Which sentiment: P.C., Anti-Christian, or "to heck with it"?
UPDATE 1: They caved! No, not the airport - the Rabbi and the lawyer. Seems that public opinion turned against the Rabbi (according to this CNN story)
Christmas trees are going back up at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Pat Davis, president of the Port of Seattle commission, which directs airport operations, said late Monday that maintenance staff would restore the 14 plastic holiday trees,...[snip]... Airport managers believed that if they allowed the addition of an 8-foot-tall menorah to the display, as Seattle Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky had requested, they would also have to display symbols of other religions and cultures, which was not something airport workers had time for during the busiest travel season...Port officials received word Monday afternoon that Bogomilsky's organization would not file a lawsuit at this time to seek the placement of a menorah, Davis said in a statement.
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I'm guessing the last one. While I do agree with the sentiment that the secular progressives are trying to force all expressions of religion out of the public square, this one does have me scratching my head just a tad.
At this point, don't count on Christmas or even a PC Holiday Greeting at Sea-Tac, the airport that serves the Seattle and Tacoma areas.....the Christmas trees are down. Why?
Seem that Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky made quite the unfriendly "request" (ok, demand) that the airport management put up either a 6 or 8 foot menorah and host a public lighting ceremony for it. While the original request went in around October, the Sea-Tac board did not see it until Dec 7.
Or, he'd sue. Within two days. Let me introduce you to my lawyer now.....Harvey Grad
So, what was the reaction of SeaTac? Down with the trees!
After consulting with lawyers, port staff believed that adding the menorah would have required adding symbols for other religions and cultures in the Northwest. The holidays are the busiest season at the airport, Betancourt said, and staff didn't have time to play cultural anthropologists.
Instead, officials decided to remove holiday decorations as a whole. Maintenance workers boxed up the trees during the graveyard shift early Saturday, when airport bosses believed few people would notice.
"We decided to take the trees down because we didn't want to be exclusive," said airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt. "We're trying to be thoughtful and respectful, and will review policies after the first of the year."
So, what was the reaction of the Rabbi?
Bogomilsky said he was appalled by the decision.
"Everyone should have their spirit of the holiday. For many people the trees are the spirit of the holidays, and adding a menorah adds light to the season," said Bogomilsky, who works at Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish education foundation headquartered in Seattle's University District.
So, what was the reaction of the lawyer?
"They've darkened the hall instead of turning the lights up," said his lawyer, Harvey Grad. "There is a concern here that the Jewish community will be portrayed as the Grinch."
So, what is my reaction?
A non-too PC one: what jerks!!
No, not the airport management, the Rabbi and the lawyer. First, I would think that ALL religious symbols could be displayed at the same time. Yes, I know that this is Christmas, and therefore, a Christian holiday. But it is also the Jewish festival, Hanukkah, so why not the menorah?
I think that this is not over the religious symbols, but a lack of manners on the part of the Rabbi and the “law gun toting” lawyer to force his way into getting the airport to bend to his demand.
I marvel at the chutzpah of the Rabbi, who is now decrying how the airport reacted. Well, when you back people up against a wall with a threat, don't expect them to act nicely. If the Rabbi had started this process much earlier in the year, I bet the airport management would have gladly said sure – given the time to juggle the space, the amount of work, et al – things could have been scheduled.
No, this jerk couldn't bother....another case of “I want what I want, and to heck with what is going on in your life to make it happen”.
Thus, I understand why the airport has said “To heck with it”. And once burnt, I really hope some other Jewish cleric decides to ask....nobody likes dealing with jerks.
(H/T: Fox News)
