Trees down b/c a jew wanted to sue the airport for not putting the candles beside the christmas tree...whooa! This is seriouse!

http://q13.trb.com/news/kcpq-121006trees,0,2934801.story?coll=kcpq-home-2

Them goddamn jews

12/10/2006 6:15:38 PM

i feel like there should be a wormhole here

http://www.brentroad.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=446813

12/10/2006 6:20:01 PM

why cant an airport put up some damn candles?

12/10/2006 9:15:47 PM

Quote :

"After consulting with lawyers, Port of Seattle 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."

aha

12/10/2006 9:38:58 PM

candles next to a christmas tree

that's not a fire hazard

12/10/2006 9:48:56 PM

I heard the rabbi that threatened the suit on the radio. He said his intention was not to have the tree taken down, and he sounded sincere about it. His actual purpose was really to get a menorah beside the tree, and he thought that's what the airport would do.

But the airport really called him out on it, so gg on their part. That really was kind of a ballsy move by SeaTac - but in effect I guess it's like saying "fine, assholes. we were just trying to make things nice around here, but apparently some of you can't deal with that, so you've ruined it for everyone".

12/10/2006 10:46:34 PM

jews.

12/10/2006 11:46:42 PM

Quote :

"But the airport really called him out on it, so gg on their part. That really was kind of a ballsy move by SeaTac - but in effect I guess it's like saying "fine, assholes. we were just trying to make things nice around here, but apparently some of you can't deal with that, so you've ruined it for everyone"."

so how exactly was that ballsy? it seems like the easy way out.

"uh oh someone wants to sue us. we'd rather not deal with it. just take them down"

12/11/2006 7:05:56 AM

they're just pinning the blame on the jewish guy. ONCE AGAIN.

12/11/2006 9:01:19 AM

see, this is why we can't have nice things

12/11/2006 9:09:56 AM

^^^ i guess ballsy in the aspect that they knew it would be an unpopular decision with 99% of their customers and of the people that heard about it.

[Edited on December 11, 2006 at 9:10 AM. Reason : .]

12/11/2006 9:09:59 AM

they did it in the middle of the night hoping no one would notice.

12/11/2006 2:16:04 PM

Like an SS horn making scary.....sounds

12/11/2006 2:22:00 PM

Quote :

"The holidays are the busiest season at the airport, Betancourt said, and staff didn't have time to play cultural anthropologists."

12/11/2006 2:22:58 PM

Wahington

12/11/2006 2:26:36 PM

Christmas trees are pagan rituals how can a man be such a envious animal as to destroy something that has no correlation at heart.

Why don't they attack Halloween for fucking candles in pumpkins? Shit, just blow up the sun it makes all tree's illuminated during the day.

12/11/2006 2:40:16 PM

So, what would they have to have put up for Kwanzaa?

12/11/2006 2:41:30 PM

you guys seem to be forgetting that the airport were the ones who took the tree down. if they really cared at all about christmas or whatever they wouldn't let some random dude push them around.

that being said, i don't think a publically funded/owned facility such as this airport should have anything to do with any religion BUT if the people of the community are cool with it, then it's their decision.

12/11/2006 2:43:06 PM

Christmas is more cultural than religious.

12/11/2006 2:52:36 PM

Quote :

"So, what would they have to have put up for Kwanzaa?"

a big chicken leg with a Dashiki on top..jk, jk

12/11/2006 3:21:00 PM

Quote :

"i don't think a publically funded/owned facility such as this airport "

just curious - is SeaTac publicly funded? You mean because it probably gets some tax revenue from the city or something? I'm not sure that would qualify as "publicly owned".

12/11/2006 3:58:06 PM

i demand homage to the goat god pan in this port of flight.

but seriously, a Christmas tree is sometimes a cultural symbol, sometimes a religious one. a menorah is rarely a cultural symbol.

12/11/2006 4:04:55 PM

Quote :

"a menorah is rarely a cultural symbol."

