'Holiday Parade' committee calls it quits

[meegbear]

Call it a “Holiday Parade” or a “Christmas Parade,” but without new volunteers, it will be called off.

The 10 volunteer members of the Norman Holiday Parade Committee resigned Wednesday, leaving the parade’s future in jeopardy.

“The community volunteers that comprise the Norman Holiday Parade Committee regretfully decline to organize and facilitate the parade previously set to take place at 10 a.m. on Dec. 9, 2006, in downtown Norman,” said the recorded message on the parade’s hotline. “If any organization or group of individuals is willing to take over the role of parade organizer, contact the committee at 200-8707 or via e-mail at [e-mail].”

One of the former volunteer committee members, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the committee felt threatened personally and professionally, and could not take the risk.

“I think the fact that we are all active in the Norman community, both professionally and personally, we felt we were being threatened. We felt we were being intimidated ... that was a risk we didn’t feel we could take,” the former member said.

The former member said the problem stemmed from the fact that the parade was referred to as the “Holiday Parade,” as opposed to the “Christmas Parade.” The former member said the name was not to exclude Christmas, but to include all people and beliefs, including area churches celebrating Jesus’ birth.

“It’s really a wonderful showcase for that,” the former member said. “There was never any intention that Christmas wasn’t going to be a part of it.”

Bob Cleveland, a Norman resident who attended the special committee meeting last Friday, said the suggestion was made to call it the “Christmas/Holiday Parade,” but this idea was rejected.

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http://www.normantranscript.com/localnews/local_story_320001543

[acmavm]

1. Threatening people over this? This is stupidity on a level that

it should be considered a capital crime.

Strap the idiots who are pitching such a bitch in, I'll give 'em the drugs.

[angstlessk]

2. Who exactly is killing Christmas? the whinnnny babies that's who! n/t

[Robbien]

4. O'Reilly and Fox News

They bring it up each year and the intimidation wars begin anew.

[annabanana]

3. Well, I'm sorry for the children of Norman

But perhaps they too would be so incensed that it was a "holiday" parade that they would throw things. Hurray for bigotry. Keep Christmas pure.

[Stuckinthebush]

5. Hell, I'll volunteer

Now where is Norman?

[Marnieworld]

11. East Massachusetts

Nah, I'm kidding. It's in Oklahoma which makes a bit more sense. Gotcha!

[Stuckinthebush]

13. Oklahoma?

OK

:D

[dogday]

6. That's the holiday spirit for ya! or the Christmas Spirit

or whatever the hell people want to call it.... People are dying in Iraq, let's not worry about this crap....

[SoCalDem]

7. Not surprising with the fractious climate we have created in the US

No matter WHAT anyone plans, there is always "somebody" who will "take offense".

The whole country seems to be on "feign-feign". For every "action", there is now an advocacy group that rises to a whipped up frenzy of "don't-you-EVEN-go-there".

I can see how people who have volunteered to carry on "tradidtions" ,would get discouraged.

That said, times have changed, and life is not what it was 40 years ago. people are not all that impressed by parades and community stuff like that.

There was a time when the whole town would turn out for things like that, but we don;t do that anymore.

[riderinthestorm]

8. Wow! Some pretty subversive tactics by the War Against Christmas

(otherwise known as the WAC-job) committee!

I'm impressed guys! You are now even going after "Holiday" and got the Norman parade cancelled.

Sooner or later we'll eradicate every trace of festivities in our ongoing "war".






(rubs hands together gleefully and looks around shiftily.... just don't let them know ANYTHING about Project X!)

[Marnieworld]

9. This is such a coordinated stunt

These people need to learn what a problem is. They give up over a word? Ridiculous. How is a word threatening? They cancelled because of threats? The parade could be whatever. Obviously it would focus on Christmas. Just the word Holiday says everybody and Christmas says some. Why is this so hard for people to get? Unless of course all the want is to celebrate with the some but then now they are celebrating with no one. Big victory.

All this is is an attempt to get Bill O'Reilly's attention. It is a contrived problem. And now we have to hear this mentioned forever and ever. Who's really the one waging "War"?

[trotsky]

10. The engine that makes the "War on Christmas" possible...

is the idea that by trying to include OTHER faiths, Christianity is being expressly forbidden. If they can't have the spotlight, they're being discriminated against! Oh my! :eyes:

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Fine By Me

Parades are a public nuisance and serve no real purpose. If they can find a way to assure that not one single dime of taxpayer money is spent (including police money on traffic control and so on), then i retract. But, if they are going to spend one dime of money that should be spent on something more productive (education or special services for the disabled, for instance), then i say i'm glad the parade is history.

And no, i don't care about the children! Their parents can find some good way to entertain them appropriate to the season.
The Professor