When Dr. Seuss sat down to write his classic “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” he must have had in mind the bureaucrats in the Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action office at the University of Minnesota as a model for his title character.
The diversity freaks sent a memo to all full-time and student employees at the university telling them to keep “inappropriate religious celebrations” out of public spaces, including Hanukkah symbols.
Now, on the surface, there’s nothing unusual about this. We’ve seen this played out on campuses across America dozens of times. No creches, no wise men, no angels and for goodness sake, no baby Jesus.
We’ve even seen some schools ban Santa Claus. But I can’t recall any school going this far to spare the feelings of non-Christians on campus while “celebrating diversity.”
The document, titled “Religious Diversity and the Holidays,” encouraged recipients “to recognize the holidays in ways that are respectful of the diversity of the University community.” It listed several specific examples of “religious iconography” the university says are inappropriate for display.
“In general, the following are not appropriate for gatherings and displays at this time of year since they typically represent specific religious iconography:
Santa Claus, Angels, Christmas trees, Star of Bethlehem, Dreidels, Nativity scene, Bows/wrapped gifts, Menorah, Bells, Doves, Red and Green or Blue and White/Silver decoration themes (red and green are representative of the Christian tradition as blue and white/silver are for Jewish Hanukkah that is also celebrated at this time of year).”
The estate of Dr. Seuss should sue the university for plagiarism. They aren’t just trying to spare the feelings of non-Christians. They, like the Grinch, are trying to stop Christmas from coming.
The author’s description of the Grinch’s goal:
It was quarter past dawn… All the Whos, still a-bed,
All the Whos, still asnooze When he packed up his sled,
Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings!
The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings!
Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mt. Crumpit,
He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it!
“PoohPooh to the Whos!” he was grinchishly humming.
“They’re finding out now that no Christmas is coming!”
“They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do!”
“Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
Then the Whos down in Whoville will all cry BooHoo!”
No doubt, the U of M bureaucrats were hoping for a similar reaction from the rest of us.
How best to describe these people whose hearts are “two sizes too small”? Dr. Seuss perfectly captured their abominable anti-Christmas mindset in lyrics written by Seuss and music composed by Albert Hague.
“You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch”
By the way, Santa Claus, the colors of red and green, and wrapped gifts are not “religious iconography,” which leaves the impression it is the holiday itself they object to.
So who would object to the sight of wrapped gifts or even a menorah? The adherents to the religion-that-shall-not-be-named might turn into bowls of Christmas jello if they happened upon anything that reminded them of the season.
I won’t name the religion because PJ Media is a website devoted to diversity and I don’t want to single out any religion for criticism.
Besides, I like where my head is and would like to keep it on my shoulders, thank you.
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