Meanwhile, the menorah is actually a sign of the holiday.

[Edited on December 11, 2006 at 6:05 PM. Reason : .]

12/11/2006 6:04:59 PM

you do know that "Jew" describes not only a religion, but a culture as well, right?

12/11/2006 6:48:41 PM

most of the symbols you see associated with christmas are cultural images created in the last century, its a commercial secular holiday

12/11/2006 6:57:59 PM

Quote :

"just curious - is SeaTac publicly funded? You mean because it probably gets some tax revenue from the city or something? I'm not sure that would qualify as "publicly owned"."

i looked it up before i posted the original thing. it's a county-owned corporation.

specifically:

Quote :

"The Port of Seattle is a municipal corporation created September 5, 1911, by the voters of King County. As a public enterprise with unique authority operating in an international, market-driven environment, the Port gives careful consideration to the economic, social and environmental implications of its business decisions."

[Edited on December 11, 2006 at 7:01 PM. Reason : .]

12/11/2006 7:00:02 PM

can we also get a 4 foot tall hitler cutout to stand next to it for the neo nazis?

12/11/2006 7:46:31 PM

i wasn't aware one could be born a neo nazi, or that it was a religion.

12/11/2006 7:47:29 PM

where do you get the form for creating a religion

[Edited on December 11, 2006 at 7:55 PM. Reason : kwanzaa celebraters are fucked now]

12/11/2006 7:51:14 PM

^yeah, but they were born black.

noone is born a nazi. that's taught.

checklist:

-were you born a _____?
-is _____ your religion?

if yes for either, then you qualify for a special holiday recognition (if any are provided) in public spaces.

the easy way to avoid this is to put up nothing or just put up your 3 basic displays: christmas tree, menora, kwanzaa candles (whatever those are supposed to mean). its a proven formula.

[Edited on December 11, 2006 at 8:24 PM. Reason : .]

12/11/2006 8:21:14 PM

Quote :

"Christmas is more cultural than religious."

christmas exists mainly because of cultural considerations, and not religious.

12/11/2006 10:19:02 PM

some people bitch to much

12/11/2006 11:21:43 PM

Quote :

"the easy way to avoid this is to put up nothing or just put up your 3 basic displays: christmas tree, menora, kwanzaa candles (whatever those are supposed to mean). its a proven formula."

what about yule for wiccans, or solstice for atheists, or Rohastu for Buddhists, or the solstice for native americans, or zarusht no diso for zoroatrians, or omisoka for the japanese, or shabe-yalda for iranians, etc

12/11/2006 11:37:06 PM

if you're going to take a slippery slope we've yet to encounter, then I suggest you take my suggestion of

Quote :

"put up nothing"

12/11/2006 11:49:46 PM

then someone will complain that it isnt there anymore, most americans are fucking soft bellied bitches and its because we are at that point in time where everyone wants to be fucking tolerant and they dont realize you cant be happy all the time

12/12/2006 6:21:36 AM

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Airport_Christmas_Trees.html

Quote :

"Port officials received word Monday afternoon that Bogomilsky's organization would not file a lawsuit at this time over the placement of a menorah, Davis said in a statement. "Given that, the holiday trees will be replaced as quickly as possible." ... "A key element in moving forward will be to work with the rabbi and other members of the community to develop a plan for next year's holiday decorations at the airport," the port statement said."

I would just like to point out that they did, in fact, have time to put the trees up, take them down, then put them up again during one of the busiest times of they year.

12/12/2006 9:29:35 AM

the rabbi also offered to donate an electric menorah and the airport declined.

the airport has no intention of putting up anything other than christmas decorations. they probably just hope everyone will have forgotten by next year when they just have a tree up and no menorah (or anything else).

12/12/2006 10:33:28 AM

Quote :

"the rabbi also offered to donate an electric menorah and the airport declined."

Was this before or after he threatened to sue? The only mention I've seen of donating a menorah came after the Rabbi rescinded his lawsuit threat. Also, I haven't read anything that said the airport has declined his donation, only that the offer was made.

