Jack Kemp

Some readers may recall an article I wrote at the Birdnow Website in April 2009, Easter vs. Multiculturalism (http://tbirdnow.mee.nu/easter_vs._multiculturalism), where I mentioned the comment some leftist clown made at Amazon.com concerning the book "The War on Christmas" by John Gibson, where he stated how "uncomfortable" his Jewish college roommate must have felt at Christmastime with all the decorations. In other words, he imagined the Jewish roommate never grew beyond his college student level of maturity about the world.

A quote from that piece states:

"Years ago, someone wrote a reader book review at Amazon contending that a current Christmas display would probably, he thought, make his Jewish college roommate uncomfortable because he had complained about feeling left out by Christmas displays. Perhaps he couldn't find his way to the campus Jewish Center or know where he could buy an Old Testament. Anyway, I replied directly to the reviewer that it was strange that someone who probably espoused multiculturalism and learning about things like Kwanza, Ramadan and the Chinese New Year now was writing that learning about another American's cultural heritage was oppressive. I also said that, as a Jew, I didn't need someone to imagine for me how uncomfortable I might feel when learning there are Christians in America (shocking - who knew?) and about ethic Chinese, Hispanics, Blacks or whoever."

END OF QUOTE

My posted a reply that stated that we are all told nowadays to learn about other cultures and tolerate them, so why should this leftist's Jewish roommate from college feel "uncomfortable" because of Christmas signs and decorations?

A few days ago, I retold this story to Jeff Bruzzo of ProjectShiningCity.org and it resulted in me coming up with the politically correct reason why the leftist thought his criticism was valid.

I see I was too "stupid" to understand what the leftist at Amazon.com was really getting at. He meant to say that CHRISTIANS should learn about other cultures such as the Hispanic, the Islamic, the Chinese, the Blacks, but leftists and minority groups - such as Jews - can demand that they don't have to be made to feel uncomfortable by being exposed to Christian culture because it would "oppress them" to hear Jingle Bells or see a Christmas sign written in English. 

My "stupidness" comes from growing up with parents that spoke 4 languages apiece and learned about cultures other than their own Yiddish one. At various Jewish museums, such as the Simon Weisenthal Center, one often sees displays from other cultures and discrimination against them, showing - de facto - a knowledge and concern of other cultures.

When I heard about "celebrating diversity," I thought they meant I, too, should also learn about other cultures, even though I'm not Christian. I didn't get the FAX from Politically Correct Central, so I was confused and didn't act indignant about learning anything about the major Western culture of Christianity.

Adding further to my confusion was being in Israel in 1970 at Christmastime and the State run television channel, then the only one in the country, playing Christmas carols all day long for the tourists from overseas for which they were (and are) grateful. On the way to visit the holiest Jewish site in Jerusalem, the Western Wall, one sees two major churches along the road. I didn't get the memo that I was supposed to be indignant over seeing a Christian symbol to "oppress" my Jewish sensibilities. Maybe I lost the "you must act indignant" memo when I stayed at the Jerusalem YMCA (the only YMCA that had - and probably still has - an 80 percent Jewish membership). Or I lost the pre-FAX era memo many years earlier when my dad took my up on the rail of the Liberty Ship we sailed to America on so we could see The Statue of Liberty as we entered New York Harbor.

That's why I didn't comprehend the "reasoning" that I was "required" to believe I should feel uncomfortable and oppressed when I see Christmas decorations in America. I'm not as "sophisticated" as Jews whose families fled Russia and Poland one hundred years ago and forgot how much better they have been treated in America and have lost their gratitude for what they have here.

I guess that makes me a simpleminded "zhlub" (a peasant or lout, in Yiddish) - and proud of it.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 02:51 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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