS
The internationally known fireworks company, Grucci, has pulled out of an annual Christmas event on Long Island because the town of Patchogue decided to break with its 15-year tradition of holding a Christmas Boat Parade: This year it decided to rename the event the Patchogue Holiday Boat Parade.
Grucci vice president Phil Butler, a vocal critic of the secularization of Christmas, accused the parade’s organizers of “using all the themes of Christmas and plagiarizing all those themes.” Grucci is headquartered on Long Island.
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commended Butler’s decision:
“If more people like Phil Butler stood up to the high priests of political correctness, the dumbing-down of Christmas would cease. Christmas is the only holiday that is singled out by these authoritarians. They do not object to Jewish or Muslim holidays, nor do they object to holidays like Martin Luther King Day. And they relish Kwanzaa celebrations. But when it comes to Christmas, they quickly become censors.
“So Kudos to Grucci. Let this be the first of many counterpunches thrown at the cultural fascists this year.
Can I just say how happy that makes me? It's great to see a pretty major entity, Grucci, taking a stand against the war on Christmas. It really is true that the only holidays people are "offended" by are the Christian ones. Any public display of Christian religiosity makes people uncomfortable, even scared. But other religions are said to deserve the right to display religious symbols in public for their holy days. And that's how it should be. It's our first amendment right. But somehow that idea doesn't apply to Christianity. If it's unfair to exclude other religions, why is it acceptable to exclude Christians at Christmas, throwing snowmen and reindeer their way for the sake of appeasement? All religions should be treated equally. This means (brace yourself for impact) saying "Merry Christmas" when appropriate, publicly displaying Nativity scenes, and saying "Easter". Let's be honest, people. Last year, I remember being frustrated and disgusted by a TV commercial featuring a wife and mother with her family around the Christmas tree talking about "Holiday Eve." Seriously? Is it SO horrible to say "Christmas Eve?" Is there another religion that celebrates some other major holy day specifically on December 24? I don't think so. Even if Dec. 24 falls during Chanukah, it's still Christmas Eve. Also, we don't just have "Winter Break" or "Spring Break" because the Earth is on a tilted axis that creates seasonal change. Stop ignoring the 800 pound gorilla in the room. The real reason for those breaks are Christmas and Easter. It's okay to say it. Nothing bad will happen. Unless you have something against the equal treatment of Christians. If that's the case, then don't get defensive when I call you a bigot. Thank you, Grucci, for standing up against political correctness.