Quote :

"the airport has no intention of putting up anything other than christmas decorations."

Do you have inside information?

12/12/2006 11:19:16 AM

They should've just told him "it's a holiday tree, and it has no bearing on the religious views of this airport." J00s can get holiday trees too, they put blue and white lights on them...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah_bush

It's just a damn tree. If they put little mangers and crucified jesuses on it I could see it being a christmas tree, but otherwise it's just a gigantic pagan decoration.

12/12/2006 11:21:45 AM

Quote :

"Do you have inside information? "

every article has said "they don't want to play cultural anthropologists in our busiest time of the year" and they're putting the christmas trees back up.

^aside from the fact that it's called a christmas tree.

Quote :

"Was this before or after he threatened to sue? The only mention I've seen of donating a menorah came after the Rabbi rescinded his lawsuit threat. Also, I haven't read anything that said the airport has declined his donation, only that the offer was made."

the man who sued was with a group who has donated plenty of menorahs for displays like this in order to diversify. in his words:

Quote :

"Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky of Chabad Lubavitch organization in the University District had originally requested a menorah display at the airport, saying his organization wants to diversify the airport's display. But removing the trees was not its intention. Chabad Lubavitch provided menorahs for public display in more than 20 locations statewide, including at the Seattle Center. The organization's request is usually met with enthusiasm, Bogomilsky said."This whole thing is just beyond me -- I'm so appalled and disappointed," he said. "By no means did we want to remove these (trees)." "

12/12/2006 11:37:04 AM

Aren't there more pressing Jewish issues than this?

12/12/2006 12:40:14 PM

aren't there more pressing christian issues than this?

12/12/2006 12:46:23 PM

yes

gay marriage

12/12/2006 12:47:19 PM

Quote :

"aren't there more pressing christian issues than this?"

Of course there are. What's your point?

12/12/2006 12:58:59 PM

the dude just offered to donate a menorah to the airport. it's the airport that decided to take down their christmas trees. and it's the christians who are making a big deal out of this NOT the jews. that's my point.

12/12/2006 1:08:33 PM

^^^^^^ SeaTac also said that they would work something out with the Rabbi between now and the next 'holiday season'. Prior to putting the trees back up, SeaTac also said that they would review their holiday policies after the new year.

I am still curious about the original communications between Bogomilsky and the airport. If it was clear that he intended to donate a menorah for the airport to display, it does seem odd that the airport would say no and immediately remove all holiday decorations. On the other hand, I find it curious how quickly this escalated from request/response to lawsuit. Of course, I'm one of those strange people who believe that lawsuits should be the last option and not the first.

-----

Regardless of triviality, anything that can be used as the basis of a lawsuit is a pressing issue.

[Edited on December 12, 2006 at 1:14 PM. Reason : ^'s]

12/12/2006 1:13:17 PM

the way i've read it is that it first started as a request to put up a menorah (whether he said he would donate it isn't clear, though his group had a history of donating menorahs for public display). when the airport refused, then a lawyer got involved. i think this is not so uncalled for, seeing as it is a public space and the airport should not condone one religion over another.

i think the real solution to this is to just let the individual carriers do whatever religious decorating that they want and don't do anything in the public spaces in the airport.

12/12/2006 1:18:31 PM

Some people are way too fucking sensitive. If you want a menorah, you're free to put one up in your own house.

12/12/2006 1:52:23 PM

War against christmas!

12/12/2006 1:54:20 PM

Quote :

"the way i've read it is that it first started as a request to put up a menorah (whether he said he would donate it isn't clear, though his group had a history of donating menorahs for public display). when the airport refused, then a lawyer got involved. i think this is not so uncalled for, seeing as it is a public space and the airport should not condone one religion over another."

I can also see why the airport wouldn't jump at the opportunity of displaying any old ornaments that people off the street try to give them.

12/12/2006 2:19:26 PM