Mystech
12-09-05, 12:44 AM
As much as the title of this thread may sound like some sort of nonsensical parody, a setup for some ham-fisted satire, or just a ridiculous fantasy, those in the United States should be familiar with the phrase as headline actually working it’s way into the mainstream media.
The idea of a “Christmas under Siege” is one which I believe first really started to appear (with any significant coverage) by splotchy headed Fox News Pundit, Bill O’Reilly. Every winter for a few years now he’s been asserting on his show that there’s some sort of shadowy PC liberal conspiracy to do away with Christmas. The means by which this feat is to be accomplished is apparently simply by saying “happy holidays” rather than “merry Christmas”. O’Reilly’s sentiments are, of course, backed up by a number of right-wing evangelical weirdoes and goons who seem to be leaping at the “issue” in order to ad fuel to their inexplicable persecution complexes.
The really screwy part of this non-issue is that it’s now branching out and getting coverage outside of O’Reilly’s show. Earlier today on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer I caught a report wherein Wolf, with a completely straight face, tackled the issue of the “culture war” and the “battle over Christmas”. The most salient point discussed was that the White House Christmas cards this year say “Happy Holidays” on them, rather than “Merry Christmas” and this is apparently pissing off some right-wing bloggers and hate-groups with names that either start or end with “family”. Apparently it hadn’t occurred to them that over a million of these cards were being sent out this year, including many to various Jewish organizations who are in good with the Neocons who support Israel. The fact that our nut-job president could be accused of being against Christmas in some way simply for tailoring the inside of his Christmas cards to a broad audience does well to illustrate what utter BS this “issue” really is.
So are we now to believe that the phrase “happy holidays” is an anti-Christmas, or anti-Christian sentiment? That’s how the media is portraying it at the moment, while utterly missing what this story is really all about. There’s something definitely worth looking at here – and that’s the cult-like tactics that evangelical right-wing Christians are trying to use to frighten their own base into line. They’re making up spook stories about evil liberals, this time in the form of anti-Christmas activists in order to instill into their flock a sense that they’re way of life is under attack. In other words they’re trying to stir the shit and keep the masses foaming at the mouth, thinking that despite having their man in the white house – controlling the house, senate, and an increasing segment of the judiciary as well as the majority of state legislatures they are still a persecuted minority, and need to push back hard against any hint of views which conflict with their own (whether that conflict is real or imagined).
This controversy was engineered by the right in order to scare the hell out of the right, so that when they make up even more spectacular lies which more directly make accusations against political opponents and democrats/liberals in particular, people will believe it. This is how you build a culture where people will actually believe a pamphlet that claims John Kerry wants to ban the bible.
Part of the reason that these sorts of fabricated controversies are so effective is that even if there’s a hint of credibility to any of it, there’s no other-side of the issue to make statements. No one is going to come forward and say “You know what, I don’t like Christmas” Trust me on that, I’m in a good position to know. If we’re to assume that it’s liberal anti-Christian secularists who are pushing for the death of Christmas as much of the “controversy” coverage suggests, then I myself would be right at the center of it. The circles I travel are full of atheists leftists and queers and not a single one of them is against celebration of Christmas – most of them love it. Even the San-Francisco based transsexual aspiring cult-leader and self-styled anti-Christ and socioanrchist whom I maintain contact with is celebrating – he and his hormone grown breasts are decorating a bush with lights and ornaments and calling it Christmas.
There is no Issue here, like a coke habit it’s all just smoke and mirrors. There is no war on Christmas, only a war on our intelligence.
The idea of a “Christmas under Siege” is one which I believe first really started to appear (with any significant coverage) by splotchy headed Fox News Pundit, Bill O’Reilly. Every winter for a few years now he’s been asserting on his show that there’s some sort of shadowy PC liberal conspiracy to do away with Christmas. The means by which this feat is to be accomplished is apparently simply by saying “happy holidays” rather than “merry Christmas”. O’Reilly’s sentiments are, of course, backed up by a number of right-wing evangelical weirdoes and goons who seem to be leaping at the “issue” in order to ad fuel to their inexplicable persecution complexes.
The really screwy part of this non-issue is that it’s now branching out and getting coverage outside of O’Reilly’s show. Earlier today on The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer I caught a report wherein Wolf, with a completely straight face, tackled the issue of the “culture war” and the “battle over Christmas”. The most salient point discussed was that the White House Christmas cards this year say “Happy Holidays” on them, rather than “Merry Christmas” and this is apparently pissing off some right-wing bloggers and hate-groups with names that either start or end with “family”. Apparently it hadn’t occurred to them that over a million of these cards were being sent out this year, including many to various Jewish organizations who are in good with the Neocons who support Israel. The fact that our nut-job president could be accused of being against Christmas in some way simply for tailoring the inside of his Christmas cards to a broad audience does well to illustrate what utter BS this “issue” really is.
So are we now to believe that the phrase “happy holidays” is an anti-Christmas, or anti-Christian sentiment? That’s how the media is portraying it at the moment, while utterly missing what this story is really all about. There’s something definitely worth looking at here – and that’s the cult-like tactics that evangelical right-wing Christians are trying to use to frighten their own base into line. They’re making up spook stories about evil liberals, this time in the form of anti-Christmas activists in order to instill into their flock a sense that they’re way of life is under attack. In other words they’re trying to stir the shit and keep the masses foaming at the mouth, thinking that despite having their man in the white house – controlling the house, senate, and an increasing segment of the judiciary as well as the majority of state legislatures they are still a persecuted minority, and need to push back hard against any hint of views which conflict with their own (whether that conflict is real or imagined).
This controversy was engineered by the right in order to scare the hell out of the right, so that when they make up even more spectacular lies which more directly make accusations against political opponents and democrats/liberals in particular, people will believe it. This is how you build a culture where people will actually believe a pamphlet that claims John Kerry wants to ban the bible.
Part of the reason that these sorts of fabricated controversies are so effective is that even if there’s a hint of credibility to any of it, there’s no other-side of the issue to make statements. No one is going to come forward and say “You know what, I don’t like Christmas” Trust me on that, I’m in a good position to know. If we’re to assume that it’s liberal anti-Christian secularists who are pushing for the death of Christmas as much of the “controversy” coverage suggests, then I myself would be right at the center of it. The circles I travel are full of atheists leftists and queers and not a single one of them is against celebration of Christmas – most of them love it. Even the San-Francisco based transsexual aspiring cult-leader and self-styled anti-Christ and socioanrchist whom I maintain contact with is celebrating – he and his hormone grown breasts are decorating a bush with lights and ornaments and calling it Christmas.
There is no Issue here, like a coke habit it’s all just smoke and mirrors. There is no war on Christmas, only a war on our intelligence.